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Eadweard J. Muybridge
Well known as a photographer in California, Muybridge was hired by former governor Leland Stanford to photograph the governor’s race horse. Stanford had a wager that all four hooves of a horse leave the ground when running. Muybridge’s job was to prove the theory.
Using twenty-four cameras, a system of trip shutters, and high speed film, Muybridge’s series of still photographs gave the impression of motion. -
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Birth of Photography
Animation on film was only possible because of invention of photography in 1827 by Joseph Niépce.
Louis Daguerre, an assistant to Niépce, developed a new process for developing images in 1837 called tin-type photos, also known as Daguerre-types. -
Zoetrope
This device was invented in 1834 by William Horner, who originally called it a Daedalum ("wheel of the Devil"). Later, it was renamed the "zoetrope," or "wheel of life."
It was more convenient since it did not require a mirror and allowed more than one person to use it at the same time.
It consisted of a cylinder with slits cut vertically in the sides. As it would spin, the user looked through the slits at the pictures across. -
Phenakistoscope
In 1832, Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau and his sons introduced the phenakistoscope ("spindle viewer"). It was also invented independently in the same year by Simon von Stampfer of Vienna, Austria.
The phenakistoscope used a spinning disc attached vertically to a handle. The user would spin the disc and look through the moving slits at the disc's reflection in a mirror. -
Praxinoscope
The praxinoscope was invented in France in 1877 by Charles-Émile Reynaud.
This improved on the zoetrope by replacing its narrow viewing slits with an inner circle of mirrors, placed so that the reflections of the pictures appeared more or less stationary in position as the wheel turned.
In 1889 Reynaud developed an improved version capable of projecting images on a screen from a longer roll of pictures. -
Improvement of Photography
The technology behind photography improved dramatically in the last half of the 19th century.
During the American Civil War (1860-1865), New York photographer Matthew Brady became well-known by taking photos of the war.
In 1885, George Eastman introduced transparent, flexible film and in 1888 marketed his Kodak camera, bringing photography to the average American -
Motion Pictures in America
America’s premier inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, developed a motion picture camera (the kinetograph) and a projector (the kinetoscope) in 1891.
Edison filmed random events including haircuts, boxing matches, Annie Oakley, and the new Brooklyn Bridge -
Georges Méliès
After seeing the Lumiere’s new invention in 1895, Georges Méliès began making films. He had been a magician and expert in special effects for the theater.
In 1902, Georges Méliès made his most famous film, “A Trip to the Moon.” The film included the celebrated scene in which a spaceship hits the man in the moon in the eye. It was loosely based on works by Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. -
Birth of Narrative Films
By the turn of the century, the subject of motion pictures evolved towards narrative stories.
The Edison 1902 film, “Fun in a Bakery Shop” was an early example of movie special effects.
In 1903, the landmark silent movie “The Great Train Robbery” debuted. It was created by former Edison cameraman Edwin S. Porter, was a commercial success, and led to the birth of silent pictures. -
Motion Pictures in France
Auguste and Louis Lumiere were French inventors and pioneer manufacturers of photographic equipment who devised an early motion-picture camera and projector.
In 1895, they created the film “Workers Leaving the Factory” which is considered the first motion picture.
In 1903, they turned their attentions away from cinematography and patented a color photography process that launched in 1907. -
J. Stuart Blackton
Blackton started as a vaudeville performer known as “The Komikal Kartoonist” who drew lightning-fast sketches. After meeting Edison, Blackton became interested in putting his drawings on film.
“The Enchanted Drawing” was an early attempt at animation and special effects.
In 1906 using a chalkboard, Blackton created “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” which was known as the first animated film.
“The Haunted Hotel” in 1907 expanded on the use of stop motion in films -
Émile Cohl
Eugène Jean Louis Courtet, who went by the pseudonym Émile Cohl, was a French caricaturist, cartoonist, and animator.
After seeing a screening of Stuart Blackton’s “The Haunted Hotel,” Cohl began animating.
In 1908, Cohl created “Fantasmagorie.” This animation was created using an illuminated glass plate for his table while drawing black lines on paper. The end result was printed in negative to intentionally give the feel of a chalkboard.
The title referred to a fantasmograph, which was an early -
Winsor McCay
McCay worked as a cartoonist for several newspapers.
In 1912, McCay animated “How a Mosquito Operates.”
In 1914, McCay brought “Gertie the Dinosaur” to life on film. It was included in his vaudeville act along with camera tricks where McCay appeared on screen with Gertie.
McCay used animation to illustrate the “Sinking of the Lusitania” in 1918