F. Percy Smith

Directing·Jan 12, 1880·London, England

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A distinguished pioneer of scientific filmmaking, Percy Smith was born in London in 1880. Working as a clerk at the Board of Education, Percy began to photograph the natural world around him, nursing a lifelong fascination with all manner of plant and animal life. His close-up photograph of a bluebottle's tongue caught the attention of film entrepreneur Charles Urban, who quickly began to exhibit Percy's work in London theatres. After the considerable success of sequences such as The Balancing Bluebottle, where he recorded flies juggling, Percy finally joined Urban as a full-time filmmaker in 1910. Before the outbreak of the First World War, Percy completed over fifty nature films for the Urban Sciences series including, in 1910, the famous piece, The Birth of a Flower. An early example of stop-motion photography, the film was hugely popular. Meticulously researching his subjects, Percy devised ingenious ways to film slow-growing plant life - modifying his equipment with gramophone needles, candle wicks and other assorted objects, allowing him to continue filming plant movement even as he slept. In 1911 his study, The Strength and Agility of Insects sparked a huge press debate - detailing a range of insects as they lift tiny dumbbells, twirl matchsticks and juggle objects much heavier than themselves he had to dispel rumours of trickery and cruelty by revealing his innovative filming techniques. Percy went on to serve as a naval photographer during the War and, upon his return, began work for British Instructional Films (BIF). Contributing to the company's widely acclaimed Secrets of Nature series he worked on numerous films, including An Aquarium in a Wineglass (1926), The Home Wrecker (1929) and Magic Myxies (1931). He continued to work on the project in the 1930s when it became known as Secrets of Life and in 1939 published Secrets of Nature, a review of the filming techniques used throughout the series. (via wildfilmhistory.org)

Film	Credit
Wisdom of the Wild1940 · Director	Director
Gathering Moss1933 · Director, Director of Photography	Director, Director of Photography
Brewster's Magic1933 · Director, Director of Photography	Director, Director of Photography
Romance in a Pond1932 · Director, Director of Photography	Director, Director of Photography
The World in a Wine-Glass1931 · Director of Photography, Director	Director of Photography, Director
Magic Myxies1931 · Director	Director
The Strangler1930 · Director of Photography, Director	Director of Photography, Director
Peas and Cues1930 · Director, Director of Photography	Director, Director of Photography
DDown Under1930 · Director	Director
Scarlet Runner & Co1929 · Director, Director of Photography	Director, Director of Photography
TThe Frog1929 · Director	Director
Floral Co-operative Societies1927 · Director of Photography, Director	Director of Photography, Director
The Plants of the Pantry1927 · Director, Director of Photography	Director, Director of Photography
The Battle of the Plants1926 · Director, Director of Photography	Director, Director of Photography
TThe Phantom1926 · Director	Director
Tale of a Tendril1925 · Director, Director of Photography	Director, Director of Photography
BBertie's Cave1925 · Director	Director
NNature's Handiwork1921 · Director	Director
FFight for the Dardanelles1915 · Director	Director
Varieties of Sweet Peas1911 · Director	Director
TThe Strength and Agility of Insects1911 · Director	Director
The Birth of a Flower1910 · Director, Director of Photography	Director, Director of Photography
EEtude de fleurs1910 · Director	Director
TThe Acrobatic Fly1910 · Director	Director
To Demonstrate How Spiders Fly1909 · Director, Director of Photography	Director, Director of Photography
SStory of the Silk Moth1908 · Director	Director