Flathead National Forest Montana-1978: Slow Pan Across a Forested Basin to a Deep Blue Mountain Lake

Catalog date: estimated · Catalog location: estimated. Review source evidence · Request a source quality check

$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.

Year1978
Decade1970s
LocationFlathead National Forest, Montana, United States
Duration10s
Price$149 USD
Collection1978 · Flathead National Forest, Montana, United States
StatusStockfilm Exclusive

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

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From the same film reel

1978 · Holland Lake & Flathead National Forest · Reel 17405875 contains 20 published Stockfilm-exclusive clips. Watch them in reel order and review the available reel documentation.

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Same year and place1978 · Flathead National Forest, Montana, United StatesExplore footage →Across the archiveFilmed in 1978Explore the year →Across the yearsFlathead National Forest, Montana, United StatesExplore the place →

What is in this clip

wilderness
backpacking
mountain landscape
national forest
summer travel
alpine lakes
outdoor recreation

Shot type: extreme wide
Camera: pan · tilt · handheld
Setting: outdoor · Mountain wilderness basin with conifer forest, rocky peaks and a lake
Time and weather: daytime · summer · clear with thin high cloud
Lighting: bright natural daylight, high contrast
People: 0 · No people visible.
Objects: conifer trees · rock face · mountain peaks · lake · talus slopes · dead tree snag
Colors: dark green · deep blue · grey-brown · pale sky blue
Master dimensions: 3840 × 2160
Audio: Silent
Date confidence: High
Location confidence: Medium

Moments in the footage

Select a time to watch that moment in the preview.

A high view over firs looks toward rocky peaks, with the lake at the lower right edge.
The camera pans right across the forested basin and talus slopes.
The deep blue lake moves toward the centre of the frame.
The shot rests on the lake, surrounded by dense conifer forest.

Slow Pan Across a Forested Basin to a Deep Blue Mountain... — Clip Details

Swan Range, Flathead National Forest, Montana, 1978 home movie footage from a backpacking trip on the trail network between Holland Lake and Sapphire Lake. From a high, tree-lined vantage the camera looks across a steep conifer basin below bare rocky peaks. It pans slowly right and tilts gently down until a dark blue lake comes into the centre of the frame. The scene is a single handheld Super 8 shot on a clear summer day.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: AerialExterior
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 10s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 800002549

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: 1978 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: Flathead National Forest, Montana, 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.

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Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Meets a request for late-1970s amateur film of untouched Rocky Mountain backcountry for documentaries on wilderness, public lands or backpacking history.
Period detail: No dated objects are in frame, so the 1978 date rests on the reel's title card, supported by the warm Super 8 colour rendition.
Home-movie behavior: A hiker stops on the trail and pans slowly to take in the lake below, a personal arrival view rather than a composed postcard.
What appears in frame: Tall firs in the foreground, a pale rock outcrop on the left, a steep forested basin, scattered talus and meadow slopes, bare peaks on the skyline, and a deep blue lake below.
Film character: Saturated Super 8 colour with deep greens and inky blues, a bright sky near overexposure, fine grain, slight softness and gentle handheld sway.
Edit role: Works as an establishing shot or scenic transition, and the pan's resolve onto the lake gives it a natural place before camp or lakeshore scenes.
Historical context: The view comes from the Holland Lake to Sapphire Lake trail country in the Swan Range, land managed by Flathead National Forest next to the Bob Marshall Wilderness, which was designated in 1964.
Research note: No people, logos or artwork appear; copyright in the home-movie film is a separate matter, and the exact lake shown is not identified by any on-screen sign.
Research search match: Researchers might search for 1970s Super 8 mountain lake, Montana wilderness home movie, Flathead National Forest 1978, or vintage alpine basin pan.
Archive pairing path: Pair it first with this reel's South Holland Trail sign, log footbridge, cascade waterfall, beargrass trail and talus-cliff lake pan, then with other 1978 Montana scenes, then with wilderness hiking footage generally.

Still Frames From This Clip

1978 Super 8 view over a conifer basin in Flathead National Forest, Montana, with the lake just entering at the lower right — The pan begins: fir trees and a rocky peak, with the lake visible at the edge of the frame.
License this still · $49

Mid-pan across a forested Swan Range basin in Montana, 1978, as a dark lake appears beyond fir trees — As the camera pans right, the lake shows behind fir trees on the valley floor.
License this still · $49

Deep blue mountain lake in dense forest below the Swan Range ridges, Flathead National Forest, Montana, 1978 home movie — The lake moves toward the centre of the frame, ringed by dense conifer forest.
License this still · $49

End of the pan on a blue alpine lake in a forested Montana basin on the Holland Lake trail system, Super 8, 1978 — The pan settles on the lake, centred in its forested basin below a rocky ridgeline.
License this still · $49

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