Who invented the movie fade-out effect? Some director, I assume. D.W. Griffith maybe?
http://www.cnn.com/books/news/9808/05/film.100/
FWIW, I Googled “movie history invented fade out.”
Linwood Dunn did have a huge impact on special effects in movies but he can’t be credited with inventing the fade-in or fade-out. He didn’t start in films until the 1920’s and this source references various films starting in 1911 that made frequent use of fades and iris shots to mark the beginning or ending of scenes. It does not provide the name of any specific individual as coming up with the technique however.
Facts. Paltry facts.
Who you gonna believe, facts or Scott Smith via CNN via Google?
The claim has been made on behalf of the early British director James Williamson for his 1904 film The Old Chorister, whose scenes are divided by fades to black and back.
Okay, I’ll have to break out the DVD’s at home tonight, so until I can confirm it I THINK there are fade outs in some of the works by George Melies.
I’m pretty sure Melies does use it. If not at least the iris in or iris out effect is in there somewhere.
Drat! I struck out with Melies. What I thought was a fade here or there turned out to be dissolves. Also struck out with the Lumiere Brothers.
Then, low and behold, there was a fadeout. It was an “actuality.”
The title “President McKinley at Home.” 1897. And because I read his autobiography I know the cameraman was Billy Bitzer while he was working for American Mutoscope. This is not proof of the first of anything, but we’ve got a fadeout in 1897.
The Wikipedia page for Billy Bitzer makes the claim that he was the one who came up with the fade out among other innovations.