History of Film

  • Zoopraxiscope

    Eadweard Muybridge made a $25,000 bet with his friends that all four of horse's hooves come off the ground at full speed. He lined and set up cameras across a race horse track with a thread attached to each camera. The horse's legs would break the thread and take the pictures.
  • Praxinoscope

    The Praxinoscope was patented in 1877 by Emile Reynaud. He projected his invention to the public and each strip of film had to be drawn.
  • First Kinetoscope Prototype

    The first Kinetoscope was made, which consisted of a bunch of images being rapidly shown to give off the illusion of movement. It was shown off to a club that Edison's wife was in.
  • Record of a Sneeze (Fred Ott's Sneeze)

    The first movie to be copyrighted in the US. It lasted only 5 seconds long and consisted of 45 frames. It was one of the first films to be developed for the Kinetoscope.
  • First Kinetoscope Parlor Opened

    Kinetoscopes are shipped to 1155 Broadway and the first kinetoscope parlor is opened.
  • Phantoscope unveiled

    The Phantoscope was a projector created by Charles Francis Jenkins. One working model was ever made and was stolen and sold to the Gammon theater chain.
  • Mutoscope patnted

    Henry Norton Marvin and Herman Casler worked on the Mutoscope, a better version of the Kinetoscope. The American Mutoscope Company would be founded a month and 6 days later.
  • Vitascope created

    The Vitascope was a projector that was created by Charles Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat. It is a modifcation of Jenkins' Phantoscope. The Vitascope was sold to the Kinetoscope Company later.
  • Cinematographe patented

    The Lumiere Brothers began to work on a cheaper and better version of Edison's Peephole Kinetoscope in 1894 and by early 1895, they finished their work and called it Cinematographe.
  • The Great Train Robbery released

    The Great Train Robbery was released. The film lasted 12 minutes long and used untraditional film techinques, such as cross cutting and on-site filming.
  • Nickelodeons rising in popularity

    Nickelodeons were what would be the first movie theaters. They only costed a nickel and rapidly rose in popularity, reaching 23 million viewers a week in 1910.
  • MPPC Founded

    Motion Picture Patents Company founded by Thomas Edison, which was a trust pact between all major American film companies. This created a monopoly on the film industry and bullied smaller, independent movie makers.