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Post by Martin Dunne on Sept 16, 2017 4:21:52 GMT
Twizzle screened in New Zealand on a regional basis from 1962 to 1963. The film traffic registers record that all the films were sent back to Global, who was the original distributor, in July 1971. OK Jon; last ATN-7 screening we've got is Saturday 11 August 1962. If was on in New Zealand at the same time ... two prints. Unfortunately, The Sydney Morning Herald's listings don't have episode titles for this run; it could have started in Bro-land while still running out in Sydney. If someone's got access to Sydney listings magazines -- State Library of NSW or National Library in Canberra -- they may have better information or even articles. If we wanted to get organised we could post lists of wanted research only held in certain regions. Couldn't help noticing Ancestry's historic Australian electoral rolls are good for the other capitals but not Adelaide, where I'm located (good for me!). One good thing about the SMH listings is the asterisk denotes "ATN LIVE TELECAST" telling us THE TOWN OF MAKE BELIEVE and ATN NEWS AND WEATHER were both live and publicised as such. Given how little data there is from the published sources, this is pretty solid.
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Post by ifryer on Sept 16, 2017 12:12:19 GMT
Part of the work that needs to be done is to work out in which territories the series was screened. If there are no official records as to where prints were sent on to, this at least might give some indication if Australian prints of Twizzle were sent on, for instance, to New Zealand. I started looking into this a while back, but work pressures got the better of me. Twizzle screened in New Zealand on a regional basis from 1962 to 1963. The film traffic registers record that all the films were sent back to Global, who was the original distributor, in July 1971. This is really interesting, thank you for looking into this. Who were/are Global? Does the company still exist? It's always useful to have more background on how these early pre-ITC Anderson shows were distributed. With regards to Twizzle, as they were made and distributed on film and it seems that multiple prints were in distribution I have a hunch they will turn up one day.
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Post by christian bews on Sept 16, 2017 12:34:06 GMT
Twizzle screened in New Zealand on a regional basis from 1962 to 1963. The film traffic registers record that all the films were sent back to Global, who was the original distributor, in July 1971. This is really interesting, thank you for looking into this. Who were/are Global? Does the company still exist? It's always useful to have more background on how these early pre-ITC Anderson shows were distributed. With regards to Twizzle, as they were made and distributed on film and it seems that multiple prints were in distribution I have a hunch they will turn up one day. global television services as it is known also distributed the associated-rediffusion series but also held their after the company closed on 29th July 1968,but round about the mid 70s they went into liquidation & a number of companies tried to access their library before the BFI took control in 2004.
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Post by Martin Dunne on Sept 16, 2017 15:51:28 GMT
If we wanted to get organised we could post lists of wanted research only held in certain regions. Online TroveA meta-search of all Australian library resources set up by the National Library of Australia c.2009. Fully text searchable with thousands of newspaper corrections by users everyday. The main failing is the larger publishers object to the search, so their papers end in 1954. Google News Archive SearchGoogle has a similar copyright problem, and has apparently dropped plans to add to or make the newspapers searchable. Many papers are available to the end of 1989, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald included. The runs are highly imperfect, excluding Saturday editions and odd months. Fairfax The publisher of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald offers a limited text search intended to be used in conjunction with subscription results. Newspapers.com Subscription and text searchable, holds The Age to 2000 and The Sydney Morning Herald to 2002. Microfilm Most State libraries and Universities hold good runs of major Australian newspapers on microfilm. Print This is a truncated list excluding the more obscure institutions, short runs and details on imperfect holdings. Interested researchers should check their local collections. Some State libraries also hold paper copies of newspapers. Adelaide SLSA TV Guide 2 Sept. 1959-4 Sept. 1993; [Imperfect] TV Times 5 Sept. 1959-July 1980; [Imperfect] TV Week 2 Sept. 1959-4 Sept. 1993; [Imperfect] Brisbane SLQ TV Week July 20, 1968-June 27, 1992; [Imperfect] Canberra NLA TV Guide (Adelaide) 30 Jan. 1971-6 Apr., 1979; [Imperfect] TV Times (Adelaide) 1 Sept., 1973-28 June, 1980; [Imperfect] TV Times (Melbourne) 29 Apr., 1970-9 Aug., 1980; [Imperfect] TV Times (Tasmania) 1 Sept., 1973-4 July, 1980; [Imperfect] TV Times (Brisbane) 14 Oct., 1970-10 Aug., 1980; [Imperfect] TV Times (Sydney) 7 Nov., 1959-28 June, 1980 TV Times (WA) 29 Jan., 1969-4 July, 1980; [Imperfect] TV Week (Adelaide) 2 Oct. 2, 1971-4 Sept., 1993; [Imperfect] TV Week (Brisbane) 1 Jul., 1967-4 Sept., 1993; [Imperfect] TV Week (QLD) 29 Oct., 1959-27 Aug. 27, 1994; [Imperfect] TV Week (Sydney) Jan. 1961-July 20, 2002 TV Week (Tasmania) 5 Jan., 1963-1 Nov., 2001; [Imperfect] Melbourne SLV TV Times 6 Nov., 1959-28 June, 1980; [Imperfect] TV Week 17 Apr., 1958-; [Imperfect] Perth Murdoch University TV Times (Tasmania) 9 Oct., 1971-3 May, 1980; [Imperfect] TV Times (WA) 31 Jan., 1963-16 Aug. 1980; [Imperfect] SLWA TV Times 5 Mar., 1969-22 Apr., 1970; [Imperfect] TV Week 22 June, 1961-12 Dec., 1964; 8 Mar., 1969-3 June, 1995; [Imperfect] Sydney SLNSW TV Times 25 June, 1960-16 Aug., 1980 [Imperfect] TV Week 26 June, 1958-6 July, 1968; [Imperfect]
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Post by ifryer on Sept 16, 2017 18:34:04 GMT
This is really interesting, thank you for looking into this. Who were/are Global? Does the company still exist? It's always useful to have more background on how these early pre-ITC Anderson shows were distributed. With regards to Twizzle, as they were made and distributed on film and it seems that multiple prints were in distribution I have a hunch they will turn up one day. global television services as it is known also distributed the associated-rediffusion series but also held their after the company closed on 29th July 1968,but round about the mid 70s they went into liquidation & a number of companies tried to access their library before the BFI took control in 2004. Right, so if Global had still held prints they would have gone to the BFI, who we know don't hold any episodes of Twizzle beyond the pilot. Thank you.
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Post by Martin McDowell on Sept 16, 2017 21:49:57 GMT
I am very interested in the archival status of old Australian drama series. I have just discovered this thread and had great fun reading all the posts that have emerged here recently.
I saw mention of Number 96 - apparently it did have a short run in Canada at one point though I think that was its only overseas sale. Its also interesting to note that the Americans tried to do a version of Number 96 in the 1970s which was totally stripped (pun intended!) of nudity, shock value and controversial material.
I would be very interested in establishing the archival status of an obscure 1968 series called The Unloved. It was a daytime daily drama along the lines of the UK's Crown Court but apparently each episode was a single story about a children's court. I think they made 210 episodes though no episode guide exists that I know of and no information was provided in listings magazines/newspapers as it was a daytime show.
I saw an episode for sale on Ebay a number of years back and even though I have no method of playing it, I bought it just for preservation purposes. As far as I know the survival rate for this show is extremely poor and hopefully I have managed to save a little piece of Aussie TV history. It would be great to get a watchable copy of it sometime and actually be able to view my purchase, hopefully at some stage I can find a safe home for it too.
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Post by John Green on Sept 16, 2017 22:26:09 GMT
Apparently, " Consider Your Verdict, Divorce Court and The Unloved, were almost completely confined to a courtroom set with the narrative focusing on the trial." www.classicaustraliantv.com/CaseDefence.htm Divorce Court sounds interesting.
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Post by Martin Dunne on Sept 17, 2017 3:37:24 GMT
I would be very interested in establishing the archival status of an obscure 1968 series called The Unloved. It was a daytime daily drama along the lines of the UK's Crown Court but apparently each episode was a single story about a children's court. I think they made 210 episodes though no episode guide exists that I know of and no information was provided in listings magazines/newspapers as it was a daytime show. I saw an episode for sale on Ebay a number of years back and even though I have no method of playing it, I bought it just for preservation purposes. As far as I know the survival rate for this show is extremely poor and hopefully I have managed to save a little piece of Aussie TV history. It would be great to get a watchable copy of it sometime and actually be able to view my purchase, hopefully at some stage I can find a safe home for it too. I have it in the SMH Monday to Friday 13.00, Monday 5 February to Friday 11 October 1968 on TCN-9. Thirty six weeks by five gives 180 episodes in this run. What format was the episode you bought, number/title, do you know its provenance? The Unloved was produced by Bobby Limb's NLT Productions, presumably started to produce his own variety shows. Its high point was the movie Wake in Fright in 1971 and the State Library of NSW holds forty six boxes of documentation plus another eight oversize items, plus audio recordings in both tape and record format, largely on the movie. The NFSA hold a wealth relating to NLT, including thirty five records on The Unloved. Episodes "2/1" and "23/1" across 16mm, a tape "duping/working" copy and an access copy (ie you may summon these to an access library and watch them ... possibly watch your episode, get it copied, donate to the nation ...). The NFSA also gives 210 episodes produced.
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Post by Alan Hayes on Sept 17, 2017 9:51:32 GMT
global television services as it is known also distributed the associated-rediffusion series but also held their after the company closed on 29th July 1968,but round about the mid 70s they went into liquidation & a number of companies tried to access their library before the BFI took control in 2004. Right, so if Global had still held prints they would have gone to the BFI, who we know don't hold any episodes of Twizzle beyond the pilot. Thank you. I think there is a misunderstanding here. Rediffusion went into liquidation, but Global Television Services didn't, at least not until much later. From the research that was undertaken for the Avengers book 'Two Against the Underworld' (Hidden Tiger Books): "...it would appear that Global Television Services ... had come under the aegis of Portman Productions in 1971, and then merged with Channel 7 (Sydney) to become a new company, Amalgamated Portman Productions, from 1st February 1987. ... Frustratingly, this company was delisted in Australia in 2004."
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Post by Martin Dunne on Sept 17, 2017 13:15:48 GMT
I think there is a misunderstanding here. Rediffusion went into liquidation, but Global Television Services didn't, at least not until much later. From the research that was undertaken for the Avengers book 'Two Against the Underworld' (Hidden Tiger Books): "...it would appear that Global Television Services ... had come under the aegis of Portman Productions in 1971, and then merged with Channel 7 (Sydney) to become a new company, Amalgamated Portman Productions, from 1st February 1987. ... Frustratingly, this company was delisted in Australia in 2004." That's excellent Alan! There's a nice write up on the formation of Portman in the SMH. I see no less than five Amalgamated Portman Productions and five Amalgamated Global Television Distributors in the ASIC Business Registry, the last of each deregistered on 20 July 1993.
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Post by Martin Dunne on Sept 20, 2017 16:33:54 GMT
James, can you tell us what formats you see and the proportions they make up? My impression is it's all film prior to c.1962, then a small proportion of open reel videotape formats transferred to film over the next decade, then odd domestic open reel formats in the early 1970s, finally various tape cartridges through the 1970s which become increasingly common as VHS and Betamax become cheaper. What are the rare formats and what are the common?
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Post by Archive on Sept 21, 2017 3:54:29 GMT
James, can you tell us what formats you see and the proportions they make up? My impression is it's all film prior to c.1962, then a small proportion of open reel videotape formats transferred to film over the next decade, then odd domestic open reel formats in the early 1970s, finally various tape cartridges through the 1970s which become increasingly common as VHS and Betamax become cheaper. What are the rare formats and what are the common? Hi Martin, I havent got any exact figures but I'll divide the decades and explain roughly what my experience has been. 1950's: Primarily film - in australia videotape equipment did not exist for at least the first few years, and for many smaller stations they may have had only one machine (if at all) until a few years into the 1960's, so a lot of material either went out live, or was kinescope recorded. 1960's: Videotape slowly began to become common (ATV0 Melbourne when opening in 1964 was boasting they were all "videotape facilities"). Kinescopes were still commonly made to send to the regionals which still had limited videotape availability, with most programs being put to air from film/telecine. 2" VT material from this period was known as "low band" 2" recordings, it used a first generation type tape formula/base (which tends not to have sticky shed breakdown issues), but it is extremely abrasive on the video heads..like sandpaper, because essentially by comparison to later formulas thats what it was, a rich red rust iron oxide color. The rapid head wear poses a big problem today if material is found, due to the rarity or cost of refurbing 2" head sets. *trivia: RCA could not use the term "videotape", as this was said to be owned by Ampex, so RCA initially called it "television tape". 1970's, much the same, kines were common but with color and the newer generation of 2" machines by Ampex and RCA, high band 2" color recordings were being made, (this new formula is the one that has all the problems of sticktion and breakdown etc, common across most all formats of this era onwards). More 2" material starts to appear around this time. on the domestic/semi industrial side...comparatively lower cost machines start to appear, namely the open reel EIAJ (or to be critical, rather the CCIR version used in OZ) which was a primarily black and white only domestic format used by educational institutions to go with their portable b/w vidicon cameras. IVC also had variants of 1" by the late 70's, many other domestic formats appeared. Phillips cartridge has appeared as source for lost programs at least once or twice, V-Cord (although fairly shortlived). Betamax and VHS of course also appear by the late 1970's. There was also the use of 3/4" low band u-matic for educational or even internally by stations for reviewing (but rarely ever broadcasting!). By the early 1980's, 1" Type C was slowly begining to take over the role of 2" VT, but it took a good decade to really kill 2" in some stations. Much 1" material starts to exist from this period onwards, as does the rise of low band umatic for archiving programs to/preview tapes etc, mixed with Beta and VHS. 16mm film was the format for news gatering or most location work...that is until... The arrival of BETACAM, and one piece cameras and recorders, prior to this umatic was used to a limited extent for ENG (electronic news gathering) and 16mm. Betacam later morphed into a higher resolution version called Betacam SP, and then later a digital version in 1993. U-matic then brought out its improved version Hign Band, and then U-matic SP Through the 90s there has been heaps of other formats that have come and gone, D1, D2 and D3, Digital S, S-VHS, MII, DVCAM DVCPRO, Mini DV, Micro DV, and so on... I'll spare going through all that but generally as far as what is found today or i have dealt with. (broadcast market) would be as follows. 1960's, 2" LOW BAND VT, 16mm Film (optical and mag sound). 1970's, 2" HIGH BAND VT, 16MM FILM, U-matic, 1980's, 2" HIGH BAND VT, 16mm FILM, U-MATIC, BETACAM & SP, 1" TYPE C 1990's, 1" TYPE C, BETACAM SP, DIGITAL BETACAM, DVCAM, U-MATIC Rare formats are generally the shortlived domestic formats, such as V-CORD, IVC 1" variants, also i almost forgot the "broadcast" BOSCH BCN 1" format, (primarily used in WA.) Hope thats answered some of the questions, its another subject thats hard to condense without missing large parts or writing a novel on the subject.
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Post by Martin Dunne on Sept 21, 2017 5:29:24 GMT
I'm finding a bunch of Sony EIAJ open reels with mid-1970s content off ABS-2 on YouTube, any idea if these were domestic/institution or even out of the ABC station itself?
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Post by Archive on Sept 21, 2017 6:39:56 GMT
Most likely schools recordings - those EIAJ machines were fairly common AV department kits there prior to VHS/Betamax. You could buy an external tv tuner kit, which allowed "off air" recordings. This in turn meant schools could pre-record ABC schools programs for playback later.
This was even more so common..even standard practice to do once VHS home VCR's became common in the early to mid 80's.
Its unlikely that format would ever have been used internally by a station, because quite simply it was very primitive and fiddly even in its day..the main attraction was the low price for the schools, university...and even the first community television recordings in Melbourne which (which I recovered/digitised here), which dates as far back as 1974! (Community TV at that time was not something that was broadcast, rather played back on demand on a tv for viewers at a public location).
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Post by Martin Dunne on Sept 21, 2017 7:08:52 GMT
SBS (a kind of Channel 4 with an ethnic accent) gave Community TV applicants an hour block weekly from January 1987. One of the short films was called Clone-A-Men, an exciting featurette about violent stand over men which looked like someone's film school project. Familiar?
Edit: It was called Windows and the format was different community television applicants had alternate episodes.
Sunday at midday from 21 June 1987, then sometimes 11.30am from 2 August to 27 September, repeats from 11pm or 11.40, Thursday 29 October to 10 December.
The NFSA hold two episodes and a rough cut from Metro TV (the Sydney applicant), one of which is a panel on "PTV" (public television?) at "Sydney Trade Union Club in March 1987; featuring Ann Marie Chandler, Lester Bostock, Andy Nehl and Greg Hoy." They hold a further 15 pieces of unknown duration from "Brisbane Access Television Channel" with very disparate subjects: the 4th National Community Theatre Festival, a documentary entitled "In the Shadow of Expo", a puppet show and "Swanky Grey Life", described as "experimental" with "Computer video art. Patterns and music".
Glad someone's taking care of this.
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