No photograph is shown for this exhibition. The museum displays an image only where it can show the object honestly.
About this date
The Lumière brothers held the first public paying film screening at the Grand Café in Paris on 28 December 1895. Edison’s Kinetoscope peep-show films were shown from 1893–94.
About credit
Many people contributed. The Lumières are credited with the first public projection to an audience.
Chapter II
The world before
Life before Cinema
Moving images could not be recorded. Theatre, painting and still photographs were the options.
II
The human achievement
How it came about
The Lumière Cinématographe combined a camera, printer and projector in one hand-cranked device. Its first programme included “Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory” and lasted about twenty minutes. Sound arrived with The Jazz Singer in 1927.
III
Understanding the invention
How it works
Cinema, explained in two steps.
01
Step 01 of 02
Persistence of vision
The eye retains an image briefly, so rapid frames blend into motion.
Persistence of vision
Frame rate
IV
The transformation
What changed for humanity
Entertainment
Cinemas spread around the world.
News and propaganda
Newsreels shaped public views.
Cinema became a dominant art form and a shared cultural experience.
V
Before and after
Life before and after Cinema
Before
Theatre or music hall.
After
A film with moving pictures.
On larger screens, drag the divider (or use the arrow keys) to give more room to the world before or after.