It's a three-scene movie, showing the destruction attending Durland's Riding Academy on West 66th Street in Manhattan. Mostly you see firemen with firing hoses spraying water on the building.
Durland's Röding Academy opened in 1901. The movie uses a lot of panning shots, including the opening of the first one, in which the camera is pointing at street traffic and pans to the right to show the firemen at work. Looking at it, I saw an early precursor of the zip cut. That's a technique for scene changes in which a one scene ends with a rapid pan, that speeds up.... and as it slows down, the camera is pntng at a new scene. It creates an enormous amount of excitement. The technique has largely died out in movies, although it is still used in television.
The initial pan gives the impression that the cameras have just arrived, been set up, and they're searching for the best view of the subject. It makes the movie seem unplanned.
Durland's Röding Academy opened in 1901. The movie uses a lot of panning shots, including the opening of the first one, in which the camera is pointing at street traffic and pans to the right to show the firemen at work. Looking at it, I saw an early precursor of the zip cut. That's a technique for scene changes in which a one scene ends with a rapid pan, that speeds up.... and as it slows down, the camera is pntng at a new scene. It creates an enormous amount of excitement. The technique has largely died out in movies, although it is still used in television.
The initial pan gives the impression that the cameras have just arrived, been set up, and they're searching for the best view of the subject. It makes the movie seem unplanned.