MEDIA - Home Page
Compiled by Keith
HOME MOVIES - Dad (Roy Balderson) had a Bolex wind-up cine camera. 'Cine', which has evolved into 'video', was a very expensive hobby in the 1960s and the 8mm colour film had to be used carefully with every shot planned. He also had a full editing suite so that once the film was sent away and developed he could literally cut and paste and leave the unwanted clips on the cutting room (kitchen) floor. The celluloid film had to be cut with a razer blade and pasted with a nice smelling glue after sandpapering the gloss off the frames precisely and sticking the film back together. The edit machine had a small light-box so that the results could be viewed frame by frame, or quicker if you wound the handles faster. He had a similar set-up for audio tape, but that used sticky tape to make the joins.
Years later I am doing something very similar in a digital world. I have taken Dad's work and edited it only very slightly. I pointed an old cam-corder at a white cardboard box where the film was being projected and recorded it onto VHS tape. Much later I converted that into a digital format, put it through an editor to straighten the edges a bit, and that is what you see here.
Note: As of 22 March 2021 I have acquired a proper screen and some new drive belts for the projector. Over the coming months (or years) I may find the time to re-record the old film reels (bulbs and celluloid willing) and run them through the post processing suite again. This should hopefully improve the quality.
HOME TAPE RECORDINGS - Dad also had a portable reel to reel tape recorder. Below the home movies is a recording he made of my school choir.
Again, years later, audio recording is what I do in the digital world. I take multi-track feeds from digital sound desks at concerts and produce them into something worth listening to. BUT it can only be as good as the source material allows, and unfortunately the school choir wasn't very good to start off with.
PICTURE GALLERIES - Relevant photos have been scanned and sorted into approximate date order and I have started to present them in picture galleries. I have many family albums at my disposal which I will scan before they deteriorate too far. In reality the old monochrome pictures last far longer than 1970's colour prints which have tended to fade and change colour badly. Modern digital cameras give the best results.
Years later I am doing something very similar in a digital world. I have taken Dad's work and edited it only very slightly. I pointed an old cam-corder at a white cardboard box where the film was being projected and recorded it onto VHS tape. Much later I converted that into a digital format, put it through an editor to straighten the edges a bit, and that is what you see here.
Note: As of 22 March 2021 I have acquired a proper screen and some new drive belts for the projector. Over the coming months (or years) I may find the time to re-record the old film reels (bulbs and celluloid willing) and run them through the post processing suite again. This should hopefully improve the quality.
HOME TAPE RECORDINGS - Dad also had a portable reel to reel tape recorder. Below the home movies is a recording he made of my school choir.
Again, years later, audio recording is what I do in the digital world. I take multi-track feeds from digital sound desks at concerts and produce them into something worth listening to. BUT it can only be as good as the source material allows, and unfortunately the school choir wasn't very good to start off with.
PICTURE GALLERIES - Relevant photos have been scanned and sorted into approximate date order and I have started to present them in picture galleries. I have many family albums at my disposal which I will scan before they deteriorate too far. In reality the old monochrome pictures last far longer than 1970's colour prints which have tended to fade and change colour badly. Modern digital cameras give the best results.
- Pat Balderson (née Lovibond) - Video montage and picture gallery
Others to be added when I have time