The day the cinema was created – level 1

22-03-1895

In 1891, Thomas Edison makes the first camera. The camera makes films. It is not possible yet to watch them on a screen. Only one person can see the films in a special machine.

Edison doesn’t think that his camera is a very important invention. Edison doesn’t pay $150 for an international patent. A patent says the invention is his idea.

Edison’s camera inspires the Lumière brothers. They know how to make the camera better. They make a camera which can make and show films.

On March 22, 1895, people can watch the first film. It is in Paris. The film is 45 seconds long. It shows workers who are going from a factory. The people like the film very much.

Then the Lumière brothers start to make short documentaries about everyday life. People can see the documentaries if they pay one franc.

Only 35 people come to watch these documentaries on the first day. They are very happy. Soon, many people want to see these documentaries. Sometimes there are 20 performances a day. The profits are very high.

The success is very big. The Lumière brothers don’t believe that the camera is something special. They don’t believe that this big success can continue. The Lumière brothers don’t continue their work on the camera. They work on color photography.

Difficult words: screen (a big white space in a cinema), invention (a new machine), inspire (to give a new idea), performance (a meeting where somebody shows a film to many people), profit (money from business).

What made the Lumière brothers’ camera more successful than Edison’s camera?

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