Precursors of Motion Pictures

One of Myubridge's earliest motion studies, 1878

Motion pictures don't really move

The most fundamental principle underlying motion pictures is the "persistence of vision." It is produced by flashing a rapid succession of still images, As the brain is bombarded with more information than it can process, it melds discrete images together, creating the illusion of motion. (See right)

Early motion pictures

Lucretius had discovered such an idea as early as 98-55 B.C.E, but knowledge about such optical phenomena was not widely shared among ordinary people until the early modern era when the Jesuits began to investigate the universe using natural magic and then used optical devices such as peepshow boxes and magic lanterns to impress and gain status.

Magic lanterns

Introduced in the late 17th century, magic lanterns remained a highly popular form of visual entertainment in Europe until the 19th century. Images would be projected on a screen from a magic lantern device (see right) using slides, which could be moved around to create the perception of a moving person or object. A popular magic lantern presentation was the Phantasmagoria, by a Belgian, Etienne Gaspar Robert (1763-1837). He created lifelike motion in prodigies, monsters, ghosts and skeletons, in a kind of early horror show. (See below)

Motion toys

Motion toys which could be enjoyed privately in the home also became increasingly popular in the 19th century. Initially invented for investigative purposes, these toys with high-sounding names were subsequently marketed as fashionable toys for popular entertainment. Many of these toys, such as the Phenakistoscope and the Zoetrope presented a short narrative sequence which could be looped endlessly. (See below)

Significance

The diversity of early forms of motion pictures, their different audiences, and different ways of constructing complex narratives, suggests that there are multiple trajectories in the history of motion pictures, and challenges the assumption that pictures only began moving after the introduction of celluloid film. Early cinema was not the result of a sudden technological breakthrough for the understanding of the "persistence of vision," and its application through the use of motion toys preceded celluloid film. Neither was it the result of a cultural shift that created a sudden demand for moving pictures, as the popularity of magic lanterns in Europe demonstrates. Therefore, although these precursors may not be the direct antecedents of celluloid film, they constitute an important component of the history of video recording; for they serve the same function of constructing narratives that fascinate and entertain people in the fundamentally similar way of bringing static images to life. The move from colour, in magic lanterns and motion toys, to black-and-white in film, also forces us to question whether the history of video recording technology is a linear one.

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