Interesting video about polavision

[Paul Adsett]

Here is an interesting video about the Polavision debacle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDkBx4fvY4w

[Ed Gordon]

What were they thinking? In the previous decade the Technicolor Magi-Cartridge was introduced and it failed as well.

[Paul Adsett]

I've never heard of that Magi Cartridge Ed! Thanks for posting that video, very interesting. Kind of a precursor to the Bolex Multimatic projector.

[Osi Osgood]

Interesting as well as sad. Super 8 sound was the thing. Silent super 8 had it's day. Still, the very fact that the processing was actually in the film cartridge was and is fascinating! The color left a lot to be desired.

[Paul Adsett]

Very sad that Dr Land had to leave Polaroid under the shadow of the commercial failure of Polavision, despite the fact that the program achieved most of its technical goals.

[Ed Gordon]

I've never heard of that Magi Cartridge Ed! Thanks for posting that video, very interesting. Kind of a precursor to the Bolex Multimatic projector.

I used to work for Technicolor running the machines that processed 8mm, Super 8, 16mm and 35mm Kodachrome. As I recall, the point of the cartridge was to sell you the processing by Technicolor and sell you the projector that accepted the Magi Cartridge that they had put your S8 film into. Polavision took the extra step of doing everything in the cartridge including the processing and projection. I was not aware of the Bolex Multimatic system. I suspect all the cartridge systems failed because the makers did not realize that even the rank amateur film maker considered editing to be a critical part of the home movie experience. One thing I discovered at Technicolor was that making pornography was very popular with amateurs. You could spot those films coming out of the drying box very easily; they all had orange glow from home lighting used during filming. To avoid legal issues these films never made it back to the owners. They were sent a fresh roll of film to replace their film which was "damaged during processing". Of course the manager kept the damaged film in his office.

[Osi Osgood]

Hilarious, Ed!

[Dave Bickford]

I practically begged my parents to buy a Polavision setup when I was a kid. I’m glad they didn’t go for it! Two years later I was old enough to work so I bought myself a Super 8 camera.

[Paul Adsett]

Back in the 70's a guy where I worked purchased a Polavision camera and projector and proudly brought it into work one day and proceeded to shoot a cartridge of film of the employees and exterior of the facility. We all crowded around the player as he inserted the cartridge for processing and playback. After a minute or so, the player started showing the film, and although the instant playback was a very impressive feature (at the time) the picture quality was not. I decided right then that the system would never compete with super 8 Kodachrome projected on a large screen. It's surprising that Polaroid did not recognize that earlier too, before they went into production.
The big loser here of course was Eumig, who were responsible for the design and manufacture of the Polavision camera and player, and who did not survive the financial cost of this debacle.

[Brian Fretwell]

I believe that in the UK, as they had with the Agfa Family units, the stocks of Polarvision were sold off at bargain prices by Dixons!