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This is a series of 8mm silent home movies from 1946 we acquired. We converted them to digital format, enhanced, edited and added a soundtrack. There were parts of the film (mainly the lake games scene) that were extremely dark. In fact they appeared pitch black when I first viewed them. But suprisingly we were able to lighten them up enough to see them.

There are a few scenes of Awosting Falls, many different views of Wildmere and the Cliff House, and the Summerhouses.

I created a dialup version, but the image is tiny and will probably be blurry. Regardless of dialup or boardband, I highly recommend doubling the size of your screen when playing. Hit CTRL-2 on your keyboard.

Time 56K DSL/Cable
6:22 View View

This is a 16mm silent film home movie we acquired. We wanted to convert it directly to digital, but due to cost, we had it converted to VHS and then captured it. So the quality is not as good as it could have been, but still not bad.

The people in the film are unknown. A note in the can of film says "Minnewaska 1964". About 4 minutes of close-ups and non-related images were cut out. A soundtrack was added, and scenes were re-arranged slightly.

Time 56K DSL/Cable
4:23 View View

In October of 1978, the soap opera Ryan's Hope filmed at Lake Minnewaska. The filming was spread out over about a dozen episodes. Finding this video personally means a lot to me as I was there when the filming took place. I also remember sitting around an old black & white TV with other employees to watch the latest installment.

I did some major editing on this thing. Took me about 6 hours. I split it up into 5 basic scenes. The plot is kind of weird, so I didn't bother keeping in details that would describe what is going on.

Scene 1 is brief and starts with a view of Wildmere with the actors on a cliff overlooking the lake.

Scene 2 shows the actors walking out the back doors of Wildmere (where the cigarette machine was??) onto the porch, then down (in a weird way) to the Wildmere dock.

Scene 3 has the actors getting in a rowboat and rowing on the lake. There are shots of signs (props) cautioning boaters about the falls (which of course in reality the lake does NOT lead to). The actress then falls asleep in the rowboat.

Scene 4 shows the big scene of the rowboat going over Awosting falls.

Scene 5 The actor who had gotten out of the boat before the falls, goes to save her, and carries her up from the falls to the cliff house ruins (the Cliff House burned in Jan 1978).  Apparently the actor is hearing voices from this imaginary woman who is trying to get him to get rid of the actress, so he locks her in what is supposed to be a basement in all the burned out ruins of the Cliff House. I'm fairly sure this little burned out basement is a set. Be sure to check out the credits at the end!

If you're interested in the plot of all this, check it out at Soapnet for the episodes staring around episode number starting 871. It takes a little doing to zero in on it, but it's there.

I strongly encourage those with dialups to download the DSL versions for better clarity. See below on how to do this.

These clips are analog captures from a 2nd generation videotape, so the quality isn't good. When these episodes come around again on Soapnet (approximately 2004), if we're still around, we'll update it to crystal clear digital.

I'd like to thank the Ryan's Hope fan whom I bugged the heck out of for this video. Thank you Wanda!

All the Ryan's Hope videos were processed for Real Video 9 (everything else on this site is Real 8). You may be prompted to download the latest version of Real Player.


Scene 1 - Overlooking Wildmere
Time 56K DSL/Cable
1:18 N/A View


Scene 2 - Down to the Docks
Time 56K DSL/Cable
4:54 N/A View


Scene 3 - Rowing on the Lake
Time 56K DSL/Cable
2:58 N/A View


Scene 4 - Over the Falls
Time 56K DSL/Cable
4:19 N/A View


Scene 5 - To the Cliff House Ruins
Time 56K DSL/Cable
6:38 N/A View

Selected segments of promotional film shot and narrated by Neil Douglas. The date is unknown, but probably in the late 1950's. Quality is poor but definitely watchable.

Courtesy of the Phillips Collection. For personal use only.


The Cliff House
Time 56K DSL/Cable
2:15 View View


Dinner & Entertainment
Time 56K DSL/Cable
1:43 View View


Sports
Time 56K DSL/Cable
3:12 View View


Fun & Games
Time 56K DSL/Cable
1:43 View View


Arriving at Minnewaska
Time 56K DSL/Cable
2:08 View View


The Lake
Time 56K DSL/Cable
3:07 View View


Tea Time
Time 56K DSL/Cable
1:17 View View


Steak Cookout
Time 56K DSL/Cable
3:02 View View


Morning Breakfast Ride
Time 56K DSL/Cable
3:46 View View

Selected segments of video produced, directed and edited and partially filmed by Charles Fernandez. I took this video, edited it down a little, and added a soundtrack. This was all shot after the hotels closed, but Wildmere was still standing. Courtesy of the Charles Fernandez collection. For Personal Use Only.

Time 56K DSL/Cable
4:00 View View

Viewing Help & Tips

1) To view these clips you will need to have the Real Player. I personally hate Real format, but the Mac users were having trouble with the Microsoft Media Player format, so we converted. Why do I hate Real? For one thing I find their software is extremely invasive to my computer. When I install something, I don't want an excessive amount of garbage, spyware, etc. Real installs itself EVERYWHERE and once running, continues to annoy you with news you don't want, ads you don't want and "features" you don't want. When you install it, make sure you choose CUSTOM installation, and unclick everything you can find. You may have to scroll down to see the hidden checkmarked junk. And be sure not to give them your real e-mail address regardless of whether you checkmarked newsletter updates or not. Ok, I'm done ranting. Here is the link to the Free Real Audio player. They will "talk" you into buying to the point where you may not even be sure there IS a free player. Rest assured it is there. You have to hunt for it!

Click here to download the Free Real Player >>>> Free Real Player

2) The different speed versions are directly related to the quality. If you're using a 56K (or lower) modem, and can stand to wait longer, try the DSL version.

3) If viewing stops and starts, this can be due to excessive network traffic, trying to view a clip larger than your modem speed can handle, or programs running in the background of your computer. Try the next tip below.

4) If you would like to save a copy of the clip for future viewing or you're having trouble with direct viewing, you can download it and view at your leisure direct from your hard drive. For PC users, RIGHT-CLICK on the thumbnail picture for the clip you want and select SAVE TARGET AS. Then save to wherever you like on your system. You can NOT download the 56K version (why would you want to?). For MAC users, ??

5) You can pull down the menu item VIEW, and then ZOOM, and select 200%. If you're using a 56k modem, this will probably make it appear too blotchy. You can also try ALT-ENTER for full screen mode!

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