119:. Ultimately, the BBC concluded that a television image was not covered by existing copyright law and replied to Cura giving him permission to proceed but to "only photograph the television image of individual artists who have instructed you to do so prior to their television appearance, and that you do not give or sell the photographs to anyone other than the artist in question". Cura often ignored this restriction, however, frequently sending tele-snaps to artists on spec in the hope of attracting business from them. Many of his clients were BBC programme makers who found his photographs useful records of their work.
111:, combined his twin passions of photography and electronics and began to experiment with developing a camera that could take pictures from a television screen. He eventually came up with a mechanism that took half-frame 18×24 mm images on 35 mm film (i.e. the same format as in 35 mm motion picture cameras), at a speed of 1/25th of a second.
212:. His widow offered her late husband's collection of tele-snaps to the BBC but was turned down. It is believed that they were subsequently destroyed. However, many copies of tele-snaps survive on broadcasters' production files and in the private collections of many of the artists and technicians whose work Cura photographed.
205:" as well as a wide range of newspapers and periodicals. However, when Cura raised the prices for his service in 1964, the BBC ordered a review of the tele-snap service, which at this stage was costing them £1,300 per annum, and, with many programmes now routinely recorded on film or video, the business began to decline.
426:"Emily told us that when John died she got in touch with the BBC and said, "I've got a garage full of photos, do you want them?" and an executive said, "We're moving forward, Mrs Cura, not backwards." Emily told us she was so upset that she destroyed the lot." – Teddie Beverley, quoted in Lewisohn,
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Tele-snaps have been used to reconstruct lost television shows by marrying up the tele-snaps with audio recordings of missing shows to create a slide-show backed by the programme's soundtrack. Most notably, this technique has been employed, on an amateur, not-for-profit basis, by some enthusiasts of
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In 1951, Cura came once again to the attention of the BBC's lawyers when he requested that he be allowed to photograph entire BBC productions, writing that his service "enables you to have a permanent pictorial record for valuable reference in years to come, of series which have a brief life of an
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for its DVD release in 2006. Since at the time of release no soundtrack for the missing episodes of this serial exists, this reconstruction is backed by music used in the serial with on-screen captions employed to narrate the story. (the full soundtrack of the partially-existing episode 7 was
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in 1955. A second television set was purchased and a second camera constructed to enable Cura to photograph both channels. Cura also enjoyed success with two best-selling books on improving television reception and correcting picture faults, which were illustrated with his tele-snaps. He also
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Once satisfied with his process, Cura wrote to the BBC on 11 September 1947 enclosing samples of his work and requesting permission to exploit the images commercially. Cura's request caused considerable consternation in the BBC's legal department who were concerned about
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were developed in the 1950s. Even after the technology for recording programmes had become the norm, it was a common practice, due to a combination of the costs of storage and restrictions on broadcasting repeats, for UK broadcasters to
46:, at an exposure of 1/25th of a second. Generally around 70–80 tele-snaps were taken of each programme. They were mostly purchased by actors and directors to use as records and examples of their work before the prevalence of
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In the early days of television, the means of making recordings of television programmes were limited and programmes were, in the main, transmitted live. This began to change as techniques for recording programmes onto film
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hour or so and are then lost forever". The BBC had also been contacted by several newspapers at this time, looking for permission to use Cura's tele-snaps—especially after it transpired that Cura had taken the only image of
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327:(with the surviving parts represented by the original episodes and surviving footage) have also been included in the subsequent DVD releases of the animated versions.
38:, England; 9 April 1902 – 21 April 1969). From 1947 until 1968, Cura ran a business selling the 250,000-plus tele-snaps he took. The photographs were snapped in
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for the MP3 CD release of that story in 2005. This reconstruction was later included in the DVD release of an animated version of the serial in 2016.
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169:. By 1959, Cura claimed to have taken over 250,000 tele-snaps and that sets of his tele-snaps had been "presented to and graciously accepted by the
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From an early age, Cura had been interested in electronics and photography, developing a reputation among his family as a "
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regarding the issue. Although a revised
Copyright Bill was enacted in 1956, it did little to curtail Cura's activities.
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Cura's business was at its peak in the mid-fifties, his business having doubled overnight following the launch of
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programmes after transmission. As a result, John Cura's tele-snaps are often the only surviving record of many
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of their appearance. From the 1990s onwards, tele-snaps have often been used by groups of fans to recreate
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A condensed reconstruction of the missing episodes of the 1961 science fiction serial
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have been included as extras on the Region 2 DVDs of the series released by
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Nothing at the End of the Lane. The
Magazine of Doctor Who Research and Restoration
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Missing
Believed Wiped. Searching for the lost treasures of British Television
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666:"'The Macra Terror' DVD and Blu-Ray cover art and special features revealed"
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A brief (15-minute) reconstruction of episodes two and three of the
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Narrated reconstructions of episodes from the first season of
806:(June 2005). "John Cura – Photographer of the Lost Archive".
691:"'The Faceless Ones' cover art and special features revealed"
640:"The Power of the Daleks DVD artwork and extras unveiled"
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A condensed (30-minute) reconstruction of the seven-part
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161:. Celebrity clients of the tele-snaps service included
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Robinson, Bruce; Franks, Robert, eds. (11 July 1998).
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Robinson, Bruce; Franks, Robert, eds. (10 May 1998).
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Similar full reconstructions of all four episodes of
265:A full reconstruction of the final episode of the
236:lost programmes from the early years of television
467:. London: British Film Institute. pp. 5–10.
155:appeared on the BBC's television panel game show
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716:Roberts, Steve; Ayres, Mark (15 November 2005).
581:Roberts, Steve; Montagu, Ralph (November 2000).
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16:British television photos produced by John Cura
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340:for the DVD release, "The Beginning", in 2006.
53:For many early programmes tele-snaps are the
905:1968 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
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415:John Cura – Photographer of the Lost Archive
402:John Cura – Photographer of the Lost Archive
389:John Cura – Photographer of the Lost Archive
77:A sequence of tele-snaps from the missing
900:1947 establishments in the United Kingdom
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521:"History of the Reconstructions Part II"
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613:"Doctor Who: News: Power of the Daleks"
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490:"History of the Reconstructions Part I"
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638:McEwan, Cameron K (26 October 2016).
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99:following the hiatus imposed by the
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440:Henderson, Andy (20 January 2007).
242:the British science fiction series
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749:"The Andromeda Anthology – Review"
747:Couzens, Gary (2 September 2006).
463:Fiddy, Dick (2001). "Background".
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817:"John Cura: Snapshots of History"
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865:Television in the United Kingdom
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428:John Cura: Snapshots of History
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617:BBC – Official Doctor Who site
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810:. No. 2. pp. 11–20.
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91:inventor". In June 1946, the
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718:"The Beginning – DVD Boxset"
321:and episodes 1 & 3-7 of
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556:Doctor Who Restoration Team
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297:, episodes 2,4,5 and 6 of
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846:episodes using tele-snaps
779:The Avengers Declassified
444:. Lost British Television
442:"The First TV Recordings"
350:subsequently recovered).
143:overhauled to give them
880:Television preservation
821:Copyright Literacy Blog
583:"'The Cybermen' Boxset"
318:The Power of the Daleks
285:The Power of the Daleks
127:'s boat sinking during
48:videocassette recorders
324:The Evil of the Daleks
315:, all six episodes of
303:, all six episodes of
173:; Their Majesties the
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40:half of a normal frame
885:Lost television shows
875:Television technology
216:Cultural significance
129:that year's Boat Race
83:episode "The Prophet"
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55:only surviving record
870:Photography by genre
842:Photonovels of lost
531:on 27 September 2007
527:(13). Archived from
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496:(12). Archived from
137:Houses of Parliament
728:on 30 December 2006
593:on 20 November 2007
562:on 21 November 2007
131:between Oxford and
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890:British inventions
802:Bignell, Richard;
552:"The Ice Warriors"
306:Fury from the Deep
97:television service
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80:Out of the Unknown
785:on 14 August 2011
697:. 8 February 2020
300:The Faceless Ones
203:Eleanor Roosevelt
195:Winston Churchill
103:. Cura, recently
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364:References
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332:Doctor Who
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133:Cambridge
117:copyright
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