Kodak customer service -1940
Who goes there?
assword protection on access to current editions of
Newsreel
and other Members only information is one of
several innovations being planned for our website. It has
remained largely stagnant in recent times despite attempts by
Ken McKay and Bruce Dargie to keep it relevant. This has
been due to the lack of members with the time or expertise to
make it happen The committee have accepted the offer of
Ken Bird Designs to establish a new look for our site. Its
future success will largely depend on continuous input from
all regional branches and the appointment of a web site
coordinator for their area
n these times, with the exception of a few dedicated
industry suppliers, customer service is almost non
existent. Usually older equipment is rendered obsolete by the
unavailability of spare parts or service information, so the
customer is urged to buy a newer model. It is refreshing to
be reminded of gentler ages when items were designed to
last and the customer was treated with respect by companies
to encourage continuing custom.
P
When the Western region
accession team was
sorting through some
donated amateur cine
equipment they came
across some items from
1940 – a very simple
Eastman Kodak
Kodascope film splicing
kit supplied by Kodak
(Australasia) Pty. Ltd. and
a report from their film
processing department.
It is hoped at some future date, coordination of our web page
material can be handled nationally by members from the
newer regional branches being established where the
potential larger membership pool could produce suitably
experienced people to take on this role. Production of
Newsreel
could also be the responsibility of other branches.
In the Western region, the Webmaster Ken Bird will be
assisted by a new Student Member Leonie Woodfin who has
been involved with
building websites at
university. Leonie
has brought with her
some fresh ideas
which will hopefully
attract new and
younger visitors to
our site. Any other
members wishing to be involved in this new and effective
means of communication should contact their regional
president.
Registrar Ross McDonald waits
to see what surprises Graeme
Lacey unpacks in recently
donated box of old equipment.
Dated September
16
th
1940 and noting
the film number
W0636 (possibly the
636
th
roll processed
for a Western
Australian customer)
the report stated that
during projection
prior to despatch
they noted some
overexposed and
underexposed shots.
Also hints were
provided with the
object of the helping
the customer
improving future
results. They also
indicated patches of
light fog which may indicate the camera needs attention.
There was a list of remedies for the ten common faults listed.
The Secretary will issue passwords to members with their
2012 membership cards
Involvement
ne of the greatest challenges of any committee is to
keep their membership interested and involved in its
activities. When the group does not have a permanent central
operating base, keeping members together is even that much
harder. Small associations such as stamp collectors clubs
and the like need only a small room to conduct their affairs,
whereas community museum groups such as AMMPT need
far much more space to house and work on their collection.
It is of the utmost urgency that every member, not just those
on the committees, makes a genuine personal effort to get
the support and sponsorship we need to obtain permanent
bases and storage facilities in all regions. This will keep
existing members involved and encourage new ones to join.
With home movies now becoming an almost unknown social
activity by the current younger generation, there is an urgent
need to ensure remaining significant examples of the very
early technology are preserved to document the evolution of
our industry and become an important part of our collection.
It is becoming increasingly harder to solicit sponsorship
from the commercial sector who are preparing for another
possible global financial downturn and governments whose
spending priorities don’t include the Australian community
museum sector. There is a significant amount of grant
funding still available at both State and Federal level. In fact
many groups continue to exist purely on these sources.
While asking for hand-outs is foreign to most of us, we must
learn to embrace this alien culture and develop into an art
form for the benefit of our organisation. For those members
who have been, or know of others who have been involved
in applying and receiving grants, your local committee
would certainly appreciate your help and involvement.
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