By Andy Zimmer
I believe knowing where we came from, can tell us where we are going, in other words, you can’t create a future without a past. So let’s start with a brief history lesson before we get truly started.
The history of animation and motion picture is long and varied, with the first stages of animation dating back all the way to The Han Dynasty in ancient China (206 BCE - 220 CE). During this time, over 2000 years ago, stories were told using puppets made of leather or Paper to tell the elaborate and detailed stories behind a translucent, thin white screen. This projected shadowy silhouettes, this was about 1900 years before cinema as we know it.
The Master of Shadow Puppets by Great Big Story
The next big leap in animation and cinema came in the form of the Zoetrope, invented by William George Horner. The original version was named the Daedatelum, otherwise in English “Wheel of the Devil.” It was renamed to Zoetrope (Greek for “Things That Turn”), when French inventor Pierre Desvignes came out with his own version of the mechanism.
Giphy
A Zoetrope is basically the earliest form of a projector. How it works is you would put drawings inside of a drum that spins around creating a motion picture. It’s certainly a fun craft project to do at home. My son certainly loves to make them with me.
The next great leap in the industry’s history came in 1840, when Alexander Walcott invented the first Camera. Though it is far from what we have to use in today’s industry, just in sheer size alone, it was indeed an important step in our current industry. The first camera was what finally allowed us to capture an image of a person or object that would last a long time, albeit, upside down.
Image Source: KnowInsider.com
So by this point in history, the industry stagnated, with all the puzzle pieces for the cinema we know today and no idea how to piece them together. That is until 1872-1877, when inventor Eadweard Muybridge created the first movie ever made.
Video Source: SilentFilmHouse YouTube
Around this same time in 1882, Etienne-Jules Marey, a French physiologist, invented a gun like camera called a chronophotographic gun that could take up to 12 photos per second, or chronophotography. Can you imagine “shooting” a movie with this thing?
Video Source: ECHO YouTube
At least we can guess where some common terminology might have come from. Anyway, these two inventions are considered core building blocks in what we use today.
Between 1887 to 1890, we saw the additions of celluloid roll film, Kinetograph and Kinetoscope, which bring us to a crude version of how we make movies and media in today’s industry. Though it’s not quite there just yet, which brings us to the next step in the industry’s history.
In 1895, after a Kinetoscope exhibition in Paris, Louis and Auguste Lumière who were inspired by the event brought us the first commercially viable projector. But Wait!! There’s More!! This projector also functions as a camera and printer!! A whopping 16 fps and hand cranked, this beauty weighs a mere 20 lbs! The Cinèmatographe!! Buy yours today!!!
All jokes aside, it was amazingly better than it’s predecessor the Kinetograph, which weighed approximately 1000 lbs.
Video Source: George Eastman Museum YouTube
Using this technology, between 1890 and 1927, what we know as standard story and plot development were honed throughout thousands of silent films both animated and not. Most of these films had live musical accompaniment performed by an orchestra to create atmosphere.
Video Source: Charlie Chaplin YouTube
In 1927, the first film with sound in the movie was produced, the The Jazz Singer. It wasn’t long before the idea of adding sound to animation was spread and Walt Disney gave us Steamboat Willy.
Video Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios YouTube
The craft of storytelling through motion built up piece by piece over many generations and endless innovations. This is how I see today’s industry and it’s where I see it headed in the future. It’s a craft and art form that’s alway changing, growing and moving forward. In the future, I expect to see the general public interacting with the industry in a variety of ways. We are already taking leaps and bounds into VR and Holographic technology. I wouldn’t be surprised to see video images in contact lenses at some point.
Citations
Great Big Story, . (2019, September 19). The Master of Shadow Puppets. YouTube. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IwhLjj9Hkk
Guinness World Records. (n.d.). First Motion Picture. Guinness World Records. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/69861-first-motion-picture
Maio, A. (2021, January 26). When were movies invented? A brief history. StudioBinder. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/when-were-movies-invented/
NFI Team, . (2022, April 7). When was the camera invented? everything you need to know. NFI. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.nfi.edu/when-was-the-camera-invented/
SteveSpanglerScience. (2013, July 30). Build a Zoetrope - sick science #150. YouTube. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXgPPAhMuG8
Thomas, C., & Didierjean, and C. (1970, January 1). [PDF] Scientific Study of Magic: Binet's pioneering approach based on observations and Chronophotography.: Semantic scholar. undefined. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Scientific-Study-of-Magic%3A-Binet's-Pioneering-Based-Thomas-Didierjean/4e84b85a9dc38110436df8773b3973e5643bae86
Yestervid. (2015, July 13). First Motion Picture Ever made. YouTube. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmuo45NR6qE
Casa do Cinema. (n.d.). THE CINEMATOGRAPHE LUMIERE. Facebook. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.facebook.com/859677527384334/photos/a.3212701665415230/3212831575402239/?type=3
Admin. (2022, January 31). What was the first film with sound? Mack Sennett Studios. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://macksennettstudios.net/what-was-the-first-film-with-sound/
Finan, K. (2017, January 8). The history of animation sound. Boom Box Post. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.boomboxpost.com/blog/2015/11/8/the-history-of-animation-sound
disneyanimation. (2009, August 27). Walt Disney Animation Studios' Steamboat Willie. YouTube. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBgghnQF6E4
Ganapati, P. (2009, February 9). Contact lens could bring TV into Future eyes. Wired. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.wired.com/2009/02/contact-lens-co/
Charlie Chaplin - modern times - roller skating scene. YouTube. (2016, October 4). https://youtu.be/kPcEFHA3X0c?si=4739_PYvi14RDs9m
Lumière Cinématographe. YouTube. (2023a, January 17). https://youtu.be/tLE4emgXfKE?si=Dj5ygUDIU7iLlo9S
Race Horse first film ever 1878 eadweard muybridge. YouTube. (2011, March 25). https://youtu.be/IEqccPhsqgA?si=6dCE5ldDae8Dhdo4
What happened to the world’s first movie? YouTube. (2023b, January 31). https://youtu.be/Cxj4WaxmR8A?si=cZK9VZnkCfWY7Dq-
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