1. By: Izzy Kelly

3. The history of special effects begins even before the invention of the camera itself.
During the 1700s, magicians utilized many techniques to perform optical illusions and astound
their audiences. These techniques formed the foundations of special effects. One of the most
used effects in magic shows during this period was the summoning of the dead - spiritism. A
small box with a light source and a semi-transparent slide was used to project images of
historical figures onto columns of smoke or billowing cloth. This gave a ghostly motion to the
image, frightening audiences to the point that several magicians were jailed for their satanic
work.

5. Cinématographe Lumière Poster from 1895

6. THOMAS DRUMMOND AND THE
FIRST SPOTLIGHT
The invention of limelight (also known as the incandescent calcium
oxide light) around 1820 provided a way to project much brighter images
from greater distances. This led to the use of magic lanterns for
presentations and educational purposes. This changed the magic lantern
from a secret tool of specialists to a well-known instrument
The first theatrical spotlight invented by Thomas Drummond in 1816.
Drummond’s light, which consisted of a block of calcium oxide heated to
incandescence in jets of burning oxygen and hydrogen, provided a soft,
very brilliant light that could be directed and focused. It was first employed
in a theatre in 1837 and was in wide use by the 1860s. Its intensity made
it useful for spotlighting and for the realistic simulation of effects such as
sunlight and moonlight.

7. LIMELIGHT

8. Another technique of early illusionists was the use of glass sheets as two-way mirrors. In an
illusion that came to be known as "Pepper's Ghost", after John Henry Pepper, a member of
the audience was turned into a skeleton and back. This was done by placing a large glass
sheet at a 45 degree angle between the audience and the stage, and adjusting the lighting so
that that audience would either see THROUGH the glass to the person, or the REFLECTION
in the glass of a skeleton off stage. The lighting was faded in and out to make the
transformation. This technique was adopted later in early films, and a horde of "ghost" movies
were created using two-way mirror techniques.

9. With a background in mechanical engineering and building
equipment, Robert W. Paul was commissioned to copy Thomas Edison's
Kinetoscope. Although he originally refused, he was convinced to
undertake the project because Edison had failed to obtain an international
patent. This gave Paul a legal market for his work. In 1896, he had
devised and built a film projector, which he sold in large numbers due to
the Lumieres' restricted sales. In 1897 he built Europe's first film
studio, complete with trap doors, a hanging bridge and dolly track on
which to move his cameras. In 1905, he shot the short film The
Motorist, which pioneered several special effects techniques. The film
was about a couple that drove so fast that they escaped the Earth's
gravity and travelled through the solar system before returning home.
Despite his short-lived success, he dropped all cinema activities in
1910, sold his studio, and burnt all of his film stock.
The 2011 film HUGO portrays this story as well

10. The greatest changes in the revolution of Special
Effects happened in the 20th century, with computers.
Computers helped revolutionized the world of Special
Effects in movies. Now with computers we are able to create
sceneries we would never think possible. With the help of
computers we can create people, buildings, animals,
monsters, aliens, and many other creations. Our creations in
the computers can come out to life with a touch of a button.
Special Effects have gone to the extreme with the use of
computers. We could even build and re-sink the "Titanic"
with the use of computers .

11. Some of the early pioneers for special effects, or "tricks" as
they were originally called, were also magicians, machinists,
inventors, and prop builders. Their multiple talents were brought
together to find new and interesting ways to use the motion picture
camera. Because the mere sight of moving pictures on a wall
seemed like magic to those first audiences, it is not surprising that
the first films were magical, whimsical and absurd. The magicians
first viewed the cameras as another tool for their illusions, using
the magic of film to enhance their own magic tricks. Audiences
quickly caught on to the methods of trick films, however, and film
makers had to push harder and harder to find amazing visions for
their films. The magician/filmmakers were shortly made extinct by
their own creations, however, as the magic of film held little need
for actual illusionist talent. The illusions that required such talent
on stage could be produced by anyone on film. Only those
magicians that could adapt to the new art form and make the shift
into special effects survived.

12. SOURCES CITED
• disabilityplanet.co.uk
• taitran.vn
• http://www.tvhistory.tv/pre-1935.htm
• http://utminers.utep.edu/lacarrera/history.htm
• http://articles.cnn.com/1998-07-10/entertainment/9807_10_ultimate.theater_1_movie-
screens-movie-house-plush-stadium-seating?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ
• http://www.precinemahistory.net/1895.htm
• "Thomas Drummond". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 27 Jun. 2012
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/172097/Thomas-Drummond>.
• www1.chem.leeds.ac.uk
• http://entertainmentdesigner.com/history-of-theme-parks/the-enduring-illusion-of-peppers-
ghost/