Mime-Version: |
1.0 |
Sender: |
|
Subject: |
|
From: |
|
Date: |
Thu, 6 Feb 1997 08:23:34 -0600 |
Content-Type: |
text/plain; charset="us-ascii" |
Reply-To: |
|
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
I sent the query regarding film formaqts to a friend of mine who's an
amateur film-maker, film buff and historian. Here's wha he gave me; all
editorial comments are unedited, and his:
>Gene,
>
>Regarding your film question: I'm going to go from memory here so hopefully
>it'll be close enough to the facts... Kodak introduced 16mm film in 1923. It
>was B & W only at that time. 8mm was introduced in 1932 because 16mm
>was too costly for amateurs. 16mm was the dominant home movie format of
>the 20's-30's. 8mm became much more prominent in the 50's. The Super 8
>format was introduced in 1965 and was much easier to load and had a 50%
>larger picture area. The format flourished as sound was added by Kodak around
>1975. 1980 was the biggest year Super 8 ever had! It was also the year video
>gear began to become affordable. In 1981, everyone rushed out to buy a video
>camera because you could put 2 hours worth of stuff on a single $20 (!)
>tape. Thanks to the nasty Hunt brothers, who tried to corner the world's
silver
>market, Super 8 film cartridges went from $3-4 to $8-9 almost overnight.
Since a
>roll of film holds a little under 4 minutes of film, you can see why
everyone was
>rushing out to get a video camera that could hold so much time in a single
tape,
>with no processing, and cheaply per minute of image. By 1985, few were still
>using Super 8 for home movies.
>
>Kodak continues to make film for the 16mm and Super 8 formats. Someone is
making
>film for Regular 8mm after Kodak stopped in the late 80's but I don't know who.
>Both 16mm and Super 8 are used by film students and pros for certain
applications. Super 8
>is also still used by a small number of amateurs in the US and a much larger
>number in Europe. It's lucky for US residents that enough film is still being
>bought in Europe that it is produced by Kodak of France and imported here.
>Hope this info answers your questions. If you need any more, just ask!
>
> Derek
>
>
>
===============================================================================
Eugene Dillenburg
Geology Department
The Field Museum FAX: 312-922-9566
Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Dr. phone: 312-922-9410 ext. 293
Chicago, Illinois 60605
"It's not really food if it doesn't hurt."
-- Bruce Elliott
|
|
|