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Post by scotttelfer on Jan 3, 2023 14:44:11 GMT
I listened to the podcast with interest. Cynically, I share many others' views that nothing else will ever be found, but at least this does seem a genuine lead and the most promising possibility since PM's last finds. I do note that (I think) an estimated ten years will be needed to search all the tapes. I appreciate that those searching are not necessarily prioritising Dr Who, but I do wonder if any priority will be given to searching the older reel-to-reel videotapes for 1960s material. Were there are Dr Who episodes from the 1960s that were never shown in Austraila (e.g. Feast of Stephen)? Mission to the Unknown and The Daleks' Master Plan were sent but rejected.
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Post by George D on Jan 3, 2023 17:35:13 GMT
It will be interesting if pm has anything for the 60th.
Film can still survive if taken care of because it's safety film. Videotape is more perishable.
It's been apx 10 years since latest discovery. While no one knows if anything is out there, at least we have what we have
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Post by andyparting on Jan 3, 2023 19:50:25 GMT
So is this the massive Melbourne haul - video tape recordings of Neighbours and reel-to-reels of Skippy??
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Post by George D on Jan 4, 2023 1:31:34 GMT
If you listen to the recording much of the older format material was thrown away as the family thought no one had use for it. We are assuming the guy recorded it and then backed it on beta. While possible its still a long shot.
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Post by Natalie Sinead on Jan 4, 2023 6:09:58 GMT
Aron said elsewhere that the audio recoveries from Melbourne Man could be *massive*
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Post by anthonybartley on Jan 4, 2023 13:06:36 GMT
In terms of storage, I have reels of 35mm and 16mm and, apart from colour fade and splices, they are still in salvageable condition. Film is quite resistant to the elements - so there's still a lot of time before they degrade completely.
It's funny, I was just thinking about this yesterday - no doubt inspired by a Youtube video detailing the Star Wars Palitoy 'landfill' rumour (just like DW!) - again, the plastic itself would probably be okay - but anything paper would be compost. Also, while I'm pretty sure film stored in a room or a warehouse may well be okay - I'm not so sure about what would happen to film buried 100 ft down and crushed under lots of other waste. That may well be destroyed by now - or certainly a large part of it may well be beyond saving.
Either way, with both these landfill rumours - nobody actually knows exactly where it was all buried - so it's sadly just wishful thinking and little else.
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Post by andyparting on Jan 4, 2023 18:56:28 GMT
In terms of storage, I have reels of 35mm and 16mm and, apart from colour fade and splices, they are still in salvageable condition. Film is quite resistant to the elements - so there's still a lot of time before they degrade completely. It's funny, I was just thinking about this yesterday - no doubt inspired by a Youtube video detailing the Star Wars Palitoy 'landfill' rumour (just like DW!) - again, the plastic itself would probably be okay - but anything paper would be compost. Also, while I'm pretty sure film stored in a room or a warehouse may well be okay - I'm not so sure about what would happen to film buried 100 ft down and crushed under lots of other waste. That may well be destroyed by now - or certainly a large part of it may well be beyond saving. Either way, with both these landfill rumours - nobody actually knows exactly where it was all buried - so it's sadly just wishful thinking and little else. It has been suggested bringing in Ground Penetrating Radar Technology (normally used to locate plastic pipes and lava tubes) to seek, locate and excavate dumped Han Solo and Luke Skywalker Palitoy figures from underground Leicester. Perhaps this sort of technology could be used at old landfill sites in New Zealand to locate buried Doctor Who episodes - tracing the metal of film cans or the vinegar of celluloid? ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/40722%28153%294
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Post by Natalie Sinead on Jan 5, 2023 13:55:56 GMT
Just some temporal perspective: the Pertwee era was five decades ago. The Young Ones and Thatcher's Britain were four decades ago.
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Post by Richard Bignell on Jan 5, 2023 14:05:14 GMT
It has been suggested bringing in Ground Penetrating Radar Technology (normally used to locate plastic pipes and lava tubes) to seek, locate and excavate dumped Han Solo and Luke Skywalker Palitoy figures from underground Leicester. Perhaps this sort of technology could be used at old landfill sites in New Zealand to locate buried Doctor Who episodes - tracing the metal of film cans or the vinegar of celluloid? ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/40722%28153%294Toy figures are made of solid plastic. Put a piece of film in the ground, get it moist and the picture will blow off the surface in no time at all.
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Post by Natalie Sinead on Jan 5, 2023 15:34:51 GMT
Ouch!
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Post by anthonybartley on Jan 6, 2023 12:23:13 GMT
In terms of storage, I have reels of 35mm and 16mm and, apart from colour fade and splices, they are still in salvageable condition. Film is quite resistant to the elements - so there's still a lot of time before they degrade completely. It's funny, I was just thinking about this yesterday - no doubt inspired by a Youtube video detailing the Star Wars Palitoy 'landfill' rumour (just like DW!) - again, the plastic itself would probably be okay - but anything paper would be compost. Also, while I'm pretty sure film stored in a room or a warehouse may well be okay - I'm not so sure about what would happen to film buried 100 ft down and crushed under lots of other waste. That may well be destroyed by now - or certainly a large part of it may well be beyond saving. Either way, with both these landfill rumours - nobody actually knows exactly where it was all buried - so it's sadly just wishful thinking and little else. It has been suggested bringing in Ground Penetrating Radar Technology (normally used to locate plastic pipes and lava tubes) to seek, locate and excavate dumped Han Solo and Luke Skywalker Palitoy figures from underground Leicester. Perhaps this sort of technology could be used at old landfill sites in New Zealand to locate buried Doctor Who episodes - tracing the metal of film cans or the vinegar of celluloid? ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/40722%28153%294Yes, but what kind of technology would be able to separate the metal of a film can from the metal of a tin of beans? Remember, even if you had a ground penetrating radar that could separate metals from the rest, that pile of film cans won't be neatly stacked in circular piles - no, it will just be a big blob of metal. And that blob on the radar screen could be anything. The kind of technology needed would be like something out of an episode of Star Trek. The only remotely possible way of salvaging something from a landfill is finding the truck driver who dumped it there and asking them exactly where the spot in question is. But this is also, sadly, about as likely as inventing a machine that can distinguish metal film cans from other metals - given how much time has passed, and the chances of them even remembering it in the first place.
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Post by Sue Butcher on Jan 12, 2023 1:03:58 GMT
The Melbourne discovery is astounding! Who needs the alien civilization watching our television shows when there's people like this? It seems the family binned most of the Umatic tapes, but there's no mention of any of the reel-to-reel video tapes being thrown out, and these have pre-1974 recordings on them. The man was an obsessive Dr Who fan. There's a whiff of missing Troughton episodes here. I just hope he also liked British comedy.
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RWels
Member
Posts: 2,863
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Post by RWels on Jan 12, 2023 9:46:12 GMT
The Melbourne discovery is astounding! Who needs the alien civilization watching our television shows when there's people like this? It seems the family binned most of the Umatic tapes, but there's no mention of any of the reel-to-reel video tapes being thrown out, and these have pre-1974 recordings on them. The man was an obsessive Dr Who fan. There's a whiff of missing Troughton episodes here. I just hope he also liked British comedy. The podcast mentions that it's estimated that it will take ten years so work through all this... And at least the open reel - IF ANY!!! - would be 625 lines. But yes potentially there could be some lost comedy in there. Even if it's just at the end of a tape.
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Post by Sue Butcher on Jan 12, 2023 11:38:17 GMT
Some of the early reel-to-reel video recorders were "skip-field", and in Australia they'd only record 312 lines of a 625 line signal. But apparently he had enough money to buy the best video gear available. Someone on a budget, like a buyer for the Education Department, might have bought a Philips N1500 videocassette recorder. No expense spared, he bought two Umatic machines and an editing console!
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Post by mikesanderson on Jan 12, 2023 15:26:35 GMT
In terms of storage, I have reels of 35mm and 16mm and, apart from colour fade and splices, they are still in salvageable condition. Film is quite resistant to the elements - so there's still a lot of time before they degrade completely. It's funny, I was just thinking about this yesterday - no doubt inspired by a Youtube video detailing the Star Wars Palitoy 'landfill' rumour (just like DW!) - again, the plastic itself would probably be okay - but anything paper would be compost. Also, while I'm pretty sure film stored in a room or a warehouse may well be okay - I'm not so sure about what would happen to film buried 100 ft down and crushed under lots of other waste. That may well be destroyed by now - or certainly a large part of it may well be beyond saving. Either way, with both these landfill rumours - nobody actually knows exactly where it was all buried - so it's sadly just wishful thinking and little else. It has been suggested bringing in Ground Penetrating Radar Technology (normally used to locate plastic pipes and lava tubes) to seek, locate and excavate dumped Han Solo and Luke Skywalker Palitoy figures from underground Leicester. Perhaps this sort of technology could be used at old landfill sites in New Zealand to locate buried Doctor Who episodes - tracing the metal of film cans or the vinegar of celluloid? ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/40722%28153%294I used to plough up lots of old film from the 40s (site of old wartime cinema) and believe me the pictures are totally destroyed just clear brittle plastic
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