The Latham Loop

What is the Latham loop? How did it change cinema?

    The Latham loop is an integral part of every filmmaking camera. It is a method of pulling the film through the threading device in a way that eases the tension and prevents the film from tearing whilst running through the camera. This was incredibly important for the future of cinema as it gave people the ability to shoot much longer films as, prior to this, people had only made short clips such as Edison's and he Lumière brothers' early films. As such, feature length films such as The Birth of a Nation. Furthermore, the patent for the Latham loop was part of the conflict between Dickson and Edison and another aspect of filmmaking cameras that they could sue others for using without permission when they formed the MPPC.