
In looking through the Library of Congress’s library of early Edison films, I decided to view all of the trick films, of which there were fifteen from 1895 to 1901. These films generally take advantage of creative editing to produce illusions. My film study generally focused on describing the poetics for the majority of trick films and examining the evolutionary outlier characteristics present in a few of the later films. Largely, the trick film at the turn of the century is set-bound, composed within a frontal proscenium, features no camera movement, uses long and medium shots, and adheres to the strict one shot = one film methodology. However, there are some films at the beginning of the twentieth century that dare to break these guidelines by introducing aspects such as multiple shots.
One of the most noticeable aspects that the trick films share in common is their filming in an interior set within the frame of a frontal proscenium. The camera does not move from its proscenium position to follow figures or objects. This composition was very common in early films, and drew its root from the theatre and, for trick films, vaudeville and magic acts. One of the limitations inherent in the use of the stage is that figures in trick films generally only move side-to-side, and do not walk towards or away from the camera. Take, for example, the action in the film Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel (1900). The actors enter from the right side and move back and forth along the horizontal axis. Even as they go out of the frame, the camera does not follow them.
The frontal proscenium style of composition also means that shots tend to be long shots and, more rarely, medium shots. Close-up shots are never used in any of the trick films from the Edison catalog. This borrows from the theatre and vaudeville tradition, where the audience would see the entire performance at any given time, framed by the borders of the stage. As in most early films, the actors do not move from the middle ground towards the camera, so close-ups never occur.
Generally, most early trick films follow the pattern that one conceptual shot equals a film. This limits the length of most trick films to about a minute or less, depending on the frames per second used. It also limits the dramatic or narrative usage of the trick films; most of them focus on short vaudeville-style tricks, such as magic, disappearing, and switching acts with little story. Note, however, that in a trick film, one conceptual shot in the viewer’s eyes does not actually equal one physical shot. A single “shot” may actually be several joined together to produce the illusion of apparition or disappearing. Look carefully at The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895), one of the earlier trick films. A more thorough inspection reveals the moment where the physical shot with Mary’s severed “head” begins, even though the whole film is conceptually one shot to the viewer. 