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Edison's Groundbreaking Invention
The Motion Picture Camera
The Kinetograph, invented in the late 1880s by Thomas Edison and his assistant, William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, captured a series of still photographs on celluloid film, which created an illusion of movement. The Kinetograph was a crucial step in the development of early film technology and the birth of cinema. Eventually, as the technology progressed, filmmakers travelled to different cities around the country trying to find a "paradise" location for shooting movies.
Film Cities in the 20th Century
Fort Lee, New Jersey
The Birthplace of Cinema
"The First Film Capital of the World"
New York City, New York
Nickelodeons and Movie Palaces
Chicago, Illinois
Chaplin Shot Movies in Chicago before Moving West
"The Winter Capital of The World"
Jacksonville, Florida
Filmmakers setup for business in Jacksonville, Florida due to the year-round nice weather, many swamps, forests, and an easy way to get to the railroad. However, as time went on, many filmmakers left from the local Jacksonville area that were not accustomed to the "chaos" of what filmmaking brings. Hollywood at this time was already growing with other industry enterprises. The politics also did not support the building of movie studios in Jacksonville for future use. After World War I, the industry was forced to leave Jacksonville. While there have been a movies made in Florida, most of them were produced in Jacksonville in the 1990s, decades later. Jacksonville also has a wide market of independent filmmakers that have recently received global attention through winning the "Filmapolooze" with "Jartoman" in 2023, and then going to Cannas Film Festival in France to screen the winning film, "Threshold". Jacksonville's movie industry seems to be moving back to grow from independent studios to a major movie studio city in the years to come.
Metro Pictures
Jacksonville, Florida
Later Became MGM in Hollywood
Norman Studios
The Only Studio Building Left In Jacksonville
Heading To Hollywood
The filmmakers around the country realized that the weather in their cities was not ideal for shooting, as well as for Edison, many legal troubles made it almost impossible to find a common place to build a new industry. At that time, Los Angeles, California was welcoming newcomers with open arms, and so the filmmakers headed west and that's how Hollywood was born as the new home for movie making.
Jacksonville's Future in the Movies
Movies are a mirror for people to see themselves, to escape, to learn how to improve, and feel a sense of belonging within a community. This tradition has been lost and forgotten in the current system of the film industry. Instead, movie studios continually recreate what has already worked, remaking it over and over again. The public does not want this to be their mass entertainment. Movie theater attendance is in decline, while living room TVs are rising in popularity.
This current system is driven more by profits from recycled content than by what actually drives long-term revenue: the story. It is Jacksonville's destiny to rise and become the new Hollywood of original ideas—stories dreamed up from real-life experiences that profoundly shape our shared humanity. Jacksonville’s rich history and unique approach to filmmaking make it clear that it creates movies not just for profit, but for the world—and perhaps, a little better than Hollywood ever could.
Therefore, it will serve as a guide and a shining example of how all movie studios—starting with Strada Productions—can restore viewership in theaters and give movie lovers what they truly long for: real, impactful, and influential entertainment that shapes the future of cinema for centuries to come.
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