Early cinema

Non-fiction films were present at the birth of moving pictures. The earliest films consisted of single shots of everyday events and were, by definition, documentary. Perhaps the often quoted example of the Lumière brothers' Leaving the Factory (1894), or The Arrival of a Train (1896), are good examples of how early cinema audiences were fascinated by witnessing real-life events. These films became known as actualités and, by and large, recorded the world about them with no other purpose than to present it to the audience. Because cameras could hold only very small amounts of film, many of these films were single shots, a minute or less in length. Also, lenses and film stock needed plenty of light: most shooting was outdoors or in studios with glass roofs.

However, it is interesting to note that beyond the first rush of fascination, audiences tired quite quickly of static everyday scenes and wanted more. Film-makers soon discovered that in order to hold the audience's attention some sort of narrative needed to be applied to their films. In turn that narrative needed to be convincing and compelling. Another train film The Kiss in the Tunnel (GA Smith, 1899) introduced the first edit into a film and so created possibilities of not only telling a story, but also creating an impression.

Early pioneers of film-making, most notably Georges Méliès, wasted no time in experimenting with film by using cinematic devices borrowed from photographic techniques, such as double exposures to create ghost-like effects, or fantasy sequences, such as the famous A Trip to the Moon (1902). In so doing, a new language of cinema was developing with masks, multiple exposures, superimposition and lap dissolves all delighting audiences, but also pointing film-makers in a direction which would assist them in telling their stories, both fictional and factual.

As filming techniques improved so too came the desire to achieve greater camera mobility and use editing devices to deliver messages. Also, with the development of the art of film-making and the growth of cinema attendance, non-fiction films offered more than just entertainment value. They served to educate and inform audiences about the world. Indeed, the lens of the camera became like a window on the world - the first attempts to reach a global audience.

What the audience saw and responded to were real-life subjects acting spontaneously or displaying real skills and demonstrating real emotions.

An important early film example of this is Frank Hurley's South (1919) that documented the failed Antarctic expedition led by Ernest Shackleton (see also BFI DVDs).