F. Martin Duncan

Francis Duncan Smith (1873–1961) was a British naturalist and nature documentary pioneer who worked for producer Charles Urban. He specialised in micro-cinematography and pioneered many of the techniques of future natural history filmmaking.[1]

F. Martin Duncan
Born1873
Died1961
Occupationnaturalist, photographer, film maker

Biography

He was the son of noted palaeontologist Peter Martin Duncan. While a student he assisted his father by taking up photography, and acquired a particular interest in microphotography. In the early 1890s he experimented with chronophotography (sequence photography), showing the results in motion on a Zoetrope.[2]

He was recruited by Charles Urban for the newly formed Charles Urban Trading Company in 1903. Together they launched a film series, The Unseen World, showcased at the Alhambra Theatre in London from 17 August 1903, which showed scenes of animal life, with particular emphasis on micro-cinematographic views. The shows were advertised as being shown by the 'Urban-Duncan Micro-Bioscope'.[1] Among the films shown were Circulation of Blood in a Frog's Foot, Red Sludge Worms and the notorious The Cheese Mites, the views of which were preceded by a scene of a man (played by Duncan himself) horrified by what he sees when he views a piece of Stilton through a magnifying glass. Duncan continued to work for Urban until 1908, when he was succeeded by F. Percy Smith.[2]

He continued his career as a zoologist at London Zoo and as a populariser of nature subjects, writing many books. He also worked as an editor on some of the Secrets of Nature film series in the 1920s.

Filmography
  • The Unseen World (1903) (series, including The Cheese Mites)
  • Studies of Natural History (1903) (series)
  • The Busy Bee (1903) (series)
  • Marine Studies (1903) (series)
  • The Empire of the Ants (1906)

Bibliography
  • First Steps in Photo-Micrography: a handbook for novices (1902)
  • Insect Pests of the Farm and Garden (1906)
  • Denizens of the Deep (1907)
  • Our Insect Friends and Foes (1911)
  • The Seashore: a book for boys and girls (1912)
  • Cassell's Natural History (1913)
  • Wonders of Insect Life (1915)
  • How Animals Work (1918)
  • Animals of the Sea (1922)
  • The Book of the Countryside (1928)
  • Close-ups from Nature (1930)
  • British Shells (1943)
  • Wonders of Wild Flower Life (1947)
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References
  1. "Francis Martin Duncan". charlesurban.com. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  2. McKernan, Luke (2013). Charles Urban: Pioneering the Non-Fiction Film in Britain and America, 1897-1925. Exeter: University of Exeter Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-85989-882-9.
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