A Brief
History of Amateur Cinema
Some lucky family historians have old
photographs to bring some life to their researches.
Others, even luckier, have old home movies. Just as with
family photographs though, all too often home movies are
unlabelled and the people in them unknown. It is possible
to guess a date from clothes and vehicles, but some help
can also be obtained from the film itself.
Moving pictures, using film, were
invented towards the end of the nineteenth century.
Although there are rival claims as to who was first,
moving picture shows were soon well established, and the
commercial cinema began to assume an important role in
peoples' lives.
Early movie cameras were hand-cranked
and cumbersome. They were also expensive, too expensive
for all but the most wealthy families. Manufacturers were
quick to see that there was a potential market for
equipment designed for the amateur, which would be less
expensive to buy and run.
One of the first attempts to reduce
the cost was a German 35 mm. device which combined the
camera and projector in one body. Another idea was to
reduce film costs; the Birt Acres Birtac camera was one
of several which used 17.5 mm. film, half the width of 35
mm. This device was produced in 1899, and again the
camera could be converted to a projector. The outfit cost
10 guineas, a lot of money in 1899. These two cameras
were followed by many others; one called the Biokam, also
accepting 17.5 mm. film, offered a still picture release,
so that still pictures could be taken with the camera as
well as cine films.
Not all cameras took 17.5 mm. or 35
mm. film; the Kammatograph took circular glass plates,
taking 600 pictures on a twelve inch disc. The Kinora
took pictures which could be assembled into reels like
those used in seaside pier machines. By loading a reel
into a viewer, the pages would be flipped over, giving
the impression of movement.
Film at this time was dangerous; early
17.5 mm. and 35 mm. film is on an unstable nitrate base
which is extremely inflammable. It was not until around
1912 that cellulose-based "safety" film was available,
and even then it was not universally supplied. Early
"safety" film usually has the word 'safety' in the film
margin.
Home movies were beginning to be
accepted. For many families, the cost of making their own
films was too high, but they could afford to buy or hire
films and watch them at home. In a pre-television era,
this was exciting. Edison's Home Kinetoscope and Pathe's
Home Cinematograph both had the same target audience:
people who were not necessarily interested in making
films, but who wanted to watch commercially made films at
home. Film libraries boomed, just as home video rental
outlets grew rapidly in the early nineteen
eighties.
None of these early film systems have
survived as amateur gauges, although 35 mm. is very
popular for still photography and is still used for most
professional movies. The first popular amateur gauge was
introduced by Pathe in 1922 and it is still used by
enthusiasts today. 9.5 mm. film has the sprocket hole
down the centre of the film, placed between the frames.
In addition, some films have notched titles; this means
that, to save film, a title frame would be held in
position for the audience to read, rather than repeating
the title over about 160 frames (to give 10 seconds
reading time). These commercially printed films were
contained in small cassettes; the system was called the
Pathe Baby.
The following year, Eastman Kodak
brought out 16 mm., another surviving gauge, although now
more popular among professionals than amateurs. They made
the Cine-Kodak camera and the Kodascope projector for
their new gauge; Pathe brought out the Baby camera for
their 9.5 mm. film by the end of the year. Meanwhile,
other companies had produced cameras and projectors for
16 mm., notably Bell & Howell, whose Filmo was the
first clockwork 16 mm. camera. Kodak brought out their
clockwork Cine-Kodak Model B in 1925; this camera sold
very well.
It was still obvious to the companies
that their best hope of large profits was to extend their
potential market, and this could best be done by reducing
the cost, especially the cost of film. This led to the
introduction of what is now known as Standard-8 film: 16
mm. film which is run through the camera twice, exposing
half of the film each time. After processing, the film is
split and joined to make one length, 8 mm. wide. In 1932
Kodak announced the new film, and the Cine Kodak Eight
camera. Bell & Howell followed suit in 1935, with the
Filmo Straight Eight, in which the film was only 8 mm.
wide and run through the camera once.
These were the first boom years for
amateur film, both for viewing commercially produced
films and for making home movies. Technical innovation
continued; the Eumig C-2 of 1935 was one of the first
cameras to have a built in light meter; the Eumig C-4 had
electric drive. Cassette loading cameras made it easier
to load the film into the camera.
By the early 1930s, sound could be
provided by disc systems which synchronised with the
projector, but a sound-on-film system for amateur use had
been demonstrated in 1931. This British system did not
achieve general acceptance however; it was the American
system which did that, demonstrated in 1932 by
RCA-Victor. By 1933 there was a choice of sound
projectors for the 16 mm. home movie viewer and in 1937
Pathe brought out a 9.5 mm. sound projector (the Pathe
Vox). Colour film was made available for the amateur in
the nineteen thirties, with several different systems for
both 16 mm. and 9.5 mm. by 1935. Kodachrome colour film
was made available in 1936. All of this development
effort was financed by the boom in home cinematography,
even though the equipment and film costs were too high
for all but the relatively wealthy. It was cut short by
the outbreak of war in 1939.
After the war, it was apparent that
the huge improvements in film had made the smaller gauges
much more attractive for the amateur. 9.5 mm. survived,
helped by a loyal home-market in France, but 8 mm. was
the popular amateur gauge, with 16 mm. for the more
serious amateur film-maker. Technical innovation
continued, but the next, and last, really major
innovation was in 1965, when Kodak launched Super 8. This
is an easy-load cartridge system which runs through the
camera once. It made filming easy for everyone, and cheap
plastic cameras were made in large numbers for the
snap-shooter who wished to take some films on holiday.
Fuji brought out their 8 mm. cassette loading system,
Single 8, in the same year. All three 8 mm. gauges still
survive, although they are used by enthusiasts now, the
mass market having defected to video.
How to Tell the
Gauges Apart
Knowing what gauge you have will help
with dating the film. Measure the width. If it is more
than 16 mm., look at the film by holding it up to the
light. Cellulose-based film will have "Safety film" along
the edge; if that is not there, the film is likely to be
nitrate based, and expert advice is required on both the
storage and handling of such film. If it is 8 mm. look at
the sprocket holes; Super 8 and Single 8 have sprocket
holes which are smaller than Standard 8; the picture area
is slightly larger.
Copying to
Video
There are many commercial companies
who copy film to video. Most of them will add music or
speech to the tape. Many of these companies charge more
for film on several small reels, than for the same length
of film on one reel, so consider splicing your films onto
larger reels to save money. If your films have a sound
track, contact the copying company for a quote. Most
published prices are for copying silent films. Find out
how the sound track will be transferred.
It is also possible, but
time-consuming, to copy silent films at home, by
projecting the film and filming it with a video camera.
Experiment with lighting; the main problem is excess
contrast but this can be reduced if the copying is
carried out in a room with some daylight, rather than in
a completely dark room. Ground glass screens are sold for
video copying, but they can be difficult to use as they
tend to give a "hot spot" of bright light in the centre
of the picture. Sound can be recorded at the same time as
the film is copied, but this will result in degradation
of sound quality.
Having transferred your films to
video, if possible it is best to retain the original
films. They are unlikely to have any significant
commercial value, and they may be required for further
copying if video formats change in the future. If space
is at a premium, and you must dispose of the films,
contact the Local Studies Library or Archives Department
who may be interested in having them.
What to Do
With Old Equipment
Very old cine equipment, dating back to the beginning
of the century, is quite rare and can be quite valuable. Contact your
local sale-room for free advice. Most of the mass-market cameras of
the 1930s and later are worth very little now. Ironically, it is the
good quality cameras from the 1970s and 1980s, which are still very
usable, that have more value. Again, a local sale room or photographic
dealer, like ourselves, should be able to help.
These cameras and projectors can make
interesting display pieces but it is important to
remember that they must be kept in dry conditions, free
of dust, and they must be used occasionally. This can
present a problem as old electrical equipment should only
be used with extreme caution; it is safest to have the
item examined by a qualified electrician and rewired to
modern standards. Be warned though, while users will
welcome a rewired projector, some collectors will reject
projectors which have been rewired, although this will
only adversely affect the very best machines. In our
experience, there are more users than collectors. No
mechanism can tolerate long periods of immobility, and to
keep whatever value there might be the camera or
projector must be in good cosmetic condition and fully
working. Only experts should attempt repair or
restoration; a botched job can wipe out any value and
wreck the item completely.
Dating
Films
The best way of dating films is to
look at the clothes and traffic in the film. But there
are some things you can do without finding a film
projector or getting the film copied to video. Just look
at the film itself, and using the information above to
identify the film format, use this checklist to get an
idea of when the film was shot.
Black and White films
9.5 mm. film, introduced 1922;
steadily declining usage after the war.
16 mm. film, introduced
1923
Standard 8 film introduced 1932;
declining usage after 1965.
Colour film
16 mm. and 9.5 mm. of various kinds
introduced in the early 1930's.
8 mm. of various kinds introduced just
prior to the war, but little used in Britain until after
the war.
Super 8 and Single 8 introduced in
1965
Sound film will have either an optical
or a magnetic sound track running down one side of the
film. An optical sound track is very rare on amateur
films, but quite common on packaged films. 16 mm. and 9.5
mm. sound systems for amateur use were available from the
mid-thirties, but were little used.
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