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Eadweard Muybridge developed Zoopraxiscope
Eadweard developed the Zoopraxiscope to win a bet for $25,000. The bet was to see if a horse had all 4 of its hooves off the floor at some point of its run. He then lined up many cameras and took a rapid succession of photos and looked at them in a row and won the bet. -
First Kinetoscope Parlor
The first kinetoscope parlor was made in 1894. It had several peephole kinetiscopes where only one person could watch at a time. The kinetoscope was a early motion picture device that created the illusion of movement by the film going really fast. -
Cinematographe
The brothers started producing a series of short films in 1895 with a projector. These films were 30 to 60 seconds long. Their first film was of a train coming right towards the screen which resulted in many people getting scared and hurting themselves. -
The radio
A young italian named Gugliemo Marconi invented what he called "the wireless telegraph". He used radio waves to transmit morse code. -
The Great Train Robbery
An employee of Thomas Edison named Edwin Porter created the first U.S. narrative film called The Great Train Robbery. The film had 14 scenes and was 12 minutes long. The film was considered a real epic. -
First nickelodeon theater
The first nickelodeon theater was created in Pittsburgh in 1905 by John Harris and Harry Davis. These theaters used projectors and were accompanied by piano music and sound effects. -
Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC)
Thomas Edison and several companies formed a trust called the Motion Picture Patents Company. They created the plan to use their combined patents to control things such as the production of raw film stock, projection equipment, and film distribution and exhibition. They used strong-arm tactics to create an internationally competitive motion picture industry. -
Nickelodeon theaters popularity
By 1910, the Nickelodeon theaters were attracting 26-million viewers each week. In 5 years that number doubled. They then saw the growing popularity as a potential for big profits. They were trying to control everything and that could lead to an monopoly. -
Hollywood
On the west coast independent film companies were farther away from the MPPC to avoid getting beaten. They needed the better weather and scenery of the west coast. Also they were close to mexico to make a hasty retreat of the MPPC did come after them. -
Independent Companies
The independent studios in California wanted to release the actors names. They wanted their actors to get famous and make more money. People will pay to see an actor they like play again and again. -
Actors and Money
The MPPC didn't want to list the names of actors in their films. They feared that the actors would become to famous and demand more money. They wanted to make more money than the actors instead of the actors making more money. -
Famous Stars
Two of the most famous stars around this time were Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin. Mary Pickford was known as "Americas Sweetheart" and Chaplin was known as a "Comedy Genius"
