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8/6/1898: The Birtac
While former R. W. Paul associate Birt Acres had all but withdrawn from the practice of making movies by 1897, he was still heavily involved in the mechanics and, on 9th June 1898, filed a patent for a new camera he called "The Birtac". The camera was a substandard gauge (ie it used film narrower than the standard 35mm) designed for 17.5mm film, and was specifically designed for amateur use. By reversing the lens and adding a lamphouse, the camera doubled as a projector. Acres demonstrated the camera to Croydon Cine Club on 25th January 1899, and marketed it in the UK at a price of approximately 10 guineas, which was, on average, approximately three months wages for the average person. Despite the hefty price tag, the camera was an impressive contraption, and may well have been a success had the Warwick Trading Company not produced a rival camera, the Biokam, which was half the price of the Birtac.
Despite curbing his filmmaking activities, Acres was shooting the launch of the HMS Albion in Canning Town on 21st June 1898 when a tragic accident raised the question of what was permissible for a filmmaker to film. A crowd of 200 people had gathered on the other side of the river from which the ship was to be launched to view the spectacle. Because of the narrowness of the river, the ship was launched sideways, and created a giant wave that crashed into the bridge, destroying it completely and plunging those standing upon it into the river. 38 lives were lost. Acres chose to withhold his films from presentation, but his former partner - and current nemesis - R. W. Paul, chose to exhibit the films he had made. Acres publicly attacked Paul's decision, accusing him of gross insensitivity. Whether Acres' furious criticism of Paul was prompted by his principles or his enmity for his rival remains unknown. [ADD]
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