TellZall's object for June is the Home Movie.
All of us enjoy movies, or motion pictures, whether we go to a theater or enjoy them on a television
screen at home. But did you know that movies are really illusions - nothing more than a series of
motionless, still photographs shown in a rapid sequence?
Long ago, people discovered a phenomenon called persistence of vision. When looking at an
object that suddenly disappears, the human eye and brain cause the image of that object to linger for
a fraction of a second in memory. When a series of images appear in a rapid sequence - each one
appearing before the memory of the last has disappeared - the brain is unable to distinguish the gaps
between the separate images and "sees" them as a continuous image. If the images are carefully
arranged so that each follows the other in showing "steps" of motion, the brain will see motion rather
than a series of separate, still images.
This sounds complicated, but look at the "flip book" below (requires Macromedia Flash plug-in), and we'll see again that a picture
can be worth a thousand words. Hit the frame button, and you will see that each page of the book
shows a separate picture that looks much like the one before it. But each is actually slightly
different because each shows a step of motion - much like when you "freeze" frames with a video
playback. After looking at the separate images, push the motion button, and you will see how the
separate blend together to become continuous motion. What has actually happened is that your eye and
brain have been fooled into believing that a group of separate images is a continuous scene, just like
when you are watching an actual live event.
While a number of people realized that this happens, little was done to exploit it. Then, about
1834 an Englishman named William George Horner made a device that came to be called the Zoëtrope.
Horner's invention used a cylinder with slits cut in it and an animated cartoon drawn on a strip and
placed within the Zoëtrope to provide an entertaining show.
As the viewer looked through the slits, the separate images opposite melded together, thanks to persistence
of vision, to create a moving picture. Again, this is easier to see than to explain, and a look at the link
below will not only provide an explanation, but also offers instructions on how to make your own Zoëtrope:
http://www.groeg.de/puzzles/zoetrope.html
Photography, as we know it, began in 1839 when French artist Louis Daguerre announced his discovery of
a process to capture images to the world. And the world was ready for Daguerre's process. Quickly,
photography spread worldwide, and numerous inventors improved on Daguerre's process and introduced new ones
that were even better. In 1888 American inventor George Eastman introduced his Kodak, which allowed almost
anyone to buy a camera, take pictures, and have them processed and ready to view. Everyone could be a
photographer.
Although a number of inventors experimented with ways to utilize photography to make motion pictures,
none were commercially successful until Ohio-born Thomas A. Edison introduced his Kinetograph in 1889.
Edison took a roll of flexible, plastic-base film that George Eastman had developed for his camera and
exposed it in a special camera that made numerous still photographs in sequence. He showed his images in a
"peepshow" device that he called the Kinetoscope. By the end of 1896, others utilized Edison's ideas to
come up with a "projector" that projected the images onto a screen. While the pictures were silent, they
moved! And an industry was created.
Viewers looked in the viewfinder on the top and watched the motion picture show. Only one person at a time could see the movie, however.
The film was wound around spools and transported past the viewfinder where a light beneath and a magnifier above made the images visible to the viewer.
The movie industry grew rapidly once images were projected onto screens in theaters.
A movie camera is a rather complex machine. Either powered by a hand crank or by a motor of some type,
the camera has a drive mechanism that transports the film, which has evenly spaced holes along the edges,
behind the lens and holds it there for an instant when the shutter opens and exposes a single part, or
frame, of the film. The shutter closes, and the drive mechanism advances the film for the next exposure. In
most movies, this happens twenty-four times every second! Unexposed and exposed film are stored on reels
within the camera.
In a typical movie camera, the film is unwound from the top reel, moves to behind the lens, where it stops
and is exposed, and then moves on toward the take-up reel at the bottom
Each "frame" of a movie is actually a still photograph taken in sequence. Usually, twenty-four such frames
are taken every second. The holes along the edge are used to transport the film in precise steps in both
the camera and in the projector.
Commercial movies quickly became mainstays of the entertainment industry. But amateur movies lagged
behind because the equipment was cumbersome, difficult to operate, and expensive. In 1923 Eastman's company
introduced 16mm - the width of the film - for the amateur market and also marketed cameras and projectors
for home use. This was followed by the introduction of color films, a compact 8mm format, and even sound.
Home movies were possible, and many Americans became amateur directors emulating the greats of Hollywood.
Despite the simplification of movie cameras, they remained awkward to use and required
laboratory processing and viewing via projector. Many people bought movie cameras that languished on the
shelf after a few attempts at home moviemaking.
In 1951 the Ampex corporation introduced a new technology that changed forever the making of
images - still and movie. That year Ampex introduced the first commercial video tape recorder, a machine
that used electronics to record images. The first machines were very expensive, on the order of $50,000,
which was an enormous amount of money for the times. But the price came down as the technology spread and
improved.
In 1971 the first video cassettes were introduced. By placing the magnetic recording tape into
a plastic shell, the recording medium was protected, and the product was much easier to use. In 1976 the
video home system, or vhs, cassette was introduced. While intended mainly for recording of television
shows, the new cassette was combined with video cameras that allowed users to record live-action materials
directly onto video tape. Combined with a playback machine, moviemakers had a simple system that provided
quick feedback of what had been shot and easy viewing on a standard television.
The modern camcorder has all but replaced traditional movie cameras and projectors.
With the introduction of usable and inexpensive video cameras and recording devices - soon to be
combined into a single "camcorder" unit - the home movie camera, projector, and screen were relegated to
the basement or garage sale.
As the viewer looked through the slits, the separate images opposite melded together, thanks to persistence
of vision, to create a moving picture. Again, this is easier to see than to explain, and a look at the link
below will not only provide an explanation, but also offers instructions on how to make your own Zoëtrope:
Photography, as we know it, began in 1839 when French artist Louis Daguerre announced his discovery of
a process to capture images to the world. And the world was ready for Daguerre's process. Quickly,
photography spread worldwide, and numerous inventors improved on Daguerre's process and introduced new ones
that were even better. In 1888 American inventor George Eastman introduced his Kodak, which allowed almost
anyone to buy a camera, take pictures, and have them processed and ready to view. Everyone could be a
photographer.
introduced his Kinetograph in 1889.
Edison took a roll of flexible, plastic-base film that George Eastman had developed for his camera and
exposed it in a special camera that made numerous still photographs in sequence. He showed his images in a
"peepshow" device that he called the Kinetoscope. By the end of 1896, others utilized Edison's ideas to
come up with a "projector" that projected the images onto a screen. While the pictures were silent, they
moved! And an industry was created.
Viewers looked in the viewfinder on the top and watched the motion picture show. Only one person at a time could see the movie, however.
In a typical movie camera, the film is unwound from the top reel, moves to behind the lens, where it stops
and is exposed, and then moves on toward the take-up reel at the bottom
Commercial movies quickly became mainstays of the entertainment industry. But amateur movies lagged
behind because the equipment was cumbersome, difficult to operate, and expensive. In 1923 Eastman's company
introduced 16mm - the width of the film - for the amateur market and also marketed cameras and projectors
for home use. This was followed by the introduction of color films, a compact 8mm format, and even sound.
Home movies were possible, and many Americans became amateur directors emulating the greats of Hollywood.
Despite the simplification of movie cameras, they remained awkward to use and required
laboratory processing and viewing via projector. Many people bought movie cameras that languished on the
shelf after a few attempts at home moviemaking.
The modern camcorder has all but replaced traditional movie cameras and projectors.