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CHAPTER 5
Now dawns a most significant and important departure in the story of the films — the awareness of their news value — the value of news to the films; the importance of films to the news. News pictures became and remained for very many years the backbone of the 'pictures.5 It is probable that they will remain the sinews of them for as long as the pictures last.
So far as I am concerned it began with the South African War, and the formation of the City Imperial Volunteers and their departure to take an important hand in the conflict. In January, 1900, 1 stood on the deck of the Garth Castle and photographed the men coming up the gangway. Then followed an Animated Cartoon, Wiping Something Off the Slate, and afterwards a trick film, The Conjurer and the Boer. Only the first, of course, was a 'news film' in the proper meaning of the words but the other two were at least topical.
Queen Victoria's Visit to Dublin in April, 1900, is news unqualified in three films totalling 250 feet. And the Arrival of H. M.S. Powerful with the returning heroes of Ladysmith is certainly another news film.
The solar eclipse of May, 1900, was a somewhat remarkable 'actuality' film. I went out to Algiers on the steam-yacht Argonaut with apparatus which I had carefully constructed at home before leaving. This was a very strong oaken stand to hold the camera at ground level, a fourteen-inch focus, large-aperture lens, a motor to drive the camera steadily at slow speed and a storage battery to work the motor. On the auspicious morning the astronomical party drove out to a spot near Algiers where the duration of the eclipse would be at its longest, and there on a large concrete platform we all set up our respective gear.
I so set my camera that in the time at my disposal the diminishing image of the sun would enter the top right corner of my picture and leave again in about fifteen minutes at the bottom
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