Film Stock for Feature films

Until the early 21st Century feature films were still presented by way of multiple reels of 35mm film which were distributed world wide by the studios and which dated in various forms from the earliest days of film making. In those days the projection assistants (or projectionists) in cinemas were kept busy loading and playing these reels making sure they transitioned from one reel to the next (note the multiple projection windows still to be seen in cinemas). Occasionally they had to attend to the odd mishap sometimes evidenced by the film coming to a shuddering halt with an ominous hole burnt into the current frame.. This has been replaced by digital systems of course. A history of film can be found at thee wiki link below.

Until the advent of Black and white TV in 1956 (just in time for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics) and for some time afterwards) cinemas were the most popular form of entertainment. Every suburb of any note had its own cinema and sometimes more than one. Evening and even matinee (afternoon) performances were an occasion to dress up. There was usually a cartoon of short feature in advance of the main feature and an intermission usually in the middle of the main feature at which one could buy drinks and the popular Choc Top ice cream which one only found at cinemas. The importance of the occasion was emphasised by the playing of the National Anthem (then being “God Save the Queen” of course) accompanied by film of the Queen riding a horse for the trooping of the colour. This tradition was carried over to the early days of TV at the close (sometimes substituting Advance Australia Fair )even before it became our official National Anthem).

Pictured is a feature film reel (labelled Reel no 4). SPL i believes refers to the sound rating.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_stock#1900%E2%80%931919:_Toward_the_standard_picture_film

The Polaroid instant camera

In the mid to late 20th century the Polaroid Corporation popularised the instant camera which allowed consumers to produce their own photos in a camera instantly. Whilst not producing high quality photography of course, they were great for those who wanted a quick snap which could be immediately passed around. For those without a darkroom they also of course provided an opportunity for more “uninhibited” photography without braving development facilities some of which were even viewable by other customers! In many ways there were the precursor of today’s digital photography in that respect although without the distribution methods. The instant print camera has even seen a retro resurgence in recent years. Pictured is my Polaroid 1000 Land Camera which producing instant colour prints was apparently the most popular camera in the 1977 Christmas season. (Land was the inventor by the way)

Before there was Netflix or even DVDS

IN the days before streaming DVD or even compact video tapes, if you wanted to settle into a good movie at home you set up your movie projector, threaded the film of your choice and (this is the best bit) turned off the lights!

Here is a copy of the great film Midnight Express about the life of a young drug runner in a Turkish prison, .released in 1978.

From black and white to glorious colour

Until the 1960’s photos were mostly developed in monochrome (black and white). The earliest common use of colour was probably in colour transparencies (slides) as discussed in an earlier post and colour prints were costly..It was always a joy to get your box of colour transparencies back from Kodak to view on your projector. Eventually colour prints became the norm but at first they were sufficiently novel to proudly proclaim that fact on the packet of developed prints

Transporting film in the old days

Before the digital age one of the challenges for the amateur photographer was transporting and storing both processed film (particularly slide transparencies, and unexposed and undeveloped films. This was particularly true of the ubiquitous Super 8 (8mm) film which was only 3 minutes long. To make for example a travel movie of any length one needed to take a lot of these films and then splice them together (with or without additional editing) when they had been developed. I recall carting bags of film around Europe in my younger days.

One particular challenge was putting film though x ray machines at airports.which were pretty basic at the time. Because film is light sensitive it is also susceptible to being affected by x rays. To guard against this there were specially designed lead lined bags to transport undeveloped film in. Below is one such bag together with a general use Kodak carry bag for print film..

You might want to check out the Sydney Photography Expo on the 24th of May 2020

Date: Sunday 24th May 2020 Time: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Location:​ SMC Conference & Function Centre 285 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000

About this Event

NSW's Largest Photography Expo, Brought to you by Broadway, Macarthur, Ryde and Hornsby Camera House

Indulge in a Unique Photography Experience

Come and Speak with Industry Experts, Professionals, Influencers and your peers! Its the chance for you to explore your photography and videography interest, to get tips and tricks from the best people in the game!

With a chance to volunteer, Access to workshops by the best, photowalks from our influencers and Presentations from the industry leaders, its a fun filled day for everyone!

For More Information, head to: www.sydneyphotographyexpo.com.au

EARLY BIRD TICKETS ON SALE NOW at:

http://www.sydneyphotographyexpo.com.au/get-tickets.html#/

Tags

Australia Events New South Wales Events Things To Do In Sydney, Australia Sydney Film & Media Events

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/sydney-photography-expo-2020-tickets-91565800775

PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE NO COMMERCIAL CONNECTION WITH THIS EVENT. THIS IS JUST FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

Camera settings in the old days

In these digital days photographers are used to instant development and changing the light sensitivity of your camera with the flick of the ISO setting. In days gone by (or for those who still love “real film” this was more complicated. You had to buy film with the required light sensitivity and you couldn’t just switch between photos. That sensitivity applied to the whole roll of film. So if you didn’t want to use say high sensitive film (e.g. ASA 400) for the whole roll you would have to wind on the whole roll and just get the bit used developed (or develop yourself if you had a darkroom and all the requisite chemicals). If you were really keen you could remove the film in a dark room or dark bag and come back to it later. The same principle applied to movie films including the popular supper 8 films for the basic amateur movie camera. Here are an assortment of movie films as readily used and available in the 20th century. In the 1970s most amateur film was silent (no sound) but sound super 8 movies soon came into their own adding a whole new dimension to home movies. As late as 1978 when I was married my camera was silent. My new father in law had been a serious movie photographer and has left many rolls of 16 mm film although it too was silent.

My first camera

My first personal camera was the Kodak Instamatic Camera first released in 1963 when I was 10. It was a popular aim and shoot camera with an easy to use 126 film cartridge. The cartridge avoided the need to tread the film onto a spool as in earlier cameras. This popular camera followed in the tradition of earlier basic cameras such as the brownie. It had an external flash unit containing single use flash bulbs. I recall this flash unit later improved with a rotatable built in multiple flash bulbs rather than having to insert them.

It and (and a later version) was my go to camera for many years for colour slide photography mostly of a family nature.before I moved on to movie photography(initially silent).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instamatic

The ubiquitous slide show

In and before the 1960’s black and white prints and even home movies were common. However colour slide photography became a popular way of displaying photography. The photo below depicts a typical set up with the carousel projector mentioned earlier with one of my earliest “family” photographs.

Slide photography

My earliest photos were taken on my Kodak Instamatic as colour slide transparencies. These were taken as film which was processed as a slide which could be projected on a wall or screen. Thinking about it, this is the closet cousin to today’s digital slide show. In those days there was no internet of course. A dreaded event was to be invited to a family slide show particularly after someone had gone on a long trip. This was often the first time the photographer had seen the slides so the”show” was often unedited with multiple shots of prominent. landmarks. The first 30 minutes was interesting but….. OK. I plead guilty of myself sometimes taking advantage of a captive audience! Unlike the internet of today it was not possible to just ‘like” and move on. :)

Early projectors were simple affairs. The family was once given a projector dating from world war one which allowed the showing of glass transparencies of the trenches.I wish I still had it.

Later projectors designed to show film transparencies were simple affairs allowing one slide to be inserted at a time. The projector pictured below is Hanimex Carousel which allow slides to be more efficiently inflicted on ones family and friends by being placed in a rotating carousel. This I still have.

Street Photography Exhibition at Museum of Sydney

Checkout the current Street Photography exhibition at Museum of Sydney

https://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/exhibitions#street-photography

Video in action

The same camera in action in Europe. The sign is an unintentional slight :)

A video camera from 1985

A state of the art “compact’ video camera I bought in 1985. Very big with a full size video cassette tape. Large but much more convenient than lugging a bag of 3 minute Super 8 film around! But quality was not yet there though and nothing like digital video today.

Photographers you should know,

A great introduction to the history of photography can be found in “50 Photographers You Should Know” by Peter Stepan

Wecome

Welcome to my new Blog, Check in here regularly for facts and news about all things photography!