Jean Comandon (3 August 1877 – 30 October 1970) was a French

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

. He was one of the leading figures in the development of

microcinematography Time-lapse microscopy is time-lapse photography applied to microscopy. Microscope image sequences are recorded and then viewed at a greater speed to give an accelerated view of the microscopic process. Before the introduction of the video tape ...

in Paris and its use in science research and education.

Biography

Comandon studied microbiology in Paris from 1902 to 1906 and, afterwards, attended the

University of Paris The University of Paris (french: link=no, Université de Paris), Metonymy, metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revo ...

until 1909. Inspired by early films capturing

Brownian motion Brownian motion, or pedesis (from grc, πήδησις "leaping"), is the random motion of particles suspended in a medium (a liquid or a gas). This pattern of motion typically consists of random fluctuations in a particle's position insi ...

, he learned how to use the

ultramicroscope An ultramicroscope is a microscope with a system that lights the object in a way that allows viewing of tiny particles via light scattering, and not light reflection or absorption. When the diameter of a particle is below or near the wavelength o ...

. For his doctoral thesis he used the

to study

spirochaete A spirochaete () or spirochete is a member of the phylum Spirochaetota (), (synonym Spirochaetes) which contains distinctive diderm (double-membrane) gram-negative bacteria, most of which have long, helically coiled (corkscrew-shaped or ...

obtained from syphilis patients at the

Hôpital Saint-Louis Hôpital Saint-Louis is a hospital in Paris, France. It was built in 1611 by architect Claude Vellefaux at the request of Henry IV of France. It is part of the Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris hospital system, and it is located at 1 aven ...

. His mentor,

Paul Gastou Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

, connected him with

Charles Pathé Charles Morand Pathé (; 26 December 1863 – 25 December 1957) was a pioneer of the French film and recording industries. As the founder of Pathé Frères, its roots lie in 1896 Paris, France, when Pathé and his brothers pioneered the dev ...

who allowed Comandon to perform his research at Pathé's film studio in

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attach ...

. The two of them developed a new camera system that allowed Comandon to better isolate syphilis spirochetes based on their characteristic movements. He published his thesis, along with his film ''

Spirochaeta Pallida (Agent de la Syphilis) ''Spirochaeta'' is a genus of bacteria classified within the phylum Spirochaetota.See the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature. Data extracted from See the NCBIbr>webpage on SpirochaetesData extracted from Phylogeny Taxonom ...

,'' in October 1909. Before and after serving as a physician for the French military during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Comandon worked with

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment ...

to produce hundreds of educational scientific films on several topics such as microbiology, botany, and infant health. In the process he made several achievements in the practice of microcinematography, including the creation of the first x-ray film and, later, the first x-ray film of a human heart. However, most of the films he made during this time have been lost. After Pathé discontinued development of scientific films, Comandon earned a position at the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (french: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines f ...

with Pierre de Fonbrune, with whom he would go on to found a microcinematography center in

Garches Garches () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Garches has remained largely residential, but is also the location of Raymond Poincaré University Hospital, which specialises in traumat ...

Legacy

Comandon's doctoral thesis attracted much attention from the scientific community in France and around the world. Although much of Comandon's work was done for commercial purposes, his developments to the practice of microcinematography proved useful in studying bacteria and diagnosing bacterial infections much earlier than previously possible. Still, his involvement with a major film producer allowed the technology to be distributed to more scientists, making its use in medical sciences possible. His work was one of the major catalysts for the popularization of cinematography in scientific research, allowing for temporal manipulation of scientific perception in addition to spatial. The popularity of Comandon's films helped bring scientific film at large into the public eye. The ability to see microbes in motion and, later, the implementation of time-lapse cinematography proved a compelling novelty and made Comandon's films a source of entertainment as well as education. These films demonstrated that cinema depicting more abstract figures could appeal to mass audiences.

Selected filmography

* ''Spirochaeta Pallida (Agent de la Syphilis)'' (1909) * ''Microbes contenus dans l'intestin d'une souris'' (1910) * ''Lavez-vous les mains avant chaque repas'' (1918) * ''La Croissance des végétaux'' (1929)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Comandon, Jean 1877 births 1970 deaths French microbiologists University of Paris alumni French documentary filmmakers French cinematographers