Telecine

[Pavan Deep]

I am being offeered a Rank telecine machine (digi 4 I think) with a Super 8 gate. I need help as I dont really know what to look for and how much to pay for it. If I bought it I will charge very little for transfers to amatuer and semi - professional filmmakers. Also if I bought it would I get customers everyone I talk to seem to be singin the praises of HD.

 

Pav

[Clive Tobin]

I am being offeered a Rank telecine machine...

 

A Rank is not a plug-and-play device like a VCR. There are literally hundreds of adjustments in it which take instruments and test films to set correctly, and the flying spot tube does not last terribly long and costs at last report $7,000 plus labor cost to replace. This will prevent you from offering low rates as you will need to save up your pennies for buying the new tube. I suspect that if it is for sale it may already need one. An old tube is unsharp and has shading errors (dark or light patches) in the picture.

 

To transfer from negative for critical customers you will need a clean room and humidified environment with ultrasonic full-immersion film cleaners and a solvent recovery plant, unless there is a film lab close by that will do telecine prep and cleaning for you. The Rank we had required a nearly full-time technician (me) to keep it working as there was a BC107 (?) transistor failing about every few days, requiring component level troubleshooting. (This however was 22+ years ago so maybe they have improved since then.) I would liken owning a personal Rank to owning a pet elephant.

 

Regular 16mm is dying as everything serious is going to super-16 and HD. The same may happen to super-8.

[Will Montgomery]

To transfer from negative for critical customers you will need a clean room and humidified environment with ultrasonic full-immersion film cleaners and a solvent recovery plant, unless there is a film lab close by that will do telecine prep and cleaning for you. The Rank we had required a nearly full-time technician (me) to keep it working as there was a BC107 (?) transistor failing about every few days, requiring component level troubleshooting. (This however was 22+ years ago so maybe they have improved since then.) I would liken owning a personal Rank to owning a pet elephant.

 

Plus, you'll need the The Illudium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator!

[Hal Smith]

I am being offeered a Rank telecine machine (digi 4 I think) with a Super 8 gate. I need help as I dont really know what to look for and how much to pay for it. If I bought it I will charge very little for transfers to amatuer and semi - professional filmmakers. Also if I bought it would I get customers everyone I talk to seem to be singin the praises of HD.

Pav

Where are you located?

[Sean McHenry]

Plus, you'll need the The Illudium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator!

 

 

Yeah, that and the new version of the flux capacitor! (The old ones tended to leak)

 

: ) Sean

 

(I had to)

Edited October 18, 2006 by Sean McHenry

[Pavan Deep]

Hi

 

Thank you all for your comments. I am based in the Midlands (UK), I use film from time to time to time and worked in the independent sector but now run an amateuer/semi-professional film group. The guy where I telecine my films (Super8 and Super 16) just said out of the blue that he wants to sell his machine and asked if I am interested, its a major thing but this has made me think. Could it be worth looking into, and what sort of things do I need to look out for such as tubes etc.

 

Pav

[Bryan Darling]

Just to be aware, the DaVinci color corrector is around $100k. Then you'll need decks to connect with it, etc. The question becomes why is he getting rid of it? If you don't have a pretty hefty experience with the workings video equipment, video signals, and this machine I would advise against it. It can become a 1000lb gorrilla paper weight. If this is something you are truly, really, wanting to do then I'd suggest finding a job and/or mentor in a lab that will give you the opportunity to learn and use such equipment.