Roundhay Garden Scene
The earliest surviving motion-picture film, and believed to be one of the very first moving images ever created, was shot by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince using the LPCCP Type-1 MkII single-lens camera. It was taken on paper-based photographic film in the garden of Oakwood Grange, the Whitley family house in Roundhay, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire (UK), on 14 October 1888. The film shows Adolphe Le Prince (Le Prince’s son), Mrs. Sarah Whitley (Le Prince’s mother-in-law), Joseph Whitley, and Miss Harriet Hartley walking around in circles, laughing to themselves, and staying within the area framed by the camera. Roundhay Garden Scene is often associated with a recording speed of around 12 frames per second and runs for about 2 to 3 seconds.
From the archive
Shot on October 14, 1888 by French inventor Louis Le Prince, the Roundhay Garden Scene is believed to be the first film ever made, or at least the oldest one in existence. The Film features Louis' eldest son Adolphe Le Prince, Sarah Robinson Whitley, Joseph Whitley and Harriet Hartley walking around in the garden. Roundhay Garden Scene was shot in Roundhay, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, and, according to Adolphe, was filmed at Oakwood Grange, which was the home of Joseph and Sarah Whitley. Sarah Robinson Whitley, who was not only the Film's feature actress but also Le Prince's mother-in-law, died 10 days after the completion of this Film. Although controversy and debate persists, Louis Le Prince, rather than Thomas Edison or the Lumiere brothers, is widely considered to be the inventor of the motion picture camera as well as the first person to record moving pictures on film. Louis Le Prince, who was born in August 1841, mysteriously vanished aboard a train bound for Paris in September 1890 and was never seen again. The nature and circumstances surrounding Le Prince’s disappearance remain contested to this day. More about the Roundhay Garden scene can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundhay_Garden_Scene More information about Louis Le Prince may be obtained at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Le_Prince
Why this is free to watch
Roundhay Garden Scene (1888) is hosted by the Internet Archive as a public-domain or openly licensed work, which means its copyright has expired, lapsed, or was released by the rights holder. No signup, no payment and no advertising interrupts playback. Nitrate streams the file directly from the Internet Archive and hosts no video itself.
- Director
- Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince
- Starring
- Adolphe Le Prince, Joseph Whitley, Sarah Whitley, Annie Hartley
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