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+--- Thread: 1930s London traffic film in colour - must watch... (/showthread.php?tid=8109)
RE: 1930s London traffic film in colour - must watch... - Tony Press - 20-10-2022
What a large number of General Omnibuses.
The film must have been made before 1933
"In 1933, the LGOC, along with the rest of the Underground Group, became part of the new London Passenger Transport Board. The name London General fell into disuse, and London Transport instead became synonymous with the red London bus"[
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RE: 1930s London traffic film in colour - must watch... - Mike Costigan - 20-10-2022
One of the taxis seen has a registration number dating from mid-1933, so that's the earliest it could be - assuming all the filming was done at much the same time.
RE: 1930s London traffic film in colour - must watch... - Hugh Barnes - 21-10-2022
and there are some clues in the railway scenes that also put constraints on the date. I think the date I suggested is quite accurate...
RE: 1930s London traffic film in colour - must watch... - Chris KC - 27-10-2022
It's a fascinating clip; but all the same I'd be delighted to see AI "colorization" put back in the toy box and forgotten about. It's a bit like letting children attack your precious books with crayons.
RE: 1930s London traffic film in colour - must watch... - Mike Costigan - 27-10-2022
I understand your viewpoint, Chris, but the original film can still be viewed in unadulterated form if you so wish:
https://archive.org/details/pet1138r5alondon
RE: 1930s London traffic film in colour - must watch... - Chris KC - 27-10-2022
(27-10-2022, 03:56 PM)Mike Costigan Wrote: I understand your viewpoint, Chris, but the original film can still be viewed in unadulterated form if you so wish:
https://archive.org/details/pet1138r5alondon
That's a different flick Mike...
RE: 1930s London traffic film in colour - must watch... - Bob Olive - 27-10-2022
Interesting to note that at about 6.00 mins as the waiting taxis are moving up the rank (top left corner) the fourth one appears to have failed to start as the driver is seen out of his cab and has to crank his wagon... It looks like he may have failed as subsequent cabs seem to impatiently jump out of line, and move ahead and take his place in the queue.
RE: 1930s London traffic film in colour - must watch... - Ian Wegg - 28-10-2022
(27-10-2022, 05:33 PM)Chris KC Wrote:(27-10-2022, 03:56 PM)Mike Costigan Wrote: I understand your viewpoint, Chris, but the original film can still be viewed in unadulterated form if you so wish:
https://archive.org/details/pet1138r5alondon
That's a different flick Mike...
Mike's clip is the second part, the rest can be found here: https://archive.org/details/pet1136r5
But the point is the source material isn't affected at all, you can watch them in their original state if that's your preference.
I'm all in favour of AI enhancement when it's done well, it can bring old films like this alive and interest a much wider audience. For anyone who doubts the value of colourization I'd recommend Peter Jackson's WW1 feature, They Shall Not Grow Old, a truly amazing achievement in film enhancement. It's the next best thing to time travel.
They Shall Not Grow Old
RE: 1930s London traffic film in colour - must watch... - Chris KC - 28-10-2022
(28-10-2022, 07:51 AM)Ian Wegg Wrote:(27-10-2022, 05:33 PM)Chris KC Wrote:(27-10-2022, 03:56 PM)Mike Costigan Wrote: I understand your viewpoint, Chris, but the original film can still be viewed in unadulterated form if you so wish:
https://archive.org/details/pet1138r5alondon
That's a different flick Mike...
Mike's clip is the second part, the rest can be found here: https://archive.org/details/pet1136r5
But the point is the source material isn't affected at all, you can watch them in their original state if that's your preference.
I'm all in favour of AI enhancement when it's done well, it can bring old films like this alive and interest a much wider audience. For anyone who doubts the value of colourization I'd recommend Peter Jackson's WW1 feature, They Shall Not Grow Old, a truly amazing achievement in film enhancement. It's the next best thing to time travel.
They Shall Not Grow Old
It's a debate which has been raging in certain circles as the artistic community endeavours to protect the integrity of photographic and cinematic artworks, while commercial enterprises try to turn a fast buck out of "colorizing" Casablanca, for example.
I'd agree that if done thoughtfully and artistically, colourising (not necessarily with AI, which is an oxymoron in my opinion) can add something meaningful to a photo or a film clip. These instances are relatively rare though and the quality of most wholesale AI efforts is poor. "Enhancement" is also alteration and in subtle ways overwrites historical accuracy. I'd argue that trying to attract an audience of morons who are too dumb to appreciate a black and white image/film does not justify scribbling on it with felt tip pens. We'd do better to educate our masses to appreciate the fine art of black and white imagery in its own right.
The black and white original still exists - well maybe, for now. It's slowly getting harder to find unmolested copies in search results though.
A7F may not be the right forum to explore the topic in depth!
RE: 1930s London traffic film in colour - must watch... - Ian Wegg - 28-10-2022
When it comes to classic movies then yes I would agree with you. But these are documentary films, I'm sure the original film-makers would happily have used wide-screen colour stock and recorded the sound if the technology had been available to them. I don't believe preserving "artistic integrity" comes into it here.
What I find extraordinary is that these little films exist at all. Somebody decided to record ordinary street scenes of London, at some length. To what original purpose I can't imagine, but whoever it was and why ... we can be very glad they did it.