What was the first Movie?

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Who Smarted?" Episode - "What Was the First Movie?"

Introduction

In the February 28, 2025, episode of "Who Smarted?" titled "What Was the First Movie?", hosted by the team from Atomic Entertainment and Starglow Media, listeners embark on an entertaining and educational journey through the history of filmmaking. Designed for curious young minds, the episode seamlessly blends humor with insightful facts about the evolution of movies, making complex concepts accessible and engaging for kids and families alike.

Exploring Movie Magic

The episode kicks off with the host setting the scene at a movie theater, inviting young listeners to differentiate between reality and "movie magic." Through playful interactions with characters Vivian and Character 1, the host explains that what we see on the screen is often a product of imagination and special effects.

Host [00:01]: "Movies can make us feel all kinds of emotions and take us to faraway places."

Understanding the Illusion of Motion

Delving into the science behind movies, the host elucidates the concept of the optical illusion known as persistence of vision. By comparing movies to flipbooks, the episode explains how rapidly displayed still images create the perception of movement.

Host [06:07]: "When you go through these still pictures rapidly, your brain believes the images you're seeing are moving."

A trivia segment challenges listeners to guess the number of images per second that create this illusion, reinforcing the educational aspect with interactive questions.

The Pioneers of Motion Pictures

The narrative transitions to the pioneers of filmmaking, highlighting key figures and inventions that shaped the industry:

1. Edward Muybridge (1870s): A British American photographer who developed a camera capable of faster photography, Muybridge used multiple cameras to capture a horse's movement to determine if all four hooves leave the ground simultaneously.

   Host [08:45]: "Muybridge put all his pictures together and projected them one after another... creating one of the first motion pictures."

2. Thomas Edison (1890s): Introduces the kinetoscope, a device that allowed individuals to view films through a peephole, using celluloid strips known as film.

   Host [09:39]: "Inside Edison's device, the film would move quickly past a lamp and a shutter, making the images appear to move."

3. The Lumière Brothers (1895): Innovated the cinematograph, a projector that enabled films to be shown to large audiences in theaters, thus establishing the modern movie experience.

   Host [11:52]: "The word cinema comes from the name of the Lumiere's device, the cinematograph."

Technological Advancements and Competition

As the episode progresses, it discusses how technological advancements and competition, particularly from television, propelled the film industry to innovate further. The introduction of stereo sound, 3D viewing, and high-tech special effects are highlighted as responses to the rising popularity of home entertainment.

The Digital Revolution in Filmmaking

A significant portion of the episode focuses on the digital revolution in filmmaking, emphasizing George Lucas's "Attack of the Clones" as a pivotal moment. This film was the first big-budget live-action movie shot digitally instead of on celluloid, paving the way for modern digital filmmaking techniques.

Host [16:47]: "When George Lucas made 'Attack of the Clones,' it was the first big budget live action film to not be shot on celluloid film. Instead, he used digital video and it was all stored on a hard drive."

The host encourages young listeners to utilize technology they already have, like smartphones, to create their own movies, fostering creativity and hands-on learning.

Interactive Learning and Engagement

Throughout the episode, the host engages listeners with interactive questions and prompts, enhancing the educational experience:

Host [06:36]: "If you've ever created a flipbook by making slightly different drawings on each page, you're performing the same trick."

These elements make the podcast not only informative but also participatory, encouraging children to think critically and apply what they've learned.

Conclusion

"Who Smarted?" masterfully combines storytelling, historical facts, and scientific explanations to demystify the world of movies for young audiences. By tracing the origins of filmmaking and explaining the technological innovations that have shaped the industry, the episode provides a comprehensive overview of how movies have evolved over time. The inclusion of notable quotes and interactive segments ensures that listeners remain engaged and retain the valuable lessons presented.

Credits and Acknowledgments

The episode concludes with acknowledgments to contributors and voice actors, emphasizing the collaborative effort behind the podcast's production:

Host [19:33]: "This episode was written by Dave B Movie Beaudry and voiced by Justin Daly's Dude Jenny Cameo Chan, Jenna High Def Hoban Sheffield Call Sheet Chastain, Adam Day for Night Davis, and Jerry Colbert."

Final Thoughts

"For parents looking to inspire their children's love for movies and storytelling, this episode of 'Who Smarted?' is an excellent resource. It not only entertains but also educates, making complex topics approachable and fun for kids."

Join the Adventure

Listeners are encouraged to continue their educational journey with "Who Smarted?" by tuning into future episodes, transforming learning into an exciting adventure filled with laughter and discovery.

Transcript

[Host]

Hey, smarty pants, can you guess where I am? I've got a big bucket of popcorn, an unnaturally large soda, and I'm sitting in a big chair in a dark room with a big screen in front of me. No, I'm not at the controls of the Millennium Falcon, the Enterprise, or the Benatar. I'm at the movie theater, also known as a cinema. I came to watch one of the biggest, most exciting movies out today, and it was sold out, so I ended up here watching whatever this is. But no matter the movie, it's still always fun to go to the cinema. Especially with great friends like you, smarty pants. Movies can make us feel all kinds of emotions and take us to faraway places. Most times, what you see on the screen is the work of hundreds of people using their imaginations and a little bit of what we in the business call movie magic. Hey, smarty pants, why don't you listen closely and see if you can pick out what parts of this movie are real and what's movie magic?

[Vivian]

Ah, ma cherie, how long I have awaited your return.

[Character 1]

My dear Vivian, I only went to the bakery to get some donuts.

[Vivian]

Ooh la la. I love donut.

[Character 1]

I must confess, I met someone else.

[Vivian]

Someone else? Ooh, ze butcher. The candlestick maker.

[Character 1]

Frankly, my dear, I met a dinosaur, and I think they followed me home.

[Vivian]

Ooh la la.

[Host]

Run.

[Character 1]

Better yet, let's take the Millennium Falcon.

[Vivian]

Wait, go back. I forgot ze don.

[Host]

Wow, this movie's cooler than I thought. So, smarty pants, what parts were movie magic? You probably guessed the dinosaur wasn't real, since they haven't been around for 65 million years. And the sound effects are clearly movie magic. From the rawr to the donut munching to the spaceship. We actually did a who's Smarted episode on sound effects, which you should check out. But that's not all. The people in most movies are actors pretending to be the characters you see on screen.

[Vivian]

I sound like this, but usually I talk like this.

[Character 1]

And in real life, I can't fly spaceships and I never eat donuts.

[Character 2]

Not me.

[Host]

So you can say the dinosaur sound effects and characters are movie magic, but so is the movie itself. It's an optical illusion, meaning it plays.

[Advertiser 1]

Tricks on your eyes.

[Host]

Believe it or not, there's no real motion inside a motion picture. Whoa. The truth is, everything is movie magic, and people just can't get enough of it. Some studies say you might end up watching 5,000 movies in your lifetime. So what's the secret to how movies work? Who invented the idea of lights, camera and action? And how can you make your own feature film? Now it's time for a whiff of science and history on who's smarted?

[Character 2]

Who's smarted? Who's smart? Is it you? Is it me? Is it science or history? Listen up, everyone. We make smarting lots of fun, but who's smarted?

[Advertiser 2]

Hi, guys, it's trusty. Today's episode is brought to you by Squarespace. And I need to tell you about their new design intelligence feature because it's a game changer for anyone who's been putting off creating a website. Look, I know how intimidating tech can feel, but Squarespace's AI powered design system literally transforms your basic ideas into a beautiful professional website. We've used Squarespace to build websites here at Atomic, and what I love is that it combines AI tech with their decades of design expertise. You answer a few simple questions and it creates a fully customized site that actually looks good. No more staring at a blank screen wondering where to start, and no need to spend thousands of dollars getting a site designed for a passion project or experimental idea. Plus, their payment system makes it super easy to get paid for your services. Whether you're selling courses, booking consulting sessions or offering downloads, they've got all the popular payment options like Apple Pay and Klarna built right in. Head to squarespace.com smarted for a free trial and use code smarted to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

[Advertiser 1]

Hey, smarty parents. I love Green Chef because of how absolutely easy the meals are to make and how every night it feels like we're eating at a restaurant right at home. The variety is excellent and includes meals.

[Advertiser 2]

For special diets like keto, gluten free.

[Advertiser 1]

And calorie smart with pre portioned ingredients, there's less prep, less mess and more time to enjoy delicious meals. Green Chef's easy to follow directions means.

[Advertiser 2]

My kitchen phobic family members actually cook.

[Advertiser 1]

When we get our Green Chef kit. And it's a great way to get your kids involved in the kitchen too. Plus, Green Chef is owned by HelloFresh, which lets me switch between the brands for even more variety. And now my listeners can enjoy both at a discount with me. Thrive all year with clean, easy meals from Green chef. Go to greenchef.com smartedfree and use code smartedfree to get free salads for two months plus 50% off your first box. That's greenchef.com smartedFree and use code smartedfree to get free salads for two months plus 50 percent off your first box. Green Chef, the number one meal kit for eating well.

[Host]

Watch out, smarty pants. You know, a movie can make you feel like you're in the middle of the action. But the truth is, all the exciting stuff you see isn't really moving. Movies are actually a collection of still photographs, like the pictures you take with a smartphone. Remember when I said movies are an optical illusion, a trick on your eyes? Well, when you go through these still pictures rapidly, your brain believes the images.

[Advertiser 1]

That you're seeing are moving.

[Abby]

Whoa.

[Host]

If you've ever created a flipbook by making slightly different drawings on each page, you're performing the same trick. When you flip the pages of your flipbook with your fingers, the image seems to move. This illusion of motion is often referred to as persistence of vision. And it works because your eyes and brain can only process 10 to 12 separate images per second. So, smarty pants, when you're watching a movie, how many pictures do you think you're seeing every second? To create this optical illusion, is it A, 5, B, 10, C, 12, or D, 24? The answer is D. The average movie shows you 24 still pictures every second to create movement. To make this happen, you need a camera that can take many pictures at once. And early cameras just couldn't do that.

[Child 1]

Ma, look at this giant fish I caught. Ooh, let me take a picture. Hold it up. Stay still. Good. Now don't move for an hour so the camera can get it. Don't move your lips. You'll ruin the picture.

[Host]

Fortunately, during the 1870s, a British American photographer named Edward Muybridge developed a type of camera that allowed for much faster photography. And using several of these cameras, he created one of the first movies to solve a mystery.

[Narrator]

In a world of horses. One horse, one man and one camera were about to change everything as they attempted to solve one of history's most baffling mysteries. Coming soon to a theater near you, the answer to the question, does a horse fly when it runs?

[Host]

Okay, I know what you're thinking. What kind of crazy question is that? Do horses fly? Was that really a mystery that kept people awake at night? The answer is nay. However, to some people, including Edward Muybridge's boss, who happened to be the governor of California and a big time lover of horse racing, it was very important to know whether or not a horse actually lifted all four hooves off the ground at the same time while galloping. It was impossible to tell with the naked eye, so the governor instructed Muybridge to use Several cameras to capture every part of a horse's movement.

[Advertiser 1]

Then, by studying each image, they discovered.

[Host]

That indeed, horses do fly. When Muybridge put all his pictures together and projected them one after another, not.

[Advertiser 2]

Only did he show all four hooves.

[Host]

Leaving the ground at the same time, he ended up creating one of the first motion pictures. Unfortunately, Muybridge didn't know what he'd stumbled upon. Instead, a number of other inventors took up movie making, including one very famous one. Smarty pants. Any guesses? Who is it? A, Nikola Tesla, B, Thomas Edison, or C, Bill Gates? If you said B, Thomas Edison, you're right. In the 1890s, Edison's company introduced a device called a kinetoscope, which allowed one person at a time to look through a peephole and see images of circus or stage axe printed on a long strip of strong, flexible material known as celluloid. Do you know what this long celluloid strip is usually called? Is it A, confetti, B tape, or C film? If you said C film, you're right. Inside Edison's device, the film would move quickly past a lamp and a shutter, making the images appear to move. Two French brothers named Louis and Auguste Lumiere improved on this idea, creating a projector that would allow films like the ones made by Edison's company to be shown in a theater. They're credited with creating the first movie for a large audience who paid money to see it.

[Narrator]

The place France, the time. 1895. In a world where people work in factories comes a new film by the Lumiere brothers exiting the factory because nothing brings more happiness than watching people leave work.

[Host]

So the Lumiere brothers movies were not very exciting. Mostly they just showed bits and pieces of everyday life, like factory workers heading home. But their new camera and projector did.

[Advertiser 1]

Establish the modern movie experience and gave it a name.

[Host]

Can you guess what they called their invention? Is it A, the cinematograph, B the luminary, or C, the movie doobie? If you guessed A, you're right. The word cinema comes from the name of the Lumiere's device, the cinematograph. Movies became more complex and popular since those early showings. And the 1930s saw a transformation to full color films with better sound. By now, many people were going to the movies twice a week, packing theaters that could hold full thousands of people. But that didn't last forever. A new invention convinced many moviegoers to stay home. If you know what it is, shout it out. Yep, that's right. It's the television. So movies had to become bigger, bolder and offer a lot more. To compete with television, they added stereo sound, 3D viewing, high tech special effects, great storytelling and thrills you simply had to leave home to see. And then, not too long ago, one movie completely changed the movie industry. You may have heard of it. It begins like this. This movie led the way for films to stop being, well, films. But it might not be the movie you're thinking of. We'll explain right after this quick break.

[Advertiser 2]

Hi guys, it's trusty. Today's episode is brought to you by Squarespace and I need to tell you about their new design intelligence feature because it's a game changer for anyone who's been putting off creating a website. Look, I know how intimidating tech can feel, but Squarespace's AI powered design system literally transforms your basic ideas into a beautiful professional website. We've used Squarespace to build websites here at Atomic, and what I love is that it combines AI tech with their decades of design expertise. You answer a few simple questions and it creates a fully customized site that actually looks good. No more staring at a blank screen wondering where to start, and no need to spend thousands of dollars getting a site designed for a passion project or experimental idea. Plus, their payment system makes it super easy to get paid for your services. Whether you're selling courses, booking consulting sessions or offering downloads, they've got all the popular payment options like Apple Pay and Klarna built right in. Head to squarespace.com smarted for a free trial and use code smarted to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

[Advertiser 1]

Hey smarty parents. I love Green Chef because of how absolutely easy the meals are to make and how every night it feels like we're eating at a restaurant right at home. Variety is excellent and includes meals for special diets like keto, gluten free and calorie smart. With pre portioned ingredients, there's less prep, less mess and more time to enjoy delicious meals. Green Chef's easy to follow directions means my kitchen phobic family members actually cook when we get our Green Chef kit. And it's a great way to get your kids involved in the kitchen too. Plus, Green Chef is owned by HelloFresh, which lets me switch between the brands for even more variety. And now my listeners can enjoy both at a discount with me Thrive all year with clean, easy meals from Green chef. Go to greenchef.com smartedfree and use code smartedfree to get free salads for two months plus 50% off your first box. That's greenchef.com smartedFree and use code smarted.

[Advertiser 2]

Free to get free salads for two.

[Advertiser 1]

Months Plus 50% off your first box. Green Chef the number one meal kit.

[Abby]

For eating well Parents, if you've ever experienced bedtime battles with the kids, I'm going to let you into a little secret. I'm Abby, a mother of two, and I had these battles myself. Endless excuses, delay tactics, and many tears and tantrums. But I've created a solution. The perfect kids podcast that makes bedtime a dream. It's called Koala Moon and it's hosted by me, Abby. With over 300 episodes. Packed with original stories and sleep meditations, Koala Moon makes bedtimes easy and enjoyable. Episodes start out engaging and really rather magical, but as they progress, they gently slow to a calm and relaxing pace to have your little ones out like a light. Since launching in 2022, Koala Moon has helped with over 20 million night sleeps and received over 6,000 five star reviews. Win back your evenings. Listen to Koala Moon now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Host]

Now back to who Smarted Smartypants I'm guessing you know that music is from Star Wars. And you might also know that the Star wars saga had a huge impact on the film industry, including when and how blockbuster movies are released, merchandising, and huge box office potential. However, one episode of Star wars actually changed the way movies are physically made today. Was it A the Empire Strikes Back, b Return of the Jedi, c Attack of the Clones or D the Force Awakens? The answer is C Attack of the Clones. When George Lucas made Attack of the Clones, it was the first big budget live action film to not be shot on celluloid film. Instead, he used digital video and it was all stored on a hard drive. Today, almost all movies are shot this way and they're shown using digital projectors. Computers create each picture that's projected onto the screen, but they still move like before with 24 pictures per second to give you the movie experience that people have enjoyed for decades. These days you likely have a device that can also make videos with similar digital technology. You might even be using this device to listen to who smarted.

[Character 2]

Who's smarted.

[Host]

Smarty pants, Call out what this device is. That's right, a smartphone. And guess what? You can make your own movie with one. Of course you're going to want to get permission first. And don't use the phone right away. Movies require a lot of planning. First you'll need a script, which is the story and includes the things that you want your characters to say and do. Once you have a script, you need to figure out where to shoot your film and who will be in it. Maybe ask some friends, parents or siblings to be actors. Somebody will also need to be the camera operator. You know, the person using the smartphone. This might be a good job for an adult.

[Child 1]

Help me.

[Host]

You also need someone to help guide everyone along as you turn a script into a movie. And this person is called the director. Action. With everything in place, you can record your video. If you have a computer that can edit, you might want to try that too. If not, the scenes you make with one recording will still be movie magic.

[Character 1]

We did it, Vivian. We escaped the dinosaur.

[Vivian]

Phew. Can I have a donut clod?

[Character 1]

Here you go.

[Vivian]

Look out for that flying horse.

[Host]

A four way shout out to Luke and Kyle O'Sullivan and Max and Margot Pillar from Astoria Queens, New York. Thank you all so much for being part of our smarty family. This episode movies was written by Dave B Movie Beaudry and voiced by Justin Daly's Dude Jenny Cameo Chan, Jenna High Def Hoban Sheffield Call Sheet Chastain, Adam Day for Night Davis and Jerry Colbert. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Handheld Hahn who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room studios. Our associate producer is Max CGI Kamasky. The theme song is by Brian Soundtrack Suarez with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert. This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.