What became of the Baird Intermediate Film camera?

[Graham G3ZVT]

It seemed like a good time to ask.
There is a picture of the camera in a commercial image library

http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/r...image=10463700

but no hint of where the actual object resides.

I came across an article in a 1996 issue of "405 Alive" about six months ago, the author is Dicky Howett, and involves himself, Gordon Sharpley and the widow of an unnamed former head of the Telecine department at Granada TV.

My interest in the piece was mainly about Gordon, he, as G6LEE/T was very well known in amateur TV circles. He also worked at Granada, practically from day one.

In the mid 1980s when I was working for Granada TV Rentals, my duties included visiting the Quay Street complex and maintaining all the domestic TV monitors and video recorders. By this time Gordon was the head of the Project dept. He really was the resident boffin, and on a couple of occasions I was able to help him out with various bits and pieces, like a couple of Prestel/Viewdata terminals that were used for some very early viewer participation events.

The article is on page 16-21

http://www.bvws.org.uk/publications/...5_Alive_29.pdf

I just wondered if anyone knew anything more, is it still officially missing?

[PaulM]

As a former BATC committee member, I knew Gordon - although not well.

The camera should still be where it was eventually deposited at the National Media Museum in Bradford. Physically, it's probably at their Wroughton long-term store, but I don't know for sure. The Television Gallery in Bradford has recently been taken 'off line' (NMM jargon) and other changes there may mean that it's hard to find out where it really is within their system.

As ex-General Secretary of the BATC, I still hold the photographic and written archive of the club in which Gordon features many times. Happy days!

Best regards,

Paul M G8MJW

[emeritus]

Thanks for posting the article about Baird's camera. It confirms my understanding that Baird used 17.5mm film.

[Graham G3ZVT]

Originally Posted by PaulM

The camera should still be where it was eventually deposited at the National Media Museum in Bradford. Physically, it's probably at their Wroughton long-term store, but I don't know for sure. The Television Gallery in Bradford has recently been taken 'off line' (NMM jargon) and other changes there may mean that it's hard to find out where it really is within their system.

Thanks Paul.
It's good to know it's safe.
Another factual error in the First Night programme. It was stated that no original cameras survived.
Graham.
G3ZVT

[emeritus]

I see that Baird's camera has a special 1000' magazine rather than the Vinten's usual 400' size. 1000' of 35mm at the normal 24 frames/sec sound speed runs for about 11 mins, so halving the gauge to 17.5mm would have doubled the running time to about 21 mins at 25 frames/sec. This would have been the longest "live" programme that Baird could have transmitted. As 16mm was still an amateur film gauge at that time, I don't suppose any sound cameras would have been available for that gauge, necessitating modification of a 35mm model. Photos of the German IF truck at the Berlin Olympics indicate that its camera had a much bigger film magazine, which would have been pretty well essential if it used 35mm.

[Graham G3ZVT]

On the 17.5 stock the optical soundtrack was between the edge of the film and the sprockets. Illustration half way down this page
https://www.transdiffusion.org/2003/04/05/baird_itv

I presume that is a *print* of an actual frame and not actually an actual frame, as stated. I can't imagine they had all the extra complexity of optical reversal!

[M0FYA Andy]

I wouldn't rely on anything held in a museum's long-term store being safe! Especially if there isn't a publically available inventory as to what is in store.
I believe the hangars used at Wroughton are in very poor condition.

Andy

[emeritus]

Thanks for the link, most interesting. So it wasn't just a case of halving the Vinten's pull-down distance, masking the gate, and adjusting the lens offset (probably not too difficult, given that the lenses were turret-mounted), leaving the 35mm optical sound recording head in place, the optical recording head had to be shifted as well. I guess there was adequate room inside a camera body designed for 35mm film. I know that 17.5mm was an established projection gauge for sound films in the 1930's, used for example by the LNER in its in-train cinema on one of its Scottish services, but I don't know offhand where its sound track was located. Perhaps Baird used the same format. It would have made sense to use a commercially-available optical sound playback head rather than building one from scratch.