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Eadweard Muybridge
This man made a 25,000 dollar bet to his buddies to tell whether if a horse in full gallop doesn't touch the ground while taking its strides. So when the day came to test out his claim, he had photographers line up in a row to take pictures of a horse while it's galloping. Take note that the cameras back then were kind of difficult to manage and that sometimes the images weren't so clear. After taking many pictures of the horse galloping by, his theory was right and he won that bet. -
Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin was the comic genius of silent comedy. His mother was a well known singer by the name "Lily Harley". He first got his fame by his mother but it wasn't a good situation. His mother lost her voice while on stage so she brought him out to sing for her. The audience thought that he was adorable and that he was a good singer. Sadly his mom never got her voice back and in later years she had to be admitted into an asylum. Chaplin appeared in 35 movies and soon made 14 on his own. -
Peephole Kinetoscope
The Peephole Kinetoscope was created by Thomas Edison to make a one person audience for the very first films of the century. To be honest it wasn't as good as the cinematograph for many reasons. In the picture this man had to look through that tiny hole and would have to pay a couple of bucks to only see a 30 second clip. -
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was in 40 movies with D.W. Griffith's American Biograph Company. She was very famous around Hollywood and was loved for her beauty and charm towards others. Mary retired from the screen in 1933 but continued to produce a couple decades later she died in her home in 1979 -
Thomas Edison and the Lumi`ere Brothers
Thomas Edison did not only invent the lightbulb, but he also invented the Peephole Kinetoscope. This invention could only have a one person audience and Edison wanted to keep it that way. Soon came the Lumiere Brothers, they created a projector that could slow motion pictures on a screen for an audience. It was called the Cinematographe. -
Cinematograph
The Cinematograph was created by the Lumiere brothers to show that they can make a whole lot more money by bringing in more audiences with this projector. This invention showed up Edison and his employees even though the brother's were inspired by Edison's invention. Soon after this, the Lumiere brothers started working on a new invention called the Lumiere autochrome. The autochrome was supposed to show the first photographic color process ever. -
The Great Train Robbery
Edison's employee, Edwin Porter, created the first narrative film called the Great Train Robbery. It was the first film to have different narrative sequences, different camera positions, and had 14 scenes in 12 minutes. Edwin had great skills in editing and projection to make some of the earliest films. -
Nickelodeons
Nickelodeons had piano music and sound in the background with some vaudeville acts. Nickelodeons were small theaters that featured films that were about thirty seconds long. Back then films didn't develop any sound so people had that "background music". In 1910 nickelodeon theaters were attracting 26 million people a week. -
MPPC ( Motion Picture Patents Company )
The MPPC was created to control production of raw film stock, projection equipment, and film exhibition and distribution. Many independent film companies tried to compete against this but if they were caught it would be all over. If Edison and his goons found out, they would march over to the film location and destroy every thing. -
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple was a phenomenal actress. At just three years old her parents signed a contract with low budget movies dubbed " Baby Burlesques". Her mother and father were very involved with her upcoming career. Her mother enrolled her into dance at 3 1/2 years old to help her rise up into more extravagant films and her dad became her agent and financial advisor. Even Franklin D. Roosevelt called her " Little Miss Miracle " because she was so chipper in her films. -
Films originally shot
Films where originally shot on the east coast. To make a film back then, people needed lots of light. That was also when the MPPC was around so people when all the way from the east coast to the west coast just to shoot their film. The west coast had way more light than the east coast because it was warmer, sunnier, and there were many beaches. -
Independant Studios
Independent studios thought differently than the MPPC. The MPPC did not want to show actors and actresses names in the credits due to money. They thought that if they had put the actors and actresses names on the credits, they would want more money. But the independent studios recognized the advantages in popular stars and the credits. If the independent studios could make actors and actresses more famous, then they could bring in a lot more money overall.
