Amateur Filmmakers Research Articles

Small-gauge and amateur film bibliography

T his bibliography has its genesis in the Associa(e.g. Gerald McKee, Film Collecting) are included; tion of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) Small catalogues of home exhibition material and of filmGauge Task Force formed in 2000. In preparamaking equipment for sale are not. A small sample tion for AMIA's 2001 conference held in Portof books and periodicals devoted to home video are land, Oregon, which emphasised small-gauge film, also listed. Works in languages other than English Sheldon (Northeast Historic Film) and Trainor (then are also included, although we recognise this is with the George Eastman House's film preservation predominantly an English list. school) compiled the original bibliography with input The AMIA Small Gauge/Amateur Film Interest from Compton (University of Georgia Media ArGroup will continue to update this bibliography, aimchives). Many entries came from Alan Kattelle's liing to create an electronically accessible database brary, which Trainor was cataloguing. Compton that can be sorted by category and annotated furexpanded this with O'Farrell (National Archives of ther. To contribute titles or annotations, email Canada) and Swanson (Northeast Historic Film). Margaret Compton: margie@uga.edu. The purpose was to offer a starting place for archivists and researchers interested in underBooks standing amateur and small-gauge moving images. Abegg, Max. Filmen kurz und bundig!: Ein Lehrbuch fur The objectives were to round up the first-ever overFilmamateure. Winterthur: Gemsberg-Verlag, 1956. 111 view of books and periodicals in the field, to share pp., ill., 16x22 cm. information on publications collected by institutions Abbott, Harold B The Complete 9.5 Cinematographer London: The Amateur Photographer & and individuals, and to foster new scholarship. Cinematographer, Iliffe & Sons, Ltd., 1937. 260 pp., ill., The bibliography makes clear that, from the diags., 19 cm. A hard-back follow up to Motion Pictures earliest days of cinema, non-professionals had an with the Baby Cine, containing information for home ' processing (black and white). interest in making their own films, documenting their own lives, and telling stories on film. Although movie Cne Titling Simplified (Home Titling Made Easy). London: Link House Publications, Ltd., 1937. 83 pp., ill., studios were leading the way, numerous publicaplates, diags. 18 cm. tions directed the amateur into the world of cameras, . Motion Pictures With the Baby Cine: A Handbook film stock, scenario writing, and other production of 9mm Cinematography (2nd edn), London: Amateur details. The field grew rapidly and stayed constant Photographer, 1929. 126 pp., ill., photos, 18.5 cm. for decades, with only a slight drop in publications Alder, R.H. Family Movies Outdoors. London: Fountain during World War II, as well as a drop after home Press, 1950. 144 pp., ill., plates. Cinefacts no. 3. video gained popularity. Many of the books listed are . Home Movie Shows. London: Fountain Press, 1951. Plates, diags. Cinefacts no. 8. out of print or were unavailable for review. Because of the great number of instructional books published for the beginning amateur filmmaker, all of which Margaret A. Compton received here MIS from the provide similar information, annotation was reserved UniversityofTexasatAustin in 1997. SheistheMedia ' Archives Archivist at the University of Georgia's Walfor books on hand or considered the best of similar ter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards publications. Select publications on home exhibition Collection.

In Amateur Hands: Framing Time and Space in Home-movies

Amateur movies are a window upon past geographies and memories. The following discussion identifies some practical and intellectual issues associated with using archival film in the study of historical and geographical change. Mapping the unofficial sources of historical knowledge produces ever-changing versions of events, people and places through time and space. Early amateur film is one way of tapping into people's memories about themselves and how they relate to others in contrasting contexts. These images allow for the kind of knowledge which. as Raphael Samuel suggests, creeps in sideways as a by-product of studying something else. Historians. geographers and others often revel in the kaleidoscopic gaze given by each twist of view as different stances, sources and situations provoke alternative interpretations. The camera lens of the early amateur film-maker framed subject-matter now laden with issues of racism, sexism and colonialism. This article considers how amateur film may relate to and inform contemporary interests in spatial and social relations, as well as changing notions of place and identity. As with most sources of evidence, however, amateur film poses both practical and intellectual challenges. Both the quantity and the quality of amateur footage raise important questions for archivists of moving imagery as they address problems of storage. conservation and access. Given the diversity found within early amateur films and some of their resemblances to modern home video-making, the growing interest in amateur footage cannot be isolated from more practical concerns. Accordingly, this article recognises three clusters of inter-related issues: availability, interpretation and future application.