Fred Ott's Sneeze (also known asEdison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze) is an 1894short,black-and-whitesilent film shot byWilliam K.L. Dickson and featuringFred Ott. According to the Library of Congress, it is the second oldest surviving U.S.motion picture to be copyrighted, although it is now in the public domain.[1][2]
| Fred Ott's Sneeze | |
|---|---|
 The full film | |
| Directed by | William K.L. Dickson |
| Produced by | William K.L. Dickson |
| Starring | Fred Ott |
| Distributed by | Edison Manufacturing Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | approximately 5 seconds |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent |
In the approximately five-second film, which was shot in January 1894,[3] one ofThomas Edison's assistants,Fred Ott, takes a pinch ofsnuff and sneezes. According to the Library of Congress, the film was "made for publicity purposes, as a series of still photographs to accompany an article inHarper's Weekly."[4] The publishedHarper's Weekly version is slightly longer than what now survives on film, and depicts a second sneeze.[5]
In 2015, the United StatesLibrary of Congress selected the film for preservation in theNational Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[6][7][8]
Production
editThe film was produced by theEdison Manufacturing Company, which had begun making films in1890 under the direction of Dickson, one of the earliest film pioneers. It was filmed within theBlack Maria studio atWest Orange, New Jersey, which was the first U.S. movie studio. It was filmed between January 2, 1894, and January 7, 1894[4] and was displayed, at the time, onKinetoscope.
Current status
edit
As a filmpublished in the United States before 1978 and more than 95 years ago, itscopyright expired and the work is in thepublic domain in the United States. In countries where copyright expires70 years after the author's death, the copyright of the film expired in 2006. Originally, the film was submitted to theLibrary of Congress as a "paper print" (a photographic record of each frame of the film) for copyright purposes. A digital copy is now kept by the Library of Congress and can be viewed on theirAmerican Memory website.[4] This short film was featured at the30th Annual Academy Awards, and was included as part of the TV documentary,The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"A Sneeze Caught on Film".American Treasures of the Library of Congress. Archived fromthe original on February 6, 2017.
- ^"Scholar at the Library of Congress Identifies the First Motion Picture Ever Copyrighted".Library of Congress Newsroom. Library of Congress. October 13, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 25, 2024.
- ^Carlisle, Rodney P. (2009).Handbook to Life in America. Vol. 5. Facts On File, Incorporated. p. 148.ISBN 978-1-4381-1901-4. RetrievedNovember 19, 2020.
- ^abc"Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze, January 7, 1894". Library of Congress.Archived from the original on February 23, 2018.
- ^"Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze, January 7, 1894".Library of Congress. January 1894.
- ^Mike Barnes (December 16, 2015)."'Ghostbusters,' 'Top Gun,' 'Shawshank' Enter National Film Registry".The Hollywood Reporter. RetrievedDecember 16, 2015.
- ^"Complete National Film Registry Listing".Library of Congress. RetrievedSeptember 30, 2020.
- ^"2015 National Film Registry: "Ghostbusters" Gets the Call".Library of Congress. RetrievedSeptember 30, 2020.
- ^"Internet Movie Database Movie Connections".IMDb. RetrievedMarch 17, 2007.
External links
edit
- Library of Congress
- Library of Congress
- Video ofFred Ott's Sneeze atArchive
- Video ofFred Ott's Sneeze onYouTube
- Fred Ott's Sneeze atIMDb
- Evina, Frank (October 2004)."Copyright Lore"(PDF).Copyright Notices. U.S. Copyright Office. RetrievedJune 6, 2011.