South Dakota USA-1956: Water Skiing On The Lake

$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.

Year1956
Decade1950s
LocationSouth Dakota, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD

$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.

Water Skiing On The Lake — Clip Details

Vintage 8mm home movie footage from South Dakota, USA, in 1956, showing a red motorboat speeding across a lake, pulling a water skier. The scene unfolds on a sunny day with lush green hills in the background and a grassy shoreline in the foreground. The film exhibits classic Super 8 grain, color fading, and soft focus, capturing a carefree moment of mid-century recreation. The skier glides behind the boat, leaving a white wake, while the camera remains stationary, offering a nostalgic glimpse into 1950s leisure activities.

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: 122633957

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 record not linked for this clip
Date: 1956 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual or technical evidence; no reel-level note is linked.
Location: South Dakota, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual evidence such as signage, landmarks, or terrain; no reel-level note is linked.
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.

Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Serves documentary and commercial producers needing authentic mid-century American leisure footage, covering water sports, 1950s family recreation, and postwar prosperity sequences.
Period detail: A red motorboat and 8mm color palette with characteristic fading and soft focus are consistent with mid-1950s amateur film stock; no identifiable period-specific brands or markings are visible.
Home-movie behavior: Shot from a stationary shoreline position, the camera follows the boat across the lake from a distance, capturing the unstaged candid framing typical of a family member filming from shore.
What appears in frame: Red motorboat crossing a calm lake, trailing white wake spray, a small distant water skier, green reeds in the foreground, wooded hillside along the far shore, and pale sky above.
Film character: Characteristic 8mm color fading gives the water a muted blue-gray cast, while soft focus and visible grain throughout lend the footage its archival texture.
Edit role: Functions as an establishing shot, insert cutaway, or nostalgia beat in 1950s leisure or postwar Americana sequences; the stationary wide framing suits a quiet transitional moment.
Historical context: Water skiing grew as a popular American recreational pastime in the postwar years, and motorboat ownership on summer lakes was a visible marker of mid-century middle-class leisure culture.
Research note: One or more persons appear as small, distant figures; standard likeness clearance review is advisable, though individuals are not recognizable at this distance and resolution.
Research search match: Researchers searching for 1950s water skiing, lake recreation, postwar American leisure, motorboat footage, or 8mm home movie summer activities should find this clip relevant.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with other clips from the same reel; then with 1950s South Dakota or Great Plains lake footage; then with mid-century motorboat or water sports sequences.

Still Frames From This Clip

Red motorboat towing a water skier across a South Dakota lake circa 1956, with green shore reeds at left and a wooded hillside beyond, in 8mm home movie footage. — Red motorboat and skier, wide view across the lake.

Red motorboat crossing a South Dakota lake circa 1956, with a faint trailing skier, wooded far shore, and pale sky; 8mm home movie footage with visible film grain. — Motorboat traversing the lake at mid-clip.

Red motorboat with prominent wake and trailing skier on a South Dakota lake circa 1956; green reeds at lower left and wooded hillside behind, in 8mm home movie footage. — Motorboat wake spray at mid-sequence.

Red motorboat and distant water skier on a South Dakota lake circa 1956; wide wake spray prominent in this stationary-camera 8mm home movie shot with wooded hills beyond. — Motorboat and skier, final frame.

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