When Jordan Peele opened his 2022 Wild West Lovecraftian horror “Nope” with Eadweard Muybridge’s pioneering horse footage from nearly a century and a half earlier, he reminded us that filmmaking has always been about capturing the impossible. We live in an incredible age where anyone with a smartphone has a miniature filmmaking studio in their pocket; the ability to create, edit, and distribute video has never been more readily available. And yet, if we want to gain a better appreciation of the tools at our disposal, and why they work, it’s wise to look back at some of the first movies ever made (or at least the earliest films still available to us).
What was the first movie ever made?
There is a bit of debate around this subject. Humans have simulated motion for centuries through optical illusions like the phenakistoscope, invented in the early 1830s, which created the appearance of figures walking, running, or dancing by cycling through sequential images. However, if we’re talking about images captured on film and run through a projector of some kind for an audience—the foundation of cinema as we know it today—then we have a couple of contenders. These films aren’t just milestones, but also blueprints for how filmmakers first solved problems of motions, framing, and visual storytelling.
The first is photographer Eadweard Muybridge’s “The Horse in Motion,” from 1878. Using an early version of a projector called a zoopraxiscope, the images appeared to move and proved that all four of a horse’s hooves are off the ground when it gallops.
You could also go with “Roundhay Garden Scene,” from 1888, considered the first-known celluloid film. Shot at 12 frames a second, French inventor Louis Le Prince’s movie is only 2.11 seconds long, but it does hold the record for oldest surviving film. That’s no small feat when you consider the highly flammable nature of nitrate and that roughly 70% of feature-length silent films made in America have been lost.
What can filmmakers learn from the first movies?
1. The power of experimentation
We’re not saying this is a cue that your next movie should be about a horse or a garden (although if you’re a genius like Peele, you can use the Muybridge movie as a starting point for an action-horror film about the act of looking). Instead, the key lesson from these earliest films is the value of experimentation. Neither of these movies told a narrative story; the filmmakers were playing around with a new technology to see how it worked. Approach your own filmmaking with that same spirit, understanding how those tools function, testing their limits, and using the technology to serve your creative goals, instead of letting the tech dictate them.
Christopher Nolan is a modern example of this approach. Across his career, he consistently experiments with practical effects and Imax cameras, pushing cinema technology forward with each project. His insistence on shooting “Tenet” (2020) with a real Boeing 747 crash and “Oppenheimer” (2023) in Imax black-and-white film demonstrates how technical experimentation can elevate storytelling.
2. Learning from friction and constraints
While current technology is designed to make the filmmaking experience as smooth as possible, friction often fuels creativity. Working through low-stakes setbacks prepares you for higher-stakes challenges later on. Say you’re using an old 16 mm black-and-white camera with no indication that you’re running the film through it correctly. You reach the end of the day and you realize you haven’t captured anything—what will you do then? Think of filmmaking as problem-solving, and you may just be surprised at what you come up with for solutions.
Look to Robert Rodriguez as a contemporary example of how filmmakers learn from friction and constraints. The director shot “El Mariachi” (1992) with a budget of just $7,000 by shooting long one-takes with a handheld 16 mm camera. He later used those problem-solving skills to pioneer digital filmmaking with “Sin City” (2005) and the “Spy Kids” franchise.
3. The importance of deep technical knowledge
You can’t perfect your craft until you know its origins and developments. It’s nice to have an HD camera at your disposal on a daily basis, but real versatility comes from pushing beyond your comfort zone. Someone who knows how to work with digital assets and celluloid is going to have a better skill set than a person who only knows how to capture video on their phone. There will be moments when it seems like what you’re doing is too labor-intensive—but remember, the visionaries behind the first motion pictures didn’t even know what they had until they started putting in the work.
Paul Thomas Anderson exemplifies this technical fluency. His technical mastery of both digital and analog workflows allows him to make informed aesthetic choices, whether shooting the lush 70 mm of “The Master” (2012) or the intimate 35 mm of “Licorice Pizza” (2021).
4. Timing and framing
Paying meticulous attention to timing and framing can create powerful emotional responses. The Lumière Brothers’ “L’arrivée d’un train en gare de La Ciotat” (“The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station”) from 1896 was literally just footage of a train arriving at a platform. Yet this 50-second film allegedly caused audiences to scream and duck, convinced the train would crash through the screen. Just a few years later, in 1902, Georges Méliès transformed cinema from documentary observation into imaginative storytelling with “Le voyage dans la lune” (“A Trip to the Moon”), hand-coloring frames of his fantastical films and inventing special effects techniques like stop-motion substitution.
This type of technical precision can be seen in modern films like Alfonso Cuarón’s “Children of Men” (2006), which features a six-minute high-tension single-take car ambush scene; the unbroken 13-minute opening of Cuarón’s “Gravity” (2013); or the symmetrical frame compositions in any Wes Anderson film.
5. The power of legacy
Cinema’s first experiments remind us that the most powerful filmmaking tools are those wielded with curiosity, creativity, and constraint. Whether you’re working with a smartphone or an Imax camera, the fundamental challenge remains the same: Solve problems, master your tools, and never stop experimenting with the art of visual storytelling.
This article was originally featured on Backstage and has been updated.
