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Fitchburg: Tiny Otis Hydraulic Main Elevator @ McKay Campus School, FSU (w/White Balance EPIC FAIL)

1,305 views · Published 18 August 2011 · 1:56 · Indexed 23 October 2026

Channel: georgef551 · 2011 · Science & Technology

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This elevator was one of both in this building, I was intriqued about 32 years ago, but too scared to ride elevators back then. That all ended today.
This is the TINY Otis Hydraulic Elevator, at the imediate entry (Entrance A) of McKay Campus Teaching Elementary School, Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
This is the crown jewel of FSU, as it was the pinacle of their cirriculum for many years, to train new teachers, by actually teaching grade school kids.
Since this building is no longer solely a Grade School, I went in to record this, as this part also is used for the Performing Arts.
Anyway, the elevator is tiny, and rides fairly well, but you can tell it's getting old, and worn.
There's an MAJOR EPIC WHITE BALANCE FAIL during the ride, where the camera thinks the yellowish cab should be white, and corrects, BIG. The end result, psychadelic.
This is actually very understandable, and makes PERFECT SENSE, because when you record outside on a cloudy day, or in twilight, the outside is tinged blue, so even flourescent lighted windows appear a brownish-yellow. When you step into that lighting, it realizes that color is wrong, and balances it to be white (correct). The yellowish color of the cab is EXACTLY the same as the ill-conceived thought of stepping from the outside, into a white room, so it balanced the color to make the elevator appear white, and everything else is just weird. I get the balance almost back to normal, but then it goes back to weird again. It almost, but never fully recovered until I was done.
This elevator will really mess with white balance on any camera, if it doesn't know better. :)

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