okkultmotionpictures:

EXCERPTS >|< Caicedo (with pole) - 1936

 | Hosted at: Youtube
 | From: Library of Congress
 | Download: Ogg | 512Kb MPEG4 | MPEG1
 | Digital Copy: Public Domain

A series of GIFs excerpted from Calceido (with pole). This short Edison feature does a good job of filming its subject, which in this case is high-wire specialist Juan Caicedo. It is one of many very early movies that, in addition to their value as historical examples in the development of cinema, have also preserved for later generations the memory of some of the era’s popular performers who otherwise have long since been forgotten.

This one is notable in that it was the first of the Edison movies to be filmed outdoors, since it was felt (no doubt correctly) that filming the act in Edison’s ‘Black Maria’ studio would not have worked as well. Therefore, you get to see Caicedo use his balancing pole to perform a number of feats of skill in a more natural setting. One interesting and (presumably) unintentional feature is that whenever the wire is straight, it is aligned with a fence rail in the background, making the wire seem temporarily invisible.

Most likely, Caicedo had to make some changes in his routine to keep all the action within the fixed camera field. But he and the Edison film crew seem to have worked together pretty well, since almost everything stays in view. Between that and the outdoor photography, this movie does a good job at what it set out to do. (From Snow Leopard, IMDB)

We invite you to watch the full video HERE

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Excerpts by OKKULT Motion Pictures: a collection of GIFs excerpted from open source/unknown/rare/controversial moving images.
A digital curation project for the diffusion of open knowledge.

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