1. A Brief History of Early Cinema
An art form created by inventors not artists.

2. The Beginnings… 1872 Muybridge set up a 12 cameras at a track
Photographer Eadweard Muybridge hired to solve a bet by the Gov. of CA.
Do the hooves of a horse leave the ground simultaneously?
Muybridge set up a 12 cameras at a track
Trip wires activated as the horse went past.

3. Bet Won!

4. Muybridge 1881 Developed the “zoopraxiscope” – first movie projector
It grew from there: more cameras and other subjects.

5. Thomas Edison 1891 Invented the Kinetoscope – peep-hole viewer
Only one viewer at a time

6. Meanwhile, over in France.
The Lumiere Bros.
1895 – created the Cinematographe capable of shooting, printing, and projecting
Weighed sixteen pounds
First footage recorded March 1895 (workers leaving a factory) – called “actualities”
No longer confined to a studio

7. Lumiere’s Opposite: Melies
Professional Magician turned filmmaker
made 531 films
Utilized experimentation, special effects, double exposure
Most famous work: “A Trip to the Moon”

8. Cinema Takes Off
1903 – “The Great Train Robbery” directed by Edwin S. Porter
10 mins. / 14 one shot scenes filmed in New Jersey
Film Techniques Utilized: Cross-cutting, minor camera movement, and location shooting (Some versions have colored negatives.)
First time (in film) anyone made someone dance by gunshot
Shocking ending/Patrons ducked