British Pathe

Reel 1.

Associated British Pathe Present ... Oriana (Titles superimposed over drawing of cruise liner).

01:19:32 - Flock of seagulls wheel in an open sky. C/U waves parting on the box of a ship. More seagulls. Sailors and ship's officers on the bridge of a ship. Technician works in...

Reel 1.

Associated British Pathe Present ... Oriana (Titles superimposed over drawing of cruise liner).

01:19:32 - Flock of seagulls wheel in an open sky. C/U waves parting on the box of a ship. More seagulls. Sailors and ship's officers on the bridge of a ship. Technician works in the engine room. He moves one of the controls on a panel in front of him. C/U waves parting in front of the ship. Three signal flags flying.

01:19:58 - Shots of the bows and stern of the cruise liner 'Oriana' at sea. She is registered in London and is undergoing sea trials. Aerial shots of the liner at sea. C/U blue ensign flying from flag pole on the stern. Shots from on board looking out to sea. Shot from sea level of ship approaching.

01:20:25 - Meeting of ship owners and designers in meeting room. Various C/Us of members of the team. C/U of designers working on blueprints. C/U contract drawings showing the design of the liner - the aim is to cut the time between England and Australia. Designers looking over drawing board.

01:21:12 - Designers checking 16 ft model in water tank. C/U designers' faces. C/U designer runs finger down the prow of the model of the ship. The large model is pushed out into the water of the testing tank. The wave making machine in the tank is turned on and waves begin to pass down the tank towards the model. The model is moved forwards in the tank by a large moving gantry. The bow of the ship cutting the waves. Designers standing on the gantry checking the results of the tests on electronic equipment. C/U the model ship in the tank. C/U designers' faces and electronic measuring machines. Slide rules and paper printouts provide results. Nice shots of printouts and graphs. C/U model.

01:22:30 - The number 1061 painted by hand on sheet of metal. Pan along sheet and pull up to show workshop. Shipwrights at work on massive sheets of metal. They are working outside in wet weather. C/U large sheets of metal moved in to place by man power. C/U man welding steel plates. Welding machine. C/U man welding, they are all wearing safety goggles. More C/Us of men working on metal. The superstructure begins to take shape. Men are climbing up the body of part of the ship. The ship yard manager takes a look at the work in progress. Ship builders draw out markings on steel plate with chalk. C/U ship yard manager checking over plans with ship builder.

01:23:59 - Large prefabricated section of Oriana taken out of large workshop. The metal work is pulled by small steam engine. High angle shot of prefabricated parts of the hull in the dock yard. Pan across to the part of the ship that has started to be put together. Huge cranes are being used to move sections into place. Low angle shot of crane turning round. C/U section of metal work lowered into place. Section of ship's keel being worked on. Various sections of the ship are moved into place. The tiny figures of men in the shot show the sheer scale of the ship that is being built. The ship slowly starts to take shape. Shot on the deck, being welded into place. Low angle shot of crane at work. More large deck plates are lowered into place. Men ease the plates into the correct place. Men at work on various parts of the ship.

01:25:56 - Female designer looking over colour charts and fabric samples. Pan up to show man at work on drawing board. C/U designer working on logo. C/U designer's face. More shots in drawing office. Men in workshop making turbines for the engine. Man hammers blades into place on turbine. Engineer runs his hand across the blades to check their alignment. Shot of one of the massive gear wheels.

01:26:48 - Curved part of the Oriana being welded in the workshop. High angle tracking shot down the length of the hull as it is being built. C/U work on the housing for the propeller shaft. Grinding machine working. Men at work with welding tools on stabilising fin. Long shot of box unit being lowered into place. Once again the scale of the work is made clear.

01:27:51 - Inside the workshop men are working on aluminium plates for the ship's superstructure. Men at work with welding and cutting tools. Large chunks of the superstructure are lowered into place by cranes. C/U man directing the work of the crane. One of the parts of the "main tourist pool" is being lowered into place.

01:28:49 - Huge propellor is being lifted. It weighs 28 tonnes. High angle pan across the super structure. Pan down the markings on the side of the ship. Men working on one of the secondary propellor assemblies. Huge steel ropes are attached. The props are lifted into place. More bits of metal are lifted up. Smaller propellor in place.

01:30:07 - Decorative architect checking the design of cabins. He walks from room to room. The mock of the cabins is in the joiners shop. He walks out of the cabins in to the workshop where men are working on wood for the cabins. C/U designers as they look at blueprints for the cabins. C/U sketch of cabin. Joiners at work on furniture for cabins. They are making drawers and tables etc. Men work with planes, saws, chisels and sand paper. (They could be working in a joinery anywhere.)

01:31:11 - Seagulls flying in an open sky.

C/U man and woman. C/U man holding child. C/U two painters spattered with paint. C/U faces of various shipyard workers. (They are gathered for the launching of the Oriana).

The massive ship, now painted, stands ready to be launched. Crowds are gathered to watch the ceremony. High angle shots of crowds. Closer shot of name on bow of ship. High angle shot of Princess Alexandra of Kent walking through crowds. Pan down from bow of ship to platform where launching ceremony will take place.

End of Reel 1.