Known For
Camera
Born
Mar 20, 1893
Died
Oct 16, 1961
Place of Birth
Nashville, Missouri, USA
Credits
52 titles
Frank D. Williams
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. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Known For
Filmography
The Invisible Man
Visual Effects Supervisor
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Special Effects
The Swamp
Director of Photography
Where Lights Are Low
Director of Photography
Black Roses
Director of Photography
The Devil's Claim
Director of Photography
The Brand of Lopez
Cinematography
The Beggar Prince
Cinematography
The Tong Man
Director of Photography
The Illustrious Prince
Cinematography
The Dragon Painter
Director of Photography
The Man Beneath
Director of Photography
His Debt
Cinematography
Secret Strings
Cinematography
Queen of the Sea
Director of Photography
The Rough House
Director of Photography
A Reckless Romeo
Director of Photography
The Butcher Boy
Director of Photography
The Vagabond
Director of Photography
The Floorwalker
Director of Photography
Hop - The Devil's Brew
Director of Photography
Tillie's Punctured Romance
Director of Photography
His Prehistoric Past
Caveman (uncredited)
Getting Acquainted
Director of Photography
His Trysting Places
Cinematography
His Musical Career
Cinematography
Gentlemen of Nerve
Cinematography
Dough and Dynamite
Cinematography
Those Love Pangs
Cinematography
The New Janitor
Cinematography
The Rounders
Director of Photography
His New Profession
Director of Photography
The Masquerader
Cinematography
Recreation
Director of Photography
The Face on the Barroom Floor
Cinematography
The Property Man
Director of Photography
Laughing Gas
Cinematography
Mabel's Married Life
Director of Photography
Mabel's Busy Day
Cinematography
The Knockout
Director of Photography
Her Friend the Bandit
Cinematography
The Fatal Mallet
Cinematography
A Busy Day
Director of Photography
Caught in the Rain
Cinematography
Caught in a Cabaret
Director of Photography
His Favorite Pastime
Director of Photography
Tango Tangles
Director of Photography
A Film Johnnie
Director of Photography
Between Showers
Director of Photography
Mabel's Strange Predicament
Director of Photography