Clip description
This clip begins with a shot of a steam shovel collecting the limestone rubble from the quarry and emptying it into large bins for transport. A man in the foreground of the frame shovels the smaller pieces of rubble into the bins. A front-on view shows the large shovel moving slowly towards the camera as workers walk across the frame. As the machine turns, another shot captures the giant shovel in profile. An intertitle explains that limestone was once part of the ocean floor – the images that follow show rock containing fossilised shells.
Curator’s notes
The scenes showing the giant shovel in the quarry are deliberately framed with workers in the foreground to accentuate the size of both the quarry and the shovel. The human figures are dwarfed by its size. Positioning two objects within the frame together gives a sense of proportion.