A couple of women come on stage in Japanese costumes and perform magic tricks in this Segundo de Chomon film.
One of the ladies is Julienne Mathieu, who frequently appeared in de Chomon's movies; she was his wife. As for the movie itself, it is a typical film from the director, a magic act based on camera tricks.
It's interesting because, in the fashion typical of de Chomon and his principal competitor of the era, Georges Melies, the illusions follow in fast succession. Most are of the "stop cranking the camera and move to the next set-up" variety. That's difficult enough, since it requires props and actors to be placed precisely that the mind can perceive their instantaneous substitution for transformation. A few are the result of masking off part of the camera, shooting a scene, reversing the masking and shooting a different scene. Since this all had to be done in the camera, it was frustrating, finicky work and, for the era, spectacular.
One of the ladies is Julienne Mathieu, who frequently appeared in de Chomon's movies; she was his wife. As for the movie itself, it is a typical film from the director, a magic act based on camera tricks.
It's interesting because, in the fashion typical of de Chomon and his principal competitor of the era, Georges Melies, the illusions follow in fast succession. Most are of the "stop cranking the camera and move to the next set-up" variety. That's difficult enough, since it requires props and actors to be placed precisely that the mind can perceive their instantaneous substitution for transformation. A few are the result of masking off part of the camera, shooting a scene, reversing the masking and shooting a different scene. Since this all had to be done in the camera, it was frustrating, finicky work and, for the era, spectacular.
