1850-1917
French inventor, pioneering photographer and filmmaker/inventor Georges Demenÿ was born on this day in Douai in the north of France. Demenÿ's main claim to fame was his contribution to Chronophotography, which--to be clear--he did not invent; far from it actually. He did, however, make significant advances in the technique, which is considered the direct predessor to actual moving pictures. Demenÿ was a student of the brillant French scientist Étienne-Jules Marey; and Demenÿ's main contribution lie in his personal invention of a superior projector that he dubbed the Stroboscope; it is where we get the term "strobe light"--so beloved in live musical performances...and discos of the 1970's. Again, Demenÿ didn't event the mechicnism on which his design was based (that is generally attributed to Belgian inventor Joseph Plateau which actually included what is probably the earliest animations), but rather utililzed the technology to fashion of projector of series photographs that projected onto surfaces that appeared to show normal motions (ie: "moving pictures"). Demenÿ worked with German inventor/photographer Ottomar Anschütz on this invention to use in scientific study--it was Anschütz who would take parts of the mechinism further and attempt to use them for entertainment purposes. For his part, Demenÿ is widly over-looked as a significant contributor to the invention of motion pictures due, in no small part, to his lack of interest or belief in the technology's use in such a capacity early on (he would come to regret this). There are a remarkable number of his experiments (some with Marey) that have survived--though only two seem to be regarded as "films" (a subject to address for sure!). The first of these is Je vous aime, a film experiment of himself dating from 1891. The second, which dates from 1897, was actually a popular subject of the time..namely dance in film...and serpentine dances in particular. That film, Serpentine Dance: Loïe Fuller, featured American born dancer Fuller who had moved to France and made a second "career" out this particular dance (note: this dance was a big subject of film at Edison's studio as well!). Both of these films run under a minute in time (and both are embedded below, along with a couple of other experiments of his with Marey). Demenÿ was what can only be called a "fitness nut"--which accounts for the physical nature of most of the film experiements that he worked on. His film Je vous aime was made at the request for a work for projection by a school of the deaf in Paris teaching lip-reading, which accounts for it's rather odd look and lack of any sort of exercise or sport; and the Serpentine Dance and an exemplary example of early hand coloring! Demenÿ lived until 1917, long enough to see a whole host of innovation in film and the birth of a brand new industry and art. He died in Paris on the 26th of October at that age of 67 and is buried at Montmartre.
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| [source: Find A Grave] |
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| [source: Find A Grave] |
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