Unseen cinema. 1, The mechanized eye. Episode 1, Paris exposition films /
THE MECHANIZED EYE is part of the film retrospective UNSEEN CINEMA that explores long-forgotten American experimental cinema. This was the first important international exposition after the invention of cinema, and filmmakers used it as a venue to demonstrate innovations. Many of them made films to...
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| Format: | Video |
| Language: | No linguistic content |
| Language Notes: | Silent with musical accompaniment. |
| Published: |
United States :
Filmmakers Showcase,
1900.
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| Series: | Academic Video Online
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to this streaming video (Alexander Street Press) |
| Summary: | THE MECHANIZED EYE is part of the film retrospective UNSEEN CINEMA that explores long-forgotten American experimental cinema. This was the first important international exposition after the invention of cinema, and filmmakers used it as a venue to demonstrate innovations. Many of them made films to bring the exposition to life for their audiences at home. --PAUL SPEHR. White's camera offers several 360-degree pans of views of the fairground, then amazes by tilting up and down the Eiffel Tower, and concludes with a stunning tracking shot to the highest point above Paris. Exhibitors freely grouped films into nascent narratives such as those displayed here. --BRUCE POSNER. James White, a technician working for Raff & Gammon, the distributor for Edison's Kinetoscope, was hired by Edison's business manager William Gilmore. At Edison Manufacturing, he supervised film production, a position he held until 1903 when he was sent to England to manage Edison's film business there. --PAUL SPEHR. Willaim Heise, Dickson's assistant during experiments on the Kinetophone, was trained in photography and operated the camera for the early productions in Edison's Black Maria (1893-1895). When Dickson left Edison in April 1895, Heise stayed and filmed a number of productions with James White. Heise took over direction in October 1896. --PAUL SPEHR. Edison Manufacturing Co., formed to market products invented by Thomas Edison, handled his motion picture and closely related phonograph business. In 1896, as the Kinetoscope business faltered, Edison appointed William Gilmore to manage the company. Gilmore took distribution out of the hands of independents like Raff & Gammon and Maguire & Baucus. Then Edison began a series of lawsuits to repress competitors. Patent suits dominated the American film market prior to W.W.I and kept Edison the predominant American film company during much of this period. Until recently, aesthetic advancements made by Edison's filmmakers have been overshadowed by accounts of the legal wrangling. -PAUL SPEHR / BRUCE POSNER PARIS EXPOSITION FILMS (1900) - 5 FILM COMPILATION3 00:00 EIFFEL TOWER FROM TROCADERO PALACE (1:03 minutes)4 01:41; PALACE OF ELECTRICITY (50 seconds)5 02:31; CHAMPS DE MARS (1:13 minutes)6 03:44; PANORAMA OF EIFFEL TOWER (1:21 minutes)7 05:05; SCENE FROM THE ELEVATOR ASCENDING EIFFEL TOWER (1:43 minutes). 35mm 1.33:1 black & white silent with music 18fps 6:48 minutes. Production: Edison Manufacturing Co. |
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| Item Description: | Title from resource description page (viewed July 06, 2020). "Experiments in technique and form." |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (7 min.) |
| Playing Time: | 00:06:49 |
| Production Credits: | Camera: James White, William Heise; New music by Eric Beheim. |