Screen Archive South East is a public sector moving image archive serving the South East of England. The archive's collections of magic lantern slides, films, videos and associated materials capture the many varied aspects of life, work and creativity from the early days of screen history to the present day and serve as a rich and invaluable historical resource.
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Country Magazine
Traditional crafts and techniques are on display in this charming film about rural trades made by Frank Perrin Barnitt
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Overview
This charming film by Frank Barnitt features rural trades which can still be found today. The film starts with the creation of the traditional Sussex trug - a basket made from slats of willow which we see being split from a log and shaped on a former. The handles and rim of the basket are made from sweet chestnut and assembled by hand. Next we see sheep being sheared in a two-man operation. One man operates the clippers while the other cranks the mechanical shearing machine.
Frank Perrin Barnitt was a Tunbridge Wells solicitor who was also a highly skilled photographer and amateur film maker. Many of his films feature the natural world and range from poetical films about the land, traditional farming and rural handicrafts to natural history films on a microscopic level. In each of these films, Barnitt displays a high degree of technical skill as well as directorial ability as well as an ongoing enthusiasm for narrative film making. After retiring in 1945, Barnitt moved to Oulton Broad in Suffolk.
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