On the History of Filming the Icebreaker "Ermak" in 1899: Using a Cine-camera as a Photocamera
| 11 February 2025
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Publication of archival documents
Batalin V.N., Moscow, Russian Federation
On the History of Filming the Icebreaker "Ermak" in 1899: Using a Cine-camera as a Photocamera
Abstract
The article attempts to reconstruct the pictorial sequence of the nonextant filming made in 1899 on the icebreaker "Ermak", to identify the author of the shooting and its duration. Drawing on the example of filming of the icebreaker "Ermak" and those of the Royal appearance in the St. George Hall of the Winter Palace on the occasion of opening of the first convocation of the State Council and the State Duma (April 27, 1906), of the State Council prayer in the convention hall of in the Noble Assembly, and of the first session of the State Duma of the first convocation in the Noble Assembly, all stored in the Russian State Archive of Film and Photo Documents (RGAKFD), the author substantiates an assumption that these filmings were not newsreels in the full sense, but rather examples of using a cinecamera as a photocamera, an assumption that may alter some pages of the history of filming in early 20th century. The author concludes that, as cinecameras were available, there might have been many instances of using a cinecamera as a photocamera, and some of the known nonextant filmings might have been made in order to produce photo prints, not newsreels. Negatives were cut, best scenes were chosen and used to print photos.
Keywords
Source study, reconstruction of film, film and photo documents, study of the Arctic, RGAKFD.
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About the authors
Batalin Victor Nikolaevich, leading specialist at the Russian State Archive of Film and Photo Documents, Moscow, Russian Federation, +7-495-562-23-46, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it