Australian
Screen

The fascination with the moving image (present even in the prehistory of cinema) has, and continues to, invite experimentation, exploration and new ways of seeing the world. This newsreel item is a strong example of the ability of simple camera techniques to dramatically alter the appearance and mood of the scenes that are filmed.

In this segment, various camera techniques are used to change the speed of the moving images. In the final vignette, the car appears to drive backwards. This is achieved by playing the segment of film in reverse. As a novelty item, this Australasian Gazette segment would have brought delight to contemporary audiences, but the effects also capture beautifully the atmosphere and modernity of the bustling 1920s city of Melbourne.

Experimentation with in-camera effects and the possibilities of cinematography can be seen from the first days of moving images (going all the way back to French pioneer George Méliès). At the turn of last century, ‘trick films’ or short comedies were being made which used stop-motion effects (where the camera is turned off, the visible objects are altered and the camera turned on again) and under and over-cranking. Audiences in Australia were exposed to some of these films when travelling exhibitor and entrepreneur Leonard Corrick and his family toured them around the country in the early 1900s. Amateur filmmakers and home movie-makers also found they were able to play with how the image was displayed when projected.

Australasian Gazette was a weekly newsreel produced between 1913 and the advent of the ‘talkies’ in the early 1930s. In that time, over 1,000 weekly editions were produced.