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== History of Motion Pictures as a Medium ==

== History of Motion Pictures as a Medium ==

Motion pictures (often called "film" or "films" for short) began in 1867 with the invention of the ''zoopraxiscope'' (from the [[Greece|Greek]] ''zoô'' I am living, ''praxis'' what one does, and ''scopoô'' I am watching) by William Lincoln.<ref name=mpgen>[http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmotionpictures.htm The History of the Motion Picture] by About.com</ref> This device used the rapid-sequence-of-photographs technique. Of far more practical value was [[Thomas A. Edison]]'s ''kinetoscope''<ref name=Kinetoscope>[http://inventors.about.com/od/kstartinventions/a/Kinetoscope.htm The Kinetoscope] by About.com</ref> (literally, "I watch things move"), which took a rapid sequence of photographs on a single very long roll of film and projected them just as rapidly for a single viewer. Edison would go on to perfect a device called the Vitascope<ref name=Vitascope>[http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledisonvitascope.htm The Vitascope] by About.com</ref> that allowed the exhibition of such a picture to a group of persons.

Motion pictures (often called "film" or "films" for short) began in 1867 with the invention of the ''zoopraxiscope'' (from the [[Greece|Greek]] ''zoô'' I am living, ''praxis'' what one does, and ''scopoô'' I am watching) by William Lincoln.<ref name=mpgen>[http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmotionpictures.htm The History of the Motion Picture] by About.com</ref> This device used the rapid-sequence-of-photographs technique. Of far more practical value was [[Thomas Edison]]'s ''kinetoscope''<ref name=Kinetoscope>[http://inventors.about.com/od/kstartinventions/a/Kinetoscope.htm The Kinetoscope] by About.com</ref> (literally, "I watch things move"), which took a rapid sequence of photographs on a single very long roll of film and projected them just as rapidly for a single viewer. Edison would go on to perfect a device called the Vitascope<ref name=Vitascope>[http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledisonvitascope.htm The Vitascope] by About.com</ref> that allowed the exhibition of such a picture to a group of persons.

Because he did not secure [[patent]] protection for his work in Europe, various European imitators were able to reverse-engineer Edison's device, and eventually Louis Lumiere<ref name=mpgen/> would build the first ''cinematograph,'' a self-contained device that could shoot a sequence, develop the film, and then project it. Thereafter, ''cinematography'' became the standard term for the actual shooting of a motion picture.

Because he did not secure [[patent]] protection for his work in Europe, various European imitators were able to reverse-engineer Edison's device, and eventually Louis Lumiere<ref name=mpgen/> would build the first ''cinematograph,'' a self-contained device that could shoot a sequence, develop the film, and then project it. Thereafter, ''cinematography'' became the standard term for the actual shooting of a motion picture.