Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
The earliest surviving motion-picture film, and believed to be one of the very first moving images ever created, was shot by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince using the LPCCP Type-1 MkII single-lens camera. It was taken on paper-based photographic film in the garden of Oakwood Grange, the Whitley family house in Roundhay, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire (UK), on 14 October 1888. The film shows Adolphe Le Prince (Le Prince’s son), Mrs. Sarah Whitley (Le Prince’s mother-in-law), Joseph Whitley, and Miss Harriet Hartley walking around in circles, laughing to themselves, and staying within the area framed by the camera. Roundhay Garden Scene is often associated with a recording speed of around 12 frames per second and runs for about 2 to 3 seconds.
The Roundhay Garden Scene is a 2-3 second film of people walking in a garden — there is virtually no plot or narrative structure to speak of, and no meaningful ending. Acting is rudimentary at best, with subjects simply milling about. However, its cinematography earns recognition as a genuine technical marvel for 1888 — the mere fact that motion was captured at all on a single-lens camera is extraordinary. Novelty is an unambiguous 4: this is literally the earliest surviving motion picture, a singular artifact in all of human history. No film can claim greater novelty of conception. The ending scores a 1 simply because the film cuts off abruptly with no resolution, a consequence of its 2-3 second runtime.