How Jones Lost His Roll (1905)

Year Published: 1905

Description:

In the early days of the motion picture, the only way a film could be copyrighted was by treating it as if it were an item of print, like a book. Many of the films made prior to 1915 exist today only because they were copied frame-by-frame onto rolls of photographic paper which were then deposited with the Library of Congress for copyright purposes. In the 1950s, the Library instituted a program to re-photograph these "paper print" rolls back to film. To economize, most were shot only on smaller-gauge 16mm negative rather than their original 35mm format. In the 1980s, the Library contracted UCLA to copy again the paper prints--this time to 35mm film — on one of the two original machines constructed three decades earlier for this purpose, which the Archive had acquired. The quality of the re-photographed paper prints depends on their storage condition over the years and how well the prints were copied to paper originally, some being soft and unsteady, others crisp and appearing practically pristine.

Preservation note:
When animation was in its infancy, it was used most often as a special effect. "How Jones Lost His Roll" (1905) is not an animated film, nor a significant part of animation history, but it is a great example of the kind of early movie Thomas Edison's crew was producing for nickelodeons and Kinetoscopes. Why should titles be static and still when motion pictures now allowed for movement? The technicians at Edison's studio magically moved the film's narrative text via stop motion. Edison used animated titles in several films, such as "The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog" and "Coney Island at Night" (both 1905), and as a special effect in several films, as well. This use of the camera was said to inspire J. Stuart Blackton's experiments in his cartoon animation breakthrough, "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces" (1906), and later, "The Haunted Hotel" (1907).

Music © Michael D. Mortilla (BMI); MIDILifeCrisis.com.

Complete Record: In the early days of the motion picture, the only way a film could be copyrighted was by treating it as if it were an item of print, like a book. Many of the films made prior to 1915 exist today only because they were copied frame-by-frame onto rolls of photographic paper which were then deposited with the Library of Congress for copyright purposes. In the 1950s, the Library instituted a program to re-photograph these "paper print" rolls back to film. To economize, most were shot only on smaller-gauge 16mm negative rather than their original 35mm format. In the 1980s, the Library contracted UCLA to copy again the paper prints--this time to 35mm film — on one of the two original machines constructed three decades earlier for this purpose, which the Archive had acquired. The quality of the re-photographed paper prints depends on their storage condition over the years and how well the prints were copied to paper originally, some being soft and unsteady, others crisp and appearing practically pristine. Preservation note: When animation was in its infancy, it was used most often as a special effect. "How Jones Lost His Roll" (1905) is not an animated film, nor a significant part of animation history, but it is a great example of the kind of early movie Thomas Edison's crew was producing for nickelodeons and Kinetoscopes. Why should titles be static and still when motion pictures now allowed for movement? The technicians at Edison's studio magically moved the film's narrative text via stop motion. Edison used animated titles in several films, such as "The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog" and "Coney Island at Night" (both 1905), and as a special effect in several films, as well. This use of the camera was said to inspire J. Stuart Blackton's experiments in his cartoon animation breakthrough, "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces" (1906), and later, "The Haunted Hotel" (1907). Music © Michael D. Mortilla (BMI); MIDILifeCrisis.com.