Summary

A 16mm motion picture film featuring a television advertisement for a Kodak Retinette 1A Camera, sold at the time with Kodachrome colour film. The commercial features men taking photographs of their families and reviewing the photographs in prints and on slides. The film is part of the 'It's made by Kodak, so you know it's good' campaign, which stressed the quality of Kodak products. It was made by Pacific Film Productions for Kodak Australasia in 1959.

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 Retinette 1A camera. It opens with a shot of man photographing a girl in a canoe, and then cuts to the same man in a park capturing a girl on a swing. Then it cuts to that girl running up to an elderly woman in a rocking chair, where an elderly man takes the girl's photograph. This shot cross-fades to a slide projection screen, and the elderly man and woman smile and laugh at the images. It ends with a shot of the camera and film displayed on a carpeted backdrop. The commercial features music throughout and a male narrator describing the camera and related products.

Physical Description

16mm cellulose acetate motion picture film; Black and White; Television commercial (TVC); Optical sound; 1959

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, 1959

  • Organisation Named

    Pacific Film Productions, 252 Collins Street, Melbourne, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1959

  • Recording Details

    Commercial TV, 00:01:31 HH:MM:SS, Excellent, 16mm cellulose acetate motion picture film; B&W; Television commercial (TVC); Optical sound; 1959

  • Content Summary

    1, 00:00:00 HH:MM:SS, Leader countdown.,2, 00:00:19 HH:MM:SS, Man rowing woman in canoe on a lake. Music starts.,3, 00:00:22 HH:MM:SS, Man takes photograph.,4, 00:00:24 HH:MM:SS, Crossfade to the same man crouched in front of a slide in a park, taking a photograph. Narration starts.,5, 00:00:27 HH:MM:SS, Shot from behind man taking photograph. A young girl poses on a swing set.,6, 00:00:29 HH:MM:SS, Crossfade to old woman in rocking chair out the front of a house.,7, 00:00:31 HH:MM:SS, Young girl runs up to old woman with a posy of flowers.,8, 00:00:33 HH:MM:SS, Wide shot of girl and old woman. Old man enters left of screen and crouches to take a photograph.,9, 00:00:35 HH:MM:SS, Mid shot of old man taking photograph. Voice over: 'The German Kodak Retinette 1A is the ideal 35mm camera...",10, 00:00:38 HH:MM:SS, Close up of man adjusting lens focal length. Voice over: "...is the ideal camera for you. It's colour corrected lens and high speed shutter...",11, 00:00:43 HH:MM:SS, Mid shot as though through a camera viewfinder. Young girl poses as camera moves to get her in frame. Voice over: "...The modern viewfinder with the bright line frame lets you see with brilliant clarity...",12, 00:00:49 HH:MM:SS, Crossfade to same picture of girl, but projected on a slide projection screen in a dark sitting room. The next slide, featuring the old woman and young girl, rolls up on the projection screen. Voice over: 'There it is, just as he saw it. Caught so NATURALLY on Kodachrome colour film",13, 00:00:58 HH:MM:SS, Old man and woman with slide projector between them, laughing.,14, 00:01:02 HH:MM:SS, Close up of camera and film on carpeted backdrop. White text is superimposed on the image, listing prices. Voice over: 'See this perfect combination...",15, 00:01:16 HH:MM:SS, Graphic reading 'CAMERAS / KODAK / FILM' against textured background. Voice over: "...at your Kodak dealer. They're both MADE by Kodak, so you KNOW they're good".,16, 00:01:22 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, Photographic Film