- Birt Acres
Infobox actor
bgcolour = silver
name = Birt Acres
imagesize = 200px
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birthdate = birth date|1854|7|23
location = USARichmond, Virginia ,
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deathdate = death date and age|1918|12|27|1854|7|23
deathplace = UKWhitechapel ,London
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othername =
homepage =
academyawards =Birt Acres (
July 23 ,1854 –1918), born in Richmond,Virginia , USA of English parents was a photographer and film pioneer.He was the inventor of the first British
35 mm moving picture camera , the first daylight loading home movie camera and projector, "Birtac", was the first travellingnewsreel reporter in internationalfilm history and the first European film maker who had his films shown in the United States in public performances.He contributed much to the introduction and development of
cinematography in all its aspects, from the construction of cameras, projectors, film viewers,coating - and slitting machines and the manufacture of highly sensitized 35 mm raw film stock, to mobile newsreel reporting and the public projections ofmoving pictures .With his partner
Robert W. Paul , he was the first person to build and run a working35 mm camera in Britain. The pair fell out after Acres patented their design in his own name onMay 27 ,1895 . He made some very earlysilent film s during theVictorian era including in 1895: a film of the "Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race", "The Arrest of a Pickpocket", "The Comic Shoeblack", "The Boxing Kangaroo" and "Performing Bears".Acres was a Fellow of the
Royal Photographic Society , and on14 January ,1896 he demonstrated his "Kineopticon" system to members and wives of the Society, at theQueen's Hall inLondon . This was the first public film show to an audience in theUnited Kingdom [ [http://www.earlycinema.com/pioneers/acres_bio.html Birt Acres biography] accessed 21 Jun 2007] . Robert Paul's first solo theatrical programme was at theAlhambra Theatre on25 March 1896 .Most important achievements
* 1889
Apparatus for washing prints (patented).
* 1891 Printing process forstereoscopic photographs (for continuously contact print making) (patented).
* 1893 Hopper feed installation for rapidly projectingslides in a biunial (two-in-one)lantern to create theillusion of movement (patented).
* 1895Kinetic Camera withappliance for forming (patented).
* 1895/96Electroscope , apparatus for continuous viewing by more than one spectator of35mm film.
* 1896 Installation for wholesale production of raw stock35 mm film .
* 1896 Kineopticon, improved apparatus for projecting 35 mm film (patented).
* 1897Cine camera with 2 lenses to resolveflicker problems and to enhance brightness.
* 1898 Birtac, home movie camera for daylight loading of 17,5 mm film (patented).Filmography
References
External links
*imdb name|id=0010291|name=Birt Acres
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/449777/index.html Birt Acres biography and credits at BFI Screenonline]
* [http://www.earlycinema.com/pioneers/acres_bio.html Birt Acres] at [http://www.earlycinema.com/ earlycinema.com]
* [http://www.billjayonphotography.com/Birt%20Acres.pdf Birt Acres biography]
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