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Magic Lantern
A Magic Lantern was a device that projected simple images (pictures) one at a time. It used a series of mirrors, lights, and screens and projected images onto walls or a sort of screen. They were very popular in rich households, and were commonly seen at parties. The exact invention date is unknown. -
The Sequence of Images
It started when Leland Stanford asked famous photographer Eadweard Muybridge to help with a bet. Stanford and other men were debating whether a horse's running gait involved it having no legs on the ground, which led Stanford to bet $25,000 for yes. Muybridge in turn created an experiment using 12 cameras lined up in a row and trip threads across a track. As the horse ran, it pulled the threads and set off the cameras. The result was a sequence of images that gave a flipbook illusion. -
Peephole Kinetoscope
Thomas Edison created a machine that could play moving film for an audience of one. A spectator viewed the film through a telescope-like projection from the top of the machine. Many people enjoyed these during their recreation. -
Kinetoscope Parlors
They were the first "movie theaters", with collections of peephole kinetoscopes that people could individually pay to see. Thomas Edison liked that way of making profit. He saw that if each individual person paid, one at a time, more money would accumulate. -
The First Projector
Although Thomas Edison had already invented the projector and has purposely kept it secret, the Lumiere brothers were the first to unveil one. Luis and Auguste Lumiere created their Cinematographé, a device that combined a camera, a printer, and a projector. -
The First Theatre Films
The Lumiere brothers started creating short films in 1895, each one about 30-60 seconds. Although they were but short, they were successful! Each one became an instant blockbuster. -
Vaudeville Theaters
Vaudeville theaters were around at this time as well, showing everything from short skits to drama to musicals. Soon, competition had risen. When that happened, they began to show short films. -
Nickelodeon
Vaudeville began to create theaters that showed films that cost only a nickel, hance naming them Nickelodeons. Although they were still silent films, the films they showed were accompanied by live music and sound effects. -
Color Film
It is not known for certain when films in color first began. However, some have been found from 1903, and then others began popping up after it. Technicolor is the most famous company with color images, but it might not have been the first. -
The Great Train Robbery
Edwin Porter, one of Thomas Edison's employees, created The Great Train Robbery. This was the first film to involve different points of view and camera angles. Not to mention that it lasted 12 minutes, something astonishing in that time. -
Success
Each week, Nickelodeon theaters hosted around 26 million people. Only five years after that, the number had almost tripled. It was only so long until someone would decide to control it all for the money. -
The Motion Picture Patents Company
That "someone" just so happened to be Thomas Edison himself. He formed the Motion Picture Patents Company, which controlled the makings of actual film, equipment, and the distribution of films. His Monopoly made him insanely rich and powerful. -
Hollywood
Edison demanded that the companies buy him products, and attempted to control all filming. Independent studios soon began fleeing the MPPC, and what better place than California. Sunny Hollywood provided both natural light for filming, and a fast escape to Mexico to escape Edison, just in case he were to follow them. -
Early Actors
Unlike the MPPC, individual studios published the names of their actors. Such famous ones include Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford. Chaplin was particularly successful, in part because of his talent with comedy, but also because of his underlying messages about society, such as good vs evil and have vs have not. By 1917, he made 1k+ a year.
