Foxcats aka cutaways

As very many do here, I enjoy watching the many steam loco videos that get posted.

All has come a long way from the days I filmed, produced and sold steam videos I filmed in South Africa, Germany (n.g) and Austria (n.g) in the later 1980s to mid 1990s. Initially using consumer video 8 cameras and editing equipment, progressing onto all professional Hi-8 gear which generally meant adding at least a 0 onto the end of the cost of the best of the consumer equivalent, where it existed. Virtually all was from Sony. But the quality difference between consumer and pro gear was staggering. Exampled by the only major mistake I made in camera purchasing, when, to give me a back up/ extra angles of the same train on overseas trips I purchased a Sony 3 chip consumer hi 8 camera. From memory that cost around £3000 when the best one chip consumer cameras were around £1000. I don't think I used it for more than a few minutes of one Hi-8 tape as the difference was so far below my pro Hi-8 camera quality that anything more than 3 second cutaway was very obvious indeed when editing films together.

That background from me introduces cutaways, and that is one area I always look at when watching the lovely videos posted here. The current trend seems to use several, with each quite long to give a smooth visual transition between the steam loco action scenes. I usually went for the short and very relevant approach; a milepost, gradient post, signal, station name, road signpost to a location I filmed at etc. Or an eagle perched on a power line post, or a harrier flying low near the railway as it hunted - usually adding a single sentence in the commentary to mention it. Although in Germany I eased back on filming the village name signs planted either side of villages as on one occasion my standing by the busy road with a large camera pointing at the name sign - where the 50 km limits start- had a significant impact on approaching traffic - much panic braking!

But cutaways, when did they start and what were they called? My early research over 30 years ago, found more than one online 'answer' reporting that it was someone with the name of Fox, presumably William Fox who formed Fox Film Corporation, aka Fox Studios around 1915. He/his Film Corporation started filming cats to use as short cutaways, leading to their initial name of 'Foxcats'. A name I still think of when watching steam videos here - even though I never managed to film one as a cutaway.

Sadly that name and its history doesn't seem to have kept its place in history by being searchable online with Google. Maybe someone here can prove me wrong on that?

Bryan