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Eadweard Muybridge
On June 15, 1878, Eadweard Muybridge placed a bet at a racehorse stadium claiming to be able to photograph a horse will all 4 hooves off the ground. Astonishingly to Muybridge, when taking several of these photos discovered when viewed back to back created the illusion of motion. -
Cinematograph
Cinematograph was a projector of which acted like Thomas Edisons' Kinetoscope that was invented by Lyon Auguste and Louis Lumiere. Instead of forcing an isolated one person viewing, it allowed the motion pictures to be played on a screen in front of multiple people during a single viewing. One of the first movie to be played from one is that of a moving train that lasted for 20 seconds. At one point, the train would charge at the audience. This frightened them and caused injuries due to fear. -
Peephole Kinetoscope Parlors
One of the first ever considered movie theaters to be made utilized an invention called a Kinetoscope. The kinetoscope was invented my Thomas Edison and would play motion pictures. However, to increase profits, the kinetoscope was purposefully designed to have only one person to be able to view into one. -
The Great Train Robbery
The Great Train Robbery is a 12 minute film that was directed by Edwin Porter, of which was an employee of Thomas Edison. This film was the first narrative film that involved different camera positions and distances and 14 scenes. It also involved crosscutting different narratives. The length of the film was the longest and was a true technological marvel at the time. -
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Nickelodeon Theaters
Nickelodeon theaters were a result of Vaudeville theaters expanding at the start of the 1900s. Nickelodeons were theaters that of indoor exhibition spaces dedicated to showing projected motion pictures. The majority of spaces were that of converted storefronts and would charge a nickel (or five scents) for admission. By 1910, 26 million viewers attended each week and would more than double five years later. -
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Motion Picture Patents Company
Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC) was a company created by Thomas Edison that was stationed in New York in order to monopolize motion pictures. MPPC forced the shutdown of independent film directors and studios that tried to compete.
This eventually leads to the common filming site of California to flourish in the United States in order to escape from MPPC control and monopolization. -
Cupid Angling
Cupid Angling is one of the first motion pictures to be produced and shown in color. The film was produced by Leon F. Douglass and the National Color Film Company, however the film is completely silent. Unfortunately, the film itself is considered as a lost film. -
The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer is an American musical film of which is the first feature-length motion picture with not only a synchronized recorded music score, but also lip synchronous singing and speech. The film is renowned for been ending the silent film era. -
Technicolor
With the release of Becky Sharp, audiences could now see films in technicolor. Two-color film technology had been available, but rarely used since 1922. -
McCarthyism
Hollywood was threatened by McCarthyism, with its accusations of communism. The Hollywood Ten refused to divulge any communist leanings and were imprisoned for contempt of court. -
Wide Screen
With the invention of television, film needed to up its game. New widescreen processes to produce bigger and more exciting films were the answer. -
First 3-D Film
The first 3-D film, relying upon stereoscopic technology, achieved wide release in 1953. Earlier attempts had been made, but the 1950s saw the popularity of 3-d. The first of these was Celine Dions' The Power of Love.
