Edison was restrained by the enormity of his camera, which had to be stationed within his studio, which was dubbed “the Black Maria.” For that reason, his films were mainly performance pieces of vaudeville acts, circus characters, and dancers acting in the empty studio. Meanwhile the Lumière brothers’ lightweight camera, the cinématographe, allowed a sole operator to roam and document the world.
The Lumière brothers’ Workers Leaving The Lumière Factory (1895) is widely viewed as the first film ever made and is, in a sense, a documentary. The 800 frames display a torrent of workers, a pair of unleashed dogs, bicycle riders, and concludes with a horse drawn carriage. One is familiar with seeing static images from this time period, but to see dozens of industrial-era workers actually moving around in their 19th century garb is surreal.
As Bertolt Brecht has stated, “Reality changes; in order to represent it, modes of representation must change.” Man has always strived to capture reality through the ages, from painting to photography. Cinema is a relatively new extension of that ambition that remains relevant and vital to this day. While remarkable advances have been made to the methods since 1895 (advent of sound, video, etc.), one could argue that the format is fundamentally the same as it was 100 years ago.
Conversely, it’s amazing to consider the progress that has been made since these early films of les frères Lumière and Edison. Today, you can stream the film in its entirety and watch it on your iPhone in the palm of your hand as you take the elevator out of the office.
Trivial Tidbits:
- Lumière is French for “light." It's a female noun (La Lumière).
- Construction costs for the Black Maria studio totaled $637.67.
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