Here at Cine2DVD Transfers, we absolutely love learning new things. Whether it’s a new story from one of our customers or simply something obvious that we didn’t know about the world around us, facts are a great way to get to know other people and the planet that we call home.
With this in mind, we’re going to divulge some facts about film which many of you may not know! We think that they are incredibly interesting, and hope that you will feel as enlightened as we did when we first heard them!
Are you ready? Roll the film!
The First British Monarch to be Photographed
The first British monarch to have their photograph taken was Queen Victoria. After marrying her husband Albert in 1840, the family created and collected over 20,000 photographs. These included some of the greatest historical events of her reign, which covered the first six decades in which photography was introduced and experimented with.
The earliest photograph of the royal family was taken on the 26th of May 1857 on the terrace at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight
Thomas Edison Owned the Rights to Movie Making
You will probably associate Thomas Edison with the light bulb, but he also developed the phonograph and motion picture camera.
Edison and his team created the kinetograph which took pictures so fast it appeared they were moving and then the kinetoscope which allowed people to watch the movies produced.
Because Edison held so many patents on the technology and creation of these motion pictures, he rounded up the other patent holders in America, eventually forming the Motion Picture Patent Company (MPPC).
The MPPC effectively controlled who could create motion picture films and took unauthorised users of cameras and projectors to court. This led to many budding film-makers fleeing to California where they were protected by the distance between them and the MPPC (who were in New Jersey); it was too costly to travel across the continent to deal with these independent film makers!
The May Irwin Kiss was the First On Screen Kiss
In 1896, an 18 second film was shown commercially to the public which re-enacted an on-stage kiss between May Irwin and John Rice in the final scene of the stage musical The Widow Jones.
This short clip caused an uproar with the public, with many individuals disapproving of the “scandalous” film, and calls for censorship were brought in.
The history of film is littered with some fantastic facts and historical events, and we hope that you have enjoyed reading some of our favourites.
Remember, here at Cine2DVD Transfers, we specialise in transferring cine film to DVD format, so if you have an old film laying around that you’d love to preserve and watch again, don’t hesitate to contact us today by calling our team on 0800 592433.
