Edison Opens Black Maria: Birth of the Film Studio
Thomas Edison built the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey, in 1893, the world's first structure specifically designed for film production. The building was covered in black tar paper to absorb light from outside, while the roof could be opened to let in sunlight, the only illumination source available. The entire structure sat on a circular track so it could be rotated to follow the sun throughout the day. Edison's team produced short films of vaudeville acts, boxing matches, Annie Oakley shooting glass balls, and an employee named Fred Ott sneezing. Each film lasted less than a minute, the maximum length his Kinetoscope could display. The Black Maria's output demonstrated that moving pictures could capture real events as well as staged performances. Though Edison initially envisioned film as an individual viewing experience through his peephole Kinetoscope, the Lumiere brothers' public projection model soon proved more commercially viable.
February 1, 1893
133 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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