San Francisco California-1953: A Steamer Cutting Through Churning Ocean Waters With Life Rafts

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only. $149 flat from Stockfilm for documentary, news and educational use, plus internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

Year1952
Decade1950s
LocationSan Francisco, California, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1952 San Francisco California

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only

$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.

A Steamer Cutting Through Churning Ocean Waters With... — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1953, this vintage home movie captures a steamer ship cutting through choppy ocean waters. The camera looks out from the vessel's side, showing a row of life rafts labeled '60 PERSONS' and 'MARINE ADDER' secured along the deck. The sea churns with whitecaps, reflecting a deep blue-purple tint characteristic of aged film. The footage has a grainy texture and soft focus, evoking a nostalgic, archival feel. This clip offers authentic maritime footage for documentaries, historical projects, or nostalgic content.

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, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 123343234

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Editorial only Direct license: editorial use only. Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

Editorial use only; commercial use is not offered for this clip. Review the flags below for your editorial context.

People visible: No
Logos / trademarks: Yes
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 1234 · 8mm · 5″ reel
Original reel label: miss universe
Reel-level year note: 1952
Reel-level location note: california
Date: 1952 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: San Francisco, California, 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: 1950s 8mm maritime travel footage suited for documentary inserts about ocean passage, coastal travel, or shipboard movement near San Francisco.
Period detail: The frame may show mid-century shipboard safety equipment, with stacked life rafts marked for capacity and vessel identification along an exterior deck rail.
Home-movie behavior: The camera takes a passenger-like view from the side of a moving vessel, watching the ship cut through rough water rather than staging an event.
What appears in frame: Visible details include churning ocean wake, whitecaps, a row of secured life rafts, deck railings, dark frame edges, and blue-purple aged-film color.
Film character: The footage has visible 8mm grain, soft focus, gate edges, slight exposure variation, and a cool color shift that read as original home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a cutaway, passage transition, maritime travel insert, or memory beat between scenes involving shipboard travel.
Historical context: The clip visually situates ocean travel through safety gear and open-water movement, without showing passengers, crew, port landmarks, or onboard interiors.
Research note: No people are visible, but the readable vessel and raft markings should be reviewed separately from copyright, likeness, and property considerations.
Research search match: Useful searches include 1950s 8mm ocean liner deck, ship wake home movie, San Francisco maritime travel footage, and vintage life raft cutaway.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent reel shots, then other 1952 San Francisco or shipboard material, then broader mid-century ocean travel and maritime safety footage.

Still Frames From This Clip

1950s 8mm home-movie frame looking past secured life rafts toward churning ocean water near the side of a moving vessel. — A side-deck view shows life rafts secured above rough water as the vessel moves through the sea.

A moving vessel passes through rough water, with secured life rafts and railings visible along the frame edge. — Foamy water churns beside the vessel while a row of life rafts remains fixed along the rail.

Marked life rafts, including capacity text, sit along the ship edge above a turbulent blue-purple ocean wake. — Readable markings on the rafts appear as the camera looks down toward the vessel's wake.

A row of secured ship life rafts, with partial readable markings, hangs above turbulent open water in 8mm footage. — The vessel's side and life rafts frame the rough ocean surface below.

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