From Woody's Couch

This blog post is part of the Frozen Friday Series, an A-Z journey of the Polar Archives.  Each week, we will feature some aspect of the history of polar exploration with a blog post written by our student authors.

Byrd 1933 is a documentary by filmmaker Pamela Theodotou,  created from footage filmed primarily during Byrd’s Second Expedition to Antarctica, 1933-1935. Originally known as the “Discovery Lecture Series,” preservation of the original films was made possible by a generous grant given by the National Film Preservation Foundation to the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program in 2013.

In the twenty-first century, it is easy for us to forget the work that goes into the production of a film. We live in an age where computer generated graphics can create special effects that otherwise would have existed in our imaginations alone. Though there are those filmmakers who go to great lengths to create spectacles by using ‘practical’ effects (which are in no way practical), even they are advantaged by modern technology. Much of the danger associated with traditional film-making is nonexistent in a digital environment, making the very concept of ‘film’ mean something different to us now than it did before. The great ‘exploration’ films and television shows of our time, such as The Revenant or Star Trek, differ in one very significant way when compared to the exploration films of the past: the worlds being ‘explored’ are well known to us or are simple constructions of technology and imagination. The ‘Wild West’ has been tamed for at least a century and man cannot yet travel through space with relative ease, for example. We know that the men and women working on those projects were safe for the entirety of production. The same cannot be said, however, for those cameramen shooting footage during Byrd’s Second Antarctic Expedition in 1933-1935.

Several  cinematographers from Paramount Pictures[1] accompanied the famed explorer Richard E. Byrd on the expedition, with the purpose of bringing Antarctica back to the public. The aim was to create a feature film of the expedition, one that would rival that of a film produced in Hollywood. While moving images of Antarctica had been brought back to the United States before, it was not of this caliber[2].  The Antarctic, with its freezing conditions and other environmental hazards, was in many respects the last ‘frontier’ for mankind. Relatively little was known about the continent.

According to Pamela Theodotou, creator of Byrd 1933, the imagery captured by this film crew is best compared to famed photographer Ansel Adams.

But what is truly remarkable is the work and struggle that went into the production of this footage. Filming is difficult under the best of conditions. One must worry about lighting, angles, and exposure times. Film development is a difficult and time consuming task. Now, imagine doing all of this in Antarctica, under freezing and dangerous conditions not only to yourself, but the film that often contains shots that may be irreplaceable. Pamela Theodotou writes on the process:

With temperatures at times 75 below zero, mechanics don’t work well and freeze solid; never mind the danger of film emulsion staying intact as it is wound around a spool inside the camera as it is turned. There were many reports of the camera freezing up, the oil used to lubricate them notwithstanding the cold, and lenses crusting over with ice crystals constantly if you breathed too close to them… The extreme cold complicated everything, equipment froze within minutes, mechanics ceased up, lenses fogged quickly if not handled carefully. And that was just the process of shooting. Complicating matters was the process of developing the film in those conditions… Never mind the developing of motion picture film. In photography you might have a roll of 36 pictures to develop into 36 images. These cinematographers had to develop hundreds of thousands of frames because one second of film is generally 24 frames a second.[3]

The actual process of filming and developing that film was a daunting task. Developing meant eighteen hours of work in absolute darkness to preserve the images on the film.[4]

The filmmakers endured the same conditions as the other members of the expedition. They faced the same cold, the same hazardous terrain, the same threats brought by ice. The film crew worked in these conditions with tools and resources that were not meant for the freezing cold.

It can be awe-inspiring when one considers what had to be done in order to shoot this film.  If one is in the local Columbus area, please consider joining us at the Westerville Public Library when Byrd 1933 is screened there on Friday, March 24 by the Westerville Historical Society. One can also view Byrd 1933 this coming April at the Ohio History Connection as part of its “Exploration Weekend.”

For more information on both events and the eventual release of Byrd 1933 to the public, please visit the Polar Archives.

For more information about filmmaker Pamela Theodotou and the process of creating Byrd 1933, please visit the film’s website .  Video content is featured, including the trailer, an introduction to the film given by Pamela Theodotou herself, and several featurettes!

 

[1] Pamela Theodotou, e-mail message to author, November 03, 2016.

[2] Pamela Theodotou.

[3] Pamela Theodotou.

[4] Wallace West, Paramount Newsreel Men with Admiral Byrd in Little America (Racine: Whitman Publishing Company, 1934), 32

 

Works Cited

West, Wallace. Paramount Newsreel Men with Admiral Byrd in Little America. Racine: Whitman             Publishing Company, 1934),

 

 

Written by John Hooton.