"'Moods of Nature' by Paul Brunford, recently won a prize in the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers' contest in England. Not only does Brunford show a fine sense of rhythm, but a keen eye for composition and a splendid sense of cutting and dramatic values in nature. This picture merely deals with a storm arising and then subsiding. Brunford uses both water and earth to show this. The smashing waves, bending trees and waving wheatfields combine to create his drama. His photography however, is something for which he is to be especially congratulated." American Cinematographer, Jan. 1936, 24.
"With great imagination and feeling for color and composition, the maker of this film has captured the moods and beauty of the countryside of New Zealand in its fall and winter dress. The most unusual colors bring an ethereal quality to the film, and to the uninitiated, a desire to visit this beautiful land" PSA Journal, Oct. 1963, 41.
"Amateur filmmaker and cinema historian H.A.V. Bulleid makes ample use of trick photography in this farcical science fiction comedy about a boy and his latest invention. After being knocked unconscious by his brother on a moonlit night, a boy sits in a barn surrounded by Heath Robinson-esque gadgets and working on his latest invention, a 'Molecular Condensation Apparatus' that will vapourise anything set before it. Testing the device on the family cook, who disappears before their very eyes, he continues to experiment on bushes, garden implements, a carload of cousins, a young lady named Kitty and even his own father, before broadening his scope to cinemas, milk bars and his whole family. But did they really disappear? And did it actually happen? Or was it all just a dream?" (EAFA Database).
"Like the chorus in a Greek tragedy [colour] in this play of black shadows 'moralizes' the theme. Blue means righteousness and work; it leads to $$. Green means temptation or pleasure; it leads to danger or hell" Archives of Ontario.
"As the title may indicate, the main character had too much to drink. He responds to a dream of nightmarish proportions and finds things quite confusing. Finally, awakened, he finds the physical surroundings not much different. It all adds to the confusion of a morning after" PSA Journal, Oct. 1961, 48.
"A film featuring the staff, equipment, and key activities involved in the process of developing and printing Selo film at a laboratory. The viewer is guided through the different stages of the process with a step-by-step visual demonstration by Selo staff, accompanied by intertitles, providing information, and separating the scenes. The entire administrative and technical process is recorded, from the moment the used film stock arrives at the factory, continuing with the preparations made in the darkroom, before the chemical processes of developing, fixing, and washing takes place in the laboratory. The specific tasks of drying and measuring using industry-standard equipment, operated by hand, are next. In the printing laboratory, the negative is inspected and a Schustek 16mm printer is used. Intertitles explain the technical process of adjusting the light intensity when printing the film. In the spooling room, the printed positives are examined, and leader is cement spliced to the film. Title cards are produced. The completed film is projected and viewed. Each developed positive and negative film is skillfully wrapped, placed in a film can, packaged together into a Selo box and sealed, ready to be dispatched to the customer. A shot of many Selo Film boxes showing address labels completes the film" (EAFA Database).
"Moroccan Cities, by Gwladys Sills, stands out among amateur travel studies for its very real achievement of that intangible something — glamor. The mystery of shrouded Arabs, the glare of white buildings in the sunlight and the fascinating pulsation of life in the native markets, all these have been captured with marked success in this one reel record. To accomplish this, Mrs. Sills has brought into play a fine feeling for human interest and a genuine flair for the dramatic in photographic, treatment. Her material has been critically edited and sensitively titled, with that selectivity which is an artistic necessity in all real creative work." Movie Makers, Dec. 1936, 542.
Total Pages: 295
Amateur Cinema