The Slide

The Slide (1878) can be identified as the first example of applying linear perspective in the history of moving images. Émile Reynaud depicted three boys taking turns on an ice slide before finally jumping over a vault. The setting provides the opportunity to position the human figure deep within the image, therefore requiring adjustment of each actor’s proportions as they move away from and towards the spectator. Perspective had been used in painting since the Renaissance; however, what is striking is how quickly Reynaud experimented with the technique in animation. This short film, together with other Praxinoscope works, made significant advances in the development of animation, predating even the most basic techniques attempted by early celluloid filmmakers.