William Heise

William Heise ( born August 1847 in Germany, † February 14, 1910 ) was an American engineer and cameraman. Although until 1898 he was involved in the development of the Kinetoscope and the production of the first American films as a camera operator and director of 1890 at the Edison Manufacturing Company, a few biographical data on Heise are known.

Activity in Edison

William Heise was discontinued in the fall of 1890 at the Edison Laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey as a machinist. He assisted William KL Dickson in the development and construction of the Kinetographen, an electrically operated film camera. In May 1891 Heisenberg was involved in the first shot with this camera film, the three -second strip Dickson Greeting, as operator of the camera. For viewing of the film Dickson had the kinetoscope, a peep show, in which the developed film strips were illuminated in an infinite loop with an incandescent lamp and seen through a magnifying glass developed.

After the camera was perfected by further changes as far in October 1892 that Edison was planning a commercial film production, Heise and Dickson appeared together in front of the camera to congratulate themselves on their success (A hand-shake ). Images of this film were published in the journal Phonogram.

Beginning of the year 1893 based Dickson and Heise, a specially built for the film production building, the Black Maria. The first production of this film studio film, Blacksmith Scene, was presented in May 1893 at a presentation in front of the Edison Physics Faculty of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. After a few more experimental films beginning of the year 1894, the commercial film production was recorded. Dickson and Heise put together in 1894 around 75 films to raise the most were circus and vaudeville artists or simple scenes from the world of work, such as Carmencita, a film about a dancer. Distributors were their films in Kinetoscope parlors, which throughout the United States were to a great popular success since its opening in April 1894. Also in 1894 Heise filmed in the movie Fred Ott's Sneeze the first close- up shot of film history.

After Dickson had surprisingly left the Edison Company in April 1895 Heise initially remained as the sole director back at Edison. The decreasing interest in the Kinetoscope introduced at the end of the interruption of the film production, but was revived after the introduction of Vitaskop movie projector. Heisenberg spins sole responsibility as Director in April 1896 the film The Kiss, which became the most successful Vitaskop film and one of the most famous films of the 1890s.

Shortly after the filming of The Kiss was James H. White new head of the film production of the Edison Company. Heise remained as a camera operator on the side of Whites and led with him first recordings with Edison's new portable movie cameras through which led Heisenberg, among others, to Niagara Falls, to the amusement park at Coney Iceland and the celebration of the inauguration of U.S. President William McKinley.

As White departed in the summer of 1897 several months of world travel, Heisenberg remained as head of the Black Maria Studios back in New Jersey. Although he was mainly engaged in the development and printing of the sent in by White Movies, Heise turned as a director at this time about 25 home movies.

In October 1898 Heise left the Edison Manufacturing Company. Although he returned a short time later back to the company, but was no longer involved in the film business.