Excerpt:
This subject has a rich history attached to it. In order to understand the full discovery and development of moving pictures, we must study the various elements of not only this medium, but all others which are related to cinematography and especially photography. This timeline will provide more than a substantial glimpse into the discoveries of these elements which include; optics, pinhole images, camera obscura, persistence of vision, showmen, magic lanterns, light, lenses, light-sensitive substances, phantasmagoria, motion study analysis, photography, and stop-action series photography in the overall growth of photography and ultimately, the movement of pictures.
Annotation:
This website presents a retrospective history of the dawn of film, and a pre-history of cinema. In fifteen chapters, broken down chronologically, the text deals with the origin of motion pictures and the ancestors of cinema, culminating with the birth of motion pictures in the nineteenth century. This site provides a substantial glimpse into the history and discovery of the marriage of photography, light and shadow, optics and lenses, glass and celluloid, into movement known as cinematography. Each chapter includes brief essays on various innovations and important figures in the development of new technologies, as well as numerous images. A bibliography and page of links to related sites should provide researchers with additional avenues to explore.