Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

BACH AURICON PRO-600 SPECIAL

Date Range From

1945

Date Range To

1977

Materials

METAL, GLASS, PLASTIC

No. Pieces

4

Height

37.7

Length

23

Width

46

Description

A. BACH AURICON PRO-600 16MM FILM CAMERA. DARK GREY/BLACK METAL BODY, OVERALL COATING ON METAL IS IN GOOD CONDITION, SOME SPOTS OF WEAR AROUND EDGES. PROPER RIGHT SIDE HAS TWO ROUND PORTS FOR POWER AND SOUND PLUGS, ONE WITH THREE PRONGS AND ONE WITH EIGHT PRONGS; ALSO HAS AN ORANGE PLASTIC COVERED INDICATOR BULB AND ROUND BLACK DISK AND “AURICON PRO-600” EMBOSSED ON SIDE OF BODY OF CAMERA. UPPER PORTION OF PROPER RIGHT HAS METAL STAMPED LABEL: “PRO-600 SPECIAL LIGHT-WEIGHT PORTABLE, VOLTS 110, CYCLE 60, WATTS 50, MODEL CM-77C, SER. NO. 81,004, TRACK E, HEATER “ON” INDICATOR, U.S. PATENTS AND PENDING 2.506.765 2.677.012 2.518.743, AND BACH AURICON LOS ANGELES 38, CALIF. MADE IN U.S.A.” UPPER PROPER RIGHT ALSO HAS WORN BLACK LEATHER HANDLE. TOP PORTION (FILM MAGAZINE) OF PROPER RIGHT SIDE HAS TWO CIRCULAR SHAPES TO HOLD FILM ROLLS, LEFT HAS A MEDIUM SIZED METAL DIAL, AND RIGHT HAS TWO SMALLER METAL DIALS. ON THE LEFT SIDE, A LARGE “1” HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN BLACK MARKER, SLIGHTLY FADED. BACK OF BODY HAS ANOTHER ORANGE PLASTIC COVERED BULB ON MIDDLE-TOP RIGHT AND SMALLER INDICATOR BULB AT TOP OF BACK PANEL. MIDDLE OF BACK PANEL HAS A SMALL SQUARE GLASS WINDOW WITH THREE NUMBERS DISPLAYED, “238.” BELOW IS A RED BUTTON AND A BLACK BUTTON. AT THE BASE OF THE BACK PANEL IS A SMALL (2.3 CM) BLACK BUBBLE LEVEL WITH YELLOW LIQUID. THE BOTTOM LEFT SIDE OF THE BACK PANEL HAS A DIAL/HINGE. THE PROPER LEFT SIDE OF THE BODY HAS “AURICON PRO-600” EMBOSSED AND A “CFCN TELEVISON” STICKER. THERE IS ALSO A SMALL METAL DIAL ON THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER OF THE BODY. THE PROPER LEFT TOP PORTION HAS A SMALL OVAL METAL DISK WITH “BACH AURICON, INC MODEL M-77-4 MADE IN U.S.A” ON IT. THE FRONT OF THE CAMERA HAS A LENS (20 CM IN LENGTH) WITH AN ATTACHED EYE PIECE. THE LENS IS MARKED “ANGENIEUX-ZOOM TYPE 10X12A.” THERE IS A CRACKING RUBBER/PLASTIC CIRCLE AROUND THE FRONT SECTION WHERE THE LENS IS ATTACHED. B. BLACK 1.5 INCH THREE-RING BINDER. 24 CM (L) X 29.3 CM (H) X 4.2 CM (W). RED EMBOSSED LABEL ON SPINE, “AURICON SOUND BOX PROCE SOR INSTRUCTIONS.” LABEL IS UPSIDE WHEN BINDER IS ORIENTATED WITH CONTENTS RIGHT SIDE UP. SEVERAL VELLUM/PARCHMENT STAPLED PAGES AT BEGINNING OF BINDER, PAGES OF CATALOGUE STAMPED WITH “ALEX L. CLARK LTD, TORONTO – MONTREAL – CALGARY.” REST OF PAGES ARE YELLOWED REGULAR PAPER WITH INSTRUCTIONS AND TROUBLESHOOTING INFORMATION ON CAMERA SET UP. BINDER IS WELL-WORN, ESPECIALLY AT EDGES AND STRESS POINTS, THERE IS EXPOSED CARDBOARD VISIBLE ON THREE OF THE SIDES OF THE COVERS AND THE SPINE. C. BUNDLE OF CABLES CONNECTING TO A POWER PACK CONNECTING TO ANOTHER BUNDLE OF WIRES. FIRST BUNDLE OF CABLES FOR POWER CONNECTION TO CAMERA. APPROXIMATELY 26 CM IN DIAMETER. SOME BLACK AND GRAY PLASTIC COATING ON CABLES IS VISIBLE BUT LARGELY WRAPPED IN BLACK ELECTRICAL TAPE. SEVERAL CONNECTIONS/PLUGS AT ENDS OF CABLES, INCLUDING A GROUNDED THREE-PRONG POWER CABLE. BUNDLE OF CABLES IS CURRENTLY ZIP-TIED TOGETHER, LIKELY DONE UPON ACCESSION. SOME GRIME AND DEBRIS ON CABLES LIKELY FROM USE. SINGLE GRAY CABLE CONNECTS BUNDLE TO “FILMAGNETIC MODEL MA-11 AMPLIFIER DUPLEX A C POWER-PACK AND BATTERY CHARGER.” POWER PACK IS 10.7 CM (L) X 8 CM (W) X 12.5 CM (H). ALL SIDES ARE MADE OF A DARK GRAY METAL AND ATTACHED TOGETHER WITH SCREWS. METAL CASE HAS SOME SCRATCHING AND WEAR. FRONT OF POWER PACK HAS INSTRUCTIONS ON USE AND HAS TWO RECTANGULAR LIGHTS WITH A “CHARGING RATE METER” IN THE MIDDLE, A SMALL DIAL BEHIND A GLASS COVER. “SERIAL NO. 79.900.” LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE HAVE THREE VENTS SHAPED INTO METAL. TOP OF UNIT HAS METAL TOGGLE FLIP SWITCH AND A GREEN AND GRAY COATED CABLE CONNECTING IT TO THE BUNDLE OF WIRES; ALSO HAS A BLACK PLASTIC KNOW WITH “FUSE” AND A CIRCULAR ARROW ON IT. THE BOTTOM OF THE UNIT HAS ANOTHER GREEN AND GREY CABLE CONNECTING TO A SMALLER BUNDLE OF GRAY CABLES WHICH IS HELD TOGETHER WITH DUCT TAPE. END OF GRAY CABLE HAS A SMALL ADAPTER/PLUG WITH TWO PRONGS INSIDE METAL CIRCULAR EXTERIOR. THERE IS A PIECE OF MASKING TAPE ATTACHED TO THE PROPER RIGHT SIDE AND BASE OF UNIT WHICH DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE STRUCTURALLY IMPORTANT. D. SOUND AMPLIFIER. DARK GRAY METAL HOUSING, TEXT ON UNIT READS “ALL-TRANSISTOR FILMAGNETIC HIGH-FIDELITY 16 MM SOUND-ON-FILM AMPLIFIER.” 21.1 CM (L) X 14.2 CM (W) X 8.8 CM (H). TOP OF UNIT HAS SEVEN PORTS: TWO MICROPHONE INPUTS, A “HIGH-IMPEDANCE PHONO INPUT 3,” AN “INPUT FOR A.C. OPERATION OR BATTERY CHARGE,” AN “OUTPUT,” A “RE-RECORDING OR PLAY-BACK OUTPUT,” AND A “MONITOR PHONES” PORT. TOP ALSO HAS A LARGE BLOCK OF WARNING TEXT. FRONT PANEL HAS SEVERAL DIALS AND KNOBS, “INPUT 1 INPUT 2 INPUT 3” AS WELL AS “ON/OFF” SWITCH AND “VISUAL VOLUME INDICATOR” DIAL UNDER GLASS COVER. LEFT SIDE OF HOUSING HAS METAL PLATE WITH “AURICON SOUND-ON-FILM RECORDING EQUIPMENT SER. NUMBER MA-11C-79.687,” SMALL SILVER METAL DIAL AND A BLACK PLASTIC “FUSE” KNOW. BOTH THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES HAVE METAL RECTANGULAR HANDLES/SLOTS. PROPER RIGHT SIDE HAS AN APPROXIMATELY 4.6 CM IN DIAMETER CIRCLE CUT OUT OF THE METAL WITH A RED METAL INNER COVER. BACK OF UNIT IS BLANK WITH SEVERAL SCREWS, BASE SIMILARLY BLANK WITH SCREWS AND HAS FOUR PROTRUDING METAL FEET, ONE IN EACH CORNER TO STAND THE UNIT ON.

Subjects

PHOTOGRAPHIC T&E

Historical Association

PROFESSIONS

History

ON MARCH 25, 2021, GALT MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED FORMER CTV LETHBRIDGE CAMERA OPERATOR TED LANGENBERG ON HIS DONATION OF SEVERAL 16 MM MOTION-PICTURE CAMERAS. SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE AURICON PRO-600, LANGENBERG EXPLAINED THAT IT WAS USED BRIEFLY AROUND THE TIME HE STARTED AT THE STATION: “OH YEAH, IT WAS STILL BEING USED, YEAH, BUT NOT VERY MUCH. IT WAS MAYBE USED FOR THE FIRST TWO YEARS I WAS AT THE STATION… FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION. WHENEVER THEY NEEDED SOUND ON THE COMMERCIAL.” HOWEVER, HE HIMSELF DID NOT OFTEN USE IT: “THE ONLY ONE I DIDN’T USE TO ANY EXTENT IS THE OLD AURICON, RIGHT HERE. THAT WAS USED BY THE COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT AND I DON’T THINK IT WAS EVER USED FOR NEWS. BECAUSE IT’S JUST IMPRACTICAL TO USE THAT THING FOR NEWS, EVEN THOUGH IT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT OLD VIDEO OR OLD FILM CLIPS OF JOHN KENNEDY FOR EXAMPLE, YOU WILL SEE THESE CAMERAS. EXACTLY THE SAME UNIT AS THAT ONE THERE. BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT THEY USED IN THE ‘60S. BUT WE NEVER USED IT FOR NEWS, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS USED AS A NEWS STORY CAMERA BY SOME ORGANIZATIONS.” IN AN ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTARY DOCUMENT WRITTEN BY LANGENBERG, HE FURTHER DESCRIBED THAT THE AURICON PRO-600 CAMERA WAS “USED BY CTV LETHBRIDGE PHOTO DEPARTMENT FROM THE EARLY TO LATE 1970’S. IT WAS ALREADY AN OLD CAMERA WHEN CTV ACQUIRED IT (PROBABLY A ‘HAND ME DOWN’ FROM CTV CALGARY). IN 1975 I WAS HIRED BY CTV AS A STUDIO CAMERA OPERATOR. MY OTHER RESPONSIBILITY WAS HELPING THE PHOTO DEPARTMENT AS REQUIRED. THIS CAMERA WAS USED EXCLUSIVELY FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION. TO [SIC] BIG, HEAVY AND CUMBERSOME TO BE USED FOR NEWS. REQUIRED AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE TO OPERATE EFFICIENTLY BECAUSE OF THE SEPARATE SOUND RECORDING COMPONENT. BECAUSE THE MANAGER OF THE PHOTO DEPT. [TIM HOLLINGS] WAS A ‘HANDS ON’ PERSON, HE ALLOWED ME TO ACTUALLY OPERATE THE CAMERA UNDER HIS INSTRUCTION AND SUPERVISION. TO USE THIS CAMERA OUTSIDE OR WHERE THERE WAS NO POWER, A HUGE 35-40 POUND TRANSFORMER WAS CONNECTED TO THE VEHICLE BATTERY TO SUPPLY 110 VOLTS. UNFORTUNATELY, I CAN’T REMEMBER ANY SPECIFIC COMMERCIAL I WAS INVOLVED IN, OTHER THAN A FEW COMMERCIALS FOR LOCAL CAR DEALERSHIPS. THESE WERE SHOT OUTSIDE USING A TRANSFORMER. I WAS RARELY INVOLVED USING THIS CAMERA; MAYBE 5-6 TIMES BEFORE IT WAS RETIRED.” IN THE INTERVIEW WITH MACLEAN, LANGENBERG EXPLAINED THE USE OF THE SOUND AMPLIFIER WITH THE AURICON CAMERA: “THAT WOULD BE FOR CONTROLLING YOUR AUDIO LEVELS. AND AUDIO INPUT, LIKE, I THINK IT’S GOT THREE MICROPHONE INPUTS. SO YOU COULD, YOU KNOW, HAVE THREE MICROPHONES CONNECTED TO THE CAMERA. EVEN THOUGH YOU WOULD ONLY USE – NORMALLY ONE.” HE FURTHER CLARIFIED THE USE OF THE POWER PACK: “AND THE OTHER THING IS A POWER SUPPLY CONTROLLER […] THIS THING IS NOT THE POWER SUPPLY AS SUCH, IT CONNECTS TO THE POWER SUPPLY WHICH CONNECTS TO THE CAMERA. BECAUSE WHAT – TO POWER THAT AURICON YOU NEEDED 110 VOLTS. ALL THE TIME. SO IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE 110 VOLTS OUTSIDE, WELL, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? SO THERE WAS THIS HUGE TRANSFORMER THAT YOU CONNECTED TO YOUR CAR BATTERY, AND YOU LEFT YOUR CAR RUNNING, IT WOULD CONVERT 12 VOLTS TO 110. AND THIS THING WOULD KIND OF BE THE VOLTAGE CONTROL, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY.” LANGENBERG EXPLAINED HIS ROLE AT CTV LETHBRIDGE: “I WAS A STUDIO CAMERA OPERATOR AND I ALSO WORKED WITH THE COMMERCIAL PHOTO PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT AND THE NEWS DEPARTMENT… I WAS WORKING AS A GENERAL LABOURER [IN 1974/1975] AND I DROVE PAST CTV ON 13TH STREET NORTH EVERY DAY ON MY WAY TO WORK, AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, ‘I WANNA WORK THERE.’ SO I WENT TO THE FRONT DESK AND ASKED IF I COULD FILL OUT AN APPLICATION FORM AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THEY ALWAYS SAY THE SAME THING, ‘NO WE DON’T NEED ANYBODY.’ OR, THEY SAID, ‘WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE IN TV?’ AND I ALWAYS HAD TO TELL THEM THE SAME STORY, ‘I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE AND CAN I FILL OUT AN APPLICATION?’ AND I WAS REFUSED FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS – I WENT THERE EVERY – PROBABLY ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS. AND THEY FINALLY GOT TIRED OF SEEING ME, SO THEY LET ME FILL OUT AN APPLICATION – FINALLY. AND THEN ABOUT TWO WEEKS AFTER THEY PHONED ME AND SAID BECAUSE I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE, WOULD I BE WILLING TO COME IN AT NIGHT AND RUN A STUDIO CAMERA TO LEARN HOW TO DO IT? FOR NEWS AND LOCAL PROGRAMMING THAT WAS RECORDED AT NIGHT. SO I DID THAT FOR ABOUT ANOTHER SIX MONTHS. AND THEN AFTER THAT THEY FINALLY JUST HIRED ME. SO I WAS ONE OF THE – I THINK I WAS THE SECOND LAST PERSON TO GET HIRED THERE WITHOUT A FORMAL EDUCATION IN TV – OR, AT THAT TIME RADIO. BECAUSE THERE WAS REALLY NO TV PROGRAMS IN LETHBRIDGE AT THE TIME. SO MOST OF THE PEOPLE I WORKED WITH WERE FROM A RADIO BACKGROUND OR GRADUATED FROM THE COLLEGE WITH RADIO ARTS.” “IT’S JUST INTERESTING WORK. LIKE, YOU GET TO GO ALL OVER THE PLACE – THERE’S PROBABLY HARDLY A BUILDING IN THE CITY THAT I HAVEN’T BEEN INTO, FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER. THE PEOPLE THAT YOU WORK WITH, THEY’RE KIND OF IN THE SAME – THEY’VE GOT THE SAME INTEREST. SO IT’S JUST AN INTERESTING JOB. YOU’RE LIKE IN THE FRONT LINES OF EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW? IF YOU HAVE A NEWS CAMERA WITH YOU FOR EXAMPLE, YOU GET PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT, ‘YOU GO IN FIRST,’ ‘YOU GET TO GO TO THE FRONT.’ YOU KNOW IT’S – YOU’RE EVERYWHERE. GOOD AND BAD NEWS, WHICH IS PART OF THE JOB AS WELL.” LANGENBERG DETAILED THE HISTORY OF THE NEWS STATION IN LETHBRIDGE: “IT’S ALWAYS BEEN CFCN FROM START TO FINISH AND FOR THE PAST TEN OR FIFTEEN – WELL, I GUESS THE PAST – LAST TEN YEARS THAT I WAS THERE [UNTIL 2013] THEY – INSTEAD OF SAYING CFCN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAY, ‘YOU’RE NOW CTV LETHBRIDGE’ AS OPPOSED TO CFCN LETHBRIDGE.” OVER THE DECADES, OWNERSHIP OF THE STATION HAS CHANGED AS WELL, LANGENBERG EXPLAINS: “IT USED TO BE MACLEAN-HUNTER USED TO OWN CFCN TELEVISION. AND THEN IT WENT TO… I THINK ROGERS HAD IT AT ONE TIME. ANOTHER COMPANY WAS FORMED SPECIFICALLY, I THINK, TO BUY CTV AT ONE TIME, BUT I CAN’T REMEMBER WHAT THE NAME OF IT WAS. AND THEN IT WAS PURCHASED EVENTUALLY BY BELL. SO I THINK IT STILL IS A BELL COMPANY. USED TO BE BELL GLOBE MEDIA, BUT NOT I THINK IT’S JUST BELL, I’M NOT EVEN SURE.” FOR LANGENBERG, THE SEEING THE CAMERAS REMINDED HIM OF HIS DAYS AS A FULL-TIME NEWS CAMERAMAN. “WITH NEWS, YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN. YOU’RE JUST – WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET… THERE’S A LOT MORE FREEDOM THERE. LIKE ESPECIALLY WITH REPORTERS, LIKE EXPERIENCED REPORTERS WORKING WITH AN EXPERIENCED CAMERAMAN FOR EXAMPLE, THEY DON’T HAVE TO DICTATE TO YOU WHAT THEY WANT, BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT THEY WANT. YOU FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE STORY BEFORE YOU GO OUT ON A NEWS STORY, AND YOU KIND OF KNOW WHAT TO DO – WHAT TO SHOOT. YOU KIND OF GET AN IDEA AS TO WHAT THE REPORTER WANTS. BUT THERE’S A LOT MORE FREEDOM THAT WAY. SO YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, USE YOUR OWN JUDGMENT, YOUR OWN CREATIVITY. AND, LIKE I SAID, FOR ME THAT WAS THE MOST INTERESTING PART OF THE JOB. AND I DID THAT THROUGHOUT MY ENTIRE TIME THERE, I WAS ALWAYS INVOLVED WITH NEWS.” “THERE WAS ONLY ONE FULL-TIME NEWS CAMERAMAN WHEN I GOT HIRED AS SUCH, AND THE OTHER ONES WERE JUST FILL-INS LIKE I WAS PRIOR TO THAT. SO IF SOMEBODY WASN’T BUSY THEY WOULD GO OUT AND SHOOT NEWS. OR IF I WAS GONE AND THEY NEEDED SOMEBODY ELSE, SOMEBODY ELSE WOULD GO AND PICK UP THE SLACK… IT WAS JUST WHOEVER WAS AVAILABLE. WHICH WAS USUALLY ME ANYWAY. BECAUSE I WAS IN THE STUDIO, AND A LOT OF TIMES THERE’S NOTHING TO DO IN THE STUDIO, YOU WOULD JUST WAIT AROUND UNTIL NEWS TIME FOR SIX O’CLOCK. SO DURING THE AFTERNOONS I WOULD GO OUT AND SHOOT NEWS, TOO. SO THAT’S I GUESS WHY I WAS HIRED AS A FULL-TIME NEWS CAMERAMAN BECAUSE I WAS PROBABLY, - YOU KNOW, GATHERED THE MOST EXPERIENCE OF ANYBODY SHOOTING NEWS OVER THE FIVE YEARS THAT I WAS THERE.” BY AROUND 1979 TO 1980, LANGENBERG WAS THE FULL-TIME CAMERA PERSON AT THE STATION. LANGENBERG TOLD MACLEAN THAT HE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT VIDEOGRAPHY THROUGH WATCHING THE NEWS AT HOME: “I WATCHED A LOT OF TV NEWS. AND I STILL DO. BUT BACK THEN I USED TO WATCH – I WAS A NEWS-JUNKIE, LIKE SINCE I WAS LIKE, FOURTEEN YEARS OLD. SO I, YOU KNOW, USED TO WATCH THE NEWS… THAT’S BASICALLY HOW I LEARNED TO DO IT. PLUS SUGGESTIONS FROM OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST FEW YEARS THE REPORTERS WOULD, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TELL YOU, ‘I WANT A SHOT OF THIS, I WANT A SHOT OF THAT, I WANT THIS I WANT THAT.’ SO, OKAY, BUT THEN AFTER A WHILE YOU KIND OF – YOU KNOW INSTINCTIVELY WHAT TO DO – WHAT THEY WANT.” BEING IN THE INDUSTRY WITH OTHER CAMERA OPERATORS, LANGENBERG STATED, HELPED HONE HIS SKILLS: “THERE WAS A – TWO GUYS THERE… ONE GUY, TIM HOLLINGS, HE WAS THE MANAGER OF THE PHOTO DEPARTMENT BACK THEN… HE WAS A REALLY HELPFUL GUY, HE GAVE YOU ALL KINDS OF HINTS, AND TIPS, AND POINTERS, AND EVERYTHING ELSE. AND THE OTHER GUY WAS LANCE MUELLER. HE WAS A PHOTO DEPARTMENT MANAGER AFTER TIM HOLLINGS LEFT… SO, BOTH OF THOSE GUYS REALLY HELPED ME A LOT. LIKE, JUST BY SHOWING YOU – JUST BY TELLING ME, YOU KNOW, THEIR EXPERIENCES.” ONE OF THE THINGS THAT LANGENBERG SAID HE LEARNED TO PICK UP ON WAS ANTICIPATION IN A STORY. “YOU HAVE TO ANTICIPATE WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT SO YOU’RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. LIKE, A LOT OF TIMES, LIKE I’VE SEEN A LOT OF – THE COMPETITION I GUESS YOU COULD SAY – WHERE THEY’RE ALWAYS KIND OF BEHIND THE EIGHT-BALL, SO TO SPEAK. YOU KNOW, THEY’RE ALWAYS… MISSING THIS, MISSING THAT, BECAUSE THEY WEREN’T ANTICIPATING WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT. SO BASICALLY THEY DIDN’T DO THEIR HOMEWORK… YOU HAVE TO ANTICIPATE A LOT.” IN THE EARLY YEARS OF HIS CAREER, LANGENBERG EXPLAINED, WERE SPENT SHOOTING ON FILM: “IN THOSE DAYS BACK IN THE MID ‘70S TO 1980 ROUGHLY, EVERYTHING WAS SHOT ON FILM. BECAUSE THERE WAS NO VIDEOTAPE AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME.” HE STATES THAT HE LEARNED A LOT IN THIS TIME: “COMPARED TO VIDEOTAPE, FILM IS VERY TECHNICALLY ORIENTATED, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY. LIKE, THESE CAMERAS [IN THE DONATION] FOR EXAMPLE, YOU HAVE TO LIGHT EVERYTHING… YOU HAVE TO LIGHT – GET A LIGHT METRE, METRE EVERYTHING OUT, SET YOUR CAMERA PROPERLY. LOADING THE FILM INTO THE CAMERAS – LIKE, YOU CAN’T EXPOSE FILM TO LIGHT SO YOU HAVE TO DO IT EITHER IN A – LOAD THE CAMERA IN A DARKROOM, OR YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A CHANGING BAG WHICH IS JUST A BLACK BAG, YOU STICK YOUR HANDS IN IT AND YOU CHANGE THE FILM WITHOUT EVEN SEEING WHAT YOU’RE DOING, SO IT’S KIND OF – JUST USING THE EQUIPMENT WITHOUT EVEN BEING CREATIVE IS KIND OF A CHALLENGE AND AN ART IN ITSELF. NOWADAYS VIDEOTAPE YOU JUST POP IN A CASSETTE AND AWAY YOU GO.” DURING THIS TIME, LANGENBERG WAS USING SEVERAL OTHER CAMERAS, ALL SHOT WITH 16 MM FILM, WHICH LANGENBERG EXPLAINS WAS SENT TO CALGARY FOR DEVELOPING. “BEFORE I GOT A JOB AT CTV IN LETHBRIDGE THEY SHOT BLACK AND WHITE FILM, AND THEY HAD A LITTLE BLACK AND WHITE PROCESSOR SO THEY PROCESSED IT RIGHT IN LETHBRIDGE AT THE STATION. BUT WHEN THEY MOVED TO THEIR NEW LOCATION – IT USED TO BE COLLEGE MALL, AND THEN THEY MOVED TO 13TH STREET NORTH AFTER A YEAR OR TWO. AND THEN THEY SWITCHED TO COLOUR FILM AND THEY HAD TO SEND THE COLOUR FILM TO CALGARY FOR PROCESSING, AND THEN THEY SENT IT BACK. SO, YOU KNOW, YOU’D SHOOT A NEWS STORY, YOU’D PUT IT ON THE AIR THE NEXT DAY… SOMETIMES A LITTLE LONGER, DEPENDS, BUT A LOT OF TIMES WHEN YOU SHOOT, YOU SEND IT TO CALGARY, AND THEY WOULD PROCESS IT, AND SHORTLY AFTER I STARTED THERE, THERE WAS ACTUALLY A LINK FROM CALGARY TO LETHBRIDGE SO THEY COULD SEND IT ELECTRONICALLY TO LETHBRIDGE SO YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO WAIT FOR IT TO COME SENT – BEING SENT BACK.” “FILM WAS ONLY USED FOR LIKE, FOR MAJOR STORIES. FOR A CITY COUNCIL MEETING FOR EXAMPLE, WE WOULD USE THE LITTLE AKAI [VIDEOTAPE]… SO IF IT WAS SOMETHING MAJOR, WE WOULD USE FILM ALL THE TIME, FOR NEWS. BUT IF IT WAS JUST LIKE, RUN-OF-THE MILL COUNCIL MEETING OR SOMETHING WE WOULD JUST USE THE AKAI. SO BUT LIKE, SOME BREAKING NEWS FOR EXAMPLE ON FILM, WE WOULD ACTUALLY GIVE IT TO THE ‘TIME AIR’ AT THE TIME – THE ‘TIME AIR’ PILOT. HE WOULD PUT IT IN HIS BRIEFCASE, TAKE IT TO CALGARY, AND A REPORTER WOULD BE WAITING THERE AND HE WOULD TAKE IT AND THEY WOULD PROCESS IT. BUT THAT’S BECAUSE IT WAS A STORY THAT CALGARY WAS ALSO INTERESTED IN FOR THEIR NEWSCAST.” BY THE 1980S, LANGENBERG STATED, TECHNOLOGY WAS SHIFTING AND VIDEOTAPE WAS BECOMING MORE COMMONLY USED. CTV LETHBRIDGE ADAPTED TO THE CHANGE AND BECAME ONE OF THE FIRST STATIONS TO USE VIDEOTAPE OVER 16 MM FILM FOR NEWS PRODUCTION: “I MEAN THERE WAS SOME CRITICISM OF IT BECAUSE THEY SAY, ‘OH, IT LOOKS FLAT, THERE’S NO DEPTH TO IT.’ AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. BUT YOU KNOW, ONCE YOU GET USING IT AND YOU REALIZE HOW EASY IT IS – HOW MUCH EASIER IT IS, YOU KIND OF FORGET ABOUT THE DISADVANTAGES. BUT WE… WE WERE THE FIRST ONES IN PROBABLY ALL OF WESTERN CANADA FOR SURE – IF NOT ALL OF CANADA TO USE VIDEOTAPE FOR NEWS. BECAUSE WE WERE GETTING PHONE CALLS FROM ALL OVER CANADA ASKING, ‘HOW’S IT WORKING WITH YOUR VIDEOTAPE?’ AND ALL THAT. SO I NEVER DID TAKE ANY CALLS OF COURSE, BUT THE NEWS DIRECTORS ALWAYS DID AND THEY ALWAYS SAID, ‘IT’S WORKING GOOD.’ SO WE WERE KIND OF THE PIONEERS OF PORTABLE VIDEO EQUIPMENT FOR NEWSGATHERING.” LANGENBERG CREDITED THE MANAGEMENT TEAM AT CTV LETHBRIDGE FOR MAKING THE SWITCH AT THAT TIME: “IT WAS A DECISION THAT MANAGEMENT MADE, I THINK. THEY SAW THAT THERE WAS THIS EQUIPMENT OUT THERE AND THEY THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, ‘LET’S GIVE IT A TRY, SEE WHAT IT DOES!’ SO WE GOT THE EQUIPMENT AND PUT IT TO WORK… THE COMPANY, [CTV] LETHBRIDGE, DECIDED THAT THEY WERE GOING TO PURSUE IT. SOMEBODY READ, I GUESS, SOMEWHERE THAT THIS IS – AKAI IS MAKING THIS PORTABLE VIDEOTAPE EQUIPMENT AND THEY SAID, ‘WELL, LET’S GET ONE AND TRY IT!’ SO THEN I GUESS THEY GOT PERMISSION TO DO IT AND THEY DID.” “WE WERE OWNED BY MACLEAN-HUNTER AT THE TIME. AND THAT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST COMPANIES THAT YOU COULD EVER HAVE AS, YOU KNOW, AS YOUR OWNER, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY. LIKE THEY WERE – THEY QUESTIONED, YOU KNOW – ‘IF YOU COULD JUSTIFY, YOU COULD DO.’ KIND OF WAS THEIR ATTITUDE… SO I THINK IT WAS [CTV] LETHBRIDGE’S OWN DECISION TO DO IT, IT WASN’T ANYBODY SAYING, ‘WE WANT YOU GUYS TO TRY THIS.’” FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, AND EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE IN THE PERMANENT RECORD OF P20210002001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20210002001

Acquisition Date

2021-03

Collection

Museum

Less detail