On 30th November 1956 the first video recording was broadcast from CBS Television City, in Hollywood.
It was a tape of Douglas Edwards reading the news and was recorded and played on an Ampex Mark IV Video Tape Recorder.
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This episode has a Big Brother theme (Channel 4 not Tony Blair via George Orwell).
We filmed it on 1st June. Hilariously, considering the theme, during the making of this we were told that filming in Piccadilly Station is no longer allowed as it’s a ‘terror threat’.
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If you haven’t seen this fascinating three-part BBC documentary series, you can download it from the Internet Archive:
It explores ‘the origins in the 1940s and 50s of Islamic Fundamentalism in the Middle East, and Neoconservatism in America, parallels between these movements, and their effect on the world today.’
And it shows how politicians have used the terror threat to restore their power and authority in a disillusioned age.
It’s a brilliant use of archive film of all kinds, combined with interviews. Give it a look even if you don’t usually watch this kind of subject, because it’s interesting to see how Adam Curtis the producer combines such diverse visual material.
If you have problems playing MP4 files, just grab the free VideoLan player.
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South Africa’s parliament has voted to legalise same-sex weddings – the first African country to approve such unions.
The controversial Civil Union bill was passed by 230 votes to 41.
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