Why So Little Footage?

[Roger Wilco]

Considering the amount of interest and TV/press coverage of 4/1/67 and the emergence of personal cine cameras around that time - how come there is so little footage available of that fateful last run? I have only ever seen the 'classic' B&W footage which seems incredible for a World Record attempt. I believe that in the years immediately preceding the final attempt a camera was fitted above K7's cockpit - was this removed for aerodynamic reasons?

[Mike Bull]

There were at least two different cameras mounted on top of K7 during her lifetime, though as to the thinking about their coming and goings, who knows?

There's actually a few different views of the crash run- if you've seen 'Across The Lake', you seen two to start with, and there's certainly more- there were a few news groups scattered about the lake, and the likes of John Lomax with his 8mm camera. Really it boils down to what DVDs you've bought, what documentaries you've seen etc, but the footage is certainly out there.

[sheppane]

There were 4 TV crews out on the eastern shore of the lake that morning, and 2 on a course boat. Starting from the south, on the eastern shoreline, you had Four Companies, filming in colour, about 1 km south of the southern end of the measured kilo. This was for the documentary, The Price of A Record

This is the film used subsequently used in Across the Lake, although the producers of that film flipped the footage to give the impression it was filmed from the western shoreline. All film of the crash should move from Right to Left for the first run, and Left to Right on the second.

Moving further up the lake, the BBC were filming from a course boat in the middle of the KM, close to the eastern shore. Just north of them were ITN and Redifusion filming from a position close to the northern marker on the shoreline. North of them, about 400m north of the northern end of the KM were Tyne Tees TV. All these crews filmed in black and white, with varying quality. Typically, the films from south and north of the km are better lit, and are better quality, albeit the boat is quite distant. The ITN, Redifusion and BBC are the classic B&W footage that is always shown.

That is the story of 5 of the film crews. The mystery is the Canadian Broadcasting Company footage, which was also shot in colour, from the launch used by the BBC. It, to the best of my knowledge, has never been seen. I have certainly never seen it, although like many, I believed the colour used in the drama doc Across The Lake must have been it, until I realised my error. (Don't let people tell you the colour film used in Across the Lake is this footage. It is not. That is the flipped Four Companies footage). Given the location CBC were stationed at, in the centre of the lake on a boat, that eliminates them as the source of this film. I can only assume that film must be spectacular, if it indeed does still exist.

As Mike said, there were a number of amateur film makers who captured the last two runs from the eastern shoreline, although given their distance from the subject, and the nature of their camera's, these films do not show any real detail of the boat and it's behaviour.

I hope that helps.

[Renegadenemo]

I tell you what's more infuriating... There doesn't seem to be a single photograph in existence that shows exactly how that little box with the speedo inside was attached to the instrument panel. We've been on almost a fortnight trying to get it so it's faithful to all the available evidence but we still have unknowns. Wouldn't you think it would've been photographed to death!

[f1steveuk]

Blue-Tac

[Renegadenemo]

It was made of card and sticky tape at one point then Mike asked me to make it in tin so I measured the squishy card and tape affair best I could and made a tin one that didn't fit then somehow it was my fault... eh?

[Mike Bull]

Note the salient point there, i.e my little mock-up fit perfectly well until it was handed over to the Bronze Age there, who then proceeded to make one in tin that was too big. Nothing that a hacksaw and a bit of welding didn't sort out though!

[Renegadenemo]

Note the salient point there, i.e my little mock-up fit perfectly well until it was handed over to the Bronze Age there

Erm, the bronze age here works in proper values and manufacturing anything from a Mike-vari-example is the first stage in eliminating his errors

[Mike Bull]

I wouldn't mind if it was the F- Deck lower wurzel flange, but it's the sodding cockpit- EVERYONE is going to want that to be stupidly right! Still, so far (Three years and counting!) so good. Between me, thee and our special guest genius Barry, we'll have Donald's throne room kitted out just-so in no time.

[captain sparkle]

Quite a few films available on th CBC archive website, but nothing after Nov. '66.
Sorry can't link to a page with the search results on, so you'll have to type 'campbell bluebird' or similar into the 'search cbc archives' search box, (but you probably didn't need me to tell you that!)
https://archivesales.cbc.ca/content/stocontent.aspx?pageid=stohomepage