Michigan USA-1961: Shirtless Man Water Skis Behind Motorboat

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Year1961
Decade1960s
LocationMichigan, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1961 · Michigan, United States
StatusDirect License

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

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Stockfilm licenses the rights identified in the applicable agreement. Additional use-specific review may be required. See the Licensing Guide and Archive Integrity.

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Shirtless Man Water Skis Behind Motorboat — Clip Details

Vintage 8mm home movie footage from Michigan USA in 1961 captures a man water skiing on a calm lake. The skier, shirtless and wearing dark swim trunks, glides across the water while being pulled by a motorboat, creating white wakes. A second person is visible in the water nearby. The scene unfolds against a backdrop of dense green trees lining the shoreline, with a distant white boat visible. The footage exhibits classic Super 8 film characteristics: soft focus, natural color palette, film grain, and vertical scratch lines, evoking a nostalgic 1960s summer vacation atmosphere. The camera remains stationary, observing the action from a fixed viewpoint.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Exterior
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 121077602

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Commercial Direct license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Editorial use is the safest path. For commercial use, a clearance review is recommended for the flags below.

People visible: Yes
Minors visible: No
Logos / trademarks: No
Audible music: No

Flags come from automated catalog metadata, not a legal opinion. The source is an original 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie reel. For high-stakes commercial use, request a full rights review.

Source & Documentation

Source reel: Reel 2015 · 8mm · 3″ reel
Original reel label: xmas,linda communion,,d danielar
Reel-level year note: 1961-1962
Reel-level location note: detroit michigan,
Date: 1961 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level note shows the same year, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Location: Michigan, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level location note is linked, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Licensing route: Direct license available from Stockfilm

Confidence labels are defined on Archive Integrity. Fields without a recorded value are shown as not recorded rather than assumed.

View source reel context Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Useful for 1960s U.S. leisure or Michigan summer recreation requests needing authentic home-movie water-skiing footage.
Period detail: The small motorboat, water-skiing activity, soft color, and 8mm texture support an early-1960s vacation context without identifying a specific lake.
Home-movie behavior: The clip has an unstaged family-observer feel, watching a skier and boat activity from a fixed shoreline or dockside viewpoint.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a water skier, motorboat, lake surface, white wakes, wooded shoreline, distant boat, dark frame edges, and vertical film marks.
Film character: The footage shows soft focus, muted color, visible grain, exposure variation, frame edges, and vertical scratches typical of scanned 8mm home movies.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a brief insert, summer-memory beat, recreation cutaway, or transition within a sequence about lakeside vacations.
Historical context: The scene reflects recreational boating and water sports as seen through a private home-movie camera, with no visible public event or landmark identified.
Research note: People are visible at a distance, so likeness review may be needed; no logos are apparent, and copyright clearance is separate from likeness concerns.
Research search match: Likely matches searches for 1961 Michigan lake water skiing, vintage 8mm boating, 1960s summer vacation footage, and home-movie water sports.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then other 1961 Michigan lake scenes, then broader 1960s boating or vacation recreation footage.

Still Frames From This Clip

1961 Michigan home-movie frame showing a shirtless water skier on a lake, with wooded shoreline and a distant boat. — Water skier raises his arms while moving across the lake surface.
License this still · $49

1961 Michigan 8mm frame with a motorboat towing a water skier across calm lake water near trees. — A motorboat tows the skier past the camera position.
License this still · $49

Wide 1961 Michigan home-movie view of a skier following a small motorboat across a lake bordered by trees. — The skier follows the boat across a wider section of the lake.
License this still · $49

Distant 1961 Michigan lake frame with a water skier, towing boat, white wake, and dense tree-lined shoreline. — The boat and skier continue along the wooded shoreline.
License this still · $49

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