page_title: History of film technology
section_title: 1888–1900: Reynaud's Théâtre Optique
hierarchical_section_title: History of film technology / 1884-1900: paper and gelatin films / 1888–1900: Reynaud's Théâtre Optique
caption_attribution_description: English: First public performance of Reynaud's 'Theatre Optique' in Paris 1892.
context_page_description: The history of film technology traces the development of techniques for the recording, construction and presentation of motion pictures. When the film medium came about in the 19th century, there already was a centuries old tradition of screening moving images through shadow play and the magic lantern that were very popular with audiences in many parts of the world. Especially the magic lantern influenced much of the projection technology, exhibition practices and cultural implementation of film. Between 1825 and 1840, the relevant technologies of stroboscopic animation, photography and stereoscopy were introduced. For much of the rest of the century, many engineers and inventors tried to combine all these new technologies and the much older technique of projection to create a complete illusion or a complete documentation of reality. Colour photography was usually included in these ambitions and the introduction of the phonograph seemed to promise the addition of synchronized sound recordings. Between 1887 to 1894, the first successful short cinematographic presentations were established.
context_section_description: Émile Reynaud already mentioned the possibility of projecting moving images in his 1877 patent application for the Praxinoscope. He presented a praxinoscope projection device at the Société française de photographie on 4 June 1880, but did not market his Praxinoscope à projection before 1882. He then further developed the device into the Théâtre Optique which could project longer sequences with separate backgrounds, and patented the machine in 1888. He created several Pantomimes Illumineuses for this optical theatre by painting colourful images on hundreds of gelatin plates that were mounted into cardboard frames and attached to a cloth band. The perforated strip of images could be manually transported past a lens and mirror projection system. Many simple actions of the figures, for example one figure hitting another, were repeated several times by rewinding and forwarding certain sequences. Some sound effects were synchronized by electro-magnetic devices, triggered by metal parts on the strip, while a score with some songs was performed live. From 28 October 1892 to March 1900, Reynaud gave over 12,800 shows to a total of over 500,000 visitors at the Musée Grévin in Paris.
caption: A Théâtre Optique screening of Pauvre Pierrot, as imagined by Louis Poyet and published in La Nature in July 1892
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