The backwards spinning wheels...

Posted by Fall Guy from pool1245.cvx21-bradley.dialup.earthlink.net on August 06, 2001 at 22:54:35:

In Reply to: Watching Raiders on Sci-Fi the other night... posted by schwammy on August 06, 2001 at 22:23:43:

... in old movies were caused by artificial lighting. Those lights ran on alternating current (There was no rectifier inbuilt). That means the lights flickered at the same rate like the current (How many Hertz was that again? 50? 60? That means 50 or sixty times per second). That's what caused the effect of backwards spinning wheels. It's a stroboscope effect.
FG

: ... I noticed again during the truck chase (my favorite part of the movie) how certain scenes seem kind of jerky, particularly the shot where Indy's hanging onto the front grille. I'm assuming it's because they speeded up the film slightly to give it more of a high-speed feel. Anyone else ever notice this or know any more about it?

: One thing I love about this sequence, though, is the fact that throughout the whole chase, the truck's wheels never go through that crazy "spinning backward" effect that you get in nearly every Western involving a stagecoach, and in most car chase scenes. Mickey Moore must have used very high-speed film to overcompensate for the rotation of the wheels, eh?
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: ... in old movies were caused by artificial lighting. Those lights ran on alternating current (There was no rectifier inbuilt). That means the lights flickered at the same rate like the current (How many Hertz was that again? 50? 60? That means 50 or sixty times per second). That's what caused the effect of backwards spinning wheels. It's a stroboscope effect.
: FG

: 
: : ... I noticed again during the truck chase (my favorite part of the movie) how certain scenes seem kind of jerky, particularly the shot where Indy's hanging onto the front grille.  I'm assuming it's because they speeded up the film slightly to give it more of a high-speed feel.  Anyone else ever notice this or know any more about it?

: : One thing I love about this sequence, though, is the fact that throughout the whole chase, the truck's wheels never go through that crazy "spinning backward" effect that you get in nearly every Western involving a stagecoach, and in most car chase scenes.  Mickey Moore must have used very high-speed film to overcompensate for the rotation of the wheels, eh?
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