Thinkering with the Pathé Baby: Materiality, histories and (re)use of 9.5mm film, Tim van der Heijden & Mirco Santi
In: NECSUS_European Journal of Media Studies. #Materiality, Jg. 11 (2022), Nr. 2, S. 94–125. This contribution explores the materiality and histories of use of 9.5mm film and the Pathé Baby projector and camera. In December 1922, the French film production company Pathé Frères released the 9.5mm film format, which together with Kodak’s 16mm small-gauge, released the following year, would ‘bring cinema into the home’ and effectively popularise the screening, distribution, and production of home cinema and amateur films. NECSUS 11 (2), Autumn 2022 – https://necsus-ejms.org/thinkering-with-the-pathe-baby-materiality-historiesand-reuse-of-9-5mm-film/
Facebook page for '9 1/2' film
Facebook page for the film ‘9 1/2’ produced by INEDITS and executive produced by Home Movies – Archivio Nazionale del Film di Famiglia. The page describes the collections showcased in the montage film, news and screening dates.
Trailer for the film '9 1/2'
Trailer for the film ‘9 1/2’, produced by INEDITS and Executive produced by Home Movies – Archivio Nazionale del Film di Famiglia for the centenary of 9.5mm film.
100 Years of 9.5mm Film
A blog post from the National Library of Wales describing the 9.5mm centenary and the Pathé Baby collections held at the archive. The post is followed by a short bibliography. It is written by 9.5mm film expert Guy Edmonds.
Little beauty: the 9.5mm Pathé-Baby camera and projector
In the flurry of installing a major exhibition amidst a global pandemic, Registrar Sarah Caldwell took solace in the gorgeous, compact contraption that opened up endless possibilities for early amateur filmmakers.
9.5mm Film - One of Cinema's Forgotten Formats
Getting movie making into the hands of amateurs was a serious market in the early 1900’s, but Kodak wasn’t the only company pioneering film formats. I’m taking a look at another lesser known format besides Kodak’s 8mm and 16mm: Pathe’s 9.5mm film! This unique lesser known format has fans all around the world today who help to keep it alive in someway.
VISIT TO THE PATHE FACTORY (FR 1924) - 9.5mm silent film
This is a 9.5mm 100ft silent black & white film release by LGP Cine (UK), of a French 1924 Pathe promotional film directed by Pierre Chanel. It shows the Pathe factories at Joinville, Paris, France in 1924 where the 9.5mm films and equipment were made.. (This 9.5mm print was made by contact printing on 16mm then reperfing to 9.5mm – the original film possibly ran a little longer)
The UK 9.5 club
Just a few pages for our UK 9.5mm film club – ‘GROUP 9.5’ – makes it easier to update than editing individual web-pages! If you are interested in the 9.5mm film gauge – films/equipment, then have a read & maybe come to a film event or even join! Here is a short film produced by the UK 9.5mm film club ‘Group 9.5’ to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the 9.5mm ‘home movie’ film size in 1972. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJGbpVo6uGo
9.5mm - The First 100 Years - A scrapbook
This page is a sort of scrap book of 9.5 curiosities that we discover as we prepare for the festivities. There is space too for reflections on our personal encounters with the gauge. We would love our audience to also contribute to the scrapbook, thereby enlarging the scope of our research, perhaps in surprising ways.
Technical information
Initial motivation was the necessity to find an economical format for Pathé films large distribution.
Fondation Pathé-Seydoux
The collections of Pathé-Baby devices from the Pathé-Seydoux Foundation – resource in French only
Resources 9.5MM
Here you'll find online resources about the Pathé 9.5mm film small-gauge format.