Joseph Plateau

He was a Belgian physicist who created an illusion of the first moving image
through his invention of the Phenakistoscope. This is a spinning disc with a set of
drawings showing steps of a short animation on the centre and attached to a
handle. There are a series of slits cut through it. You can spin in then look
through the moving slits to see the disc's reflection in a mirror appearing as a
single moving image.
This is an example of his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=3JeN3uk2ClE
Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard Muybridge was an English photographer, an inventor and a filmmaker,

born in 1830. His photography focused on the movement of animals and people,
where he captured continuous shots of their movement. To achieve this, he
experimented with using 12 different cameras to capture the detailed
movement, doing this he proved his theory that horses had all four of their
hooves off the ground whilst galloping. Later, he developed, the Zoopraxiscope
which is an early device for displaying motion pictures. It works by projecting
images from quickly rotating glass disks, some considered it the first film
projector
This is an example of his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=aG5erS2GNG0

William Horner

William Horner invented the first zoetrope in 1833. He created a revolving drum
with slits between the pictures, he called this the Daedalum. A Zoetrope is in the

shape of a cylinder with vertical slits in the sides. The inner surface of the
cylinder is covered with images from a sequence of pictures. As the cylinder
spins, you are able to see the sequence of moving images. The slots of the
zoetrope simulate flashes of light, creating a strobe. The images you see must
have darkness in between in order for the illusion to work, otherwise it you would
just see a blur of images.
This is an example of his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBg6dAE3mI0

Emile Reynaud

The praxinoscope was a way of making pictures move and almost look like a film,
it was invented in France in 1877 by Charles-mile Reynaud. This device is a
sequence of images inside a wheel that you can turn, making the inner circle of
mirrors show reflections of the images to the person looking through the mirrors.
This is an example of his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=xOItdZOGnx8
Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison was an American businessman and inventor who created the
Phonograph which recorded sound, the first electric lightbulb and the first motion
picture camera, called the Kinetographic Camera in 1891.
This is an example of his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=uX2QMx73O_o
Lumire Brothers

The Lumiere brothers in the 1890s, France recorded silent films outside of brief
actions, such as trains arriving at a station, workers leaving a factory, children
digging for clams or a family having a meal. Their film Childish Quarrel, 1896
which is about 45 seconds is one of the earliest home movies.
This is an example of his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nj0vEO4Q6s

George Pal

George Pal was a Hungarian film producer and animator. He created 14 films;
The Great Rupert, (Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide, The War of the
Worlds, Houdin,i The Naked Jungle, Conquest of Space, Tom Thumb, The Time
Atlantis, the Lost Continent, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, 7 Faces
of Dr. Lao, The Power and Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.
This is an example of his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=gVxwgvm4YTM