Conceived and developed with renowned UCLA Mathematics professor Ray Redheffer, this is an animated demonstration of the distributive and associative processes in Algebra. Stop motion animation of cutout characters and symbols tells the story. Music by Laurindo Almeida. 4 minutes.
In 1970, the Eames Office developed two new designs for plastic chairs, using a new formulation of fiberglass that made it possible to make the chair seats and backs of plastic resin with the shock mount connection molded-in, instead of being applied after the molding process. The two-piece secretarial chair came in three versions, the…
This film was produced to present the Eames proposal to make an American Revolution Bicentennial celebration. The exhibition would compare and contrast the lives of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, providing a cinematic trip for the viewer through the exhibit, using animation, live-action, and still photography. It was later used by the USIA to provide…
Using both live-action footage and film shot from stills and slides, this film traces the social, religious, and economic development of America from its first years of colonization to the beginnings of industrialization. According to the film, “The impetus of technological innovation would carry Americans into a new wilderness of commerce and production.” Council on…
Created with imagery taken from the 19th-Century Japanese woodcuts on display in the Smithsonian Institution’s exhibition “The Japanese Expedition 1852-1866 of Commodore Matthew Perry,” the film records the opening of the country to Western trade from a Japanese perspective. In Charles’ words, the film “shows something of the special and rare situations that existed when…
Tall Ships is a 108-image, 3-screen (36-pass) slide show. The images were photographed during the tall ships procession into New York City’s harbor on July 4, 1976, in honor of the American Revolution bicentennial. Charles and staff member Richard Donges, who were installing The World of Franklin and Jefferson exhibition in Chicago, went to New…
A rich documentation of the invention and exciting potential to be found in the then new and revolutionary Polaroid camera. For many, the Eameses have been always associated with this product because of their full embrace of its technology. Several uses for the camera are demonstrated, and its operation is made clear for the viewer….
This film demonstrates a new Polaroid camera with an automatic sonar-based focusing system, examining the technology and exploring its development. Music by Donald Specht. 8 minutes.
A film of world-class Japanese sumo wrestler, Jesse Takamiyama, and his hairdresser, engaged in the step-by-step process of arranging the wrestler’s traditional coiffure. Born in Hawaii, Takamiyama was renowned as the first foreign wrestler to be honored in Japan. The discipline of preparing and dressing the hair according to a traditional set of rules, is…
Charles Eames is widely considered one of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century, and in this film he expresses his own philosophy of picture taken by emphasizing the advantages of immediacy through the use of instant photography. Charles considered the camera to be an indispensable tool – a way to have your cake and…
In this film, close-ups show the details and construction of the Eames Soft Pad chairs – the leather, stitching, hardware, and the connections used to join them. An important document by the makers of this chair, which is still a perennial best seller, and is included in many permanent museum collections. Music by Buddy Collette….
The Eames Office created the graphics above to accompany Charles and Ray’s famous 1977 film, Powers of Ten. People still enjoy watching and showing the film today to better understand the importance of scale in our everyday lives.
