A lightning machine was a special effects device used in the film industry to simulate lightning flashes.[1][2][3] It is part of the array of devices used to reproduce weather, exterior scenes, and other natural phenomena. These include the fog machine, wind machine, and storm towers.[4] These devices were also employed in live showings of some cinemas,[5] and in popular science exhibits.[6][7] Accounts cited that the lightning machine requires a considerable amount of electricity, causing a noticeable drain on the lights.[8] There was an incident when the enormous flashes it produced was interpreted as desperate calls for assistance by the fire department.[9]

One of the earliest forms of lightning machines was recorded in ancient Greece. A list of stage contraptions, for instance, was described by Julius Pollux in his Onomasticon and part of this was the keraunoskopeion, which was a lightning machine.[10]

References

  1. ↑ James C. Udel The Film Crew of Hollywood: Profiles of Grips, ... 2013- Page 112 1476602263 ".. (or rebalance it for the voltage pull of the lightning machine, which would cause a noticeable drain on the lights anyway), "
  2. ↑ Paul Zollo Hollywood Remembered: An Oral History of Its Golden Age 1589796039 2011 "They had a wind machine and a lightning machine and I was in heaven, and Dolores Del Rio is in this white coat with this black hair waiting ..."
  3. ↑ LIFE - 7 Aug 1944 - Page 74 "MACHINES MAKE MOVIE WEATHER Because studio overhead is so high, movies must be filmed as quickly as possible. Making them indoors on a sound ... LIGHTNING MACHINE is giant carbon arc. Sometimes this device is enclosed to ..."
  4. ↑ Popular Mechanics. Hearst Magazines. 1936. p. 359.
  5. ↑ Ben M. Hall The golden age of the movie palace: the best remaining seats 1961 "In Denver, the Isis Theatre reached new meteorological heights when a lightning machine was installed as part of the organ. The organist, with the help of ..."
  6. ↑ Popular Mechanics Magic lantern comes back with talkies Oct 1937 - Page 530 "Fifty-Foot "Atom Smasher" Shoots Man-Made Lightnin Here is the giant lightning machine which science will use in ... "
  7. ↑ Henry Haven Windsor Popular Mechanics Magazine: Written So You Can Understand it 1937 "A windowless tower, 135 feet high, houses the artificial lightning machine at the Emperor Wilhelm Institute of Physics. ... Several reels of moving pictures were taken, the movie camera being synchronized with the motor. "
  8. ↑ Udel, James (2013). The Film Crew of Hollywood: Profiles of Grips, Cinematographers, Designers, a Gaffer, a Stuntman and a Makeup Artist. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 112. ISBN 9780786464845.
  9. ↑ Kear, Lynn; King, James (2009). Evelyn Brent: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Lady Crook. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. pp. 26. ISBN 9780786443635.
  10. ↑ Kuritz, Paul (1988). The Making of Theatre History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. p. 28. ISBN 9780135478615.


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