A/V Geeks Lunch 11-29-2021

restful all right hey i'm skip alzheimer welcome to the uh av gigs lunchtime streaming show where we watch old 16 millimeter films um and that was a very short clip that we just watched uh 150 mile per hour train test it was what was written on the can we don't know what it's from we don't really know a whole lot um but what i do know is it was super quick so i didn't get a chance to get everything kind of set up so it was like oh gosh i got a room anyways i hope everybody had a great excuse me holiday weekend um we had a great time relaxing um and uh we're back got so many more films to watch um and i'm happy that you guys are there to watch them with us um this next film is uh so these two previous films were from the um oregon archive which is based in pittsburgh uh greg pierce is one of the founders and he and i have been over the last couple years scanning films and so these are some films that we have uh scanned uh they're fascinating things like those weird little blips uh some of the mogul brothers silent stuff and and things like this these weird kind of sponsored films this one is the titles clip but it's the pictures the thing enjoy [Music] our story begins 93 million miles away on the surface of the sun every instant light leaves from here and a few minutes later it lands on the earth from any object you look at it reflects back into your eyeballs and by a wonderful instantaneous nerve process a picture forms on a screen in your brain the image is translated upside down but a further refinement of the process flips it right side up so fast you never know the difference as long as you keep looking the picture is there but if you shut your eyes it is gone for centuries people had no other pictures than the reflected images of life in trying to figure some way of recreating the things they saw they invented art in time art developed but it was stationary crowds used to gather when the old masties were exhibited so hungry were they to see pictures then in 86 13 years before the introduction of photography a process pictures was invented this look how many newsstand today and see the results of that obscure invention 1826. look around you at the civilization of the 20th century and see its effects a picture introduces you to the inventions and development you will want next the manufacturing distribution of products is the heartbeat of modern business the use of photo engraving has done more to create modern business than any other single agency it is one of the commonplace miracles but one of the greatest of all human inventions here may be the picture of the next refrigerator you own or a picture of the cake you'll be eating for dinner tomorrow this may be your next pair of shoes here a first quenchy sometime today pictures of things created for you by your fellow americans how would we communicate with each other if it were not for advertisements what would advertising be without pictures it looks like an everyday scene somewhere in the usa you get the feeling of sunlight and air maybe it takes you back the air the sun the nostalgia are really compounded of umpteen thousand infinitesimal dots dots that pick up ink in the press and transfer them to paper this is a half tone photo engraving close up this is what an engraver has to think in terms of dots the principle isn't hard to explain it's the work that takes a lot of doing the copy is photographed with a glass screen in front of it glass etched with up to 133 or more perfect lines to the inch this forms the picture in a pattern of dots the picture is photo printed on a metal plate the plate has been treated so the image can be turned to an acid resistant surface by heating the rest is etched away by acid this cuts out everything but the dots which can thus pick up ink and print the same is true for four color pictures except that you have to have a plate for every color and they must register one on top of the other weeks or months before you see an ad in print the picture begins as a photograph a drawing or a painting which is finally ready as copy for the engraver the captured scene is starting on its journey to millions of printed pages the plate is first of all a negative for a lot of jobs they still prefer to make wet plates hand craftsmanship shows up at the very beginning try juggling a clear glass while you flow on collodion as a base and finally the light sensitive nitrate of silver for other jobs commercially produced plates or strip film are used if it is a line drawing to be photographed the lines themselves will print after the surrounding metal has been etched away so no screen is necessary but for half tone work the screen is the device that makes possible the texture the lights and shadows to give a picture life for a black and white half tone only one negative is needed but for four color work there must be a negative for each color one is shot through a filter that subdues all but the yellow tones there is another for the blue one for the red and one for the black plate the halftone screen is angled differently for each color negative so that the dots will not superimpose each other it is all worked out on a precision basis scaling is another measure of accuracy the negatives must be the exact size of the final plates the picture as you see it the photo engraver needs skill and know-how developed carefully over long years of practice and a host of elaborate equipment things like this help bring you the pictures that introduce you to new facets of life every day special prisms for reversing the negatives as they are exposed because the plates have to read backwards for printing impressions a great collection of finely etched halftone screens that produce big dots for grades of paper like newsprint fine dots for fine papers special equipment for photographing color transparencies gallery cameras dark room cameras all of it represented in the pages you look at every day but when the negatives are produced the really detailed work has only begun now it is the job of the strippers the picture is a thin sheet of collodion and it is peeled off the glass working with the layout the key drawings and copies the stripper builds up the final negative from the collodion components which he cuts out with a knife as sharp as a scalpel when you look at an ad think of these fellows in their work one of the basic jobs of civilization and you may not have known that it existed different types of plates call for different operations but when you see the final result of any of them it may introduce you to new possessions maybe a week or more has gone by up to this point and now comes the operation of printing the negative on metal the plate has to be coated with a bichromate solution that will fix the image on metal the plate is dried in a special whirl dryer this is like making a photographic positive print only the bichromate or emulsion is so slow it requires a long exposure under arc lights water develops out the image and if you need to check it at this point handling dye will bring it up the burning operation hardens the image to produce an enamel that is acid resistant in general etching will take place between the dots and wherever the metal is bare half tones black and white or color are made on copper now you might say that the job is just properly begun etching is the next step and the plates move to another crew of craftsmen who have to be able to read dots as easily as you read the headlines in the etching machine which works just the opposite to electroplating in that it eats away metal they make the first bite just barely enough this time to see how things are going and get a little depth in the plate this is what they call staging because the work requires so many stages after the plate has been powdered they work it over with a special acid resistant ink they regulate tones and effects by holding back certain spots and areas then hardening of the ink on the gas burner etching some more in the iron solution re-powdering preparing for another stage keeping up the process as they translate what they see in the copy into the effects on metal that will eventually produce a perfect reproduction it may take several days of this tedious work before the etcher feels he has captured the picture on metal in color plates there are tricky decisions to make like bringing up the yellow under all the colors that call for solid yellow undertone but black and white plates aren't easy either this is one modern operation which cannot depend on machinery there is still the deep etching operation and the process that involves dragon's blood an acid resistant substance made from a malayan palm tree as the bite goes deeper there is a chance of undercutting so they build up the sides by brushing on this special red powder one brushing in each direction and sometimes more after a plate is etched deep enough it still isn't finished this is the job of the finishes for ease of handling they hold the plate on a little leather bag of sand and go work with an array of delicate tools patience is another tool you begin to notice as the slow hours go by patience and skill know-how in all its glory this means really intimate work with the dots look at a half tone reproduction with a magnifying glass get right down among the dots that are organized to do things to your imagination with prayers inc these boys can clear out dots that are clogged or they can bring up lost dots with the point of a tool and delicate muscle coordination the tools have efficient names lining tool angle tint tool dot razor flat chaser shooter and a lot more at first we taught the basic idea of photo engraving it looked simple but what we have seen of the actual work are only the highlights there is still excess metal to be routed out this is done by machinery but it isn't automatic the machine has to be carefully guided by hand with smaller tools for the very close work to accommodate some types of presses some of the plates are mounted on selected cherry wood after about a week the plates are ready for proofing how does it look here is another inspection it may have to go back again to the etchers and finishers for the fine points of perfection color proofs involve critical registration and corrections on as many as four plates that have required up to four weeks to produce it has taken a long time a progressive proof shows the impression from each plate proofed in its own color and how the colors print over each other in the proper rotation producing the finished four color proof the job has involved things like special handmade negatives a host of chemicals most people never hear of gas burnies dragon's blood razor sharp knives arc lights staging ink and acid baths to say nothing of shooters and draw tools but also it has involved a feeling for highlights shadows tones and textures it has involved steady hands keen eyes patience critical microscopic inspections to see if the plates are etched deeply and cleanly enough and something that is acquired slowly over long years know-how a mastery of lines and dots to create pictures for in advertising the heartbeat of modern business the picture is the thing that was a glorious deep dive into um offset printing um really uh quite something there and i before i was collecting films i was collecting i did a zine did a couple of things so i actually bought um printing presses but i never had the guts to um ink them up because the chemicals were kind of not they were not super toxic but they weren't good for you and basically i had the printers the printing presses in my bedroom so i would have to ink it up then i'd have to sleep next to it and i never got to that point i did however get um photocopiers laser printers and so i was able to do stuff with that technology um but yeah anyway so that's a glimpse into another world that i i love um and a lot of that technology has changed significantly um the ability to print has gotten more and more digital and less plate related all that stuff but [Music] speaking of old technology that's what we do here we take old technology and ram it through new technology so behind me is a telecini with uh film i'm gonna watch it it is the monkey who will be king enjoy [Music] once long ago all the animals of the jungle and of the forest live together in peace and harmony under the watchful leadership of the lion king of the beasts it was the lion who made sure that the mighty elephant lived in peace with his weaker neighbors and that the giraffe had enough tall leafy branches to eat [Music] he tried to keep the otter out of mischief [Music] and would not let anyone frighten the timid deer all these animals of the forest and the jungle the lion guarded without rest all except the porcupine he had such sharp quills nobody bothered him all the animals except the monkey were content the monkey was never satisfied one day he overheard the lion say that he was tired of being king the lion told his friend the parrot that he had been king for many years and wanted to rest now the monkey ran off to tell the others the lion's tired of being king he's going to choose someone else he told the prairie dog the lion's going to pick a new king he told the alligator too i hope it'll be me said the alligator i have some plans in store for all of you he told the giraffe we're going to have a new king the vayne peacock said naturally the lion will choose me the monkey was so thirsty from shouting that he went down to the stream for a cool drink of water who will the lion choose he wondered not the silly peacock and certainly not the alligator he'd eat us all he thought and he thought say he said to himself what a wonderful idea why not me if i were king of the animals i could sleep as late as i wanted to and eat as much as i pleased oh if i could be king the fox saw the monkey and wondered what he was planning to do that monkey's up to something thought the fox the next morning the pirate called all the animals together so that the lion could choose their new king the prickly porcupine had to start for the clearing very early because he was so slow then came the zebras one of us should be made king they thought for who else has such wonderful stripes then came the timid deer the proud peacock thought how wonderful he would look with a crown on his head [Music] the skunk knew he would never be chosen the alligator crept downstream full of evil plans the flamingos are as excited as could be who will be king who will be king they chatted and finally came the ponderous rhinoceros oh what i couldn't do if i were king thought the monkey the parrot told everyone the lion no longer wished to be king he had governed wisely and well for many years if anyone wants to be king said the parrot let him speak up choose me choose me said the frog who asked the owl i'll be king said the frog no me not you said the heron you'd eat us all if i'm king said the chimpanzee we'll play all day long we'll dance and jump and sing what fun we'll have and who'll do the work ask the parrot i should be king said the elk everyone knows i'm prince of the forest the monkey was quiet thinking of a plan to make himself king all the animals waited for the lion to decide suddenly the monkey saw the crown hanging forgotten on the limb of a tree this was his chance [Music] look what he's doing he's taking the crown he's put it on [Music] all the animals wanted to stop him the fox was furious but the monkey had been too fast i'm king i'm king he shouted and now i can sleep as late as i want and eat as much as i please let him be king said the lion if he thinks it's fun maybe it'll teach him a lesson that's not fair said the chimpanzee he'll never be as fine a king as the lion bro what does he think he is said nothing but he thought i'll find a way to fix you my greedy friend [Music] bright and early the next morning the fox went out hunting in the forest he remembered a trap he had seen lying in the woods that some hunters had left the greedy monkey was so busy eating he had no time to guard the animals and did not notice that the fox was missing meanwhile the fox was still searching for the hunter's trap [Music] ah here it is said the fox filled with plump purple grapes this is the trap that will catch that greedy monkey [Music] the monkey was lying asleep full of all the fruit he had eaten your majesty called the fox i found the most wonderful surprise fresh plum purple grape waiting to be eaten but how shall we divide them there aren't enough for all the animals [Music] the greedy monkey leapt to the ground divide them i'm king and i get them all the wily fox led him a long and difficult chase the monkey followed him eagerly who deserves those grapes if not the king of all the animals the monkey thought [Music] just feast your eyes on those plump purple perfect grapes said the fox and it's so easy to take them all you have to do is go inside that little box where some careless human has left them [Music] let me out let me out no said the fox you've got to let me out i'm king the fox just laughed please let me out said the monkey i don't care about being king let me out and i'll never try to be king again are you sure ask the fox oh yes said the monkey i know i was greedy and foolish the lion was right it isn't such fun being king please please let me out i'll i'll never try to be king again well said the fox if you really learned your lesson i'll get the others to let you free hurry oh please hurry if only i could be free i'd be the happiest monkey in the jungle [Music] all the animals let the monkey out and the lion became king again waiting to find someone who would think of the work as well as the rewards of being king the monkey went back to his own little tree and never wanted the crown again he learned a real king doesn't need a crown to show he's king he proves it by what he does [Music] so that wasn't a monkey that was a i think that was an ape like a gibbon or something um as somebody pointed i think george pointed out on facebook um all the apes are taking all the good monkey rolls um in film uh so this film actually uh has a program notes in it and so uh we can learn a couple of things here one is the vocabulary uh monkey lion elephant giraffe otter deer porcupine parrot prairie dog alligator peacock fox zebra skunk flamingos goose rhinos fox uh frog heron chimpanzee elk and then beast leadership neighbor mischief timid quill satisfied ponderous prince furious greedy divide trap rewards and harmony the other thing that's kind of interesting here is we have this thing that says film continuity which is basically a script of uh what's being said and who's saying it uh then below it there's a damaged film replacement orders in uh in order and replacements for damaged portions of film please refer to the footage figures opposite the scene description these figures refer to the accumulated footage as measured from the picture start mark in the film leader all orders should include film title scene numbers and footage involved for example monkey who would be king scenes two through five after the 25 foot point uh end of scene one print the next 11 feet so in um this is encyclopedia britannica film but the coronet films were running across cans of film that were obviously used for that purpose where they were clipped out for um replacement footage and we've certainly shown films that have replacement footage where the color is beautiful at the beginning of the film because that's usually what gets damaged and then suddenly boom it goes red and goes like all nasty and everything and that's because um the rest of the film has faded and they requested uh after a shredding of the beginning of the film the teacher librarian requested replacement footage so that's how that all works uh here are some uh after showing here are some suggested activities let the class share in the telling of the story of the monkey who would be king in their own words the teacher can write people's words on the blackboard and then entire class can criticize great and try to improve their sentences two the class may dramatize the story various animals can be impersonated by different members of the class i would i loved that activity when i was a kid um three the children may enjoy drawings and paintings of various animals shown in the films uh in the film uh four the class can draw upon their own experiences and telling or making up stories which show the unhappy consequences of greed or selfishness so that's uh what's really great when you get the program notes is you get all this stuff here that um bonus stuff um including like how a teacher can use the film i mean that's the whole idea is you show the film then you have the class discuss it you have the class do these activities and it kind of build on it it's not just filling time like a substitute teachers would do thank you so much to alex and mitch for the coffee one way that we can be rewarded by you or punished is by us buying us coffee you can go to buy me a coffee dot com slash av geeks uh let's see what do we want to watch next so many things so many films um what about the quest for synthetic fuels enjoy [Music] the science screen report developments in science engineering and medicine that help solve the problems of modern life sooner or later we're going to run out of oil-based fuels the search is already underway for synthetic fuels energy-rich gases and liquids made from organic substances biomass such as plants surface and underground coal shale rock oil and other materials this is a report on progress towards tomorrow's synthetic fuels [Applause] [Music] short-term energy problems and declining stocks of petroleum have led to efforts to develop synthetic fuels [Music] one such energy source is gasohol made from plant material in commercial gasohol production corn is the main raw material [Music] in this facility enzymes help speed conversion of corn starch to a sugary mash which fermented by yeasts yields an alcohol-rich fluid proteins oils and other by-products are used as animal feed the alcohol-rich fluid is processed in distillation towers the lighter ethanol separated out the ethanol combined with gasoline in a one to nine ratio is gasohol sold as super unleaded gasoline with ethanol [Music] another biomass fuel is ocean kelp which can be processed into a form of natural gas here an experimental marine fuel farm is harvested using a special clipper-equipped ship [Music] the cutter a meter below the water line collects the plant's surface canopy of leaves and floatation sacs leaving the body of the plant in the sea [Music] when the ship's hold is full it delivers the kelp to dockside for processing into methane [Music] this overseas production facility the largest in the world currently converts coal to a variety of sin fuels the coal 40 000 tons a day is converted to gas in advanced gasifiers first developed in the 1930s coal particles averaging four centimeters across are fed into the top steam and oxygen injected into the base when they meet particle combustion yields hot gases as these rise through the coal bed the steam reacts with the unburned coal's carbon and volatile matter producing hydrogen carbon monoxide and other hydrocarbons a hot gas emerges from the top coal ash from the base nearby all the chemical products are separated leaving only hydrogen and carbon monoxide the chemical building blocks of synthetic fuels the purified mixture of gases is injected into a chemical reactor [Music] which is joined by a catalyst the resulting reactions yield gases liquid hydrocarbons and water-rich chemicals the water-rich chemicals are processed into a range of alcohols and ketones the raw materials for plastics paints solvents and other chemicals the hydrocarbons go to a refinery to be made into diesel oil jet plane fuel and high octane gasoline coal ash waste is used for bricks and road paving effluent water is purified and kept in a closed cycle system [Music] at hope creek wyoming coal deposits not suitable for mining are being converted into syn fuels through underground coal gasification the process starts with the drilling of bore holes to the bottom of coal seams the coal at the bottom of one well the injection well is then ignited air or oxygen and steam is forced into the coal seam and product gases are drawn out of the other well the production well [Music] to better link the wells explosive fracturing is used the fractures allow gases to flow and react more readily the first hope creek test began with explosive fracturing followed by construction of the gasification system another process tested was reverse combustion setting fire to the coal at the bottom of one well then injecting air into the other so the air can move through natural cracks to the burn zone producing a high flow rate that supports combustion [Music] sensors placed in the boreholes transmitted data on ground motion temperatures pressures and product gas water content all recorded by on-site computers this program demonstrated that underground coal not suitable for mining can be converted to products that may be upgraded into substitute natural gas methanol or gasoline oil shales are a third type of sin fuels a finely textured sedimentary rock they hold the organic solid called kerogen a high molecular weight hydrocarbon heated to 900 degrees fahrenheit it decomposes to yield oil this project in colorado was designed as the first full-scale shale oil extraction plant [Music] shale mining is carried out by room and pillar techniques creating huge man-made caves 20 meters square pillars support the mine roof [Music] three double retort structures are designed to process up to 11 000 tons of shale or daily the raw shale is first preheated [Music] then in a retort a huge rotating drum it's mixed with ceramic spheres heated to 1300 degrees fahrenheit [Music] the spheres are periodically separated out heated again and returned to the retort after several cycles enough heat is transferred to raise the shale's temperature to 900 degrees so its keragen vaporizes [Music] the spent shale residue is removed and shale vapors condensed and recovered as liquid and gaseous products at 90 efficiency the resulting shale oil is comparable to the best natural crude petroleum [Music] subsequent on-site partial refining or upgrading improves the shale oil's quality upgraded the shale oil can be pipelined to an existing oil refinery for final preparation [Music] in the american southwest 700 meters below this installation underground shale oil production is being carried out the process is called partial in-situ production both mining and extracting the shale oil underground [Music] huge man-made rooms provide access to the rock then machines drill holes that are charged with explosives an engineering rendering of the site shows the man-made caves each the size of a 30-story building [Music] these void chambers provide room for the heated fragments of shale to expand [Music] explosives and placed the void chambers are evacuated of all workers a triple check ensures no one remains below [Music] blast timing and sequencing are critical to promote uniform chemical conversion of keragen to shale oil debris must be of uniform size and uniformly distributed in the retort this precisely planned disruption is the basis of the new technology [Music] next inert gas heated to 1600 degrees is injected warming the debris so the kerogen gives up its shale oil as the hot gas fills the retort the shale oil drains to the bottom and is collected [Music] research is also underway on a number of other synthetic fuels including tar sands and heavy oil like all energy sources syn fuels have their special drawbacks many resource inputs environmental problems and possible social consequences however studies have shown that these can be forestalled or overcome oil and gas are not renewable resources and in time supplies may run out the development of synthetic fuels will extend our total non-renewable energy supplies hopefully until science and engineering perfect tomorrow's renewable energy sources ethanol ethanol i got a list here um montana overulation rudabaga puma reptiles um what is this gemini of course um vegetables protein abdomen um we're learning all sorts of new uh pronunciations um yeah that was not uh really synthetic fuels that was really just oh well so we're just gonna do this other thing to get more oil out of things um and we have seen what happens when um in hindsight we've seen what happens when some of these are put into practice negative impacts on things um really kind of interesting um all right i got another uh film set up behind me this one is a westin woods film in western woods films there's two types there well actually three types one type is live action almost all the films that they do are adaptations of children's books um so some of them are live action like we've seen some of them are animated uh adaptations and some of them are what we call iconographic and this next one is iconographic and it's basically what we would now call the ken burns effect where you basically have an illustration and then you pan across it and you zoom in and you do all this dynamic stuff so here's lentil enjoy [Music] in the town of alto there lived a boy named lentil lentil had a happy life except for one thing he wanted to sing but he couldn't it was most embarrassing because when he opened his mouth to try only strange sounds came out and he couldn't even whistle because he couldn't pucker his lips [Music] but lendl did want to make music so he saved up enough pennies to buy a harmonica [Music] lentil was proud of his new harmonica and he decided to become an expert so he played a lot whenever and wherever he could his favorite place to practice was in the bathtub because there the tone was improved one hundred percent lentil used to play almost all the way to school down vine street to the corner of maine past the finest house in alto which belonged to the great colonel carter then past the drugstore the barber shop and the alto library which was a gift of the great colonel carter [Music] and by the methodist church through the carter memorial park and around the soldiers and sailors monument that the colonel had built there [Music] people would smile and wave hello to lentil as he walked down the street because everyone in alto liked lentils music that is everybody but old sneak old sneak didn't like much of anything or anybody he just sat on a park bench and whittled and grumbled [Music] one day the news got around that the great colonel carter who had been away for two years was coming home people began to plan a grand welcome but when old sneep heard the news he said we was boys together he ain't a might better than you or me and he needs taken down a peg or two just kept right on whittling but everybody else kept right on planning colonel carter was the town's most important citizen so the mayor prepared a speech the people hung out flags and decorated the streets the alto brass band put on their new uniforms and the printer the grocer the plumber the minister the barber the druggist the iceman the school teachers the housewives and their husbands and their children yes the whole town went to the station to welcome colonel carter [Music] the train pulled in the musicians in the band were waiting for the leader to signal them to play the leader was waiting for the mayor to nod to him to start the band and the mayor was waiting for colonel carter to step from his private car all the people held their breath and waited then there was a wet sound from above there's sat old steep sucking on a lemon old sneak knew that when the musicians looked at him their mouths would pucker up so they could not play their horns the whole band looked up at old sneak the mayor gave the signal to play but the carnetist couldn't play his cornet the piccolo player couldn't play his piccolo a trombone player couldn't play his trombone and the tuba player couldn't play his tuba because their lips were all puckered up the musicians just stood there holding their instruments and looking up at sneap sucking on the lemon the leader looked helpless the people were too surprised to move or say a thing and the mayor rung his hands and wore a look that said can't somebody do something please as colonel carter stepped from his car the only sound was the noise of sneep's lemon clouds began to gather on the colonel's brow and he said of course lentil's lips were not puckered and he knew that something had to be done so he took out his harmonica and started to play coming round the mountain when she comes [Music] when little began to play the second chorus colonel carter smiled [Music] then he let out a loud chuckle and began to sing driving six wide horses when she comes [Music] and everybody sang and they all marched down main street behind the colonel's car [Music] lentil rode with the colonel who took a turn at the harmonica when lentil's wind began to give out [Music] they marched to the colonel's house and paraded through the gate and onto the front lawn [Music] the mayor's committee served ice cream cones to all the citizens and colonel carter made a speech saying how happy he was about such a fine welcome and how happy he was to be home again when he said that he was going to build a new hospital for the town of alto everybody was happy even old sneak [Music] and you're here [Music] so [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] wow so i'm not sure what what caused it maybe uh scholastic um who bought western woods maybe they copyrighted it um i'm not sure what but uh the hammer came down on youtube thankfully it was at the end of the show um uh so yeah that was weird hopefully there's not ramifications of that that um push me off of youtube in the future or puts me in a youtube jail but because it would be just ludicrous if it was for a film like that so um anyways uh thanks for tuning in today thank you for the coffee uh alex matt gabriel and uh we will see you again tomorrow everybody have a great rest of your day take care bye