The Advent of Early CinemaFantascope, Kinematic Scope, The

Lumiere Brothers, and Thomas Edison

Precursors to Cinema

• Vaudville shows and the magic lantern - “Phantasmagoria” in vaudeville shows and Victorian playhouses - used to scare people, as it was something they had never seen before

Precursors to Cinema

• Fantascope or “Phenakistiscope -Belgian Inventor, Joseph Plateau- Other “scopes” -Zoetrope: rotating cylinder with images inside, giving illusion of motion (wheel of life)

-Phasmotrope, Praxinoscope, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ43NDFjiw0 http://victorians.swgfl.org.uk/etoys/fantas/fanta.htm

Birth of Cinema• Edward Muybridge -British Inventor in the late 19th century, develops his own Zoopraxiscope, or “the wheel of life” - It was “a primitive motion-picture projector machine that also recreated the illusion of movement (or animation) by projecting images - rapidly displayed in succession - onto a screen from photos printed on a rotating glass disc.” (Dirks, filmsite.org)

Birth of Cinema• Thomas Edison and William K.L. Dickson -In 1892, Thomas Edison and his British partner, Dickson, develop the Kinetograph, which captures actual motion pictures for the first time. -These were no longer illusions, but actual motion pictures

-The Kinetograph became the basis for the more popular hand cranked camera, which came along shortly afterFirst public demonstration of a motion picture- “Dickson Greeting” (1892)Second Clip: “Corbett and Courtney” (1894)

http://inventors.about.com/od/kstartinventions/a/Kinetoscope_2.htm

Birth of Cinema• Early cinema was concerned about just showing MOTION PICTURES -The earliest filmmakers wanted to show that they could make pictures move, as that was amazing to audiences already.

“Cats Boxing” (1894) “Falling Cat” (1890) “Eugen Sandow” (1894)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6faUd2fV4U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqL9siGDeBA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWM2ixqua3Y