THE LINWOOD DUNN PROJECT
This project aims to build a versatile visual database of optical effects work in RKO films, centering around the work and records of Linwood Dunn, the studio's Camera Effects Department technician and eventual head.
This database is, at present, focused on three projects:
This database is, at present, focused on three projects:
- Linwood Dunn's RKO Effects Reel recreates the footage featured in the single 16mm reel of RKO optical effects that survives in its visual form. This reconstruction compares the differences between Dunn's footage and the footage as it appears in the final cut of the film, juxtaposing the priorities of Dunn and the post-production team.
- Linwood Dunn's Optical Effects Library (ongoing) is an ongoing compilation of the catalog of effects clips that Dunn personally curated for educational purposes later in life. The Optical Effects Library matches the written descriptions of these effects with the shots in the films they refer to, including demo and unfinished footage where such materials are available.
- RKO Camera Effects Dept. Records (ongoing) are departmental papers salvaged by Dunn when RKO closed. They contain worksheets and photographic reproductions of matte paintings and composite shots on virtually all feature productions from late 1942 to the studio's termination in 1957, providing a glimpse into the extent and nature of optical effects in their production process.
- RKO Optical Transitions Catalog (ongoing) is an attempt to chronicle and classify the remarkable variety of graphical scene transitions developed for RKO musicals in the early 1930s. This project will ultimately attempt to create a taxonomy of types of effects and chart their appearance in RKO productions of the time period.
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