Frank D. Williams

Frank D. Williams

Known for: Camera
Biography: 1893-03-21
Deathday: 1961-10-15 (68 years old)

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Biography

Frank D. Williams (March 21, 1893 – October 15, 1961) was a pioneering cinematographer who was active in the early days of the motion picture industry. He developed and patented the traveling matte shot.


Frank D. Williams was born March 21, 1893, as Frank Douglas Williams, to James and Lucinda Williams in the small community of Nashville, Missouri.


In 1912, Williams became a cameraman at Keystone Studios. There, in 1914, he was the photographer for many of Charlie Chaplin's first-year pictures, including Kid Auto Races at Venice which was the first film released in which The Tramp appeared. Williams is credited as appearing in Kid Auto Races at Venice, playing a cameraman, but his appearance is in doubt. For a time he was chief cinematographer at Keystone, and a large number of the studio's 1914 films are credited to him as photographer. He defected to work for the short-lived Sterling Motion Pictures, but returned to Keystone when Sterling closed in 1915. He also worked a camera for Henry Lehrman's L-Ko Kompany, Reliance-Majestic Studios, and Bluebird Photoplays.


When Roscoe Arbuckle formed a new motion picture company, Comique, in 1917, he hired Williams to be his cameraman. At Comique, Williams also shot Buster Keaton's first film appearance, The Butcher Boy (1917). His tenure there was also short; he shot three films for Arbuckle (Butcher Boy, A Reckless Romeo, and The Rough House) before departing to start his own lab. His business did not get off the ground quickly, and he supplemented his income by continuing to work as a cameraman. He was director of photography at Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation and is credited with 15 pictures that came out of that studio between 1919 and 1921.


While he was working as a cameraman at various studios, Williams worked on his idea for a traveling matte in which the actions of actors would be combined with a filmed moving background. Available technology prevented him from achieving the effect he envisioned until he built a printer himself to his own specification. He filed for a patent in May 1916, and it was granted in July 1918. The process was first used in a motion picture in 1922's Wild Honey.


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Filmography

all 59

Movies 59

Director 6

Cinematographer
The Chaplin Cavalcade

The Chaplin Cavalcade (1941)

Movie
Visual Effects Supervisor
The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man (1933)

Movie
5.3
Special Effects Technician
King Kong

King Kong (1933)

Movie
5.13
Special Effects
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

Movie
4.63
Cinematographer
The Swamp

The Swamp (1921)

Movie
Cinematographer
Where Lights Are Low

Where Lights Are Low (1921)

Movie
Cinematographer
Black Roses

Black Roses (1921)

Movie
Cinematographer
The First Born

The First Born (1921)

Movie
Cinematographer
An Arabian Knight

An Arabian Knight (1920)

Movie
Cinematographer
Li Ting Lang

Li Ting Lang (1920)

Movie
Cinematographer
The Devil's Claim

The Devil's Claim (1920)

Movie
Cinematographer
The Tong Man

The Tong Man (1919)

Movie
Cinematographer
The Dragon Painter

The Dragon Painter (1919)

Movie
Cinematographer
The Man Beneath

The Man Beneath (1919)

Movie
Cinematographer
The Poor Rich Man

The Poor Rich Man (1918)

Movie
Cinematographer
Secret Strings

Secret Strings (1918)

Movie
Cinematographer
Queen of the Sea

Queen of the Sea (1918)

Movie
Cinematographer
The Rough House

The Rough House (1917)

Movie
Cinematographer
A Reckless Romeo

A Reckless Romeo (1917)

Movie
Cinematographer
The Butcher Boy

The Butcher Boy (1917)

Movie
Cinematographer
His Lying Heart

His Lying Heart (1916)

Movie
Director of Photography
The Vagabond

The Vagabond (1916)

Movie
1
Director of Photography
The Floorwalker

The Floorwalker (1916)

Movie
Cinematographer
Hop - The Devil's Brew

Hop - The Devil's Brew (1916)

Movie
Director of Photography
Tillie's Punctured Romance

Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
His Prehistoric Past

His Prehistoric Past (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Getting Acquainted

Getting Acquainted (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
His Trysting Places

His Trysting Places (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
His Musical Career

His Musical Career (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Gentlemen of Nerve

Gentlemen of Nerve (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Dough and Dynamite

Dough and Dynamite (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Those Love Pangs

Those Love Pangs (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
The New Janitor

The New Janitor (1914)

Movie
10
Cinematographer
The Rounders

The Rounders (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
His New Profession

His New Profession (1914)

Movie
6
Cinematographer
The Masquerader

The Masquerader (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Recreation

Recreation (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
The Face on the Barroom Floor

The Face on the Barroom Floor (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
The Property Man

The Property Man (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Laughing Gas

Laughing Gas (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Mabel's Married Life

Mabel's Married Life (1914)

Movie
Cinematography
Mabel's Busy Day

Mabel's Busy Day (1914)

Movie
Director of Photography
The Knockout

The Knockout (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Her Friend the Bandit

Her Friend the Bandit (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
The Fatal Mallet

The Fatal Mallet (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
A Busy Day

A Busy Day (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Caught in the Rain

Caught in the Rain (1914)

Movie
Director of Photography
Caught in a Cabaret

Caught in a Cabaret (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Twenty Minutes of Love

Twenty Minutes of Love (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Mabel at the Wheel

Mabel at the Wheel (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
The Star Boarder

The Star Boarder (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Cruel, Cruel Love

Cruel, Cruel Love (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
His Favorite Pastime

His Favorite Pastime (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Tango Tangle

Tango Tangle (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
A Film Johnnie

A Film Johnnie (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Between Showers

Between Showers (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Mabel's Strange Predicament

Mabel's Strange Predicament (1914)

Movie
Cinematographer
Kid Auto Races at Venice

Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)

Movie
Director of Photography
Making a Living

Making a Living (1914)

Movie

Ratings

Average 5.26
Based on 249 Thousand movie and tv ratings over time
1914
1914
1914
1914
1941
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Frank D. WilliamsFrank D. Williams

Information

Known For
Camera

Gender
Male

Birthday
1893-03-21

Deathday
1961-10-15 (68 years old)

Birth Place
Nashville, United States of America

Citizenships
United States of America

Also Known As
Frank Douglas Williams, Frank Williams


This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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