#1: Blacksmith Scene, W.K.L. Dickson (1893)

Blacksmith Scene was one of the first shorts recorded by W.K.L. Dickson for the Thomas Edison Company. It's brief, but it's pretty amazing, considering the technology. I'm interested to find out more about the machines used to film (kinetograph) and view (kineteoscope) this short. I've read about them before, but I'll have to look everything up again. Here is the craziest thing, taken from a Google Books version of A Technological History of Motion Pictures and Television:
An Anthology from the Pages of the Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (1979), by Raymond Fielding: Dickson was only nineteen when he wrote to Edison, seeking employment. Edison told him not to come, and he showed up anyway, with references. Hooray for youth and innovation! We could use a lot more of the latter, right now.

I chose this version of the Blacksmith Scene, because it lacks music:

Though another YouTube video includes the obligatory "old-timey" version of the Anvil Chorus, I'm not sure that watching it with a soundtrack lends to an authentic experience. It is definitely worth watching several versions, as some definitely have better picture quality than others. [Unfortunately, people like to complain about picture quality in any kind of visual media, without actually seeing the film/video game/photo for what it really is. It's like complaining about the quality of YouTube videos that are free to watch, whenever your greedy eyes and fingers get the urge. Okay, enough ranting.]

Take a look at the embedded video. There is clearly a guy standing in the shot, off to the left, and yet it took me three viewings to notice it. It's amazing that we take composition for granted, despite our current obsession with movies. Admittedly, it's much easier to see the shadowy figure in some of the restored versions.

Oh, and those quaint, hardworking blacksmiths are actors. This was the first commercial film for the kinetoscope. I was going to make a few comments about how drinking was once part and parcel of working life, but a quick trip to IMDb points out the fact that drinking in the workplace fell out of favor around the time that this short was filmed. The bottle of beer was included to invoke a sense of nostalgia. Mind. Blown.

All in all, this was a great first film. It forced me to hunt down a lot of other obscure and early movies, one of which involves dropping a cat onto a mattress to see if it lands on all four feet. Then again, I'm insane, and my research fervor is to be expected. I could go on forever, but I'll leave you to your own devices; go...watch things...NOW!