CHOMON, SEGUNDO DE

(1871-1929)

Cinematographer, director, and screenwriter. Segundo de Chomon was a Spanish-born nobleman (of French origin) who was an early pioneer of film. He was a cameraman and cinematographer, as well as a screenwriter and director. Because of his familiarity with the camera and his comfort in front of and behind the camera, Chomon, like other early film pioneers such asGeorges Méliès, became interested in the possibility of making the camera record things that did not happen, rather than record things that did (the focus of many early filmmakers fromLouis Lumièreon). He developed an early reputation as a creator oftrucfilms and special effects.

It was this reputation that attracted the attention ofCharles Pathé, who, in 1903, recruited Chomon to work forPathéstudios as part of Pathé's attempt to rival Méliès. Pathé's efforts proved worthwhile. Chomon was a master of both the truc film, which had been Méliès's dominant genre, and other genres. His tricks and special effects were more elaborate than Méliès's and his films often more visually spectacular. It is widely believed that over the course of his work at Pathé Chomon was able to surpass Méliès in the genre that Méliès had created. It is no mystery why Pathé named Chomon head of production for truc films in 1907, afterGaston Velleleft Pathé to go work for an Italian studio.

Of Chomon's truc films, the best known areLe Sorcier arabe(1906),Les Roses magiques(1906),Le Charmeur(1907), andLa Scarabée d'or(1907), all of which involve men and women making each other appear or vanish, andLes Invisibles(1906), which was the first film to represent invisibility onscreen. Other films he made includeLe Roi de dollars(1905),La Poule aux oeufs d'or(1905),La Canne récalcitrante(1906),Le Courant électrique(1906),La Maison hantée(1906),Ali Baba(1907),Armures mystérieuses(1907),Les Chrysanthèmes(1907),Le Pêcheur de perles(1907),Le Spectre rouge(1907),Les Affiches animées(1908),La Belle au bois dormant(1908),Chevalier mystérieux(1908),Sculpteur moderne(1908),Au fond de la terre/Voyage au centre de la terre(1909),La Forge du diable(1909), andLa Maison des revenants(1912).

Beyond his directorial talent, Chomon was, as noted, an important innovator in the domain of special effects.He is often credited with the first traveling shot, for example, for his filmHôtel éléctrique(1908). The camera in this film leaves its fixed axis on the floor and shoots from a specially constructed frame that allowed filming while the camera was moved backward or forward. Chomon was also in charge of special effects forAbel Gance's legendary biopicNapoléon. Chomon's collaboration with Gance took film's technical capacity to an entirely new level.

Chomon's collaboration with Gance was far from his only collaborative effort. During his time at Pathé, he worked withFerdinand Zecca,Albert Capellani, andGaston Velle, among others. His collaborations with Zecca includeLe Roi des dollars(1905) and Zecca's remake ofLa Vie et la passion de notre seigneur Jésus Christ(1905). Chomon's collaborations with Velle include the legendaryLa Poule aux oeufs d'or(1906), for which Chomon wrote the screenplay, and the equally legendaryLes Invisibles(1906). Chomon also worked on occasion withÉmile Cohl, the father of the modern animation film.

Chomon left Pathé in 1912, lured, like Velle before him, to Italy to work for the Italian cinema. However, he returned to France in 1925, near the end of his life, to work with Abel Gance onNapoléon. By the time of his early death, he had worked on more than one hundred films.