mikerowe Wrote:
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> Back in the day, Jerry, prior to the advent of
> sound (October 1927, The Jazz Singer) with its
> need to run film at a constant 24 fps (optical
> sound track), professional 35mm cameras were
> hand-cranked. After that, they had electric motor
> drive. The cameras you are speaking of, I
> believe, came at a later date. Spring drive was
> the preferred drive for 8mm and 16mm cameras. See
> my post with the photo of Cecil B. DeMille.
>
> My guess is the video clip referenced here was
> originally intended for motion picture theater
> presentation and so would have been filmed and
> projected on 35mm film at 16 fps. Because the
> cameras were hand-cranked, 16 fps was an
> approximation. 35mm silent projectors usually had
> a rheostat so that projection speed could be
> varied too.
>
> Mike
Mike:
I think these films were orginally done by Pathe News Service. They had a news photographer based in Colorado and he shot film all over the state. The silver nitrate film was buried in his back yard until his widow became afraid it would blow up or set her house on fire. She tried to sell it to the Colorado RR Museum but wanted a ton of $$$. Coors stepped in and bought the film and had it copied onto silver based film. Coors let the Denver PBS station show the film several times in the 70s. There were scenes of a D&RGW ditcher shoveling snow on the Silverton, photos of the Uintah articulated engines, and scenes of a rotary on Cumbres. Coors would never let the film be offered on a commerical basis and it has been nearly 35 years since I have seen them, but I think the rotary film may be part of what this guy shot. A lot of it was shown in movie theaters as news or features.
The spring wound cameras date back to that time and Bolex cameras were being used by news photograpers long before WWII.
Jerry Day
Longmont, CO