Film Unit – BBC Midland Region

These photos date from the 1960s, when the BBC Midland Region Film Unit was based at Broadcasting House, 52 Carpenter Road.

Copyright remains with the original holder, no reproduction without permission


The following information was added on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Steve Saunderson: The camera looks like an Arriflex 2b 35mm. With a 400ft magazine ( 5 mins run time at 25fps ). The motor was underneath the camera body and fitted into a special tripod head such as a Ronford-Baker Fluid 15. Fitted with a clip-on bellows matte-box with filter tray. There was a smaller version, the Arri 16ST 16mm which could take a 100 ft ( 2mins 30secs ) daylight loading spool inside the camera body or have a 400 ft ( 10 mins run time ) magazine on top like the camera pictured.

The Land Rover emblem doesn’t specify “Midlands Film Unit” so it may have been sent up from BBC Ealing Studios.

 

Oliver White and his encounter with Grace Wyndham Goldie

Specially shot video of film editor, Oliver White, talking about his encounter with the legendary Grace Wyndham Goldie, whilst a trainee at Ealing in the late 1960s. Grace Wyndham Goldie was the Head of BBC Television Talks, and later Head of News and Current Affairs, she was a formidable producer and executive. Oliver is talking about the obituary of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who died in 1969. Oliver White worked as a film editor at BBC Pebble Mill for many years, he edited dramas like Nuts in May, Gangsters, Kiss of Death and Red Shift, amongst many others.

This video was recorded at the London Film School, and is part of Royal Holloway’s  ADAPT project, which engineers re-encounters between television practitioners and the historic equipment they once used habitually. I think that the editing machine next to Oliver is a moviescope – can anyone confirm that?

Oliver White with a Moviescope

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following comment was left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Ieuan Franklin: ‘A fearsome lady by all accounts – Bel Rowley from BBC drama The Hour is based on Grace Wyndham Goldie but the character is a bit too meek for GWG I think! Great to see Oliver, he’s looking well.’