#EntertainmentTech: The History of the Kinetograph, the World's First Motion Picture Camera

Have you ever imagined life without movies? It can be pretty difficult to, especially if you are a movie buff. It has been decades, but there really was a time when the idea of films or motion pictures were not even possible.

How did it all become possible then? Many would tell you that it is all thanks to inventor Thomas Edison and his Kinetograph.

What is a Kinetograph?

The Kinetograph, to simply put, is considered as the world's first motion picture camera. According to the website of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) it was developed by Thomas Alva Edison in 1890 with the help of his assistant, William K.L. Dickson.

While the Kinetograph is not the very first effort to produce a motion picture camera, what differs it from earlier attempts to create one is that it used celluloid film. It is also powered by electricity.

According to the website of the Library of Congress, the Kinetograph was initially based on the idea of a phonograph cylinder, which was another conception of Edison.

Per the article, "Tiny photographic images were affixed in sequence to a cylinder, with the idea that when the cylinder was rotated the illusion of motion would be reproduced via reflected light."

The Difference Between the Kinetograph and Kinetoscope

Even the simplest of Google searches about the Kinetograph will most likely mention another Thomas Edison invention, the Kinetoscope. So how do you differentiate one from the other?

According to EverythingWhat.com, while the Kinetograph is the world's first ever motion picture camera, the Kinetoscope was an "an individual viewing device that ran a continuous 47-foot film on spools between an incandescent lamp and a shutter."

To simply put, thanks to the Kinetoscope, it became possible to view motion picture films. Think of it as a really old school film projector.

Edison was eventually able to file a patent for the Kinetograph as well as the Kinetoscope in August 1891.

Motion Pictures Filmed Using Edison's Inventions

While the invention of the Kinetograph as well as the Kinetoscope happened more than a century ago, you can still find clips of early motion pictures online, including those filmed using Thomas Edison's inventions.

A popular example of which is actually the world's earliest surviving copyrighted motion picture. According to the YouTube account of the Library of Congress, this is known as "Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze."

Otherse known as "Fred Ott's Sneeze," this was filmed by William K. L. Dickson in 1894. Fred Ott is an employee of Edison who stars in the short film.

According to the Library of Congress' YouTube, "The Sneeze was submitted for copyright as 45 frames from the motion picture printed as positive prints on paper rather than as a reel of film."

You can view the short film below:

Another example is the short film "Dickson Greeting," which was filmed using the experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer. Per the Library of Congress, a film that was a three-quarters of an inch thick was used for it.