Edwin S. Porter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edwin S. Porter
|
|
|---|---|
Porter, 1912
|
|
| Born |
Edwin Stanton Porter
April 21, 1870 |
| Died | April 30, 1941 (aged 71) New York City, New York
|
| Occupation |
|
| Parent(s) |
|
Edwin Stanton Porter (born April 21, 1870 – died April 30, 1941) was an American movie pioneer. He was a famous producer, director, studio manager, and cinematographer. He worked with important companies like the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company.
Porter made over 250 films. Some of his most important movies include: Jack and the Beanstalk (1902), Life of an American Fireman (1903), and The Great Train Robbery (1903). He also directed Rescued from an Eagle's Nest (1908) and The Prisoner of Zenda (1913).
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Edwin Porter was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. His parents were Thomas Richard Porter and Mary Clark. He was the fourth of seven children.
He was named Edward at birth. Later, he changed his name to Edwin Stanton. This was after Edwin M. Stanton, a politician who worked for President Abraham Lincoln.
After school, Porter had many different jobs. He was a skater, a sign painter, and a telegraph operator. He became very interested in electricity when he was young. At age 21, he even shared a patent for a lamp part. He also served three years in the United States Navy.
Movie Career
Starting in Movies
Porter began working with movies in 1896. This was the first year movies were shown on big screens in the United States. He first worked in New York City for Raff & Gammon. They sold films and equipment made by Thomas Edison.
Later, Porter became a traveling projectionist. He showed movies in the West Indies and South America. He also toured through Canada and the United States. He showed films at fairs and in open fields.
In 1898, Porter returned to New York City. He found work at the Eden Musée. This was a wax museum and entertainment hall. It became a place where movies were shown and made. Porter helped put together programs of Edison films there.
Working with Edison
Porter joined the Edison Manufacturing Company in November 1900. Soon, he was in charge of making movies at Edison's New York studios. He operated the camera, directed actors, and put the final films together.
For the next ten years, Porter became a very important filmmaker in the United States. He knew what audiences liked from his time as a projectionist. He started by making trick films and comedies for Edison.
Porter often took ideas from other filmmakers. But he always tried to make them better. For example, in Jack and the Beanstalk (1902) and Life of an American Fireman (1903), he used ideas from French and English filmmakers.
Instead of sudden cuts between scenes, Porter used "dissolves." These were smooth transitions from one image to another. In Life of an American Fireman, this helped people follow the action. His film Uncle Tom's Cabin was one of the first American films to use intertitles. These were text screens that helped explain the story.
The Great Train Robbery and New Ideas
Porter's next big film was The Great Train Robbery (1903). This movie took a classic American Western story. It made it a new visual experience for audiences.
The film was about twelve minutes long. It had twenty separate shots. It also included a surprising close-up of a bandit firing at the camera. The movie used ten different indoor and outdoor places. It was groundbreaking because it used "cross-cutting." This showed actions happening at the same time in different places.
The Great Train Robbery was very popular. It toured across the United States for several years. In 1905, it was the main attraction at the first nickelodeon. Its success helped movies become popular entertainment in the U.S.
After this film, Porter kept trying new techniques. He showed two stories at once in The Kleptomaniac (1905). In The Seven Ages (1905), he used special lighting and close-ups. He also changed shots within a scene. This was new for filmmakers at the time.
He also directed trick films like Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906). Between 1903 and 1907, he showed many techniques that became basic ways to tell stories with film. He helped develop the idea of continuity editing. This is how shots are put together to make a smooth story. He also realized that the "shot" was the basic building block of film. This was different from the "scene" in theater.
New Companies and Famous Players
In 1909, Porter left Edison. He was tired of the busy movie industry. He started a company to make movie projectors. In 1910, he started the Defender Film Company, but it closed after one year.
In 1911, he helped create the Rex Motion Picture Company. In 1912, he sold his share. He then joined Adolph Zukor to become the main director for the new Famous Players Film Company. This was the first American company to regularly make full-length movies.
He directed famous actors like James Keteltas Hackett in The Prisoner of Zenda (1913). He also directed Mary Pickford in her first feature film, A Good Little Devil (1913).
Pioneer of 3D Movies
Even though his directing style didn't change much, Porter was very interested in new technology, especially 3D. His last film, Niagara Falls, came out on June 10, 1915. It was the first anaglyph 3D movie. He left Famous Players in 1916.
Later Years
From 1917 to 1925, Porter was the president of the Precision Machine Company. This company made Simplex projectors. After he retired in 1925, he kept working as an inventor. He got several patents for cameras and projector devices.
Death
Edwin Porter passed away in 1941 in New York City. He was 71 years old. He was buried in Husband Cemetery, Somerset, Pennsylvania. He was married to Caroline Ridinger, but they did not have children.
Legacy
Edwin Porter is an important person in movie history. He directed The Great Train Robbery and other early, creative films. He often tried new ideas, but he rarely used the same innovation again. He was a quiet and careful person. He sometimes felt uncomfortable working with famous actors.
Adolph Zukor, who worked with Porter, said he was more like an "artistic mechanic" than a "dramatic artist." This meant Porter liked working with machines more than with people.
See also
In Spanish: Edwin S. Porter para niños
- Edwin S. Porter filmography
