''Blacksmith Scene'' (also known as ''Blacksmith Scene #1'' and ''Blacksmithing Scene'') is an 1893 American short

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

directed by William K.L. Dickson, the Scottish- French inventor who, while under the employ of

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

, developed one of the first fully functional motion picture cameras. It is historically significant as the first

Kinetoscope The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device, designed for films to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole viewer window. The Kinetoscope was not a movie projector, but it introduced the basic approach that woul ...

film shown in public exhibition on May 9, 1893, and is the earliest known example of actors performing a role in a film. 102 years later, in 1995, ''Blacksmithing Scene'' was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

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as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is the second-oldest film included in the Registry, after '' Newark Athlete'' (1891).

Production

The film was produced by the

Edison Manufacturing Company The Edison Manufacturing Company, originally registered as the United Edison Manufacturing Company and often known as simply the Edison Company, was organized by inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison and incorporated in New York City in May 188 ...

, which had begun making films in 1890 under the direction of William K.L. Dickson. It was filmed entirely within the Black Maria studio at

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, in the United States, which is widely referred to as "America's First Movie Studio". It is believed to have been filmed in April 1893 and was shown publicly, in a

viewer, at the Brooklyn Institute on May 9, 1893. According to the

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the film was made in a 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The movie was intended to be displayed through means of a

. Dickson selected a lens that worked best for

Medium shot In a movie a medium shot, mid shot (MS), or waist shot is a camera angle shot from a medium distance. Use Medium shots are favored in sequences where dialogues or a small group of people are acting, as they give the viewer a partial view of t ...

s and medium close-up shots and probably stationed his camera approximately ten to twelve feet from the anvil. The men featured are not true blacksmiths, nor are they in a blacksmith shop working on metal: they are performers on a set pretending to be blacksmiths and to have a drink in between. While the background is simply left black, the crew went through some trouble to bring in a real anvil, real sledgehammers and leather aprons.

Cast

Awards and nominations

Current status

A surviving 35-mm print of this film was found at the

Henry Ford Museum The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The museum collection contains ...

; it is the source of the negative preserved by the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

film archive. Another copy is at the Edison National Historic Site, administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

. Because the film was finished before 1925, its

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has expired; it is freely available on the

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References

External links