Aqua Summer [Priest Lake, Idaho] (1973) a film by Robert L. Pryor
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- čas přidán 9. 02. 2017
- "The fun and excitement of summer as experienced at [Priest Lake, Idaho]. Music highlights views of water skiing, boating, and swimming." Lost for decades, the films of pioneering Spokane-area documentary filmmaker Robert L. Pryor have been rediscovered.
Beginning in the 1960s, Pryor created films about Chief Spokane Garry, the Nez Perce, the city of Spokane, Washington, the development of the Spokane and Columbia rivers, and recreation at Priest Lake, Idaho.
Pryor was born in Spokane in 1928 and raised in Cheney where he received his master's degree from Eastern Washington State College (now Eastern Washington University) in 1959. After a year of teaching in Oregon, he moved to Spokane and worked for Spokane Public Schools for thirty-two years. For twenty-three of those years he served as the district's Instructional Media Coordinator, a position that allowed him to screen thousands of educational films and teach himself the art of filmmaking. Pryor shot on Kodak Ektachrome film. Initially, his recollection was that his camera "was a 16mm Bell and Howell," but upon reflection he recalled it was actually a Bolex. “And,” he said, “I bought a good tripod with a fluid head so that it would be a smooth pan or tilt.” To assemble his films, Pryor used "a viewer and two hand-cranked reels."
"I decided to make films on Spokane," he said, "because of the lack in that area and feeling the pupils in SD81 need material on their city and its history." Students of Spokane Public Schools (District No. 81) and the public had the ability to enjoy Pryor's films for decades. However, when 16mm film projectors gave way to VHS and DVD players, Pryor's documentaries were effectively lost from view. Without a projector, no one could see Pryor's work until the Washington State University MASC (Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections) department digitized Pryor's Chief Spokane Garry film and posted it to CZcams in 2014. Since then, the documentary has attracted a couple hundred views, including a view by Eastern Washington University history professor Larry Cebula who commented: "Wow, I had no idea that this video existed!"
I saw Pryor's Chief Spokane Garry film on CZcams and wanted to know more about his filmmaking career. Pryor and I corresponded and he was kind enough to talk with me about his work in an interview available here: • Interview: Robert L. P...
With Pryor's permission, I had five of his documentary films digtized by Jeff Tillotson at Lightpress www.lightpress.tv in Seattle in 2015. Pryor also agreed to allow me to post his films on CZcams. Tillotson’s explanation of film scanning and five of Pryor’s films are in this playlist: • The Films of Robert L....
How to Digitize Vintage Films: Jeff Tillotson Talks 16mm Film Scanning at Lightpress in Seattle
• How to Digitize Vintag...
Chief Spokane Garry: Indian of the Northwest, 1966, 23 min
• Chief Spokane Garry: I...
Utilizing Fresh Water Resources: The Columbia River, 1968, 14 min
• The Columbia River (19...
Spokane: The First 100 Years, 1969, 26 min
• Spokane: The First 100...
The Spokane River, 1970, 17 min
• The Spokane River (197...
Aqua Summer [Priest Lake, Idaho], 1973, 14 min
• Aqua Summer [Priest La...
Pryor and I are still looking for a copy of his final film Nez Perce: Bring Us the Black Book. If you know where this film is, then please send me a note because we would love to borrow the film and have it copied at Lightpress.
During his career, Pryor produced films with his company Northwest Film Productions and with the Instructional Materials Service of Spokane Public Schools. He worked with film editor Robert. C. Horn of Crown Film Co., artist Patricia Christensen who worked in Pryor's Instructional Media department, narrator Stanley G. Witter Jr. of KREM TV and radio, photographer William J. Benish, and Alpha Cine Lab of Spokane. In his film titles, he acknowledged a veritable who's-who of Spokane: Eastern Washington State Historical Society, Spokane Public Library, Washington Water Power Company, KREM television, Lincoln First Federal Savings and Loan, Washington State Historical Society, E.T. Becher, John R. Rogers High School, and Northern Pacific Railroad.
Pryor's films should interest scholars because they tell the story of Washington and are a time capsule that show what the state looked like when he created his films. The documentaries should also interest film students because they are a sampler of 16mm filmmaking techniques: time lapse, slow motion, night photography, macro photography, sliding shots, and traditional title art.
I am grateful to Pryor for giving me the opportunity to see his films and excited to have his permission to share them with people interested in Spokane's history and the legacy of filmmaking in the northwest.
Lee O'Connor
Really cool video, I wish my grandparents had a video camera back then, it would've been neat to see the adventures they had on Priest Lake.
Hwy 57 up to Priest Lake use to be so beautiful. A canopy of trees over the highway.
There wasn't many lakes better than this one for boating and camping. Mara Lake in BC was pretty good too.
This was a few years before I was there with relatives and their friends, 1977 to 84 about. That wooden slalom ski looks like mine, still have it under my couch. LOL. I never had money to buy a boat.
I was a just hack just like other sports. LOL. A couple times we did a triple run. A couple times I skied most of the way to the south end from Kaniksu resort I think it was. Also skied way up Seymore arm at Shuswap Lake. Damn shame those places couldn't last with a short 4 month season. Things were awesome during the boomer years, bowling leagues also. Damn old folks condos there now.
We took the Cessna float plane ride once as well.
In the 1960s we went to Penticton most years to get fruit.
I wish they had filmed the campground and buildings. I don't have of photo of it either, damn.
What's up with the Flute Christmas music?
Do you know which camera was used to film this?
Mr. Pryor mentions his camera in this interview: czcams.com/video/x6RMibLUenc/video.html "Bolex 16mm and a good zoom lens."