Gevaert (Agfa) "How film is made" video of 1954

[Photo Engineer]

Yezzzz. Can't believe I just spent 3 hours on two sentences!

How long do you think it took those guys to "invent" the method of spreading the emulsion evenly without streaks? Consider yourself lucky you didn't have to do that work.



PE

[Q.G.]

Well, this still would not exclude the meaning of `blade´...
But I never came across that term in this meaning. Yes, a windmill wing is called "wiek", and it is straight today, though twisted. But this designation rather originates from its aerodynamic behaviour like a wing, which is the original meaning of "wiek".

Hadn't even looked at it from that angle, but yes, i agree: it would be rather strange, unusual at best, to use the word "wiek" to mean a "blade" in a way that would make sense here.

[Photo Engineer]

Guys, why are the windmill "blades" called "wieken" then? It may be an alternate meaning or an old meaning going back over 100 years.

PE

[Q.G.]

That's a difficult one...

"Wiek", as in the propellor blade, has the same meaning and origin as Dutch "vleugel" (wing), from (don't ask me how) Dutch "vlerk".
So the windmill's "wieken" are "wings".

By the way, the "wieken" of a windmill are not the 'blades', but the entire thing, blade + shaft. The better English translation would be "vane", though that too does perhaps not include the shaft.

"Wiek" as in "wick" is related to Dutch "wikkelen" (English "to wind" or "wrap"), and "weven" ("to weave").

I will have to see if i can unearth an etymological dictionary, and get the proper 'derivations'.

[Chazzy]

I think that Marco has the right idea about the meaning of the English words wick and brush. A wick is ordinarily a single strand of material and not very wide. A brush can be wider than a wick—although neither a wick or a brush would ordinarily be as wide as a roll of photographic paper in the process of being manufactured. Incidentally, specialized brushes, as used in alternative processes, can be made of cloth, so it is not an absolute requirement that the brush function like an ordinary paint brush.

[Marco B]

It had been stated be Gevaert people that the "wiek" transferred the emulsion to the paper. Well, this still would not exclude the meaning of `blade´...

I think we can safely exclude that this particular device we see in the video, has a metal "blade", or it should be fixed at the invisible side of the "wiek", where the paper is fed in, next to the "wiek". If you look carefully, you can even see the red thing "bend" irregularly across the width of the paper being coated. A sure sign it isn't a metal blade. The, what seems to be ragged, irregular edges of the "wiek" on the paper still indicate to me it might be a brush, instead of a flexible woven cloth of some kind of material soaked with emulsion from the tray.

Maybe, if I do manage to acquire a DVD from the Instituut Beeld en Geluid, we will have high enough resolution footage to determine if it is a piece of cloth or brush pressing against the paper.

But even if it is a brush, they may still have called it a "wiek" at Gevaert... Just leaves the English translation floating... or not, if we take the more stringent route Q.G. suggests for the translation and that I adopted in the last version.

[Marco B]

Hi all, since the Lounge thread I linked to in the first post of this thread is dead, I hereby include the link to the Gevaert video, as it is still available:

Zestig jaar Gevaert: van huisnijverheid tot wereldindustrie:
http://www.geschiedenis24.nl/speler....m.7082986.html

[SkipA]

I'd love to see it. The video won't play for me. It says "Laden..." in the lower left hand corner and clicking the arrow button to make it play doesn't do anything. Maybe the server is down.

[Photo Engineer]

I have the same problem, but I see a lot of internet and disk activity. I let it go for about 10 minutes or more.

PE

[Marco B]

I'd love to see it. The video won't play for me. It says "Laden..." in the lower left hand corner and clicking the arrow button to make it play doesn't do anything. Maybe the server is down.

I have the same problem, but I see a lot of internet and disk activity. I let it go for about 10 minutes or more.

PE

Here is another link to the Gevaert video, where you can watch it in Windows Media, or Real player format:
(Please note this link will resize your browser window to a smaller format to view the video, this is normal, enlarge with the maximize button if needed)
Other link to Gevaert video

However, there may be to many APUGers trying to access it at the same time Try it a little later. Both links are to some Dutch TV channel servers. They shouldn't be to bad, but they aren't YouTube either...

PE:
You already watched this one, see your own previous posts in this re-activated old thread...

Marco