American Memory: Technical summary
Movie portion of future American Memory collection
URL for
preview
http://www.loc.gov/collection/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/about-this-collection/
Collection Overview
- Description
-
Actuality motion pictures produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company.
Include the first motion picture copyrighted (1894), camera tests
(1891-1893), and a wide array of titles showing various famous people,
news events, disasters, people at work, new modes of travel and
technology, scenic views, expositions, and other leisure events. As
actualities declined in popularity, Edison's production shifted to
comedies and dramas. Trick films, which relied on the camera technology
to achieve fantastic effects, were also a staples of this pioneer motion
picture company.
- Source collection
-
Paper Prints Motion Picture Collection
, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division
- Technical features
-
Silent motion picture footage originally shot at varying frame rates
(many at about 15 frames per second). Includes the very earliest
examples of this new technology.
- Original material formats
-
- Number of original items
- 100-200 (initial release), 50-100 (second release)
- Status of collection
- Preview with 8 samples
available online as of November 1997. Most similar collection is Inside an
American Factory: The Westinghouse Works, 1904.
- Public access
- The Library is not aware of any restrictions that inhibit public
access to this collection. See notes on rights and
restrictions provided by the Library to users of similar collections.
Aids to intellectual access
- Type & granularity
- MARC bibliographic records. Each bib. record describes a single item.
- Linking to digital reproductions
- Bibliographic record contains identifier used in filenames for all
versions and segments of movie. MPEG and QuickTime files for motion
pictures longer than four minutes are divided into segments.
Digital reproductions
Total file-space for digital reproductions: 5
Gbytes (estimated)
| Motion Pictures |
Service file |
Service file |
Inline
thumbnail
(still image) |
| Marker |
Filename extension ".mpg" |
Filename extension ".mov" |
Filename ends "t" |
| Formats |
MPEG-1 |
QuickTime |
GIF |
| Data rate |
ca. 1.2 Mbits/sec |
ca. 640 Kbits/sec |
8 bit |
| Image size |
320x240 pixels |
160x120 pixels |
300x100 pixels |
| Frame rate |
30 fps |
10-15 fps |
n/a |
| Color depth |
n/a |
24 bits |
8 bits |
| File size |
5-35 Mbytes |
2-18 Mbytes |
90 Kbytes |
| Quantity |
275 (est.) |
275 (est.) |
250 |
| Sample |
Sample MPEG |
Sample
QuickTime |
N/A |
Library of Congress contribution to Digital Libraries Initiative - Phase II
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Technical notes:
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[Images]
[Maps]
[Sound recordings]
[Motion pictures]
