The Early History of Motion Pictures

Motion pictures and television are possible because of two quirks of the human perceptual system: the phi phenomenon and persistence of vision. The phi phenomenon refers to what happens when a person sees one light sources go out while another one close to the original is illuminated. To our eyes, it looks like the light moves from one place to another. In persistence of vision, our eyes continue to see an image for a spit second after the image has disappeared from view. First observed by the ancient Greeks, persistence of vision became more widely known in 1824 when Peter Roget (who also developed the thesaurus) demonstrated that human begins retain an image of an object for about one-tenth of a second after the object is taken from view. Following Roget’s pronouncement, a host of toys that depended on this principle sprang up in Europe. Bearing fanciful panes (the Thaumatrope, the Praxinoscope), these devices made a series of hand-drawn pictures appear to move.

Before long, several people realized that a series of still photographs on celluloid film could be used instead of hand drawing. In 1878 a colorful Englishman, later turned American, Edward Muybridge, attempted to settle a $25.000 bet over whether the four feet of a galloping horse ever simultaneously left the ground. He arranged a series of 24 cameras alongside a racetrack to photograph a galloping horse. Rapidly viewing the series of pictures produced an effect much like that of a motion picture. Muybirdge’s technique not only settled the bet (the feet did leave the ground simultaneously at certain instances) but also photography. Instead of 24 cameras taking one pictures in rapid order, it was Thomas Edison and his assistant, William Dickson, who finally developed what might have been the first practical motion-picture camera and viewing device. Edison was apparently trying to provide a visual counterpart to his recently invented phonograph. When his early efforts did not work out, he turned the project over his assistant. Using flexible film, Dickson solved the vexing problem of how to move the film rapidly through the camera by perforating its edge with tiny holes and pulling it along by means of sprockets, projections on a wheel that fit into the holes of the film. In 1889 Dickson had perfected a machine called the Kinetoscope and even starred in a brief film demonstrating how it worked.

These early efforts in the Edison lab were not directed at projecting movies to large crowds. Still influenced by the success of his phonograph, Edison thought a similar device could make a money by showing brief films to one person at a time for a penny a look. Edison built a special studio to produce films for his new invention, and by 1894, Kinetoscope parlors were spring up in major cities. The long-range commercial potential of his invention was lost on Edison. He reasoned that the real money would be made by selling his peep-show machine. If a large number of people were shown the film at the same time, fewer machines would be needed. Developments in Europe proved Edison wrong as inventors there devised large-screen projection devices. Faced with competition, Edison perfected the Vitascope and unveiled it in New York City in 1896.

Early movies were simple snippets of action—acrobats tumbling, horse running, jugglers juggling, and so on. Eventually, the novelty wore off and films became less of an attraction. Public interest was soon rekindled when early filmmakers discovered that movies could be used to tell story. In France, Alice Guy-Blache produced The Cabbage Fair-y, a one-minute film about a fairy who produces children in a Cabbage patch, and exhibited it at the Paris International Exhibition in 1896. Guy-Blache went on to found her own studio in America. Better known is the work of a fellow French filmmaker and magician, Georges Melies. In 1902 Melies produced a science-fiction film that was the great-great-grandfather of Star Wars and Star Trek; it was called A Trip to the Moon.

【Paragraph 1】Motion pictures and television are possible because of two quirks of the human perceptual system: the phi phenomenon and persistence of vision. The phi phenomenon refers to what happens when a person sees one light sources go out while another one close to the original is illuminated. To our eyes, it looks like the light moves from one place to another. In persistence of vision, our eyes continue to see an image for a spit second after the image has disappeared from view. First observed by the ancient Greeks, persistence of vision became more widely known in 1824 when Peter Roget (who also developed the thesaurus) demonstrated that human begins retain an image of an object for about one-tenth of a second after the object is taken from view. Following Roget’s pronouncement, a host of toys (the Thaumatrope, the Praxinoscope) that depended on this principle sprang up in Europe. Bearing fanciful panes, these devices made a series of hand-drawn pictures appear to move.

1. According to paragraph 1, what is the phi phenomenon?

A. The appearance of movement that occurs when one light is turned off while another lights up nearby

B. The tendency to see two lights placed close together as coming from a single light source

C. The fact that the human eye sees a light source for a split second after it has disappeared

D. The impression that there are several light sources when there is actually only one

 

2. According to paragraph 1, which of the following statements does NOT correctly describe persistence of vision?

A. It was originally noticed by the ancient Greeks.

B. It refers to an image of an object seen by the human eye for one-tenth of a second after the object has disappeared.

C. It is a scientific principle that was already widely accepted before Peter Roget demonstrated its validity.

D. It provided the basis for a number of European toys, including the Thaumatrope and the Praxinoscope.

 

【Paragraph 2】Before long, several people realized that a series of still photographs on celluloid film could be used instead of hand drawing. In 1878 a colorful Englishman, later turned American, Edward Muybridge, attempted to settle a $25.000 bet over whether the four feet of a galloping horse ever simultaneously left the ground. He arranged a series of 24 cameras alongside a racetrack to photograph a galloping horse. Rapidly viewing the series of pictures produced an effect much like that of a motion picture. Muybirdge’s technique not only settled the bet (the feet did leave the ground simultaneously at certain instances) but also photography. Instead of 24 cameras taking one pictures in rapid order, it was Thomas Edison and his assistant, William Dickson, who finally developed what might have been the first practical motion-picture camera and viewing device. Edison was apparently trying to provide a visual counterpart to his recently invented phonograph. When his early efforts did not work out, he turned the project over his assistant. Using flexible film, Dickson solved the vexing problem of how to move the film rapidly through the camera by perforating its edge with tiny holes and pulling it along by means of sprockets, projections on a wheel that fit into the holes of the film. In 1889 Dickson had perfected a machine called the Kinetoscope and even starred in a brief film demonstrating how it worked.

 

3. In paragraph 2, why does the author mention the bet that Edward Muybridge tried to settle about whether “the four feet of a galloping horse ever simultaneously left the ground” ?

A. To introduce and explain a fundamental principle of motion-picture photography

B. To demonstrate that still photographs produced a visual effect that surpassed that of hand-drawn pictures

C. To emphasize that photographers had to be willing to take risks in order to portray their subjects

D. To suggest the difficulty of trying to capture animal movement in motion-picture photography

 

4. According to paragraph 2, how did Muybridge contribute to the development of motion-picture technology?

A. He invented the first motion-picture camera.

B. He demonstrated the technique of taking a series of photographs and viewing them in rapid succession.

C. He asked Edison and Dickson to create a motion-picture camera that was both practical and economical.

D. He combined hand drawings and still photographs to create movie-like effects.

 

5. Paragraph 2 suggests that Thomas Edison’s early efforts to develop a motion-picture camera failed because he could not figure out how to

A. display the camera’s pictures to an audience

B. move the film quickly through the camera

C. line the edge of the film with holes that were small enough

D. prevent the film from tearing

 

【Paragraph 3】These early efforts in the Edison lab were not directed at projecting movies to large crowds. Still influenced by the success of his phonograph, Edison thought a similar device could make a money by showing brief films to one person at a time for a penny a look. Edison built a special studio to produce films for his new invention, and by 1894, Kinetoscope parlors were spring up in major cities. The long-range commercial potential of his invention was lost on Edison. He reasoned that the real money would be made by selling his peep-show machine. If a large number of people were shown the film at the same time, fewer machines would be needed. Developments in Europe proved Edison wrong as inventors there devised large-screen projection devices. Faced with competition, Edison perfected the Vitascope and unveiled it in New York City in 1896.

 

6. According to paragraph 3, what were Kinetoscope parlors?

A. Places where people could pay a penny to view a short film by looking into a machine

B. Places where people could gather in crowds to watch short films projected onto large screens

C. Special studios where Edison produced films that would be shown by his newly invented machine

D. Places where Edison sold his phonographs, peep-show machines, and other popular inventions

 

7. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 3 about the Vitascope?

A. It was widely used in Europe before being adopted in the United States.

B. It never made as much money as the equivalent European projection device.

C. It was a larger version of the original Kinetoscope.

D. It was designed to show motion pictures to large groups of people.

 

【Paragraph 4】Early movies were simple snippets of action—acrobats tumbling, horse running, jugglers juggling, and so on. Eventually, the novelty wore off and films became less of an attraction. Public interest was soon rekindled when early filmmakers discovered that movies could be used to tell story. In France, Alice Guy-Blache produced The Cabbage Fairy, a one-minute film about a fairy who produces children in a Cabbage patch, and exhibited it at the Paris International Exhibition in 1896. Guy-Blache went on to found her own studio in America. Better known is the work of a fellow French filmmaker and magician, Georges Melies. In 1902 Melies produced a science-fiction film that was the great-great-grandfather of Star Wars and Star Trek; it was called A Trip to the Moon.

 

8. In paragraph 4, the author describes the film The Cabbage Fairy in order to

A. argue for the importance of continuous action to keep audiences interested

B. suggest that early films were more popular than live performances were

C. provide an example of one of the first films to tell a story

D. emphasize how relatively short most early movies were

 

【Pragraph4】Early movies were simple snippets of action—acrobats tumbling, horse running, jugglers juggling, and so on. Eventually, the novelty wore off and films became less of an attraction. Public interest was soon rekindled when early filmmakers discovered that movies could be used to tell story. ■In France, Alice Guy-Blache produced The Cabbage Fair-y, a one-minute film about a fairy who produces children in a Cabbage patch, and exhibited it at the Paris International Exhibition in 1896. ■Guy-Blache went on to found her own studio in America. ■Better known is the work of a fellow French filmmaker and magician, Georges Melies. ■ In 1902 Melies produced a science-fiction film that was the great-great-grandfather of Star Wars and Star Trek; it was called A Trip to the Moon.

 

9. Look at the four squares【■】that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

Although she directed hundreds of short films and produced hundreds more over the course of her career, she has largely been forgotten.

Where would the sentence best fit?

 

10. 【Directions】An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selected THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

 

The phi phenomenon and persistence of vision are two characteristics of the human perceptual system that make motion pictures and television possible.

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Answer Choices

A. When the persistence of vision became widely known, it inspired the development of toys that made hand-drawn pictures appear to move.

B. The invention of the motion-picture camera led to the discovery that a horse’s feet do not leave the ground while the horse is galloping.

C. The primary competitors in early motion-picture technology were Edison’s Kinetoscope and the European-designed and manufactured large-screen projection devices.

D. The motion-picture camera develops from the experiments in sequential photography that were originally done by Edward Muybridge.

E. Later developments in film included a focus on large-screens projection rather than individual viewing machines and narrative films rather than simple action sequences.

F. French filmmakers Alice Guy-Blache and Georges started the first two major movie studios in America and in France, respectively.

 

 

 

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