The Communication Revolution Part 5

The birth of motion pictures.

In the development of Thomas Alva Edison played a large part. Edison had seen a crude system made of Henry Heyl of Philadelphia. Heyl used glass plates fixed to the circumference of a wheel, each plate rotated in front of a lens. This method of pictures in motions was slow and expensive. Edison after seeing the Heyl show, and after eperimenting with other methods decided that a continuous tape-like strip of film needed to be used. He invented the first practical motion picture camera and with the cooperation of George Eastman started producing the new tape-like film, giving birth to the modern motion picture industry. The motion picture projector was invented to show what the new camera and film captured. Other inventors, such as Paul in England and Lumiere in France, produced other types of projecting machines, which differed in some mechanical details.

Public Reaction to Motion Pictures

When the motion picture was shown in the United States, the audiences were amazed. Popular actors moved from stage into the "movies". In the small town, early movie theaters were often converted storeroom, and in the cities, some of the largest and most attractive theaters converted into movie theaters, and new theaters were specially built. The Eastman Company soon manufactured about ten thousand miles of film every month. Besides offering amusement, the new moving pictures were used for important news events, historical events could now be visually