AV Geeks Lunch 5-12-2022

do so so so so so do so so so so so hi everybody i'm skip alzheimer and welcome to the av geeks lunchtime streaming show uh where we watch old 16 millimeter films and that was a part of a clip reel by coronet films whenever they would shoot films educational films they would whatever was left over they put build up under these big reels and we've been scanning those um and uh that was a togo reel there were some togas in there um pretty great all right uh we're gonna get started with uh plastic art and this is not 100 what i thought it was um but yeah let's watch it enjoy in his morning mill our sculptor has received a commission to create a sculptural group he has been asked to interpret and bronze this theme the key to progress is man's confidence in his fellow man he has been requested to submit sketches progress through man's confidence in his fellow man what better than the early pioneer and the modern industrial worker clasping hands over the fruits of their combined efforts on paper the inspirational idea seems excellent but it must be tested in the sculptor's essential medium clay hastily he completes a sketch or plan in clay built upon a skeleton or armature of wire in this first plan little attention is given to detail yet the costumes must be authentic and suited to the myth the skin cap of the early hunter is temporarily exchanged for a hat of broad brim but this seems to create a better balance and so the cap is replaced from time to time the sculptor compared his play group with his original pencil sketch to see that his composition is progressing satisfactorily he adds finishing touches to the costumes and finally the faces although again fine detail is not sought after but rather a broad treatment of the group only the general composition will be considered when this sketch is submitted to the client when he is satisfied with the broadly executed clay group the sculptor surveys his completed sketch or plan for interpreting the theme progress through mutual confidence once approval is secured armatures are built for a new clay group the sculptor is detailed in serious effort each armature or skeleton is made of pliable lead wire separate pieces for each side a third for torso and head a rigidly jointed pipe supports the lead wire this is now wrapped with cord or wire and two supports called butterflies are also added to keep the clay from sagging or slipping to avoid corrosion the sculptor covers the entire skeleton with an impervious shellac a most important step here is the use of a nude model this building of the correctness form is always the basis upon which the success of the ultimate work depends referring constantly to his nude model the sculptor carefully builds the rough figure upon the lead wire skeleton long practice enabled him to do this with assurance as a guide to accuracy and further modeling he traces the curve of the body and the relative angles of the chest the hips and the knees many years of anatomical study including this section enable the sculptor to place the larger muscles such as here in the back and the large muscle at the side of the neck with bold confidence thus he builds the figure outward from its skeletal structure last of all the musket of the pioneer merely a wooden stick later to be covered with a thin layer of clay the sculptor now sure that his representation of the figure is correct works from this point on with his model draped in the approved costume the costume must be accurate for the period but arrangement of folds may conform to rules of good composition the dimensions forms and textures apparent on the model are only suggestions for the sculptor's interpretation in play as is customary the head of the pioneer here is being idealized even in the delicate task of shaping the features the sculptor uses simple tools depending chiefly upon his hands and his skill in handling play at this stage his knowledge of anatomy makes the facets of the face sufficiently familiar to him so that he works confidently on eyes nose mouth and chin with equal shortness he carves out the folds of the hunter's leather jacket using a simple wire tool with a small stick he makes the detail in the shoulder fringe reference to the model shows him the approximate position of the powder horn but he changes this placement on the clay figure to a higher more zestful angle at various times the developing work is examined at long range here for example to make sure the weight of the body is resting strongly upon the left or standing leg when both figures are essentially complete death touches similar to the grace notes in music are important the pinnacle of the sculptor's creative effort is reached when the clay figures are brought together the early pioneer of the modern industry done in complete and accurate detail and finally the symbolic tools and fruits of progress are put in place beneath the class hands symbols of cooperative effort from the fragile clay model a plaster cast is made and a large sized clay group will be scaled up accurately from this cast hundreds of points on the plaster are checked in building up each large figure with his compass calipers the sculptor checks each point from three reference points known as the three point system each measurement checked by the small end of the calipers is automatically enlarged accurately at the other end of the calibrated instrument a matchstick or toothpick is inserted here and the clay will be built out to its end thus every dimension of the plaster cast of the industrial worker is scaled up accurately and by the same technique an accurate enlargement of the early pioneer is made possible when the large clay group has been completed roughly the models are called back into the studio and are used as a final check upon each fine detail in the larger work here the sculptor examines at close range every line and contour of the hand clasping the gun every detail of costume and the general pose are treated with an eye toward their effect in the ultimate bronze this wire tool wrapped about with finer wire is used to help simulate the texture of the skin now a flat box would stick supplemented by the ever useful thumb and forefinger even here the tools used aside from thumb and forefinger are extremely simple these minute details which will enrich the bronze work occupy months of the sculptor's painstaking creative effort again the forefinger and the deaf thumb cause a prominent vein to assume its proper roundness the skin texture being achieved the sculptor turns his attention to another problem that of the heavy coarse apron of leather characteristic of the shop worker how skillfully the uneven coarse appearance of leather develops a slightly different texture obtains in the deerskin jacket of the pioneer here as throughout the entire finishing process the sculptor checks his points of reference with those of the plaster model and builds out the fold of the jacket exactly to the ends of these points in the bronze this part will be in shadow and so with another simple tool he breaks the smoothness of the surface in this shadow corrosion in the bronze will impart a greenish hue to this part and consequently create a luminous shadow now the uneven leather texture of the coat is brought out by lumps of clay smooth down slightly painstakingly our sculptor works out the necessary detail in the sheep of wheat in the covered wagon wheel the plowshare and other elements of the symbolic central group this attention continues as he further refines the head of the industrial worker details of hair and headdress each must fit quickly into the larger aspects of the work finally the face with every part brought to its combination is given its last touch of texture the creative effort of the sculptor is at an end the theme is completed here in monumental play is his expression of man's progress through confidence in his fellow man the industrial curve fairly speaks of power driving toward achievement the alert attitude of the pioneer promises conquest of hostile wilderness as the two regard each other with mutual confidence the strength of the worker who carries on his fulfillment of the pioneers early dream of progress the firmly clasped hands expressed the mutual confidence needed to harvest the roots of toil through the years of a country's growth the fragile clay next cast in substantial plaster is finally cast during bronze the sculptor's means of perpetuating the trump of his creative genius god there's always get me i'm sorry if the screen was too black like so later on you know in educational films they they do a play out song an outro song and so you hear but not these uh erp films not these early encyclopedia britannica irby films and so uh someone on facebook posted and basically said that talking about uh um plastic art it's it's before there was really plastic yeah i don't know anyways that it was in the sense of like a plastic surgeon so mike thank you for that the the sculpting process um so because i was like where's the plastic in this this it's just yeah anyways there you go uh so on the telecini which is or the scanner that i have behind me i have a film set up that's one of the great things about doing this show live is we can show these things live i can pull them off the shelf and then show them to you so here is uh the ghost of captain peel enjoy [Music] [Music] long ago when pirate ships sailed the seas a great battle raged the queen's navy was determined to end the reign of terror when the smoke cleared the pirates had been defeated and captured as the queen ship passed by a small island one of the pirates decided that this was as good a time as any to rid himself of the bottle he had been hiding helen saw the pirate toss the bottle into the sea she wondered if a treasure map could be inside the bottle she dreamed of finding a pirate's treasure and buying her own ship she'd be captain of the ship and would sail the high seas helen felt a little silly having such dreams but what did she have to lose so she swam out to get the bottle [Music] i am the ghost of captain peel the smoke bellowed it's about time someone let me out helen asked the captain if he had a treasure map it's my treasure map the captain bellowed i stole it fair and square he showed helen the map since he would need her help the map showed two islands that helen knew kimberly and mount clare and it showed a small island with an x on it the captain pointed to his treasure helen barred a small boat and the two of them set sail to find the treasure the captain stood in the bow and gave orders but when helen followed them things didn't work out helen asked the ghost if he really had been a captain not exactly the captain admitted but i was the captain's cook from then on helen ignored the captain's orders they arrived at kimberly and then set off toward mount clare looking for the treasure at each island helen asked is that it and each time the captain admitted that he wasn't sure so they sadly sailed for home after they docked helen pointed to the writing on the map she thought it might tell them how far the treasure island was from kimberly that's just what i was thinking puff the captain helen pointed out that they'd have to know about centimeters and kilometers but the captain told her that he knew all about that stuff the next morning helen sat down with the captain to figure out the distance helen showed him a list of the facts she'd made the captain didn't know what to make of it helen showed him a stick that was one meter long and told him that if one thousand such sticks were placed end to end they'd make up one kilometer that was why the list said one kilometer was one thousand meters then helen showed captain peel how big a centimeter was and how the numbers on the stick help you measure helen's finger reach to about the five on the stick so it's one two three four five centimeters long then helen measured the distance from kimberly to the treasure island it was about 15 centimeters now they had to find what 15 centimeters on the map stood for in the ocean the captain said he'd take care of all the figuring he pointed out that one centimeter was to stand for 3 kilometers ah said helen that must be what scale means one centimeter on the map stands for three kilometers in the ocean the captain told her not to interrupt and he set about figuring and he figured some more finally he had to admit that he hadn't been very successful but helen thought that they could figure it out together they knew that each centimeter on the map stood for three kilometers in the ocean then two centimeters on the map stood for three kilometers in the ocean two times so two centimeters on the map stood for three plus three or six kilometers in the ocean then 10 centimeters on the map meant you go three kilometers 10 times in the ocean or 30 kilometers the island was 15 centimeters away on the map so it was three kilometers 15 times in the ocean how much is that ask the captain helen had to figure it out it was 45 kilometers so helen and the captain set sail from kimberly toward mount clare and there was an island about 45 kilometers out after they landed on the island they checked the map the x on the map was near the red rock but how far away was it helen said they'd have to figure it out the captain told her he could do all that now he told helen to measure the distance on the map helen saw it was less than a centimeter but she didn't know exactly how far it was she looked at her list of facts one centimeter equals 10 millimeters