Ricky Leacock said that his first job in the film industry was as a “splicer.” The editor would assemble shots using either paper clips or cardboard joiners (a piece with protrusions to engage the perfs that could be wound on a reel). Ricky sat outside the actual editing room and when handed a reel his job was to splice the shots together. I don’t know what kind of cement splicer he used.
An aside: the most bizarre task for an assistant editor in the nitrate days was “cigarette loader.” There was an editor who had to when he worked, so he rigged a rubber tube that extended out the window. The assistant would load a cigarette into the far end of the tube and light it. Pleasure ensued. Obviously not too safe for nitrate, but I guess things were not as strict back then. Jeff Kreines Kinetta j...@kinetta.com kinetta.com Sent from iPhone. > On Apr 24, 2020, at 5:48 AM, "mstark...@gmail.com" <mstark...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > Wow I have never seen this device before! > > Interesting that in the B &H catalogue they promote, "the employment of > machinery in contrast with the uncertainty of hand splicing”. I’m fascinated > by women’s work as ‘cutters’ and ‘joiners’ in the cutting rooms of early > cinema, and the way it was seen as a menial task similar to stitching fabric. > Although the foot pedals on the B&H foot splicer remind me of that of a > sewing machine, they might have been modelled more on the multiple pedals of > a car? Will we ever know? I might be thinking too much about machines being > gendered but… > > This machine indicates a shift away from editing by hand (and its > associations with stitch) towards editing with a machine that required > “intelligent operation”. It could be part of a narrative concerning women’s > disappearance in the cutting rooms as the film industry became big business > (signalled by the end of the single reel era around 1910) and the > introduction of sound-on-film in the 1920s. However, some women, although > still largely unknown today, did create successful careers as editors, such > as Rose Smith, Anne Bauchens and Margaret Booth. > > By the 1930s a clear distinction was marked out between the menial work > carried out by women assistants known as ‘cutters’ and the creative task of > the male ‘editors', as shown in this film clip delivered with an extremely > stiff upper lip! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOHsGkonQwg > > Thanks for introducing me to this machine, it is extremely useful in my > research. > > If anyone has any further info around this topic please get in touch. > >> On 23 Apr 2020, at 23:03, Jeff Kreines <j...@kinetta.com> wrote: >> >> The B&H “foot splicer” is still the industry standard for negative cutters >> today. Amazing device. >> >> Jeff Kreines >> Kinetta >> j...@kinetta.com >> kinetta.com >> >> Sent from iPhone. >> >>>> On Apr 23, 2020, at 3:03 PM, Buck Bito - Movette <b...@movettefilm.com> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>> >>> Bell and Howell's advanced foot-actuated splicer's patent was applied for >>> in 1916 - so although I haven't found dates for earlier splicers, I feel >>> there must have been simpler splicers available prior to that along the >>> lines of the Bell & Howell 198A splicer design (although that particular >>> model follows the introduction of 16mm film in 1923). >>> >>> Here's the google patent link: >>> https://patents.google.com/patent/US1275431A/en >>> >>> And Brian Pritchard has a 1929 B&H pamphlet scanned that shows this type of >>> splicer in the 3rd page: >>> http://www.brianpritchard.com/B&H_Splicers.htm >>> >>> -Interesting thread! >>> >>> Lawrence "Buck" Bito >>> Movette Film Transfer >>> 1407 Valencia St. >>> San Francisco, CA 94110 >>> (Valencia at 25th St.) >>> 415-558-8815 >>> Open Tuesday - Saturday >>> Tue+Thu: 8-6, Wed+Fri: 9-6, Sat: 10-4 >>> www.movettefilm.com >>> On 4/23/2020 9:16 AM, mstark...@gmail.com wrote: >>>> Many thanks for that George - i have some of these type of splicers but >>>> have never actually used one. >>>> >>>>> On 23 Apr 2020, at 16:33, George, Sherman <sgeo...@ucsd.edu> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> The Griswold cement film splicer was patented in 1922 and was the first >>>>> splicer I used in the early 1960’s >>> _______________________________________________ >>> FrameWorks mailing list >>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >> _______________________________________________ >> FrameWorks mailing list >> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > > _______________________________________________ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
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