Contributions of Lumiere Brothers to Modern Film and Photography

The Lumiere Brothers are credited with various inventions in motion pictures and photography (DeAngelis 15; Lavedrine et al. 22). They got their first breakthrough when they manufactured the dry photographic plate that was convenient for the photographers. After this break, they decided to focus on color photography that resulted in the autochrome process. The autochrome process resulted from their work on color photography. They improved various photographic processes and materials in the late 1800s and early 1900s. After the invention of the autochrome process, it became the popular method of creating color photos up to 1930s. They are also credited with creating the first projection system that made it possible for the film to be viewed by one person at any given one point. They blended their business and scientific abilities that resulted in the development of existing ideas in motion picture and still photography. The cinematograph system of the projected picture motion is regarded as the most significant breakthrough of the brothers. The device has been greatly improved and is used in the projection. The write-up discusses the contributions of the brothers to photography and modern film and their aims in creating the autochrome and the effect it had on the visual artists.

Antoine Lumiere was the father to the Lumiere brothers, and he is said to have encouraged the sons to pursue their scientific interests. However, over the years the brother developed their niches with each having a firm grasp of organic chemistry that would become critical in their photographic work. According to Lavedrine et al. (45), Luis Lumiere began improving the photographic plate during his school years. The wet photographic plates were initially available for medium photography. These plates inconvenienced many photographers because they needed to be treated in the darkroom both before and after the exposure of the plate (DeAngelis 33). He was able to develop a more convenient dry plate which was referred to as the blue label plate. With the backing from their father, they saw the potential of marketing the blue label which became popular among the photographer a move that increased photo production. The successes of the two brothers are difficult to separate because they spent much time working as a team and refining the different scientific techniques. They were successful in whatever they did because they spent lots of time researching and were not discouraged by the failures and discouragement that came their way.

The Lumiere brother enjoyed booming sales of the dry plate that allowed them to carry out various researches and experiment in the field of photography. It was until the 1890s that they began exploring the problem of color photography. Ever since photography was invented in the 1830s, there were attempts to create color photographs but with little success (McElhone 47). One British Scientist had somehow managed to come up with a color photograph that was created using the color filters. The final product could, however, be only viewed through the projection of the image. It was not possible to print the image. However, in the 1860s a French researcher was able to produce prints of a color photo by superimposing the negative and positive shots that were taken using the colored filters. It was possible to create a photo print using this method, but the process was complex and consumed lots of time that is why this method was never popular. The Lumiere brothers decided to take the challenge and created the practical application of color photography which was more practical (Kracauer 29). They, however, dropped this suggestion and instead chose to pursue the list of motion pictures that they found to be interesting. However, the various experiments that they carried out in the color photography formed the groundwork that they would use for the later innovations.

The brother also developed an interest in film technology and was like some form of a hobby. It was after they had begun exploring the film technology that they realized that the field had significant commercial value (Lavedrine et al. 67). It was not until in the summer of 1894 that they started to look for various ways of projecting the motion pictures. The moving images had been developed by one English photographer that was referred to as Eadweard Muybridge. The photographer had wanted to examine the movement of the horse which led him to take a series of photos while the horse was walking. After taking the pictures, he placed them on the glass disc whereby he was able to project the images in continuous sequence. The result of this was the moving motion of the pictures of the horse. However, the movement was limited by the number of photos that could be placed on the disc. Edison decided to carry out various experiments later that led to the creation on the kinetograph which is a machine that utilized the strips of photographic paper when taking pictures of moving objects (Fournier 21). However, with the kinetograph, only one person was able to view the images. The Lumiere brothers resolved to improve the ideas of Edison by looking for ways of projecting the motion picture films not just for one person but an audience.

The brothers realized their most significant challenge in projecting the motion pictures to the audience was establishing a continuous movement of the film that contained the images of the object that they would want to display. One of the brothers realized that the presser foot mechanism that is popular with the sewing machine could be used to move small frames or sections of films could be applied to move the images in quick succession (McElhone 17). They left some allowance after every frame to allow for the exposure of the photos. They came up with the prototype camera which they used for this purpose. It device which was referred to as the cinematograph was developed further thus making it a versatile tool. It could project images, print positive images, and also create negatives. It was not until the summer of 1894 that the brothers utilized their camera when they used it to take photos of the workers who were leaving their plant. It is at this point that they realized that they could develop short films and project them to the larger audiences. When they held their first public show in December 1895, the public was thrilled and did not know what to make of the technology. When part of the audience saw a locomotive approaching them, they were frightened as some tried to escape. They had never seen such moving motions ever since they were born. It was at this point that the audience started attending the Lumiere Brothers demonstrations in large numbers. The cinematograph device which was used in the projection became popular and in high demand.

The Lumiere brothers created films for a considerable amount of short films before they handed their work to others for further research and improvement. When they returned to photography, they researched the color photography that led to the autochrome process. The method that they used was equally expensive but was convenient as compared to the one that was in place. Shortly afterward, autochrome was recognized as the ideal method of producing the color photos. The autochrome process became the excellent means of taking color photographs for the next three decades. Luis Lumiere pursued his interest in visual reproduction that saw him develop a photographic method that was used in the medical field. The aim of creating the autochrome was to improve on the quality of the color photos and simplify the process that would lead the production of the colored images.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is no doubt that the Lumiere Brothers are legends when it comes to modern films and photography. Their creativity and zealousness lead to the improvement of films and photography. The strides that have been made in the contemporary day photography and film are as a result of the work that they began many years ago. The invention of the autochrome process was a master stokes genius as the breakthrough came at a time when the world needed a better method of producing the color photos. This explains why the name Lumiere Brothers will always crop up when photography and film studies are discussed.

Works Cited

DeAngelis, Gina. Motion Pictures: Making Cinema Magic. Minneapolis, MN: The Oliver Press, 2003. Print.

Fournier, Lanzoni R. French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present. New York: Continuum, 2010. Print.

Kracauer, Siegfried. Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1997. Print.

Lavedrine, Bertrand, Jean-Paul Gandolfo, Christine Capderou, Ronan Guinee, and John P. McElhone. The Lumiere Autochrome: History, Technology, and Preservation. Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute, 2013. Print.