Colombo Ceylon-1946: Seaside City with Boats and Working Elephant

$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.

Year1946
Decade1940s
LocationColombo, Sri Lanka
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.

Seaside City with Boats and Working Elephant — Clip Details

COLOMBO CEYLON-1946: A vintage 8mm film view of a seaside city with low-rise buildings along a waterfront, green trees lining the shore, and small boats in the water under a cloudy sky. The footage captures a quiet, everyday scene from mid-20th century Ceylon, with natural color and film grain characteristic of home movie footage. The final frame shifts to a dark, nighttime scene of people working with a large animal, possibly an elephant, using poles and ropes in a rural setting. This archival clip offers a nostalgic glimpse into colonial-era life and labor in Sri Lanka.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: ExteriorNight
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 124755504

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: 1946 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: Colombo, Sri Lanka 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: Useful for 1940s documentary or educational edits needing Colombo waterfront atmosphere and a brief glimpse of animal-assisted labor from home-movie footage.
Period detail: The low-rise waterfront buildings, small boats, and color 8mm texture may show mid-1940s Colombo as recorded from a visitor or traveler viewpoint.
Home-movie behavior: The footage has an observational home-movie feel, lingering on the shoreline before abruptly shifting to a darker labor scene with people and a large animal.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include cloudy sky, harbor water, low waterfront buildings, trees, small boats, film-frame edges, workers, poles, ropes, and a large animal.
Film character: Soft focus, visible grain, uneven exposure, gate edges, and slight handheld framing give the scan a physical 8mm home-movie character.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a Colombo establishing insert, travel transition, waterfront cutaway, or short memory beat before a labor sequence.
Historical context: The clip visually connects an urban coastal view with manual animal labor, but the exact activity and participants should be described cautiously unless further reel context confirms it.
Research note: People are visible in the final frame, so likeness, cultural context, and activity identification should be reviewed separately from copyright status.
Research search match: Researchers may find it under 1940s Colombo Ceylon 8mm waterfront, Sri Lanka harbor home movie, colonial-era city shoreline, or elephant labor footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then other Colombo or Ceylon 1946 footage, then broader South Asian waterfront or animal labor scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

1940s Colombo waterfront view with low buildings, trees, boats, harbor water, and cloudy sky seen through an 8mm film frame. — Low waterfront buildings and boats line the harbor beneath heavy clouds.

Colombo shoreline in archival 8mm footage, showing waterfront buildings, trees, moored boats, and a cloudy sky. — A steady harbor view shows buildings, shoreline trees, and boats along the water.

1940s Colombo waterfront scene with boats near shore, low-rise buildings, trees, and visible home-movie film grain. — Boats cluster near the shoreline in front of low buildings and trees.

Dark final frame shows people working near poles and ropes with a large animal, possibly an elephant, in archival home-movie footage. — People work in a dim setting beside poles, ropes, and a large animal form.

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