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FRED McLEOD’S
ALL PERSONAL SOUND MOVIES

5 minutes (Excerpt)

16mm

1962, Oakmont, Pennsylvania

Source: The Orgone Archive
Shown at Home Movie Day: Pittsburgh
Introductory Essay by Greg Pierce

Synopsis:

Christmas footage of the McLeod Family, including scenes of Fred's mother and the family cat around the tree, and sound tests with the camera's microphone.

Historical Background:

The Orgone Archive has in its collection over six hours of 16mm footage dating from 1933 to 1980 shot by the late amateur filmmaker / photographer Fred McLeod of Oakmont, Pennsylvania. McLeod is known by railroad buffs for his sync sound train films that were available from Blackhawk Films during the 1950’s and ‘60’s. Some titles such as Steam and Diesel on the Bessemer and Lake Erie and The Thunder of Steam in the Blue Ridge are still available on various railroad videotape compilations.

This footage, excerpted from one of two 400’ reels in the archive entitled All Personal Sound Movies, shows off McLeod’s distinctive non-locomotive side. It was shot using his Auricon Cine Voice sound-on-film camera which enabled him to create a sync optical soundtrack directly on the film while shooting. This Christmas footage was filmed in 1962 at his mother’s Oakmont house and features Fred, his mother, sister and brother-in-law, the family cat and a silver microphone.

--Greg Pierce, Orgone Archive