The Advent of Early Cinema Fantascope, Kinematic Scope, The Lumiere Brothers, and Thomas Edison

Precursors to Cinema Vaudville shows and the magic lantern - “Phantasmagoria” in vaudeville shows and Victorian playhouses - used to scare people, as it was something they had never seen before

Precursors to Cinema Fantascope or “Phenakistiscope -Belgian Inventor, Joseph Plateau -Other “scopes” -Zoetrope: rotating cylinder with images inside, giving illusion of motion (wheel of life) -Phasmotrope, Praxinoscope, etc.

Birth of Cinema Edward Muybridge -British Inventor in the late 19 th century, develops his own Zoopraxiscope, or “the wheel of life” - It was “ a primitive motion-picture projector machine that also recreated the illusion of movement (or animation) by projecting images - rapidly displayed in succession - onto a screen from photos printed on a rotating glass disc.” (Dirks, filmsite.org)

Birth of Cinema Thomas Edison and William K.L. Dickson -In 1892, Thomas Edison and his British partner, Dickson, develop the Kinetograph, which captures actual motion pictures for the first time. -These were no longer illusions, but actual motion pictures - The Kinetograph became the basis for the more popular hand cranked camera, which came along shortly after First public demonstration of a motion picture- “Dickson Greeting” (1892) Second Clip: “Corbett and Courtney” (1894)

Birth of Cinema Early cinema was concerned about just showing MOTION PICTURES -The earliest filmmakers wanted to show that they could make pictures move, as that was amazing to audiences already. “Cats Boxing” (1894) “Falling Cat” (1890) “Eugen Sandow” (1894)