HISTORICAL CALCULATIONS!

Before sound came to film, the frame rate (frames per second going through the projector) was about 16 frames per second. I say “about” because most early camera were hand-cranked and thus there were fluctuations in the speed of the film…. which is why a lot of silent films appear so jerky… Shamblejam takes place in 1907 and all films were still silent… Accordingly, Wally’s calculation is correct. At 16 frames a second that means 960 frames per minute – which means 4 minutes takes 3,840 frames!

(When sound later came in, everything changed because at 16 frames a second, the sound was wobbly! The only answer was to speed up the frame rate to 24 frames a second – which meant a LOT more drawing for animators!)