Blacksmithing Scene
About Blacksmithing Scene
Three men hammer a bar on an anvil, pass a bottle of beer, and drink. William K. L. Dickson staged the workshop bit for the Edison Kinetoscope. It was the first Kinetoscope film shown in public, on 9 May 1893, and the earliest known film of people playing a scene rather than simply being photographed.
Cast & crew
More about Blacksmithing Scene
Dickson directed. William Heise was the cameraman. John Ott is one of the blacksmiths. Wikidata lists the length as 34 seconds and also as one minute.
Themes
Background
Shown publicly on 9 May 1893, it is the first Kinetoscope subject exhibited to an audience.
Making
Dickson, working for Edison, had the men act a shop routine instead of recording an unstaged view.
Look
William Heise photographed the anvil, the hammer blows, and the bottle passed between the three men.
Preservation
The film survives. It was copyrighted in the United States as a motion picture.
Notes
- Also called Blacksmith Scene #1 and Blacksmithing Scene.
- English Wikipedia calls it the first U.S. motion picture to be copyrighted.
- The public showing was on 9 May 1893.
Scenes
- The three men stop hammering and pass the beer.
Also available
- Internet Archive (blacksmith1893)
- Wikimedia Commons (Blacksmith Scene.ogv)
