John Cura: Difference between revisions
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Following service in [[World War II]], '''John Cura''' | Following service in [[World War II]], '''John Cura''' (born '''Alberto Giovanni Curà''' [[6 April (people)|6 April]] [[1902 (people)|1902]], died [[21 April (people)|21 April]] [[1969 (people)|1969]]<ref>[http://www.teletronic.co.uk/john_cura_telesnaps.htm Teletronic]</ref>) worked out an efficient method known only to himself for taking [[tele-snaps|pictures of television programmes]] while they were being broadcast in the [[PAL]] format, and never wrote detailed notes and/or instructions on the process during his lifetime. | ||
In the days before video recorders were commonplace, this gave Cura the basis for a unique business. He — and really he alone — could offer a cheap record of at least some of the frames of British television programmes. This allowed actors to prove they'd been in a production, directors to retain at least a {{w|contact print|contact sheet}} of their work, and newspapers to have images of important news events that had been broadcast on television. | |||
The resulting photographs, which he dubbed "[[tele-snaps]]" (or telesnaps), became vital to ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fans after many 1960s episodes [[missing episode|were wiped]]. For some episodes, they are the only remaining visual record. | The resulting photographs, which he dubbed "[[tele-snaps]]" (or telesnaps), became vital to ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fans after many 1960s episodes [[missing episode|were wiped]]. For some episodes, they are the only remaining visual record. | ||
Because | Because Cura is so important to early ''Doctor Who'', some fans believe that he somehow worked for the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] or the ''Doctor Who'' production office, but this wasn't the case at all. He simply turned on the televisions in his home and took pictures of whatever they were transmitting. He then offered the resulting telesnaps for sale. But the production office didn't ''have'' to buy them, and after Cura raised his prices in [[1964 (production)|1964]], the BBC were in fact less inclined to do so. | ||
The price rise unhelpfully coincided with the BBC's first efforts at simply [[telerecording]] entire episodes from the [[2" quad]] masters, and so | The price rise unhelpfully coincided with the BBC's first efforts at simply [[telerecording]] entire episodes from the [[2" quad]] masters, and so Cura's business was actually in decline at the time most ''Doctor Who'' fans wrongly think he was primarily active. In fact, though, his career had resulted in perhaps as many as half a million telesnaps of hundreds of different programmes. Cura was a major figure in the documentation of British television from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. | ||
Cura worked nearly to his death on 21 April 1969, aged sixty-six, but his work didn't significantly survive him. His widow Emily offered Cura's entire catalogue of negatives and prints to the BBC, and they bluntly refused — allegedly responding "We're moving forward, Mrs. Cura, not backwards."<ref>[https://www.teletronic.co.uk/pages/john_cura_telesnaps.html Teletronic - John Cura's Telesnaps]</ref> Feeling rudely dismissed, she subsequently claimed that she burned them all. Not only was this a significant cultural loss to British television historians, it almost certainly had implications for ''Doctor Who'' fans as well. Although we'll never know for sure, it's almost certain that Cura took telesnaps of at least some [[serial]]s that today we think of as being without telesnaps. | |||
The reason is simple: we know the BBC weren't his only buyers. A known case in point is ''[[Marco Polo (TV story)|Marco Polo]]''. Although the BBC bought these tele-snaps, they are known to have discarded them. The ones currently present on the [[Doctor Who website]] come not from the BBC archives, but because [[director]] [[Waris Hussein]] personally bought copies directly from Cura. | The reason is simple: we know the BBC weren't his only buyers. A known case in point is ''[[Marco Polo (TV story)|Marco Polo]]''. Although the BBC bought these tele-snaps, they are known to have discarded them. The ones currently present on the [[Doctor Who website]] come not from the BBC archives, but because [[Director (crew)|director]] [[Waris Hussein]] personally bought copies directly from Cura. Therefore it seems reasonable to assume that Cura took telesnaps of, say, ''[[The Myth Makers (TV story)|The Myth Makers]]'', but simply didn't find a buyer for them. | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
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== Footnotes == | == Footnotes == | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
{{NameSort}} | {{NameSort}} | ||
[[Category:Real world people]] | [[Category:Real world people]] | ||
Latest revision as of 20:35, 26 October 2023
Following service in World War II, John Cura (born Alberto Giovanni Curà 6 April 1902, died 21 April 1969[1]) worked out an efficient method known only to himself for taking pictures of television programmes while they were being broadcast in the PAL format, and never wrote detailed notes and/or instructions on the process during his lifetime.
In the days before video recorders were commonplace, this gave Cura the basis for a unique business. He — and really he alone — could offer a cheap record of at least some of the frames of British television programmes. This allowed actors to prove they'd been in a production, directors to retain at least a contact sheet of their work, and newspapers to have images of important news events that had been broadcast on television.
The resulting photographs, which he dubbed "tele-snaps" (or telesnaps), became vital to Doctor Who fans after many 1960s episodes were wiped. For some episodes, they are the only remaining visual record.
Because Cura is so important to early Doctor Who, some fans believe that he somehow worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation or the Doctor Who production office, but this wasn't the case at all. He simply turned on the televisions in his home and took pictures of whatever they were transmitting. He then offered the resulting telesnaps for sale. But the production office didn't have to buy them, and after Cura raised his prices in 1964, the BBC were in fact less inclined to do so.
The price rise unhelpfully coincided with the BBC's first efforts at simply telerecording entire episodes from the 2" quad masters, and so Cura's business was actually in decline at the time most Doctor Who fans wrongly think he was primarily active. In fact, though, his career had resulted in perhaps as many as half a million telesnaps of hundreds of different programmes. Cura was a major figure in the documentation of British television from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.
Cura worked nearly to his death on 21 April 1969, aged sixty-six, but his work didn't significantly survive him. His widow Emily offered Cura's entire catalogue of negatives and prints to the BBC, and they bluntly refused — allegedly responding "We're moving forward, Mrs. Cura, not backwards."[2] Feeling rudely dismissed, she subsequently claimed that she burned them all. Not only was this a significant cultural loss to British television historians, it almost certainly had implications for Doctor Who fans as well. Although we'll never know for sure, it's almost certain that Cura took telesnaps of at least some serials that today we think of as being without telesnaps.
The reason is simple: we know the BBC weren't his only buyers. A known case in point is Marco Polo. Although the BBC bought these tele-snaps, they are known to have discarded them. The ones currently present on the Doctor Who website come not from the BBC archives, but because director Waris Hussein personally bought copies directly from Cura. Therefore it seems reasonable to assume that Cura took telesnaps of, say, The Myth Makers, but simply didn't find a buyer for them.
