The Photo-Drama of Creation
Encyclopedia
The Photo-Drama of Creation, or Creation-Drama, was a four-part Christian film (eight hours in total) produced by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
under the direction of Charles Taze Russell
, the founder of the Bible Student movement
.
The film presented Russell's beliefs about God's plan from the creation of the earth through to the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ.
The presentation premiered in January 1914 in New York, and in the summer of 1914 in Germany. In North America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia, over 9,000,000 people saw either the full Photo-Drama or an abbreviated version called the Eureka-Drama.
Shows that combined magic lantern
slides and film
s were common at the time, but the addition of recorded speech was unusual, and the magnitude of its distribution for a single religious production was particularly notable. At the time, the project's full cost was estimated at about $300,000 (current value $).
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, United States. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer and develop doctrines for the religion...
under the direction of Charles Taze Russell
Charles Taze Russell
Charles Taze Russell , or Pastor Russell, was a prominent early 20th century Christian restorationist minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, and founder of what is now known as the Bible Student movement, from which Jehovah's Witnesses and numerous independent Bible Student groups emerged...
, the founder of the Bible Student movement
Bible Student movement
The Bible Student movement is the name adopted by a Millennialist Restorationist Christian movement that emerged from the teachings and ministry of Charles Taze Russell, also known as Pastor Russell...
.
The film presented Russell's beliefs about God's plan from the creation of the earth through to the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ.
History
Production began in 1912, and the presentation was introduced to audiences in 1914. It was the first major screenplay to incorporate synchronized sound, moving film, and color slides. Russell also published an accompanying book, Scenario of the Photo-Drama of Creation, in various languages.The presentation premiered in January 1914 in New York, and in the summer of 1914 in Germany. In North America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia, over 9,000,000 people saw either the full Photo-Drama or an abbreviated version called the Eureka-Drama.
Shows that combined magic lantern
Magic lantern
The magic lantern or Laterna Magica is an early type of image projector developed in the 17th century.-Operation:The magic lantern has a concave mirror in front of a light source that gathers light and projects it through a slide with an image scanned onto it. The light rays cross an aperture , and...
slides and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s were common at the time, but the addition of recorded speech was unusual, and the magnitude of its distribution for a single religious production was particularly notable. At the time, the project's full cost was estimated at about $300,000 (current value $).
External links
- RealMedia: "The Photo-Drama of Creation"
- Pastor Russell´s ministry
- Scanned PDF of original book version of Photo Drama of Creation
- Watch the full "Photo-Drama of Creation" on You-Tube
Further reading
- Richard Alan Nelson, “Propaganda for God: Pastor Charles Taze Russell and the Multi-Media Photo-Drama of Creation (1914),” in Roland Cosandey, André Gaudreault, and Tom Gunning, editors, Une Invention du diable? Cinéma des premiers temps et religion - An Invention of the Devil? Religion and Early Cinema, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada: Les Presses de l’Université Laval & Lausanne, Suisse: Éditions Payot Lausanne, 1992, 230-255; ISBN 2-7637-7300-1.