Travelogue (films)
Encyclopedia
Travelogue films, a form of virtual tourism
or travel documentary
, have been providing information and entertainment about distant parts of the world since the late 19th century.
created his series of travelogues. His travelogues were primarily lectures, illustrated by hand colored glass lantern slides, but he soon began adding film clips. After World War II, Lowell Thomas
created popular Movietone News Reel
travelogues shown in movie theaters across the U.S.
During the 1950s and 1960s, independent film producers created film travelogues, which were shown in towns and schools across the U.S. and Canada. Public travelogue series, offering several evenings of travelogue films during the winter months, were often sold on a subscription basis in small and medium sized towns. Travelogues were usually about eighty minutes in length, consisting of two 1000-foot reels of 16mm film, with an intermission in-between to change reels. The travelogue film speaker, often but not always the filmmaker, would usually introduce each reel, ask for the lights to be dimmed and then narrate the film live from an onstage lectern
. Patrons could then meet the speaker in-person after the show.
One popular travelogue filmmaker, Al Bell, traveled throughout the midwest during the 1960s and into the 1970s, showing his travelogues in grade schools.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the popularity of traditional travelogues declined. But the advent of cable television channels, such as the Discovery channel and the availability of small, high quality, digital video equipment has renewed the popularity of travel films. Today's travelogues, often also called Travel Adventure Cinema Shows, may be shown with either live or recorded voice-over
narration, often with an in-sync audio soundtrack featuring music and location sound. The shows are often performed in school gymnasiums, civic auditoriums, senior center multi-purpose rooms, private clubs and theatrical venues. Travelogues have been a popular source of fundraising for local, non-profit community-service organizations, such as Kiwanis
, Lions clubs and Rotary clubs, among others, with many such clubs hosting travelogue series for decades.
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
or travel documentary
Travel documentary
A travel documentary is a documentary film or television program that describes travel in general or tourist attractions in a non-commercial way....
, have been providing information and entertainment about distant parts of the world since the late 19th century.
History
In 1893, Burton HolmesBurton Holmes
Burton Holmes was an American traveler, photographer and filmmaker, who coined the term "travelogue".Travel stories, slide shows, and motion pictures were all in existence before Holmes began his career, as was the profession of travel lecturer; but Holmes was the first person to put all of these...
created his series of travelogues. His travelogues were primarily lectures, illustrated by hand colored glass lantern slides, but he soon began adding film clips. After World War II, Lowell Thomas
Lowell Thomas
Lowell Jackson Thomas was an American writer, broadcaster, and traveler, best known as the man who made Lawrence of Arabia famous...
created popular Movietone News Reel
Movietone News
Movietone News is a newsreel that ran from 1928 to 1963 in the United States, and from 1929 to 1979 in the United Kingdom.-History:It is known in the U.S. as Fox Movietone News, produced cinema, sound newsreels from 1928 to 1963 in the U.S., from 1929 to 1979 in the UK , and from 1929 to 1975 in...
travelogues shown in movie theaters across the U.S.
During the 1950s and 1960s, independent film producers created film travelogues, which were shown in towns and schools across the U.S. and Canada. Public travelogue series, offering several evenings of travelogue films during the winter months, were often sold on a subscription basis in small and medium sized towns. Travelogues were usually about eighty minutes in length, consisting of two 1000-foot reels of 16mm film, with an intermission in-between to change reels. The travelogue film speaker, often but not always the filmmaker, would usually introduce each reel, ask for the lights to be dimmed and then narrate the film live from an onstage lectern
Lectern
A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon...
. Patrons could then meet the speaker in-person after the show.
One popular travelogue filmmaker, Al Bell, traveled throughout the midwest during the 1960s and into the 1970s, showing his travelogues in grade schools.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the popularity of traditional travelogues declined. But the advent of cable television channels, such as the Discovery channel and the availability of small, high quality, digital video equipment has renewed the popularity of travel films. Today's travelogues, often also called Travel Adventure Cinema Shows, may be shown with either live or recorded voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
narration, often with an in-sync audio soundtrack featuring music and location sound. The shows are often performed in school gymnasiums, civic auditoriums, senior center multi-purpose rooms, private clubs and theatrical venues. Travelogues have been a popular source of fundraising for local, non-profit community-service organizations, such as Kiwanis
Kiwanis
Kiwanis International is an international, coeducational service club founded in 1915. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Current membership is 240,000 members in 7,700 clubs in 80 nations...
, Lions clubs and Rotary clubs, among others, with many such clubs hosting travelogue series for decades.
Further reading
- Caldwell, Genoa, Editor. (1980). The Man Who Photographed the World: Burton Holmes : Travelogues, 1886-1938. Harry N Abrams. ISBN 0810910594
- Caldwell, Genoa, Editor. (2006). Burton Holmes Travelogues: The Greatest Traveler of His Time, 1892-1952. Tacshen. ISBN 3822848158
- Soule, Thayer. (2003). On the Road With Travelogues: 1935 - 1995 A Sixty-Year Romp. Authorhouse. ISBN 1410799719