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American Film Industry
Nickelodeons and the Trust
Nickelodeons and the Trust
Edison and the Beginnings of Film Commerce
Edison Captures Motion
Kinetograph
apparatus that produced the pictures
Dickson Camera Test (1891)
Fred Ott’s Sneeze (1894)
highlighting motion and human movement
Men Boxing (1891)
Kinetoscope
peep-show viewing machine that exhibited them
exhibition at Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, May 1893
Edison Markets Movies
Edison Manufacturing Company
spring 1894
making and selling Kinetoscope and Kinetophone
movies produced by expert techinicians
Kinetoscope Company
spun off from the Edison Manufacturing Company, April 1894
marketing short films
distributing equipment
outfitted kinetoscope parlors
Holland Brothers Kinetoscope Parlor on Broadway in New York City
patrons paid 25¢ to view a row of kinetoscope machines
kinetoscopes boomed in major US cities in 1894
kinetoscope films
Athlete with Wand (1894)
Boxing Cats (1894)
Fireman Rescuing Men and Women (1901)
Edison Projects Movies
Louis and Auguste Lumiere
developed cinematographe in Paris, December 28, 1895
camera
projector
Grand Café screenings
filmed actualities
Edison solves film breakage dillemma
Film would break in Edison’s early projectors
Latham Loop
designed by Woodville, Gray, and Otway Latham
used a pair of gears to minimize the tension created by the take up reel
allowed for films longer than 100 feet in length
Edison’s Projector: Vitascope
premiered April 23, 1896 at Koster’s and Bial’s Music Hall on Broadway
exhibited
Umbrella Dance
Glenroy Brothers
Rough Sea at Dover
live orchestra was on hand
established new invention of publicly screened motion pictures
films would mature as narrative made films more distinct
From Kinetoscope to Nickelodeons
Kinetoscope Parlors
peaked in popularity in 1894
Vaudeville and Make-Shift Theaters
following vaudeville strike, movies were shown in vaudeville theaters
saloons
penny arcades
during intermissions at theater productions
Nickelodeons
attendant with rise of story films
specialized storefront theaters
cinema-only venues
admission price: 5¢ to view a program of short movies
boomed in large cities
incorporated in shopping districts
working-class audiences
weekly program changes put demand on production
risk of fire
concern about immigrants and working poor being improperly indoctrinated
Edwin S. Porter
Gay Shoe Clerk (1903)
Jack and the Beanstalk (1902)
The Great Train Robbery (1902)
Life of an American Fireman (1903)
The Kleptomaniac (1905)
The Consolidation of the Trust
Movies were on the decline in 1908
Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest
Edison established the MPPC
December 1908
Edison
Biograph
Vitagraph
Essanay
Kalem
Selig Polyscope
Lubin
Star Film
Pathé Frères
Kleine Optical
Aims of the Trust
Consolidated patents into a pool
fix prices
restrict the distribution and exhibtion of foreign-made films
regulate domestic program
control film licensing
had exclusive access to raw film stock, via Eastman Kodak
Effects of the Trust
put independents out of business
financial boon for its members
bigger profits allowed for investment in streamlining production
Innovations of the Trust
established an exchange system
standardized the movies length at one reel
pricing per reel was also standardized
negotiated fire insurance coverage for nickelodeons
General Film Company
served as distribution brokers
bought prints from studios
sold them to studios
established an “exchange” system
Fall of the Trust
Motion Picture Distribution and Sales Company
Carl Laemmle
William Fox
Adolph Zukor
began marketing multi-reel films
Kodak leaves the Trust
did not have a profit sharing interest in the Trust
began selling film to independents
MPPC v. IMP (1912) reaches US district court
Trust sued over the use of a camera
court threw out the Latham loop patent
independents could begin producing more freely with formerly licensed equipment
Trust Grows Stale
audiences grew tired of single reel
standard pricing did not encourage innovative filmmaking
independents grew more popular and took over the film industry