Projections
Shadow Puppets Backlit shadows of these puppets are projected onto a screen and used to tell popular myths and stories in community performances.
Camera Obscura Precursor to the modern camera, it uses the principles of perspective and light refraction to capture an image of the real world through a small hole in a darkened chamber.
Magic Lantern Basically a slide projector, it projects images painted on glass slides. The earliest version used a candle as light source and convex mirrors to project. This technology is the basis for the projection mechanism of film.

Moving Images
Diorama Changing an image by adjusting the light source creates the illusion of moving through time. When presented on a large scale in a darkened theater, 30 minute shows would transport viewers into distant lands.
Choreutoscope Using a shutter mechanism, it creates the illusion of movement with consecutive frames of images. This is the same principle used in animation.
Thaumatrope Two different images are depicted on either side of a piece of paper. When spun on a string, the images merge into one. This optical illusion is based on the same principle as film. When delivered at a certain speed, the still images on the frames of film merge and our brains filter out the flickering between frames, creating a seamless illusion.

Chromatropes Two slides are places on top of each other and projected or backlit. Moving the slides makes the image appear to move. Some modern special effects are based on the same principle.
Edison's Film of Facial Expressions Thomas Edison was one of the early developers of cinema. He experimented with recording sounds and images, and discovered that "24 frames per second" was the ratio required to create an illusion of seamless movement in the eye of the viewer.

Special Effects
Panoramas and Dioramas Like IMAX theaters today, panoramas were designed to engulf the viewer in the image. They can be hand-held scrolls that unfold as you roll out the scene. Panoramas can also be large circular paintings that are viewed on the walls of a circular room (a rotunda). Standing in the middle of the room, you would be placed in the middle of a recent event or far away location.
Tchin-Chao, the Chinese Conjuror This early film uses editing to present magnificent feats of magic. Because early viewers did not understand the principles behind film, the illusion was complete. Such editing is still a mainstay of modern special effects.

New Technology -- Imagine you've never seen a movie before. What would it be like seeing one for the first time? What would surprise you? How would you react? Movies seem to be an intrinsic part of our world today, but only a century ago, they were a fascinating novelty. Have students think about how special effects from movies made just a few years ago seem old-fashioned and unrealistic now. Why is this so?

Social History -- Why do you think people like to go to the movies? Why do you think movie stars are so popular in our culture? Movies allow us to see and imagine other worlds and give people across the country and the world similar stories to share. Have students think about the ways that movies can offer an escape from our own lives and also make the world seem smaller.