Roundhay Garden Scene

Roundhay Garden Scene
Believed to be the world's earliest surviving motion-picture film
Directed by Louis Le Prince
Starring
  • Annie Hartley
  • Adolphe Le Prince
  • Joseph Whitley
  • Sarah Whitley
Cinematography Louis Le Prince
Edited by Louis Le Prince
Release date
14 October 1888 (1888-10-14)
(Private collection)
Running time
2.11 seconds
Country United Kingdom
France
Language Silent

Roundhay Garden Scene is an 1888 short silent actuality film recorded by French inventor Louis Le Prince. Filmed at Oakwood Grange in Roundhay, Leeds, in the north of England, the footage is believed to be the oldest surviving film in existence.[1]

Overview

According to Le Prince's son, Adolphe, the film was made at Oakwood Grange, the home of Joseph and Sarah Whitley, in Roundhay, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England on 14 October 1888.[2] The footage features Adolphe Le Prince, Sarah Whitley (née Robinson, 1816 – 24 October 1888), Joseph Whitley (1817 – 12 January 1891) and Annie Hartley in the garden of Oakwood Grange, leisurely walking around the garden of the premises. Sarah is seen walking backwards as she turns around, and Joseph's coat tails are seen flying as he also is turning. Joseph and Sarah Whitley were the parents of Le Prince‘s wife, Elizabeth. Annie Hartley is believed to be a friend of Le Prince and his wife. Sarah Whitley died ten days after the scene was filmed.[3]

Remastered footage

In 1930, the National Science Museum (NSM) in London produced photographic copies of surviving parts from the filmstrip. This sequence was recorded on an 1888 Eastman Kodak paper base photographic film through Louis Le Prince's single-lens combi camera-projector. Adolphe Le Prince stated that the Roundhay Garden movie was shot at 12 frames/s (and a second movie, Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge, at 20 frames/s); however, the later digital remastered version of Roundhay Garden produced by the National Media Museum in Bradford, which contains 52 frames, runs at 24.64 frames/s, a modern cinematographic frame rate, so it plays in only 2.11 seconds. The NSM copy has 20 frames; at 12 frames/s, this produces a run time of 1.66 seconds.

References

  1. Smith, Ian (10 January 2016). ""Roundhay Garden Scene" recorded in 1888, is believed to be the oldest surviving film in existence". The Vintage News. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  2. Youngs, Ian (23 June 2015). "Louis Le Prince, who shot the world's first film in Leeds". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  3. "Monumental Inscriptions at St. John's Church, Roundhay, Leeds". Archived from the original on May 31, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
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