Arthur Melbourne-Cooper

Arthur Melbourne -Cooper ( born April 15, 1874 in St Albans, England; † November 28, 1961 in Barnet, London ) was an English film producer who lived through the early days of film as an assistant to Birt Acres and following in the years 1895-1915 pioneering work accomplished:

These contributions, however, are controversial among film historians, today many of the supposedly produced by Melbourne -Cooper movies other British film pioneers are attributed.

Life

Arthur was born in St Albans, the son of the resident photographer Thomas M. Cooper, who taught him from an early age in his profession. At age 18, Arthur was trained photographer. He applied for a job with Birt Acres. Acres had specialized in photo emulsions. In 1892 he was manager at Elliott & Sons, manufacturers of photographic plates in Barnet. Acres experimented with the movement of clouds and waves in the projection where he spent several plates in series. Dieserart he could use the help of the young Cooper. On January 1, 1894 Cooper Acres assisted with a trip to the recording of the Manchester Ship Canal on 70- mm film. This film width was introduced by Eastman Kodak in their snapshot cameras. Acres stuck three, four such roll film together and exposed the strip into his first camera. Later in the same year she filmed the Henley Regatta with the same camera. A portion of this film is kept in the archives of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Kinetoscope

In the same year, the first Kinetoskope published. The German chocolate manufacturer Ludwig Stollwerck who owned large amounts of coin vending machines in several countries Acres asked to regularly provide him with for his films Kinetoskope which he had acquired from Edison's representatives. Acres had in 1895 patented a camera for 35 mm film, the " Kineopticon ". During the construction of this apparatus he helped a young mechanical engineer, Robert William Paul. In March 1895 Acres waves filmed on the pier of Dover, also Rough Sea at Dover, later, the Epsom Derby and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.

In June 1895 Acres traveled to Germany to sign a contract with Stollwerck and to accommodate the opening of the Kiel Canal and Emperor Wilhelm during a tour of his troops. Acres was the first foreign film rapporteur. His paintings were soon performed, not only in England and Germany, but also in Denmark and in the United States, where he also sold his cameras and projectors. During the next two years was Cooper cameraman for many short films that have been produced for evaluation in the Kinetoskopen such as Arrest of a Pickpocket and Spilt Milk, in which a farmer has an inconclusive love game with a milking maid.

First British show

On January 14, 1896 Cooper Acres assisted at the first public film screening in England in the Queens Hall in London to members, spouses and friends of the Royal Photographic Society. Five weeks later, on 20 February, the Lumière'sche Cinématographe at London Polytechnic was shown two weeks later at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square. From March 25 to over the next two years showed Paul films at the Alhambra Theatre in London.

Animation

1897 Melbourne -Cooper made ​​an animated film titled Bird 's Custard Powder, in which the current Bird's- poster was alive. An old man wearing a cardboard egg down the stairs, stumble and smashes it. But - do not worry, he takes Birds vanilla powder! . Cooper also made a promotional film for Keen 's Mustard with the setting at Blackpool sun rising again.

1899 Cooper made ​​the oldest surviving single -screen movie advertising for Bryant and May, matches or matches Appeal: An Appeal. With this animated film Britain was six or seven years before the animation pioneers in France and the USA

When worst comes to worst, was helped Acres Cooper, who founded the manufacture of plain film, the Northern Photographic Works. In his spare time Cooper filmed many short comedies, news, sporting events and travel reports. He sold it to Paul, Charles Urban's Warwick Trading Company, James Williamson, William Jury, the Walturdaw Company and many others.