The first motion-picture- 2

The first motion-picture- 2

 Edison's great contribution to the regular stage was the incandescent electric lamp, which

enabled the production of scenic effects never before even dreamed of, but which we

accept now with so much complacency. Yet with the motion picture, effects are secured

that could not be reproduced to the slightest extent on the real stage. The villain,

overcome by a remorseful conscience, sees on the wall of the room the very crime which

he committed, with HIMSELF as the principal actor; one of the easy effects of double

exposure. The substantial and ofttimes corpulent ghost or spirit of the real stage has been

succeeded by an intangible wraith, as transparent and unsubstantial as may be demanded

in the best book of fairy tales--more double exposure. A man emerges from the water

with a splash, ascends feet foremost ten yards or more, makes a graceful curve and lands

on a spring-board, runs down it to the bank, and his clothes fly gently up from the ground

and enclose his person--all unthinkable in real life, but readily possible by running the

motion-picture film backward! The fairy prince commands the princess to appear,

consigns the bad brothers to instant annihilation, turns the witch into a cat, confers life on

inanimate things; and many more startling and apparently incomprehensible effects are

carried out with actual reality, by stop-work photography. In one case, when the

command for the heroine to come forth is given, the camera is stopped, the young woman

walks to the desired spot, and the camera is again started; the effect to the eye--not

knowing of this little by-play--is as if she had instantly appeared from space. The other

effects are perhaps obvious, and the field and opportunities are absolutely unlimited.

Other curious effects are secured by taking the pictures at a different speed from that at

which they are exhibited. If, for example, a scene occupying thirty seconds is reproduced

in ten seconds, the movements will be three times as fast, and vice versa. Many scenes

familiar to the reader, showing automobiles tearing along the road and rounding corners

at an apparently reckless speed, are really pictures of slow and dignified movements

reproduced at a high speed.

Brief reference has been made to motion pictures of educational subjects, and in this field

there are very great opportunities for development. The study of geography, scenes and

incidents in foreign countries, showing the lives and customs and surroundings of other

peoples, is obviously more entertaining to the child when actively depicted on the screen

than when merely described in words. The lives of great men, the enacting of important

historical events, the reproduction of great works of literature, if visually presented to the

child must necessarily impress his mind with greater force than if shown by mere words.

We predict that the time is not far distant when, in many of our public schools, two or

three hours a week will be devoted to this rational and effective form of education.

By applying microphotography to motion pictures an additional field is opened up, one

phase of which may be the study of germ life and bacteria, so that our future medical

students may become as familiar with the habits and customs of the Anthrax bacillus, for

example, as of the domestic cat.

From whatever point of view the subject is approached, the fact remains that in the

motion picture, perhaps more than with any other invention, Edison has created an art

that must always make a special appeal to the mind and emotions of men, and although

so far it has not advanced much beyond the field of amusement, it contains enormous

possibilities for serious development in the future. Let us not think too lightly of the

humble five-cent theatre with its gaping crowd following with breathless interest the

vicissitudes of the beautiful heroine. Before us lies an undeveloped land of opportunity

which is destined to play an important part in the growth and welfare of the human race.