August and Louis Lumiere
August and Louis Lumiere were born in Lyon, France in 1862 and 1864. Their father was a well-known painter and photographer in France at the time. He manufactured and sold photographic equipment, sparking the boy's interest in technology. As children, they both attended technical school in France. Louis was the first to begin experimenting with the photographic equipment his father was manufacturing, developing a new "dry plate" process that boosted his father's business and aided in the rise of photography.
The brothers became fascinated with Edison's idea of the Kinetoscope, one of the first motion picture devices of the time. The brothers, however, found fault in that the device was large and bulky, and the films it showed could only be seen by one person at a time.
By 1895, the brothers had developed the Cinematographe, a smaller, lightweight Kinetoscope that combined camera, printer, and projector. It shot at a speed of 16 frames per second, much slower than Edison's Kinetograph, thereby eliminating some of the unnecessary noise. The films it shot could be projected to a larger audience, rather than one person at a time. They kept their invention under wraps, only allowing their films to be viewed by select audiences.
On March 22nd, 1895, at Rue de Rennes in Lyon, France, the brothers debuted their first "film". Entitled "Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory", the brothers showed a 40-second clip of exactly that... workers leaving their father's factory. There was no sound or color. This was regarded as the first film of all time. This new invention sparked much excitement and interest. They patented the invention in America, allowing for the first practical motion picture camera to come to the united states.
The brothers became fascinated with Edison's idea of the Kinetoscope, one of the first motion picture devices of the time. The brothers, however, found fault in that the device was large and bulky, and the films it showed could only be seen by one person at a time.
By 1895, the brothers had developed the Cinematographe, a smaller, lightweight Kinetoscope that combined camera, printer, and projector. It shot at a speed of 16 frames per second, much slower than Edison's Kinetograph, thereby eliminating some of the unnecessary noise. The films it shot could be projected to a larger audience, rather than one person at a time. They kept their invention under wraps, only allowing their films to be viewed by select audiences.
On March 22nd, 1895, at Rue de Rennes in Lyon, France, the brothers debuted their first "film". Entitled "Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory", the brothers showed a 40-second clip of exactly that... workers leaving their father's factory. There was no sound or color. This was regarded as the first film of all time. This new invention sparked much excitement and interest. They patented the invention in America, allowing for the first practical motion picture camera to come to the united states.