Auguste Marie Nicolas Lumière (1864-1948) and Louis Jean Lumière (1862-1954) are the famous brothers who have long competed for the title of creators of cinema. Born in France and basing their business in Europe, the brothers were both avid scientists and began their work early by continuing their father’s photography business Lumière & Sons. Even though the brothers only saw cinematography as fun rather than as a future in business, they went on to create some of the most advanced technology in the film industry at the time.
Cinématographe Filming
The invention that the two are famous for was the creation and perfection of the Cinématographe, a portable device that was capable of both recording and projecting images in succession. This was a feat that was unmatched at the time, and blew Edison’s kinetograph out of the water. They went on to create several short films, most of which were daily activities of the people around them. The very first film they ever created was the, “La sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon”, French for “Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory in Lyon”, although it is commonly shortened to “Exit of a Factory” (see right). Many consider this to be the first ever motion picture, and none can challenge that it was definitely the first in Europe.
Photo taken with Lumière Autochrome process
It was the Grand Cafe on the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris was the first place that there was ever a public showing of their films, which many consider to be the first instance of the movies that we see today. A few years later, after touring much of Europe and going as far as India and China to show the Cinématographe, the Lumière brothers stepped out of the film business and focused more on the production and sale of their camera equipment. Auguste went on to focus on medicinal studies and made more progress than he did in the film industry. Louis went back to photography, and developed the Autochrome process, the earliest version of color photography. This process remained the dominant form of color photography for a little more than three decades.
Auguste Lumière
The first Lumière Cinèmatographe film ever created, "Exit of a Factory".
Cinèmatographe film "L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat", French for "Arrival of a train at La Ciotat" (1895).