Talk:The Haverstraw Tunnel

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"Running time" estimate

In the infobox I wrote that the film "Running time" was 1538 frames, based on data from IMDb the film print length was 104.55 meters at 68 mm/frame.(The Haverstraw Tunnel at IMDb) For early silent films with no calibrated synchronization scheme the playback runtime could vary considerably, but a runtime time estimate would also be most welcome. 69.115.42.244 (talk) 00:55, 7 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This reference at silentera.com mentions a print length of "54 feet". If we can assume that the 54 foot prints were at 35 mm frame size then applying the ratio of 68/35*54 feet = 104.91 feet (not converted to meters). Hence it may be the case that there were fewer than 1538 frames. 69.115.42.244 (talk) 02:03, 8 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Extant copies of the film (on digital video) run right at 1 minute.

Library of Congress Paper Print converted to 16mm film (27 feet in length) produced in 1955. That length converts to 1,080 frames. Transfer at 18 frames per second, yields a running time of 60 seconds.

British Film Institute National Archive has 11 fragments in original 68mm Biograph format. The 68mm film restored in 35mm film is 96 feet long (approximately 1,536 frames).

I put an authorized MP4 from BFI online in 2020. The video runs 60 seconds.

https://archive.org/details/haverstraw_tunnel

The Biograph company production records list two 35mm lengths for The Haverstraw Tunnel film. 343 feet (5,488 frames) and 59 feet (= 944 frames = 52 seconds at 18 fps). It's not clear what these numbers refer to in the AMB log. Was 343 feet the length of all the footage shot?

In 1906, a Hale's Tours sales catalog listed its 35mm copy of Biograph's Haverstraw film as 200 feet, made from an "old and defective negative."

944 frames would have been appropriate for Mutoscope machine flip-cards. I've seen no references to Haverstraw on mutoscope cards.

The 1 minute running time was rather typical for a subject as presented by the American Biograph theatrical projection. In 1897, Biograph projectors were motorized (not hand-cranked) and ran 68mm celluloid prints. Projection and camera speeds during 1896-1902 were around 30 frames per second.

I published 3 blog posts about this. See wp.nyu.edu/orphanfilm/?s=haverstraw orphans (talk) 23:02, 19 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]