0:00:05 > 0:00:10In 1908, cinema audiences across the world were amazed
0:00:10 > 0:00:15by the release of a British short film called The Acrobatic Fly.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Shot on a primitive, hand-cranked camera,
0:00:26 > 0:00:30these images of a fly apparently juggling small objects
0:00:30 > 0:00:35launched the career of cameraman and director Percy Smith.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40Smith was passionate about two things. Firstly, natural history.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43But secondly, the new and exciting medium of film.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54Smith wanted to show ordinary people the wonders of the natural world.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58He used complex film techniques never previously seen.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Oh, very good. Very good.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04And his work would inspire the filmmakers
0:01:04 > 0:01:06and naturalists who followed in his wake.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10I saw those films and I was knocked out by them.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14It was the first time we ever saw anything remotely like that.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17My name is Charlie Hamilton James.
0:01:17 > 0:01:18Oh, wow.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22And I'm a professional wildlife photographer and cameraman.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27I want to recreate Smith's insect classic, The Acrobatic Fly.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31And I want to do it, if I can, using only original equipment
0:01:31 > 0:01:33and techniques.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35- CRACK! - Oh!
0:01:35 > 0:01:37HE LAUGHS
0:01:37 > 0:01:42To learn how, I'll need to travel back to the very birth of cinema.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44- You've got a picture.- An image.
0:01:44 > 0:01:45While I'm there,
0:01:45 > 0:01:50I hope to piece together the forgotten story of Percy Smith,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53a genius of natural history film.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Epping Forest, just a few miles from the heart of London.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43It was here, in the closing years of the 19th century,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46that Percy Smith fell in love with nature.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Percy especially liked spiders.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07He was completely in awe of their incredible complexity
0:03:07 > 0:03:09and their physiology.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12And as a young man, he even improvised his own microscope
0:03:12 > 0:03:17so that he could study their intricate bodies in detail.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20So the obvious next step was to photograph them.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36These images were used to illustrate lectures Percy gave
0:03:36 > 0:03:38to London's Quekett Microscopical Club.
0:03:40 > 0:03:41But he didn't just like spiders.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47Still in his early 20s, Smith began editing the club journal,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51filling its pages with a variety of surreal photographs.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59Not least this striking image of a blowfly sucking honey
0:03:59 > 0:04:01from the tip of a needle.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06BUZZING
0:04:14 > 0:04:20Well, Tim, I'll be honest, they're not my favourite animal,
0:04:20 > 0:04:25but there's no denying they are pretty fascinating, aren't they?
0:04:25 > 0:04:27They are gruesome, I'll give you that.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30But I think maybe the reason why they are so gruesome is
0:04:30 > 0:04:33because they are so different to us.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36The scientific name of these flies is one of my favourite Latin names,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39- which is Calliphora vomitoria. - That is brilliant, isn't it?
0:04:39 > 0:04:44And it's called this because the fly literally vomits up juices
0:04:44 > 0:04:47in order to dissolve the food it's got to feed on.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- And that's why I don't like them. - THEY LAUGH
0:04:50 > 0:04:52That's why I DO like them!
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Do you think Percy saw beauty in that incredible physiology
0:04:57 > 0:04:59- and evolution?- Definitely.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03I think Percy was that classic example of an enthusiastic amateur,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07and that's not saying that to put down Percy for being an amateur.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Some of the best scientists over the past few hundred years have been
0:05:10 > 0:05:13amateurs. Like Charles Darwin, for example - he was an amateur.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16So Percy wasn't doing this because it was his job.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19He had a boring job during the day, an office job,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23and he came home at night and he used to look into these things,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26and that's because he was fascinated. That's what drove him.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Since leaving school at 14, Percy had in fact been employed
0:05:33 > 0:05:37as a junior clerk at the Board of Education.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39He hated it.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42He once tied a bluebottle to a length of string,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45tethered it to his desk and kept it as a pet.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50Smith, though, wasn't just fascinated by insects.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58The British film Institute
0:05:58 > 0:06:02today preserves 275,000 films.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10Among them are some of the 200 releases Smith made over 37 years.
0:06:21 > 0:06:26Smith is usually credited as cameraman, and sometimes director.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Though in this early silent film,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32he makes a rare appearance in front of the camera.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22A friend of mine was in the basement of the BFI watching some films
0:07:22 > 0:07:26and he spotted a film which was about animals and wildlife.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30So I took a look at it and there he was.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34Percy Smith.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41We think the film is about 1912, it's difficult to say
0:07:41 > 0:07:43because there's no records of it, which is why
0:07:43 > 0:07:48we never knew about it before, so it's a very recent discovery.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57There's a bit where he's got white rats crawling all over him
0:07:57 > 0:08:01and in fact one bites him on the neck, which is worth watching for.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06The delightful eccentricity is the thing that comes across.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09It's an unusual personality type.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17My favourite bit is a very touching bit where he has a baby chimp
0:08:17 > 0:08:19on one side of him
0:08:19 > 0:08:23and an orang-utan on the other, which has quite a soulful face.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29There's an incredible continuity between the films
0:08:29 > 0:08:33and the filmmaking style that began with Percy Smith,
0:08:33 > 0:08:39all the way through early television to the big productions of today.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41So he's like Attenborough.
0:08:41 > 0:08:47Mainly he's an enthusiast and his job is to enthuse people
0:08:47 > 0:08:50about this subject and, as a filmmaker,
0:08:50 > 0:08:52with that job, there was none finer.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Plagued by repeated failure,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Percy's Acrobatic Fly took many weeks to shoot.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20We tape this on here, a nice even white background.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25'Before attempting to film my own fly, I want to photograph one.'
0:09:25 > 0:09:28This is the world's smallest studio we're making.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33'I hope to recreate Smith's own 1907 bluebottle still.'
0:09:33 > 0:09:35OK, there's our pinhead.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38So we've only got a very fine line where the fly will be in focus.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Is it a matter of millimetres at either side?
0:09:41 > 0:09:45- I would have said it's in tenths of millimetres.- Really?- Yeah.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47- So we have to be on the dot. - Absolutely.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51I could probably just cope with your hand moving the tiniest amount,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55but even walking on the floor here it goes in and out of focus.
0:09:55 > 0:09:56Really?
0:09:56 > 0:10:01Do you think we can handle this fly without hurting it?
0:10:01 > 0:10:06- Because, bizarrely or not, I don't actually want to hurt the fly.- No.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09The good thing about working with insects is, if you do this
0:10:09 > 0:10:12with a hamster, we'd be worried about bruising it or damaging it.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16But because with flies their skeleton is on the outside,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18we can handle it. As long as we're careful,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21we know we're not going to hurt it in any way, so I can pinch it
0:10:21 > 0:10:24by the wings and we can let it go at the end, and it'll fly away.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25Oh!
0:10:25 > 0:10:28- OK, let's see if he's hungry. - Here we go.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Come on, come on. It's so close, don't get your foot in the way.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36He's really got his tongue out, this guy.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41(Come on, come on.)
0:10:41 > 0:10:43- Can you see it?- Yes.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50- It's trying...- He's chasing it. Will we have a look?- Yep.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54It's pin sharp, so we can see all the detail in it,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58but it's not Percy's shot, is it? The tongue isn't touching the honey.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03There are so many that are almost there but just not quite.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05Let's try one more.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08- Here we go. - Got his tongue out, ready.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10OK...
0:11:10 > 0:11:11Come on.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19- That's him.- This is the one.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23I reckon I've got it.
0:11:23 > 0:11:24Wow, look at these.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28- Oh, that's it.- Look at that.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31THEY LAUGH
0:11:32 > 0:11:34That's sensational.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36We haven't got the full extension on the tongue going along
0:11:36 > 0:11:39to the honey, but it doesn't matter cos he's still got the full...
0:11:39 > 0:11:42You can see exactly what is going on, can't you?
0:11:42 > 0:11:43It's not far off, is it?
0:11:43 > 0:11:47It's amazing, all these tiny little hairs and all the detail in it.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Don't you think it's beautiful when you look close up?
0:11:49 > 0:11:52It's even got the kind of gingery beard on the bottom.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57You don't think of a bluebottle as having a ginger beard, really!
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Even with the latest equipment, getting the shot was hard.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06But getting it over 100 years ago,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10that would have been something really impressive.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20In May 1908, Smith's fly photo found its way to the London headquarters
0:12:20 > 0:12:22of entrepreneur Charles Urban.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Urban, a film industry pioneer, had been in the business
0:12:32 > 0:12:34since the 1890s.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38His company, Kineto, sold state-of-the-art film
0:12:38 > 0:12:42processing and cinema projection equipment, and it wasn't cheap.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48The patented Urban DX camera would have cost Percy
0:12:48 > 0:12:49and entire year's salary.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54But Kineto had other business, too.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59Urban didn't just want to make film equipment. He wanted to make films.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Charles Urban really was one of the world's first movie producers,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07a kind of media mogul, if you like.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09And, by the turn of the 20th century,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12he was already producing hundreds of films a year.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16And these were short films, some of them two or three minutes long.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18But the public had a real hunger for them.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21They had a real hunger for factual documentary,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23which was really then in its infancy.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43The Edwardians were fascinated by film.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50But Urban himself was no populist.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53He believed the new medium was being wasted
0:13:53 > 0:13:55on trivial mass entertainment.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12With his ambitious new Science Series,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16he wanted to commission films which illuminated and educated.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22But to do that, he needed the talent to make them.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26When he met Percy Smith in 1908, he realised
0:14:26 > 0:14:30he had the perfect person to shoot the Urban Science Series.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35On the strength of Smith's bluebottle photograph,
0:14:35 > 0:14:40Urban now gave him a job and new equipment.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45At 28, Percy was now a professional wildlife cameraman.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Right here at the back of the camera we've got a little hatch,
0:15:03 > 0:15:04which you open,
0:15:04 > 0:15:09- and through there, you can actually look at the back of the film.- Wow.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13- Focus up and frame up your image. - Mm-hm.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15And then of course you retract the tube,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17close that and you're ready to go.
0:15:17 > 0:15:23To shoot my own Acrobatic Fly, I'm going to need one of these.
0:15:23 > 0:15:24If we look inside the camera...
0:15:26 > 0:15:28..you'll see the dots of the mechanism,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31- the main power drive, if you like. - That's beautiful.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33- Beautifully engineered. - It is, isn't it?
0:15:33 > 0:15:36- Is this all the original workings? - This is all original.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39- It looks immaculate.- It's beautiful. They're all handmade, essentially.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43This side is actually geared so that you actually do...
0:15:43 > 0:15:45One turn does eight frames,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49so if you're filming at normal speed, you do two turns a second.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52Lovely.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54And effortless as well.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Amazing considering it's over 100 years old.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02And let's have a look at the front.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07- Here...- Let's have a look.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11- This is the film gate, where the film is exposed.- Mm-hm.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16Here, you can see the shutter, and it's a circular shutter.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20That's doing that one frame at a time.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25'The camera's engineered to deliver intermittent motion,
0:16:25 > 0:16:29'which means it doesn't just run the film continuously past the shutter,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33'it actually stops it 16 times a second,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37'allowing one frame to be exposed before moving onto the next.'
0:16:41 > 0:16:43So, I think having seen that,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46let's have a look at the inside of the camera on this side.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57The film is actually laced through the camera across these
0:16:57 > 0:17:00sprocket rollers here, through the gate,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03back through these sprocket rollers and into the take-up magazine.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05- And these bits come out? - They come out.
0:17:05 > 0:17:06They just pull out.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11So you would take that out and go into a darkroom or a changing bag,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14put the film in, then you could just...the rest of it in daylight?
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Yeah.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Unfortunately, I can't use this camera to shoot my film.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22I'll need to get one somewhere else.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Smith's original fly film premiered during a lecture
0:17:30 > 0:17:33he gave to the Royal Photographic Society.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37The screening drew polite applause from an audience of academics.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40What happened next stunned everyone.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Just going through Percy's archive
0:18:02 > 0:18:05and all his scrapbooks.
0:18:06 > 0:18:12It makes you realise just how he had affected the press.
0:18:12 > 0:18:13He was all over it.
0:18:13 > 0:18:19There's even here, amazingly, political cartoons based on
0:18:19 > 0:18:20The Acrobatic Fly,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24which means he really had infiltrated the national psyche.
0:18:32 > 0:18:38The papers have really majored on an image of a fly
0:18:38 > 0:18:40nursing a miniature doll.
0:18:40 > 0:18:47Apparently the original film of the dressed-up nurse fly
0:18:47 > 0:18:51doesn't exist any more, which is a shame because I would really love
0:18:51 > 0:18:55to see a fly dressed up as a nurse, looking after a miniature doll.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10Going through these articles, I can start to find out more
0:19:10 > 0:19:14about how Percy was operating and some of his processes.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18And particularly, when it comes to The Acrobatic Fly,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22I've been trying to work out how he kept the flies where they were.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25And here he's given an interview to the Daily Mail,
0:19:25 > 0:19:3013th of November 1908, and there's a little clue here.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34"To get a fly to sit on a chair, its wings have to be slightly gummed
0:19:34 > 0:19:37"to the back to give it the necessary support."
0:19:37 > 0:19:43So, basically, he's gluing them at the back into position.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Initially, Percy struggled with all the attention.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00At his home in Islington, in those days, a poor,
0:20:00 > 0:20:05working-class district of London, he was besieged by journalists.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Some accused him of faking the film
0:20:08 > 0:20:11and demanded to know how it had really been done.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15The episode triggered a minor nervous breakdown.
0:20:15 > 0:20:20Percy was a solitary man, more at home with animals than people.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28By now, the house was becoming a bit of a menagerie.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32It had all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures living in it.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36Insects, spiders, a freshwater crab,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39a toad, a salamander, a ferret.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Apparently he even had a little owl living here.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47And, of course, he hadn't forgotten spiders either.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52In awe of their ability to weave webs, Percy now put one on film.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57Or at least a model of one, which he made himself.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01It's one of Britain's earliest natural history animation sequences.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16Interestingly, it wasn't animal life that would deliver Percy
0:21:16 > 0:21:19his next box office hit.
0:21:19 > 0:21:20It was botanical life.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Filming flies had delivered Percy his first technical breakthrough.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Now he moved onto a second discipline.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52So popular was his film that some audiences
0:21:52 > 0:21:55apparently refused to leave
0:21:55 > 0:21:58before it was rewound and played for a second time.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05This film really is the birth of time-lapse photography
0:22:05 > 0:22:09in filmmaking as much as it's the birth of a flower.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Today, we call this time-lapse photography
0:22:21 > 0:22:26but back then, Percy called it speed magnification.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33When this film came out,
0:22:33 > 0:22:38cinemas weren't allowed to open on the Sabbath, on a Sunday.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42But one newspaper called for that ban to be lifted,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46claiming that it was so incredible,
0:22:46 > 0:22:48watching it was a religious experience.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53MUSIC: Rejoice In The Lamb
0:23:37 > 0:23:41Today, time-lapse sequences on television continue
0:23:41 > 0:23:43a tradition started by Smith.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50In the modern era, no-one has witnessed the advance of these
0:23:50 > 0:23:53filming techniques more than Sir David Attenborough.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59That must be the, you know, the plant time-lapse rig...
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Yeah, with those, the louvres are shut
0:24:01 > 0:24:04so that you get the equal exposure, day and night.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07God, he must have been a clever bloke, mustn't he?
0:24:07 > 0:24:11'How much did Percy Smith inspire David Attenborough?'
0:24:11 > 0:24:14- Reflex.- Yeah, yeah. - Shall we go have a look?- Yeah.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19'To find out,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22'we're first going to look at some of Attenborough's own work.'
0:24:27 > 0:24:31In 1995, Attenborough delivered a landmark series.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34The Private Life of Plants.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42'These are the germinating seeds of dodder.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47'They have to find their host within a few days or they will die.'
0:24:47 > 0:24:50'Computer-controlled time-lapse photography was used
0:24:50 > 0:24:52'to mesmerising effect.'
0:24:53 > 0:24:57It's like a leech, isn't it? A speeded-up leech.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00'The dodder sucks the nettle's sap, which then fuels its growth
0:25:00 > 0:25:03'and its hunt for another victim.'
0:25:04 > 0:25:09'Eventually, the whole bed of nettles is overwhelmed
0:25:09 > 0:25:11'by writhing dodder stems.'
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Now it's computer-controlled there.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20It is an astonishing shot, though, isn't it?
0:25:22 > 0:25:23Really creepy.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Astonishing it may be,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29but Attenborough wasn't the first to film the dodder.
0:25:31 > 0:25:3665 years earlier, Smith had made his own version.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Ah, The Strangler! Horror lettering.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42- THEY CHUCKLE - Brilliant.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Some plants are born criminals.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48For examples, the young dodder comes out of the seed case
0:25:48 > 0:25:50all ready for a life of crime.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52It's a fantastic voice-over.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54HE CHUCKLES
0:25:54 > 0:25:58- But technically, it doesn't really get any better, does it?- No.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Now, there's a track-up over in time-lapse.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10- Absolutely.- He must've been moving the camera in-between each frame.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15- And smoothly.- Absolutely. I mean... - This is all one shot, isn't it?- Yes.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25I'm sure that when I put out the proposal to do Private Life of Plants,
0:26:25 > 0:26:30I had Percy's films in the back of my mind. And I did have the wit to say,
0:26:30 > 0:26:34"Look, let's get this clear, time-lapse is not an invention of
0:26:34 > 0:26:37"the 1990s or the 1980s."
0:26:37 > 0:26:40But I'll tell you something, looking at that...
0:26:40 > 0:26:44we did make a false claim for Private Life of Plants.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49I said that we had never been able to move a camera
0:26:49 > 0:26:52during a time-lapse sequence.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54And it was only by having computers
0:26:54 > 0:27:00and servomotors that would enable us to do that. But there it was.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04And he was doing that, he moved the camera during time-lapse up the stem
0:27:04 > 0:27:10of dodder, and he must have shifted it between each frame, mustn't he?
0:27:10 > 0:27:11Amazing shot.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13The light is stable the whole time as well.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15I'll bet you it was over a week.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Today, time-lapse is achieved using an arsenal of high-powered
0:27:21 > 0:27:22digital equipment.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33But in the '30s - in fact, even before - Percy achieved
0:27:33 > 0:27:37similar effects using mercury switches, bits of string
0:27:37 > 0:27:39and old alarm clocks.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44The dodder is a very quick-moving plant
0:27:44 > 0:27:48and although we have hurried up its action a little in the film,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52you will get some idea of the rate at which it really moves by...
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Oh, very good. Very good.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57..especially the second hand.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02I can't think of any other films which dealt with the natural world
0:28:02 > 0:28:05in as straightforward way as he did.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10But I also know that I saw those films in the '30s in the cinema,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13the shorts which accompanied the main feature film.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15And I was knocked out by them.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17Just looking at a bean
0:28:17 > 0:28:20germinating was riveting.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24I mean, it was the first time you ever saw anything remotely like that.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28So yes, he was, it seemed, in my life, he was a great pioneer.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32The film world has never seen such an out-and-out evil doer,
0:28:32 > 0:28:36such a super strangler as the dodder.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40That's a beautiful shot. It's a beautiful shot.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00In the years up to the First World War,
0:29:00 > 0:29:02Smith averaged one short film a month.
0:29:03 > 0:29:08Audiences were still fascinated by insects doing tricks.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12Now, though, Percy added gruesome scenes
0:29:12 > 0:29:15of creatures being eaten alive.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26But Smith didn't just want to film insects.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28He experimented with aquatic life,
0:29:28 > 0:29:32shooting, first, alligators and octopi in fish tanks,
0:29:32 > 0:29:36and then, after building one of the first ever underwater filming chambers,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40capturing stunning sequences in the wild.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53Getting an original working camera to shoot my own Edwardian film
0:29:53 > 0:29:56has so far proved a challenge.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00Finally, though, I have one.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07Trying to turn this at one speed, you know, while turning that slowly...
0:30:07 > 0:30:10Could you have someone else to do that for you?
0:30:10 > 0:30:13Well, I suppose you could have, but I have got a shot on film
0:30:13 > 0:30:16of somebody operating one of these, and he is actually doing that.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18This one's going round like that,
0:30:18 > 0:30:21and that one's going slowly...
0:30:21 > 0:30:23I don't know how he does it.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27There's things to do, first of all, to make sure the camera works.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29I'm really looking forward to doing that.
0:30:34 > 0:30:39That lens, as lovely as it is, to me, it doesn't look like it's
0:30:39 > 0:30:42going to do the job of getting us a decent close-up.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44We need something that will give us
0:30:44 > 0:30:47a much bigger magnification of a tiny fly.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49We're going to have to...
0:30:49 > 0:30:51I think that will be the problem, yes.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54We may have to bring the lens out so that we can get down to a smaller...
0:30:54 > 0:30:57- Make a macro lens.- I think so. Yes, that's what we've got to do.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01- That's what Percy would have to have done, wouldn't he? - I think he would have done, yes.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08'Getting the camera to work is, however, only the half of it.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12'What I still don't know is just how Percy trained his flies.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17'There are more clues in this old film textbook.'
0:31:17 > 0:31:19And here is Percy Smith himself, filming.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24'It was first published in 1912.'
0:31:25 > 0:31:27Look at this bit - "Trickery is what they called it,
0:31:27 > 0:31:30"trickery was the verdict when the film was first seen
0:31:30 > 0:31:33"and it was hard to make people believe that the picture was genuine".
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Well, people didn't understand how moving pictures got there,
0:31:37 > 0:31:39I don't think, in the first place. It was still a great mystery.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41It's interesting reading this,
0:31:41 > 0:31:46because it explains how Percy got the fly to sit in the chair.
0:31:46 > 0:31:47It says, "In this instance,
0:31:47 > 0:31:49"the fly was secured by a thin
0:31:49 > 0:31:52"strand of silk passed around its body".
0:31:52 > 0:31:56Interesting, I've read in the old Daily Mail cuttings
0:31:56 > 0:31:59- that he used gum and glued the fly. - Really?
0:31:59 > 0:32:02So I wonder whether it was either the press making things up,
0:32:02 > 0:32:07or whether Percy was a bit reluctant to give out all his secrets.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11Yes, or perhaps they did glue it down, I don't know.
0:32:11 > 0:32:16But how would they actually get a thin strand of silk round the fly?
0:32:16 > 0:32:19I suppose they'd have to subdue it in someway or other, so that
0:32:19 > 0:32:24the fly was manageable before you could get it into position to film.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26I think it's far more likely they glued it.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28They glued it, gosh. Poor fly.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39I'm starting to learn more about how Smith filmed his subjects.
0:32:41 > 0:32:42But how did he light them?
0:32:45 > 0:32:46Hello?
0:32:48 > 0:32:52'In 1908, Percy wouldn't have had electricity at home.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55'So what were his other options?'
0:32:55 > 0:32:58I think we can show a few different bits and pieces
0:32:58 > 0:33:00of the equipment and of the experiments that he would have
0:33:00 > 0:33:03undertaken in trying to find that perfect light source.
0:33:07 > 0:33:08So, the hotter the flame...
0:33:10 > 0:33:12..the brighter it will glow.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17'Smith could have used domestic gas light, which he did have.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21'Trouble is, it doesn't burn brightly enough for film.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23'So his next option was limelight.'
0:33:23 > 0:33:24Wow.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27I never knew you could do that with chalk.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32'Burning limestone produces white hot light... But heating it, costs.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37'Calcium carbide, on the other hand...'
0:33:37 > 0:33:40And we've got some here. It looks a bit like gravel.
0:33:40 > 0:33:46'..needs only water, where it reacts to produce flammable acetylene gas.'
0:33:46 > 0:33:48- See, now, it's fizzing away.- Whoa!
0:33:48 > 0:33:52It's produced a little bit of a bang and we haven't even contained it.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55Will it do it again?
0:33:55 > 0:33:58'In a beaker, the gas just pops...'
0:33:58 > 0:34:03- FAINT POP - I mean, that was bright, then. As bright as a single flash.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05'..but, ignite it under pressure...'
0:34:05 > 0:34:08It's going to start fizzing immediately.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13'..and you get a continuous acetylene jet.'
0:34:13 > 0:34:16It's producing a lot of acetylene already.
0:34:17 > 0:34:18Wow...
0:34:18 > 0:34:20POPPING
0:34:20 > 0:34:23Now, that is bright.
0:34:23 > 0:34:24That's perfectly...
0:34:24 > 0:34:27I mean, you can see how we've concentrated the flame
0:34:27 > 0:34:30and we've produced a nice, bright light.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35'To turn the jet into a light, Percy would next have needed
0:34:35 > 0:34:38'a large supply of DIY acetylene.'
0:34:38 > 0:34:40It's a vegetable steamer!
0:34:43 > 0:34:47What we've got here is something very simple to generate our acetylene.
0:34:53 > 0:35:00So this kind of absurdly dangerous experiment is what Percy
0:35:00 > 0:35:05- would have routinely been doing just to create some light?- Absolutely.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09'The gas is fed into a purpose built four-point burner.'
0:35:09 > 0:35:13That's so bright, so much brighter than it what we've done so far,
0:35:13 > 0:35:15and I can't actually look at that now.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17And now we have four of them in a row.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20Just on its own, that's like having a light bulb.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24'Finally, the burner is slotted into a lamp box with lenses
0:35:24 > 0:35:27'and reflectors to focus the light.'
0:35:27 > 0:35:30- And out at the far end, we can see we've got...- There it is, yeah.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33- Just like a light bulb.- Absolutely.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39It's ludicrously basic, but very ingenious at the same time.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42I think he would have needed several of them,
0:35:42 > 0:35:46because what he was using to film with back then, the lenses
0:35:46 > 0:35:51and the actual film stock, would have required a lot of light.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54'Percy's home-made acetylene jets were cheap,
0:35:54 > 0:35:56'but there was a downside.'
0:35:56 > 0:35:59It's not without its hazards.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01'The final test shows what might have happened
0:36:01 > 0:36:04'if Percy had had a gas leak at home.'
0:36:04 > 0:36:07- Right.- I stand back here, do I?
0:36:07 > 0:36:11If you could. And then just... light the balloon, if you can.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15- So, anywhere?- Yes. It helps if you open your mouth when you do it.- Why?
0:36:15 > 0:36:17It just does.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19Equalises the pressure through the station tube in your head.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23- BANG - Oh!
0:36:23 > 0:36:26CHARLIE LAUGHS
0:36:27 > 0:36:29Loud enough for you?
0:36:29 > 0:36:31CHARLIE CONTINUES TO LAUGH
0:36:32 > 0:36:39That was about 100 times louder and brighter than I expected.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42Now, imagine the entire house filled with that.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46You've got to hand it to the guy to work with a material that is
0:36:46 > 0:36:51so dangerous and still produce what he did. It's pretty impressive.
0:36:51 > 0:36:56So how many acetylene lights would you like for your fly sheet? CHARLIE LAUGHS
0:36:56 > 0:36:58I'm going to go for none!
0:36:58 > 0:37:00I think that's a step too far.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05'Unfortunately, this kind of gas is just too dangerous.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10'Percy had to use it, he had no choice.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14'But for my shoot, I'm going to cop out and use modern light instead.'
0:37:17 > 0:37:20'If you suddenly think you would like to have an aquarium,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23'the cheapest way to get one is to fill a glass with water
0:37:23 > 0:37:26'and then put in a wisp of hay.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29'In a few days, if you look through a microscope,
0:37:29 > 0:37:31'you will find your aquarium in full swing.'
0:37:34 > 0:37:38The First World War, and later, a break with Charles Urban,
0:37:38 > 0:37:41almost put the brakes on Smith's career.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43But by the '20s, he was off again.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48By now, London had begun to explode outwards...
0:37:49 > 0:37:53..the three-bedroom semi replicating itself like one of the tiny
0:37:53 > 0:37:56organisms Percy was now filming.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59'They only move if compelled to by overcrowding.'
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Smith had joined the exodus early on,
0:38:10 > 0:38:14abandoning Islington for fashionable Southgate.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25He would live and work at the new house for the rest of his life.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48Strange coming here, really, because everything's changed.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50The house has gone...
0:38:52 > 0:38:54..we've got small garages,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58an estate, probably built 20 or 30 years ago...
0:39:12 > 0:39:13As soon as he moved in,
0:39:13 > 0:39:17Percy set about converting the house into a series of tiny film sets.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24With fresh backers and a new series in production,
0:39:24 > 0:39:26Secrets Of Nature, he worked night and day,
0:39:26 > 0:39:30delivering over two dozen cinema shorts during the rest of the '20s.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46Audiences still enjoyed the time-lapse works,
0:39:46 > 0:39:50but Smith was now working on a variety of other techniques.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55Anticipating today's modern graphics, his animation
0:39:55 > 0:39:57grew more elaborate.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01As ever, he did everything himself, all from a complex
0:40:01 > 0:40:05Heath Robinson rig he'd built in the front room.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10'And now, here comes that old screen favourite,
0:40:10 > 0:40:12'Bertie The Bee.'
0:40:12 > 0:40:16The handmade models kept coming, too,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19including a bee improvised from an old scarf
0:40:19 > 0:40:21that once belonged to his wife.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23'Here comes Bertie again.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26'We simply can't keep him out of Secrets Of Nature.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29'He gets a brushful of pollen on the face.'
0:40:36 > 0:40:39But it was through the end of a microscope that Percy would
0:40:39 > 0:40:42produce his most technically brilliant work.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51Smith delighted in revealing tiny worlds from everyday life,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54such as bacteria multiplying from a piece of rotten cheese.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07And then his obsession kind of grew one step further,
0:41:07 > 0:41:11because he became obsessed with fungal spores and mould.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16He basically created an environment to grow them in,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19and the environment was his house.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21He dripped water down the walls
0:41:21 > 0:41:26and he created a moist atmosphere in that house, which was perfect
0:41:26 > 0:41:30for growing moulds and funguses, until eventually they took over.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34The house couldn't take it.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38In fact, the walls literally began to crumble,
0:41:38 > 0:41:41forcing Smith and his long-suffering wife Kate to take on
0:41:41 > 0:41:43a second home round the corner.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51Percy, though, carried on regardless.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54More at home with single cells than human beings,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57his projects were now taking up to three years to make.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05'Funny little things like tiny toadstools are sometimes
0:42:05 > 0:42:07'to be found on dead wood or on decaying leaves.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11'These little growths are called myxies.'
0:42:12 > 0:42:17This film, Magic Myxies, I think, is one of the loveliest of the films.
0:42:18 > 0:42:24"Myxies" is the name that they gave to myxomycetes,
0:42:24 > 0:42:29which is the organism which produces slime mould, basically.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36Magic Myxies is a life-cycle film.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40You start at one stage in the cycle and you go through all the different
0:42:40 > 0:42:44stages of the myxies' life, and you come back to where you started.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53This wonderful sequence is so clever.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58You see the myxy heading towards a piece of arsenic.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00I love this sequence.
0:43:01 > 0:43:02'When, for an experiment,
0:43:02 > 0:43:06'a drop of arsenic was put in front of a myxy, it failed to
0:43:06 > 0:43:09'detect the poison, flowed right over it,
0:43:09 > 0:43:11'and was obviously taken very ill.'
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Wonderful cinematic technique, lovely sequence.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26'Suddenly, the myxy draws in its tail
0:43:26 > 0:43:28'and changes into quite a different form.'
0:43:30 > 0:43:34This whole sequence, this is Percy doing animation.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38He can't actually get this degree of magnification with his microscope,
0:43:38 > 0:43:41so he does it by animating.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44It looks, to me, as though he is actually pushing round
0:43:44 > 0:43:48a pool of some liquid and he's pretending this is the myxy.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53It looks gorgeous, and actually,
0:43:53 > 0:43:56this film is entirely at home in avant-garde circles.
0:43:59 > 0:44:04Some of Percy's other films are shown at a thing called the London Film Society,
0:44:04 > 0:44:07which is an institution in the late '20s.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09All the intellectuals go there.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12HG Wells is going to see these films.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16This is the place where Battleship Potemkin, for example,
0:44:16 > 0:44:17is first shown.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19In the same programme,
0:44:19 > 0:44:22it's very natural that you show one of Percy Smith's films.
0:44:34 > 0:44:39With preparations complete, it's time to shoot The Acrobatic Fly II.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43'For my studio,
0:44:43 > 0:44:47'I've taken over the upstairs room at a film processing lab.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51'We have just one day to get it right.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03'As expected, David has had to have the lens extended
0:45:03 > 0:45:05'so it can focus in tight on the fly.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11'It is, though, the only modification we've made.'
0:45:16 > 0:45:20- The problem we'll have today is to keep the fly in position.- Yeah.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23And Percy Smith said that he tied the flies down
0:45:23 > 0:45:25with a fine band of silk.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29I've tried this, and either it's impossible
0:45:29 > 0:45:33and Percy Smith was lying, or he's a much better fly wrangler than I am!
0:45:33 > 0:45:34So we'll just use some glue.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37I've devised a glue that is safe to use on insects.
0:45:37 > 0:45:38It's not going to harm them.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40We'll stick a dot of glue to the back of the fly
0:45:40 > 0:45:43and then afterwards, we'll be able to release it.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46I've got to do this.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49I can't feel that I done the job properly unless I have.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53- So that pulls down, does it?- Yes. - Same loop size as the top?
0:45:53 > 0:45:55Yes, that's right, yes, that's about right.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59Just turn the handle to make sure it's taking up...
0:45:59 > 0:46:02Just to make sure it's going OK.
0:46:02 > 0:46:03That's it.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06- That's all working all right. - Looks smooth, doesn't it?- Yes.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08Right, shut the door.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10We're now ready to film a fly.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13OK.
0:46:15 > 0:46:19'For our first shot, we want the fly on its back.'
0:46:21 > 0:46:23- OK. - Right, it's all up to you, now.
0:46:37 > 0:46:38Come on.
0:46:44 > 0:46:45Just wasting film, here.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50- He must have spent a long time doing this.- Yeah.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56'An hour into the shoot, and we're struggling.'
0:46:56 > 0:46:58Let's give it something else.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02- We'll try the dumbbell. - Yeah, give it a dumbbell.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15Stop. Look, he's just cleaning his arms.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19'Finally, something.
0:47:19 > 0:47:24'But we still have attempted Percy's classic chair shot.'
0:47:31 > 0:47:35Look at that, look at that. I'm going to start filming.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38- So, crank it up... - Faster, faster...
0:47:40 > 0:47:41Just keep going.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46Trying to get the rhythm right.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51- Lovely.- That's it. - Got it, didn't we?- That's the one.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57'After a couple of hours, the film runs out.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00'We definitely have something in the can...
0:48:00 > 0:48:02'Or, should I say, "mahogany box"?
0:48:04 > 0:48:07'But only when the film is processed, will we know WHAT.'
0:48:07 > 0:48:11The good thing about this technique is that as soon as we're done
0:48:11 > 0:48:15with the fly, we can just gently peel it off...
0:48:16 > 0:48:20..and the glue comes off, and it's completely unharmed.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25The fly is exactly as it was before.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34'As a jumper, the frog takes a lot of beating, as slow motion shows.'
0:48:43 > 0:48:46The 1930s began well for Smith.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50There was a book deal, a screening attended by the Prime Minister
0:48:50 > 0:48:53and a succession of journalists visiting the Southgate house
0:48:53 > 0:48:55to interview and lionise him.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01And, of course, the films kept coming, too.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12'When the springtime comes, then the newt wakes up, too,
0:49:12 > 0:49:15'and feels a call to life and romance.'
0:49:16 > 0:49:19This film is called Romance In A Pond,
0:49:19 > 0:49:24and it's a wonderful depiction of what happens when newts have sex.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27'This lady is certainly leaving no worm unswallowed
0:49:27 > 0:49:30'in order to achieve sex appeal.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36'Now the gentleman newts leave the land and take the plunge.'
0:49:36 > 0:49:38Ah, right. Here he comes...
0:49:42 > 0:49:47I love the way it's couched in terms of a romance,
0:49:47 > 0:49:51so we see the male newts going into the water,
0:49:51 > 0:49:56seducing the lady newts with their lovely, spotty suits.
0:49:56 > 0:50:01'No wonder this lady is transfixed by the gentleman's charms.'
0:50:01 > 0:50:02They're so cute.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04'And he appears equally struck by hers.'
0:50:04 > 0:50:07There's going to be some romance, I can tell.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13They are quite pretty, the male newts.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19'For a brief time, the pond is the honeymoon home of the newts.'
0:50:19 > 0:50:21Hm...
0:50:21 > 0:50:23So, yeah, that was quickly done.
0:50:23 > 0:50:25We don't see much of exactly what went on.
0:50:25 > 0:50:30'But alas, in a newt world, marriage is brief, and divorce certain.'
0:50:32 > 0:50:34It's all a bit silly,
0:50:34 > 0:50:38but I think Percy said something about "administering
0:50:38 > 0:50:42"the powder of education within the jam of entertainment".
0:50:44 > 0:50:46'Meanwhile, down in the pond can be found
0:50:46 > 0:50:49'reminders of the romance of the newts.'
0:50:49 > 0:50:50One commentator said,
0:50:50 > 0:50:55"The spoken commentary is literally exasperating and revolting."
0:50:55 > 0:50:59But really, you know, this was entertainment for the masses,
0:50:59 > 0:51:01and I think the commentaries are lovely.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03I find them charming
0:51:03 > 0:51:06and I'm sure that audiences of the time would have done, too.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08'And now for adventure.'
0:51:29 > 0:51:31When Percy made Romance In A Pond in the 1930s,
0:51:31 > 0:51:3535mm film was high-end technology.
0:51:38 > 0:51:43Today, the lab processing MY rushes is only one of a handful
0:51:43 > 0:51:44like it left in Britain.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50Right, let's hope it's sharp.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56Here we are, look.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59- There's our neg. We've got a picture. - Oh, there's an image, yeah.
0:51:59 > 0:52:00There it is. There's the fly.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04Wow...and it looks, from what I can see, I haven't got a magnifier,
0:52:04 > 0:52:07but actually, just with my naked eye, it looks really sharp.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Yeah, it's all there, isn't it?
0:52:12 > 0:52:13'Like everything Percy did,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16'the editing process is very much a hands-on affair.'
0:52:17 > 0:52:20Now, it may seem rather crude and rather slow,
0:52:20 > 0:52:23but this was the only way of doing it.
0:52:23 > 0:52:28'No computer, just a long strip of film, scissors and a bottle of glue.'
0:52:37 > 0:52:39I can get it out, then.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41My first cut.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47- Apart from the ones I've done on computers!- Not the same!
0:52:47 > 0:52:51If I try and gently pull it... It's quite solid, isn't it?
0:52:51 > 0:52:54There we are, we've got a join and it's in frame... Yeah, that's...
0:52:54 > 0:52:57In fact, you can barely see the...
0:52:57 > 0:52:59A good join, you won't be able to see.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02Actually... That's falling apart, that one!
0:53:02 > 0:53:06Just need a little bit more film cement, on that one, I think.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10Maybe I'm not going to pursue a career as a film editor!
0:53:44 > 0:53:48Although Percy produced stunning work in the '30s, towards
0:53:48 > 0:53:52the end of the decade, cinema audiences began to tire of it.
0:54:01 > 0:54:06In the old days, his work had easily held up against the competition.
0:54:06 > 0:54:12Now, he was up against Hitchcock and Bogart, Fred Astaire and King Kong.
0:54:15 > 0:54:16To add to his troubles,
0:54:16 > 0:54:20Smith was increasingly suffering long bouts of illness.
0:54:24 > 0:54:28So here he is... Frank Percy Smith...
0:54:30 > 0:54:35..24th March 1945, aged 65 years,
0:54:35 > 0:54:37Oh, quite young.
0:54:37 > 0:54:43Rank or profession... Biological cinematographer, photographer.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49Cause of death... Coal gas poisoning.
0:54:51 > 0:54:58"Deceased did kill himself whilst the balance of his mind was disturbed".
0:55:06 > 0:55:07He committed suicide.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18'So lovely are the bells as they furl and unfurl...'
0:55:18 > 0:55:22Percy's death, just a few weeks before the end of the war,
0:55:22 > 0:55:24made front-page news in The Times.
0:55:26 > 0:55:32In its obituary, the paper said his work was "strangely beautiful",
0:55:32 > 0:55:37adding that Smith himself was a filmmaker in a class of his own.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44'Once more, there is a struggle of growth and endeavour.'
0:55:57 > 0:56:01To see my film for the first time, I have, of course,
0:56:01 > 0:56:02opted for the big screen.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12The Electric Palace opened in 1911,
0:56:12 > 0:56:16which means Smith's films have almost certainly been shown here.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26I know there's an image on here, but I don't know how good that image is.
0:56:29 > 0:56:34So, as well as being very excited to stick it up on the projector
0:56:34 > 0:56:37and watch it in the cinema, I'm also very nervous.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54- HE CHUCKLES - So exciting!
0:57:04 > 0:57:06Oh, look, yeah.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13I never thought I'd get this far into the process of actually
0:57:13 > 0:57:16having a finished short film...
0:57:16 > 0:57:19The Acrobatic Fly, Part II.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23And that's... It's great.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41I kind of wonder what Percy would think
0:57:41 > 0:57:44if he were sitting next to me now.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46He'd probably say...
0:57:46 > 0:57:51"Yeah, good try, but go and do it again,
0:57:51 > 0:57:53"because you didn't do it quite right".
0:57:55 > 0:57:58Which is fair enough, isn't it?
0:57:58 > 0:58:03After all, everybody knows the sequel's never quite as good...
0:58:03 > 0:58:04as the original.
0:58:07 > 0:58:13A surreal masterpiece from the father of natural history film.
0:58:50 > 0:58:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd