Taking the Air
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Taking the Air is a short film from 1941 released on 35mm. It is held in the Prelinger Archives collection.
STUDIES IN STREAMLINING FROM THE DAYS OF HORATIO PHILLIPS TO MODERN TIMES. EVOLUTION OF AUTOMOBILE FROM ITS BEGINNING TO PRESENT STREAMLINED SHAPE IS EXEMPLIFIED IN THE 1941 CHEVROLET.
00:38:02:00 Taking the Air 07912
00:38:31:00 wide shot of small plane trailing a long plume of white smoke
00:38:36:00 same shot - white smoke gone VO - “In hundreds of different ways, Man has taken the air. Great progress has been made in the conquest of the skies in the last 30 years.” (fade out 00:38:42:00)
00:38:45:00 fade in - wide shot of Wright Bros.-esque plane coasting at sunrise VO calls it a “flying barn door” (00:38:54:00)
00:38:55:00 med wide shot of 20’s plane VO - “Even in 1920, planes could barely do 100 mph. Because they just weren’t streamlined.” (00:39:02:00)
00:40:17:00 med shot of two men at banks of controls, other men beyond them in aeronautics lab 00:40:22:00 VO - “Man-made cyclones shrieked through modern wind tunnels at speeds as high as 760 mph” (00:40:27:00)
00:40:43:00 med shot of model plane spinning cross fades with med shot of POV from model plane - spinning terrain - looks like model or 2D picture shot out of focus (00:40:50:00) 00:40:51:00 med shot of spinning model plane - obviously in some sort of wind tunnel (00:41:04:00) more aeronautics research scenes CUs of hydroplanes landing gear tests 00:42:47:00 MCU pan of motion picture camera, other “high-tech” special purpose photo/cinema equipment (00:42:50:00)
00:42:55:00 med shot - arm holds ordinary square block between two bizarre “scientific” apparatuses (00:43:04:00) 00:43:05:00 CU - strange x-ray like film process - hand holding block - “air” visible around the block (00:43:10:00)
00:44:38:00 CU of part of steering wheel and odometer - rising (00:44:40:00)
00:44:55:00 CU of man’s foot pressing gas pedal (00:44:57:00) 00:44:58:00 med shot of car driving with both doors open (00:45:03:00) 00:45:04:00 CU of man’s foot on gas pedal (00:45:06:00)
00:45:11:00 CU of part of steering wheel and odometer - hovering at 50 (00:45:13:00) 00:45:14:00 med shot of car driving with doors open -begins with side view camera travels around to front (00:45:21:00) 00:45:22:00 med shot of car driving with doors open - camera moves from front back around to side (00:45:26:00)
00:45:27:00 med wide shot of car driving down very So Cal. street - pulls up behind small plane (00:45:34:00) 00:45:35:00 med shot of car from under wing of plane - two pretty ladies get out, walk toward plane (00:45:42:00) VO - “...air currents can slip over the rounded contours, and that makes for greater safety. Automobiles of today are faster, safer, and more economical to operate.” 00:45:43:00 med shot of lady pilot hopping out of plane 00:45:44:00 MCU - lady pilot meets gal pals - three of them walk off together 00:45:49:00 VO - “...So, on land, sea, and air, America has been streamlined. America takes the air.”
(fadeout 00:45:59:00)| Taking the Air | |
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| Produced by | Handy (Jam) Organization |
Production company | Handy (Jam) Organization |
| Distributed by | Handy (Jam) Organization |
Release date | 1941 |
Running time | 767 feet |
| Language | English |
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