Film pioneers
Animated pictures of a dog being trained - sequence of 2 phase drawings for viewing in a praxinoscope
For pictures to 'learn to walk' a whole range of optical tricks had to be mastered, and the principles of motion behind them understood. These were all significant steps in the technical development of the 'physics of perception'. The exhibition shows devices with curious names such as phenakistoscope, thaumatrope, zoetrope and praxinoscope, all of them fascinating hands-on exhibits.
The first German film camera - the hand-cranked camera by the Berlin film pioneer Max Skladanowsky
The invention of photography by Daguerre in 1839 and the recording of photographic images on flexible film bases in the late 19th century were further preconditions for the development of cinema technology. The American pioneer of film, Thomas A. Edison, used a modification of the Eastman/Kodak roll film as film material for his first cine-camera.
The inventive genius of all of these early 'chronophotographers' is shown by originals and working replicas of pioneering film equipment from the 1880s and 90s: Marey's photographic gun, Anschütz's quick viewer, Casler's mutoscope or Skladanowsky's hand-cranked camera and bioscope (Film). These inventors recognised the signs of an ever faster-moving age, which also brought about a significant change in modes of perception.
Kinetoscope - peep-show cabinet patented by Edison in 1892 for viewing short 35-mm film strips
The names of the inventors who became film pioneers are legion. Alongside Anschütz, Marey and Muybridge, particular mention should be made of Edison, who shot early film scenes in his skylight studio 'Black Maria' and marketed them in 'kinetoscope etablishments'.
The first professional cinema performances for paying customers were given by the Lumière brothers using their cinematograph in December 1895 in Paris. And it was Oskar Messter who built the first workable film projector in 1896 and is considered the founder of the German film industry. The original devices of the Berlin film pioneer Max Skladanowsky - incunabula of German film technology - have been completely restored and are shown here again for the first time in many years.