The Limelight Department produced evangelistic material for use by the Salvation Army, including lantern slides as early as 1891, as well as private and government contracts.
Booth immediately warmed to the innovation of the Limelight Department, giving Perry the freedom and the financial support to expand into the newly developing medium of film.
[1] Under Booth's direction, Perry started work on Social Salvation in 1898, one of the first presentations of its type to integrate the traditional lantern slides with film segments.
The major innovation of the Limelight Department would come in 1899 when Booth and Perry began work on Soldiers of the Cross, arguably the first feature-length film (see the last section, below).
However, Soldiers of the Cross would be dwarfed by Inauguration of the Australian Commonwealth, when the Limelight Department was commissioned to film the 1901 Federation of Australia.
When Herbert left the Salvation Army (taking the original Soldiers of the Cross material with him), he was replaced by Commissioner Thomas McKie.
However, it has been argued that as the entire presentation, including films strips, lantern slides and live sections, runs for over two hours, Soldiers of the Cross.
If it should not be considered a feature film, then without doubt it pre-dates contemporary multi-media, being the mix of text, graphics, illustration with still and moving images.
In 1902, the year after Soldiers of the Cross was made, the Limelight Department produced Under Southern Skies, a film examining life in Australia from European Settlement to Federation.
The original studio still stands today and is being preserved as part of The Salvation Army - Australia Southern Territory Archives and Museum.