And Hughes definitely said that he stopped filming the motorcade before any of the shots (Trask, p. 265) and resumed after they ended.
Hughes wrote that letter the same Friday evening of the assassination. He had not yet seen his film. And Hughes also wrote (Trask, p 265) “About half-way through all that, I realized what had happened and began taking pictures again. I may have some movies of the car leaving the scene, but there was so much confusion that I don’t really remember.
I have to disagree with your “resumed after they ended” phrase. About half-way through definitely isn’t the same as “after they ended.”
No matter how we argue what we think Hughes meant when he said such and such, the bottom line is that he said: “I don’t really remember.”
According to Dale Myers’ timeline, Hughes stopped filming the president’s car as it disappeared around the corner in front of the TSBD at -13.16 seconds before the head shot at Z313. I submit that that is the same moment that Hughes wrote that he “quit taking pictures.” I can imagine that that moment might be “remembered” due to the fact that it was the last time he photographed the president’s limo and he apparently intentionally stopped filming for a little over two seconds at that point in time.
“Stopped filming the motorcade” are words that you wrote. Hughes did not write those words. Technically Hughes filmed part of the “motorcade” on Elm Street long after the shots had ended. He also filmed the same part of the motorcade on Houston Street before and during at least one of the shots. He just didn’t “really remember” that sequence and had not yet seen his film when he wrote the letter.
Let’s take a look at that sequence on Houston Street. According to Dale Myers’ timeline, he started his movie camera back up at -11:10 seconds before Z313. He had only been filming for less than one-second when at -10:22 he stopped for 6-frames (~1/3-second). At -9:84 seconds before Z313 he resumed filming on Houston Street for almost 3-seconds then stopped at -7:00.
If we were to believe that what Hughes wrote (“About five seconds after I quit taking pictures we heard the shots”) was correct, then we would have to believe that the first shot occurred only two seconds before Z313. That’s a no-starter, -7:00 equates to Z185. JFK was obviously hit as we see him emerge from behind the sign at about A225. Five-seconds after Z185 (-7:00 before Z313) would be about Z276. Even your idea indicates that shot(s) were fired long before Z276. Clearly, Hughes was correct when he wrote: “I really don’t remember.”
Excellent post Charles. I never could understand how it could have been five seconds after he stopped filming on Houston that the first shot occurred. You have persuaded me that he wasn't sure about anything. So what you are saying is that Hughes was filming during the shots. So let's see how that fits with others.
It is odd that the official account of Hughes says he stopped filming the motorcade on Houston before the first shot. This is what is stated in the Sixth Floor Museum:
- "Original 8mm color home movie filmed by Robert Hughes, showing the presidential motorcade in Dealey Plaza before shots were fired and the aftermath immediately following the shooting. Hughes filmed the presidential motorcade until just a few seconds before the first shot, then captured some of the aftermath of the assassination, including police searching for suspects in a railroad yard and outside the Book Depository building. "
If you are right, we should be seeing in Hughes' some reaction of people along Houston and in the motorcade to a shot. But we don't. None. In fact, we can see Robert Jackson sitting on the back of the blue press convertible directly in front of the last car in Hughes film (white and red convertible):
Jackson said that as they rounded the corner he threw a film canister to a reporter waiting at the corner to and they were turned toward the fellow fetching the film off the road when the first shot sounded. We can see Jackson in that last frame and he shows no signs of reacting to a shot.
This frame from the Hughes film shows the VP Security car turning toward the TSBD:
I suggest that it shows the position of the car at this position:
which has the front of the VP Security Car even with the rounded curb to the left of the car. Looking at the Zapruder film the frame showing the VP security car in that position just even with the round curb is z145:
Now in Hughes' film, this frame is exactly
two seconds after the frame showing the turning VP Security car at frame z145:
Two seconds after z145 is
z182. (It is maybe as much as half a second before the last frame of Hughes on Houston). According to Jackson that is still before the first shot. So all of that puts the first shot after z191. Oddly enough, that fits with what Betzner said (after his z186 photo) and what Phil Willis said (just before his z202 photo).
