Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, known as
Georges Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938), was a French
illusionist and
filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of
cinema. Méliès was an especially prolific innovator in the use of
special effects, popularizing such techniques as
substitution splices,
multiple exposures,
time-lapse photography,
dissolves, and hand-painted color. His films include
A Trip to the Moon (1902) and
The Impossible Voyage (1904), both involving strange, surreal journeys somewhat in the style of
Jules Verne, and are considered among the most important early
science fiction films, though their approach is closer to
fantasy.