Michigan USA-1961: A Man Water Skis Across a Lake in Vintage 8mm Footage

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only. $149 flat from Stockfilm for documentary, news and educational use. Not permitted in advertising, commercial or broadcast promotion.

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

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only

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

Before you add to cart: Editorial use only: documentary, news and educational productions. Not permitted in advertising, commercial or branded content, or broadcast promotion. Checkout will only offer editorial, educational, internal and social/web scopes.

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A Man Water Skis Across a Lake in Vintage 8mm Footage — Clip Details

A man water skis across a calm lake in this vintage 1961 home movie footage from Michigan. Shot on 8mm film, the clip shows a shirtless man in patterned swim trunks gripping a tow rope, gliding over the water with a single ski. The grainy, slightly faded color palette and soft focus evoke classic mid-century nostalgia. The camera remains steady, capturing the skier from a distance as he maintains balance, creating a white wake behind him. The scene is framed by dark borders, typical of old home movie projections, enhancing its authentic archival feel.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: editorial use only. Editorial use only: documentary, news and educational productions. Not permitted in advertising, commercial or branded content, or broadcast promotion.
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 121079360

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Editorial only Direct license: editorial use only. Editorial use only: documentary, news and educational productions. Not permitted in advertising, commercial or branded content, or broadcast promotion.

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 (Based on visual or technical evidence.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual or technical evidence; no independent reel-level note corroborates it.
Location: Michigan, United States Estimated (Based on visual or technical evidence.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual evidence such as signage, landmarks, or terrain; no independent reel-level note corroborates it.
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

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Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Useful for 1960s recreation requests needing Michigan lake leisure, water-skiing activity, or mid-century home-movie sports footage.
Period detail: The patterned swim trunks, single-ski tow setup, and faded 8mm color may show early 1960s recreational boating culture.
Home-movie behavior: The clip preserves an unstaged home-movie view of a shirtless man balancing behind an unseen tow boat as he crosses calm lake water.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include the water skier, tow rope, single ski, lake surface, spray wake, distant shoreline, dark frame edges, and soft film grain.
Film character: The 8mm scan has soft focus, visible grain, mild color fading, gate edges, and exposure shifts that read as physical home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use it as a short insert, leisure cutaway, summer-memory beat, or transition into a sequence on boating or lake recreation.
Historical context: The footage reflects mid-century personal filming of outdoor recreation, with the camera favoring action over identification or location detail.
Research note: A person is visible and may require likeness review; no logos or private property are evident, and copyright clearance is separate from appearance rights.
Research search match: Likely matches searches for 1961 Michigan 8mm water skiing, vintage lake recreation, home movie boating, and mid-century summer sports footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with nearby shots from the same reel, then Michigan 1961 lake footage, then broader 1960s boating and summer recreation material.

Still Frames From This Clip

In 1961 Michigan home-movie footage, a shirtless man water skis across calm lake water behind an unseen tow boat. — Distant view of a man water skiing across a lake with a small spray wake behind him.

The man continues water skiing on a calm Michigan lake, holding a tow rope as the single ski cuts through the water. — Water skier maintaining balance as he travels across the lake surface.

A closer 8mm frame shows the water skier in patterned trunks, knees bent and tow rope in hand, moving across the lake. — Closer view of the skier holding the tow handle while riding a single ski.

Side view of the 1961 Michigan water skier leaning into the tow rope while spray rises around the single ski. — Side angle of the skier leaning back as the tow rope pulls him over the water.

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