EOTO Motion Picture

“While Thomas Edison and the Lumière brothers dominated the headlines for inventing the equipment which made the moving image possible, Louis Le Prince preceded them by a number of years with a working model which captured motion outside his home in Roundhay, Leeds.”

Louis Le Prince was a french artist and the inventor of the first motion picture camera. He is believed to be the first to shoot a moving picture sequence using only a strip of film and a single lens. 

The first film ever made was the Roundhay Garden Scene. This was a short silent film that was created and directed by Prince in his backyard. People all over the world were trying to create films after the release of this motion picture. Movies started out silent, short, and black and white. To incorporate dialogue, they would have a written slide pop up in between scenes. 

On October 6th, 1927, the first talking picture was made.The Warner Brothers released the Jazz Singer. “The first feature-length film to incorporate synchronized sound for sequences of dialogue. Though these sequences were limited and brief, hearing the voices of the film's stars was a revelation for audiences.” While this film was revolutionary in the cinema industry, there is a lot of controversy about the movie today. The main character, Jack Robin, uses blackface during a broadway stage act. This was not an uncommon practice in films of this time. The film was actually viewed as comedic and people loved it. This film went on to be referenced in several other films that followed, such as Singing in the Rain. 

“The first film to be filmed in natural color is A Visit to the Seaside, a short which used the Kinemacolor process with red and green alternating filters. The first full-length feature film in color is The World, The Flesh and the Devil, also using the Kinemacolor process” Although color film was invented before the talking picture, most people could not afford colored televisions. The films were primarily made in black and white.

The Wizard Of Oz is commonly mistaken for the first color film. It was, however, the first film to transition between black and white and color. It revolutionized the way color film was used for future movies. The film used color for plot purposes and to distinguish setting. The black and white showed the dullness of Dorothy's life in Kansas, whereas the color showed the magical land of Oz.

While the film industry completely revolutionized entertainment, there were some negative impacts. One of these is the impact on live theater. Before people went to the movie theaters, people got their entertainment from going to see plays, ballets, musicals, and operas. Once the movie theaters opened, the desire to go see live performances decreased. This put many actors out of jobs because the demand for live performances became lower and lower. 

The invention of the motion picture was not only revolutionary to the entertainment industry, but to communication as a whole. It is because of this invention that we are able to access televised news and remain up to date on current events. This invention has completely shifted and changed the way we function as a society.