Who is Edwin S. Porter from Flashback: A Brief History of Film and what is their importance?

Edwin S. Porter could do anything! He worked in Edison's studio as a cameraman and also served as the director of the movies he filmed. In 1903, "The Great Train Robbery" proved to be an excellent example of his experimentation with editing. The single reel held humor, action, violence, hand-tinting, special effects, and a full-screen close-up of the villain shooting towards the audience. These things might not be seen as special today, but at the time, these techniques made Porter the leading filmmaker of his day.
He had an instinctive talent for telling a story visually. He focused more on the plot of the film than on the people in it. As the cinema changed into a medium where character development was more important than plot, Porter retired from directing and work at the Simplex projector company, working on machines and inventing new machines that he felt comfortable with.