New Jersey-1938: Unclear Motorboat On Dark Water At Night

$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.

Year1938
Decade1930s
LocationNew Jersey, United States
Duration6s
Price$149 USD
Collection1938 New Jersey

$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.

Unclear Motorboat On Dark Water At Night — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1938, this grainy black and white home movie captures a dark, nighttime scene on a body of water. A faint, elongated object, possibly a motorboat, moves slowly across the frame, its shape barely visible against the dark water. The image is extremely low-light, with heavy film grain and a dark vignette effect typical of vintage 8mm footage. The distant shoreline is a dark silhouette. The footage is unclear and mysterious, evoking a sense of quiet solitude and historical obscurity.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Black & whiteNight
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 6s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 127267231

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.

No recognizable people, logos, or music are flagged. Lower-risk for commercial use, subject to your own review.

People 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: 1938 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: New Jersey, 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: 1930s New Jersey home-movie footage suited to archival requests for obscure nighttime water scenes, ambiguous boating views, or atmospheric documentary inserts.
Period detail: The metadata supports a 1938 New Jersey setting, while the frames themselves mainly show dark water, a distant shoreline silhouette, and a faint elongated object that may be a small motorboat.
Home-movie behavior: The clip has the feel of an amateur observer filming from shore or another vessel, preserving a hard-to-read moment rather than a staged boating scene.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include dark rippled water, a shadowed shoreline, heavy vignetting, a faint pale streak, a small dark shape on the water, and 8mm frame grain.
Film character: The footage carries strong 8mm low-light texture, with dense grain, soft focus, underexposure, and dark edge falloff shaping the archival character.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a brief cutaway, transition, mystery beat, or visual memory fragment for nighttime water, travel, or home-movie sequences.
Historical context: The scene offers a restrained glimpse of recreational or waterfront observation in prewar New Jersey, though the low exposure limits identification of vessel type or setting.
Research note: No people, logos, brands, or private property are visible, but copyright status and any location or vessel identification should be reviewed separately.
Research search match: Useful search matches include 1938 New Jersey 8mm night water, vintage home movie motorboat at night, dark lake footage, and grainy black and white waterfront scene.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent footage from the same reel, then with New Jersey 1938 home movies, then with broader themes of boats, shorelines, night water, or ambiguous travel views.

Still Frames From This Clip

1938 New Jersey 8mm frame showing very dark water, a distant shore silhouette, and a barely visible pale object near the horizon. — A faint object sits against dark water and shoreline in a low-light 8mm frame.

Low-light 1938 New Jersey frame with dark water, a faint pale streak, and a small dark shape that may be a boat. — A barely readable shape appears on the dark water beneath the shoreline shadow.

Underexposed 8mm frame from New Jersey showing rippled water and a faint light-toned mark with little visible detail. — The water surface is visible through grain, with only a small pale mark standing out.

Final 1938 New Jersey frame showing dark, grainy water and a small pale streak near the distant shoreline area. — A pale streak remains visible near the upper frame as the water falls into darkness.

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