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Borden Grammar on Film

This is a guest post from Andrew “Bill” Bailey and is an OBA first – the use of video on the site!

I was at Borden between 1957 and 1964. I found some forgotten reels of 8mm cine film in the roof and was able to transcribe them into digital format. And hence, after only forty years, was able to edit them and produce three or four little films of fairly low quality but of possible interest to those who were at Borden in the early sixties.

The footage was produced on a clockwork Canon camera that an uncle had lent me. 8mm stock actually came as a 50ft reel of 16mm film which was run through the camera twice, exposing first one vertical stripe 8mm wide, 2 minutes running time. Then the film was turned over and given a second run through. Assuming that exposure settings were correct and no light had fallen on the part exposed film during the turnover or removal, one would cheerfully post the reel off for processing, accompanied by a postal order for about three weeks pocket money. These assumptions were usually unjustified and most films came back after a week or so with disappointing results. So then an editing process was required, duff chunks exised with a small guillotine, the remains spliced together with a transparent tape. Or, after one or two showings (using borrowed projector and screen), packed in a box and consigned to the roof.

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