This is one of the first examples of close-up nature photography, predating the work of science film pioneer Percy Smith by almost a decade. At this scale, the humble spiders appear as fearsome beasts, and although they haven't really been photographed on a web, the circular mask on the frame gives that impression. While this film could have some educational value, its director, showman-turned-filmmaker George Albert Smith, probably just wanted to give the audience something gruesome to gawp at.
Charming animated illustration of one of nature's wonders from Britain's most inventive pioneer of wildlife filmmaking. This typically delightful film from Britain's great pioneering wildlife filmmaker F. Percy Smith uses model animation to capture one of nature's engineering marvels: the spider's web-building. Presumably judging that live-action photography wasn't up to the job, Smith built his own charming eight-legged model, which he animates to illustrate how the spider "throws a thread of silk to the wind". Arachnophobes beware: in the final few seconds the cute model is replaced by the real deal, seen shooting its web like an arrow. This was Smith's first attempt at animation, but it would become an increasing element of his films, sometimes to more deliberately comic effect, as in his series charting the adventures of Archie the Ant.
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