About

Known credits:
57
Birthday:
1880-01-12
Place of birth:
London, England
Website:
N/A

F. Percy Smith

Overview

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)

Known for

Directing
1933 Gathering Moss Directing Director N/A
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1933 Brewster's Magic Directing Director N/A
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1932 Romance in a Pond Directing Director N/A
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1931 The World in a Wine-Glass Directing Director N/A
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1931 Magic Myxies Directing Director N/A
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1930 The Strangler Directing Director 59
Average
1930 Peas and Cues Directing Director 59
Average
1930 Down Under Directing Director N/A
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1929 Scarlet Runner & Co Directing Director N/A
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1929 The Frog Directing Director N/A
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1927 Floral Co-operative Societies Directing Director N/A
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1927 The Plants of the Pantry Directing Director N/A
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1926 The Battle of the Plants Directing Director N/A
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1926 The Phantom Directing Director N/A
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1925 Tale of a Tendril Directing Director N/A
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1925 Bertie's Cave Directing Director N/A
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1921 Nature's Handiwork Directing Director N/A
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1915 Fight for the Dardanelles Directing Director N/A
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1911 Varieties of Sweet Peas Directing Director N/A
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1911 The Strength and Agility of Insects Directing Director 59
Average
1910 The Birth of a Flower Directing Director 59
Average
1910 The Acrobatic Fly Directing Director 59
Average
1909 To Demonstrate How Spiders Fly Directing Director 58
Average
1908 Story of the Silk Moth Directing Director N/A
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Writing
1915 Fight for the Dardanelles Writing Story N/A
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Camera
1945 Fresh As a Daisy Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1944 Memories Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1943 The Life History of the Onion Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1943 The Life Cycle of the Pin Mould Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1942 The Life Cycle of the Newt Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1942 Overlooked Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1942 The Life Cycle of the Maize Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1942 Singing While They Work Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1938 The Tough 'un Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1936 Lupins Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1936 He Would a-Wooing Go Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1936 Safety First Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1933 Gathering Moss Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1933 Brewster's Magic Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1932 Romance in a Pond Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1932 Nature's Double Lifters Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1931 The World in a Wine-Glass Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1930 The Strangler Camera Director of Photography 59
Average
1930 Peas and Cues Camera Director of Photography 59
Average
1929 Scarlet Runner & Co Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1927 Floral Co-operative Societies Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1927 The Plants of the Pantry Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1927 The Story of a Glass of Water Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1927 Plant Magic Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1926 Seed Time Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1926 The Battle of the Plants Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1925 Tale of a Tendril Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1913 The Wonders of Harmonic Designing Camera Director of Photography N/A
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1910 The Birth of a Flower Camera Director of Photography 59
Average
1909 To Demonstrate How Spiders Fly Camera Director of Photography 58
Average

Crew
2016 Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith Crew Cinematography 59
Average

Visual Effects
1915 Fight for the Dardanelles Visual Effects Animation N/A
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