History of Film

Thaumatrope

Sep 25, 1862

This was a round card attached to a string. While one side was a a picture of a horse and the other a picture of a man in a riding position. When they spun the card it looked as if the man was riding the horse.

Eadweard Muybridge

Sep 25, 1872

A man named Eadweard Muybridge began experimenting on capturing moving image. He once placed twelve cameras on a race horse track as a bet and noticed it looked like the photos were moving when he turned his head.

1st reel of film

Sep 25, 1885

Two men named George Eastman and William H. Walker developed the very first reel of film. Film was sensitized paper created with a gelatin emulsion that was later replaced by plastic.

Short Films

Sep 25, 1895

Short films ( 30 - 60s) were shown in a Paris Cafe and it only costed one franc.

Narrative film

Sep 25, 1903

Edwin Porter created the first US narrative film. It was called The Great Train Robbery.

Nickelodeon Era

Sep 25, 1905

The 5 cent movie theatre was created! No longer would people have to see a movie in a vaudeville house.

Charlie Chaplin

Sep 25, 1917

First supertar that did silent comedy. Started working at 150$ a week and by 1917 was making a million a year.