The Augustas

The Augustas (filmed in the 1930s and the 1940s) is a home movie made by Scott Nixon, a traveling insurance agent from Augusta, Georgia and an avid member of the Amateur Cinema League who enjoyed recording his life and travels on film.[1] It lasts approximately 16 minutes.

The Augustas
Directed byScott Nixon
Written byScott Nixon
CinematographyScott Nixon
Edited byScott Nixon
Running time
16 minutes
CountryUnited States

The silent film documents approximately 38 cities, towns, and locations named "Augusta" across the Eastern, Midwestern, Central, and Southern United States. Arranged in no specific order, the film strings together brief scenes and shots of these communities, indicated through intertitles, postcards, or the point of a pencil on a train timetable or road map.[2] The scenes vary, ranging from street scenes and landscapes to shots focusing on local businesses, post offices, train stations, business signs, street signs (typically town signs or fingerposts), and prominent buildings in each town, most of which usually have "Augusta" featured.

Nixon recorded The Augustas using both 8 mm and 16 mm movie cameras loaded with both black-and-white and color film stock. Throughout his life, Nixon recorded over 76,000 feet of film. His work, including The Augustas, currently resides in the collection of the University of South Carolina.[3][4]

Nixon later made a similar film, Augustas of the USA, around the 1960s. Approximately 5 minutes in length, Augustas of the USA features significantly less "Augustas", with many appearing in name only, but includes new footage, including aerial views from a small plane and scenes in Augusta, Georgia.[5][6]

National Film Registry

In 2012, The Augustas was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[7][8]

References
  1. Cooley, Heidi Rae (2014). Finding Augusta: Habits of Mobility and Governance in the Digital Era. Dartmouth College Press. ISBN 978-1-61168-523-7.
  2. "2012 National Film Registry Picks in A League of Their Own". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  3. "Collection: Scott Nixon home movies | ArchivesSpace Public Interface". archives.library.sc.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  4. "The Augustas--Nixon--home movies, 1930 | ArchivesSpace Public Interface". archives.library.sc.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  5. "Augustas of the USA--Nixon--home movies, no date | ArchivesSpace Public Interface". archives.library.sc.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  6. "Augustas of the USA--Nixon--home movies". digital.tcl.sc.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  7. Press Release: Cinematic Firsts Enshrined in 2012 Film Registry
  8. "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2020-09-16.


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