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Piano Making (c.1924)

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Wood working machine rooms

This clip chosen to be G

Clip description

The camera pans across the wood-working machine rooms and shows men working on various stages of piano construction. Piles of cut-to-size timber are stacked on the ground. One man feeds a large flat piece of wood through a cutting machine which cuts tongues and grooves into the wood, applies glue and delivers boards of the required width.

This machine is shown from a number of angles which focus on different parts of the machine to illustrate how it works. As a section of wood comes out, a man removes it and displays it for the camera – showing the grooves that have been made.

Curator’s notes

by Poppy De Souza

The use of slow steady pans along with a number of camera angles combine with intertitles to provide a clear overview of the work conducted in this factory.

The 'blistering’ from the nitrate damage is extensive in this clip, especially the intertitles. Film stock from this era used a nitrate base, making it incredibly delicate and prone to damage over time.

Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer Wood working machine rooms from the documentary Piano Making as a high quality video download.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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