Summary

A 16mm motion picture film featuring a television advertisement for the Kodak Brownie Starflash camera outfit, promoting it as a versatile gift idea for children.

The film was produced in 1961 by Cambridge Film Productions for Berry Currie Advertising (Vic), who were commissioned by Kodak Australasia.

The Brownie Starflash Camera was a popular snapshot camera that was part of the Kodak Star range of cheap, easy to use cameras. It had a plastic body, fixed focus Dakon lens and used 127 roll film. It had a built-in flash with a parabolic reflector and used a single, small flash bulb. The Kodak Brownie Starflash range of cameras were made between circa 1957 and 1965.

This film is part of the Kodak collection of products, promotional materials, photographs and working life artefacts collected from Kodak Australasia in 2005, when the Melbourne manufacturing plant at Coburg closed down.

Kodak manufactured and distributed a wide range of photographic products to Australasia, such as film, paper, chemicals, cameras and miscellaneous equipment. Its client base included amateur and professional photographers, as well as specialist medical and graphic art professionals who used photography, x-ray and other imaging techniques.

Description of Content

Commercial advertising Kodak Starflash Outfit. It takes place at a boy's birthday party with two girls and two boys. Every one of them is happy to see the camera unwrapped and the boy takes their photographs during the party. There is a male voice over narration throughout.

Physical Description

16mm cellulose acetate motion picture film; Black and White; Television commercial (TVC); Optical sound; 1961

More Information

  • Collection Names

    Kodak Heritage Collection

  • Collecting Areas

    Images & Image Making, Working Life & Trades

  • Acquisition Information

    Donation from Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd, Ms. Kate Metcalf - Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd, 2005

  • Acknowledgement

    Courtesy of Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd.

  • Organisation Depicted

    Kodak (Australasia) Pty Ltd, 173 - 199 Elizabeth Street, Coburg, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1961

  • Agent

    Berry Currie Advertising (VIC.) Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1961

  • Producer

    Cambridge Film Productions Pty Ltd, 1961

  • Recording Details

    Commercial TV, 00:01:23 HH:MM:SS, Excellent, 16mm cellulose acetate motion picture film; B&W; Television commercial (TVC); Optical sound; 1961

  • Content Summary

    1, 00:00:02 HH:MM:SS, Cambridge Film Productions intertitle with logo and text followed by leader countdown.,2, 00:00:13 HH:MM:SS, Opens on gift tag reading 'On your Wedding Anniversary',3, 00:00:14 HH:MM:SS, Close up of decorated dinner table and man's hands passing the gift to a woman. Voice over: "Anniversaries?",4, 00:00:17 HH:MM:SS, Close up of man at trophy shop passing a similar looking parcel to a woman across the counter. Voice over: "Presentations",5, 00:00:19 HH:MM:SS, Crossfade to corner of decorated table. A mother passes the gift to her son. He unwraps it and inside is a Brownie Starflash Outfit. Voice over: 'Birthdays. Life is full of happy occasions you'd like to remember...",6, 00:00:26 HH:MM:SS, Close up of boy in party hat, surprised.,7, 00:00:28 HH:MM:SS, Girl in party hat turns, surprised.,8, 00:00:29 HH:MM:SS, Close up of a different boy with party and hat whistle, surprised.,00:00:31, 00:00:31 HH:MM:SS, Birthday boy picks up the opened Outfit and begins to take out components. Voice over: "Everyone's impatient to try out a present. That's why Kodak include films, batteries and flashbulbs with the Starflash Camera...",10, 00:00:39 HH:MM:SS, Close up of a blonde girl in party hat, looking impressed.,11, 00:00:40 HH:MM:SS, Boy at table of presents raises camera to eye.,12, 00:00:42 HH:MM:SS, Scene of mother and three children at party table in lounge room. Screen flashes white with a shutter sound effect and a square frame appears around the mother and girl.,13, 00:00:46 HH:MM:SS, Close up of Pin the Tail on the Donkey poster,14, 00:00:48 HH:MM:SS, Boy aims camera at children playing pin the tail on the donkey.,15, 00:00:50 HH:MM:SS, Close up of snapshots in woman's hand. Voice over: "You get 12 supersized prints from every roll of film. And for glorious colour shots, simply use Kodacolor film.",16, 00:00:55 HH:MM:SS, Zoom out from girl's face to party. Boy blows out birthday candles.,17, 00:00:59 HH:MM:SS, Close up of Brownie Starflash Outfit on Laminex table. Superimposed white text appears listing price. Voice over: "...give a Brownie Starflash Outfit, the ideal gift for every occasion...",18, 00:01:07 HH:MM:SS, Graphic on white background reading 'CAMERAS / KODAK / FILMS'. Voice over: "It's made by Kodak, so you KNOW it's good.",19, 00:01:17 HH:MM:SS, End.

  • Format

    Motion Film, 16 mm, Black & White

  • Language

    English

  • Classification

    Manufacturing & industry, Photographic products, Promotional materials

  • Category

    History & Technology

  • Discipline

    Technology

  • Type of item

    Audiovisual

  • Keywords

    Photography, Manufacturing, Advertising, Motion Picture Films, Cameras, Television Production