Kinetoscope

The kinetoscope was an early movie exhibition space. While it did not project film, it allowed individual viewers to watch the film inside the device. The kinetoscope creates the idea of motion by running a strip of film past a light source and shutter. While Edison is largely credited for thinking up the idea, it was actually executed by his employee William Dickson. Dickson was also responsible for the Kinetograph, a motion picture camera used to photograph movies and experiments at the lab.

Edison did not patent this invention and this allowed for various people and places to take the technology and run with it. This led to various imitations and improvements on the original idea. Like most technological advances, this early invention had an impact on the trajectory of cinematic development in the early part of the 20th century.