San Francisco California-1937: Movie Extras on Backlot with Matte Painting Backdrop

$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.

Year1937
Decade1930s
LocationSan Francisco, California, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1937 San Francisco California

$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, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement. Checkout will only offer editorial, educational, internal and social/web scopes.

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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.

Movie Extras on Backlot with Matte Painting Backdrop — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1937, this vintage clip captures a staged film set scene in San Francisco, California. A line of extras in period costumes walks across a painted backdrop depicting a rugged mountain landscape with a small cabin. The black-and-white footage shows classic Hollywood studio techniques, including matte painting and artificial scenery. The grainy texture and film edge indicate authentic home movie origins. This archival footage offers a rare glimpse into early 20th-century filmmaking practices and studio production design.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Black & white
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: 124760334

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

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: 1937 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: San Francisco, California, 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: Supports archive requests for 1930s filmmaking, studio backlot practice, and staged extras against painted scenery for documentary or educational edits.
Period detail: The costumes, monochrome 8mm texture, and painted mountain-and-cabin backdrop fit the supplied 1937 production context, while specific production identity is not visible.
Home-movie behavior: The clip has a visitor-shot viewpoint, observing extras crossing a studio set rather than presenting a polished production shot.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a line of costumed extras, a painted rocky landscape, a small cabin form, artificial shrubs, a set walkway, and film-frame edges.
Film character: The footage carries dense 8mm grain, soft focus, uneven exposure, and visible gate edges that reinforce its physical home-movie origin.
Edit role: An editor could use it as a brief cutaway, process insert, or memory beat for early screen production and backlot illusion.
Historical context: The frames show how performers and painted scenery could create a larger landscape within a compact studio environment.
Research note: People are visible and audible music is flagged, so likeness and soundtrack review remain separate from any copyright assessment of the footage.
Research search match: Useful for searches such as 1930s 8mm movie extras, studio backlot matte painting, painted backdrop film set, and vintage filmmaking footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with same-reel backlot material, then San Francisco 1937 footage, then broader clips on film sets, extras, props, and artificial scenery.

Still Frames From This Clip

1937 8mm frame of extras crossing a studio set in San Francisco before painted mountain scenery and artificial shrubs. — Extras move across a set walkway in front of a painted rugged landscape backdrop.

The line of extras passes beneath painted rock formations and staged landscape elements.

Grainy 8mm view of period-costumed extras moving across a backlot-style set with painted landscape scenery in the background. — Extras in costume cross the foreground while the painted landscape fills the set behind them.

Final frame shows extras on a studio walkway before painted rocky scenery and small cabin-like forms, with visible 8mm frame edges. — The staged mountain scene remains visible as extras pass through the lower edge of the frame.

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