Percy Smith, a renowned pioneer of scientific filmmaking, was born in London in 1880. As a clerk at the Board of Education, he began to nurture a lifelong fascination with the natural world, capturing the intricacies of plant and animal life through his photographs.
His remarkable close-up shot of a bluebottle's tongue caught the attention of film entrepreneur Charles Urban, who promptly began exhibiting Percy's work in London theaters. Following the immense success of sequences such as The Balancing Bluebottle, where he recorded flies juggling, Percy joined Urban as a full-time filmmaker in 1910.
Prior to the outbreak of World War I, Percy completed over fifty nature films for the Urban Sciences series, including the iconic piece, The Birth of a Flower, an early example of stop-motion photography, which garnered immense popularity. Percy's meticulous research and innovative techniques, such as modifying his equipment with gramophone needles, candle wicks, and other objects, enabled him to capture slow-growing plant life, even as he slept.
In 1911, his study, The Strength and Agility of Insects, sparked a significant press debate, detailing a range of insects lifting tiny dumbbells, twirling matchsticks, and juggling objects much heavier than themselves. To dispel rumors of trickery and cruelty, Percy revealed his ingenious filming techniques.
During the War, Percy served as a naval photographer, and upon his return, he began working for British Instructional Films (BIF). He contributed to the company's acclaimed Secrets of Nature series, working on numerous films, including An Aquarium in a Wineglass (1926),The Home Wrecker (1929),and Magic Myxies (1931).
In the 1930s, the series became known as Secrets of Life, and in 1939, Percy published Secrets of Nature, a review of the filming techniques used throughout the series.
