Phantascope
Encyclopedia
The Phantoscope was a film projection machine, a creation of Charles Francis Jenkins
. Created in the early 1890s, he projected the first motion picture before an audience in his hometown of Richmond, Indiana on June 6, 1894. He later met Thomas Armat
who provided financial backing for necessary modifications. The two inventors unveiled their modified projector at the Cotton States Exposition
in Atlanta, Georgia, in September 1895.
Jenkin's machine was the first projector to allow each still frame of the film to be illuminated long enough before advancing to the next frame sequence. This was different from Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope
, which simply ran a loop of film with successive images of a moving scene through the camera shutter, which gave a jumbled blur of motion. The Phantoscope, by pausing on each frame long enough for the brain to register a clear single picture, but replacing each frame in sequence fast enough (less than a tenth of a second), produced a smooth and true moving picture. It is from this concept that the entire motion-picture industry has grown .
Only one working model was ever built by Jenkins, and it was stolen a few months later from his home by Armat, who sold it to the Gammon theater chain. After a lengthy court battle, Jenkins accepted $2,500 as payment in full . The Franklin Institute
awarded a gold medal to Jenkins for his invention as the world's first practical movie projector.
The U.S. Patent Office granted Jenkins a patent for his initial projector and Jenkins and Armat a patent for the modified version. (Both were named Phantoscopes) After Jenkins settled with Armat, Armat sold the whole patent to Thomas Alva Edison. Jenkins continued improving the projector and created motion picture cameras which were eventually used for broadcasting to home receivers by radio waves, or what we know today as, television. Mechanically he broadcast the first television pictures and owned the first commercially licensed television station in the USA.
Charles Francis Jenkins
Charles Francis Jenkins was an American pioneer of early cinema and one of the inventors of television, though he used mechanical rather than electronic technologies...
. Created in the early 1890s, he projected the first motion picture before an audience in his hometown of Richmond, Indiana on June 6, 1894. He later met Thomas Armat
Thomas Armat
Thomas J. Armat was an American mechanic and inventor, a pioneer of cinema best known through the co-invention of the Edison Vitascope.-Biography:...
who provided financial backing for necessary modifications. The two inventors unveiled their modified projector at the Cotton States Exposition
Cotton States and International Exposition (1895)
The 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition was held at the current Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia. It is most remembered for the speech given by Booker T. Washington on September 18, 1895....
in Atlanta, Georgia, in September 1895.
Jenkin's machine was the first projector to allow each still frame of the film to be illuminated long enough before advancing to the next frame sequence. This was different from Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope
Kinetoscope
The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device. Though not a movie projector—it was designed for films to be viewed individually through the window of a cabinet housing its components—the Kinetoscope introduced the basic approach that would become the standard for all cinematic...
, which simply ran a loop of film with successive images of a moving scene through the camera shutter, which gave a jumbled blur of motion. The Phantoscope, by pausing on each frame long enough for the brain to register a clear single picture, but replacing each frame in sequence fast enough (less than a tenth of a second), produced a smooth and true moving picture. It is from this concept that the entire motion-picture industry has grown .
Only one working model was ever built by Jenkins, and it was stolen a few months later from his home by Armat, who sold it to the Gammon theater chain. After a lengthy court battle, Jenkins accepted $2,500 as payment in full . The Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
awarded a gold medal to Jenkins for his invention as the world's first practical movie projector.
The U.S. Patent Office granted Jenkins a patent for his initial projector and Jenkins and Armat a patent for the modified version. (Both were named Phantoscopes) After Jenkins settled with Armat, Armat sold the whole patent to Thomas Alva Edison. Jenkins continued improving the projector and created motion picture cameras which were eventually used for broadcasting to home receivers by radio waves, or what we know today as, television. Mechanically he broadcast the first television pictures and owned the first commercially licensed television station in the USA.