arriflex time lapse motor, very vintage

[Michael Leake]

I would like information if anyone has some on:

an Arriflex time lapse motor manufactured by 'Camera Equipment Co., New York City, model 440-A and Motor controller Model 440.  I purchased on eBay. It was a very good price.

If there is someone who has used one of these, can you let me know  How they work.  What I know from plugging them in is:

It appears to have 2 speed, 4 frames per second(marked ¼ on the motor) and 2 frames per second(marked ½ on the motor).

I am guessing at this..It may a continuous 4 or 2 frame per second setting as there is a switch marked 'stop motion or continuous' on the motor 

controller box.  There may be a timed iris/shutter cover for the lens which co-ordinates with the time lapse, but I did not get that devise.

 

[Aaron Yang]

Hi Michael, do u know what camera is this for or could this work on ARRI IIC?

Thanks

Aaron

[Mark Dunn]

2 hours ago, Aaron Yang said:

Hi Michael, do u know what camera is this for or could this work on ARRI IIC?

Thanks

Aaron

This is an old post, but I believe it's for a 16S. The giveaway is the shiny knob which engages with the motor mechanism.

[Michael Leake]

the time lapse motor will only work on ARRI 16S series.

[Duncan Brown]

Yes it would need the capability for a capping shutter - is the connection for that on the motor?  I don't see it on the control box (assuming that the connector on the control box is for a trigger switch for single frame or to turn on the rig when in continuous mode,)

Is the 1/4 and 1/2 setting on the motor a gearbox shifter?

This all looks very similar (though cruder) to the Arri US animation/timelapse motor, which I believe was also made in NY.  I wonder if this one led to that one through some path?

Duncan

[Tim Carroll]

Looks a lot like the one ARRI made:

The ARRI Single Frame Motor with Control Console (Cat. No. 339 337) is the latest version of the single frame motor for the Arriflex 16S. From the ARRI catalog, "The Single Frame Motor has every essential capability required for single frame operation. The Motor may be programmed so that one frame cycle is completed on a single pulse. Exposure times of 1/8, 1/4, or 1/2 second may be selected. The Motor may also be programmed to go through one-half cycle on one pulse, stopping with the camera shutter open, and to complete the cycle on a second pulse, stopping with the camera shutter closed again. This capability makes possible extended time exposures. Features include: Contacts for strobe flash synchronization; frame counter; forward and reverse operation; stop motion or continuous operation; remote control via a programmed intervalometer."

[Kamran Pakseresht]

An animator friend had asked if I could build an animation motor for the Arri 16s and I replied that I hadn’t thought about it before but I assume you would have to “configure” or “pre-set” the motor to understand where the start or end of a full frame of exposure was and then from there you could just tap a button and move forward a single frame.

Am I correct in this assumption or does anyone have any more insight into how these animation motors became aware of where in their rotation cycle a single frame starts/ends? Without knowing that I’d imagine they’d run the risk of stopping with the shutter in the open position.

Edited December 15, 2024 by Kamran Pakseresht

[Duncan Brown]

Yes, there is a known number of rotations of the input rubber coupling to one frame cycle at the pawl and shutter.  (I forget off the top of my head.  Maybe 3:1?)  So, as long as your rubber coupling isn't old and slipping, you'd just have your animation motor spin one shutter cycle worth per press of the button, and as long as you assembled the motor to the camera when the shutter was closed, then it would work perfectly from there.

The reason for the capping shutter is that the Arri "shutter" is just the mirror moving and blocking the direct path from lens to film.  The film is never blocked by a traditional close-by light-tight shutter.  This works just fine at speed, not so fine with the camera sitting around with bright lights coming through the lens for seconds or minutes between frames exposed.  Sure there's matte black paint everywhere inside the cavity, but low levels of light can still get to the film.  (The same reason you need port caps in any un-lensed holes in the turret!)

Duncan

Edited December 20, 2024 by Duncan Brown

[Steve Switaj]

On 12/15/2024 at 6:41 AM, Kamran Pakseresht said:

An animator friend had asked if I could build an animation motor for the Arri 16s and I replied that I hadn’t thought about it before but I assume you would have to “configure” or “pre-set” the motor to understand where the start or end of a full frame of exposure was and then from there you could just tap a button and move forward a single frame.

Am I correct in this assumption or does anyone have any more insight into how these animation motors became aware of where in their rotation cycle a single frame starts/ends? Without knowing that I’d imagine they’d run the risk of stopping with the shutter in the open position.

I worked with a lot of this stuff back in the day, and most of the gear built after the early 90's (when digital electronics finally made it viable) used stepper motors, which were simply controlled to ramp up, run for a set number of steps, then ramp to a stop with the correct number of turns. There is usually a way to jog the motor slowly until you're at center-shutter-closed then zero out the count.

As long as the accelerations are moderate and nothing mechanical slips, this is very reliable.

Back before the steppers they usually used a geared-down synchronous AC motor, with a cam switch that would open after the right number of turns. You would close a switch that that paralleled the cam switch to start the motor, which would then turn the requisite number of times to shoot one or two frames, then the cam switch would open, stopping the motor.

The motor would have to be timed to the camera when installed, that is, it would have to be installed such that it's stopped position was at center-shutter-closed.

Assuming your animator friend is using some kind of video assist, they are probably familiar with DragonFrame, an extremely popular animation product. If they are, Dragon offers a couple of pretty easy ways to control step motors using an external Ardunio via their ARC Moco extension (conveniently already included in the base price).

If you're doing animation, you kind of have to be picky about cameras. Many spinning-mirror cameras don't really seal out light all that well, and some tiny bit leaks around the shutter. For normal operation the film moves through the gate quickly and this is not an issue, but for animation and timelapse, where the film sits in the gate for a long period between exposures,  you can have issues.

You can use an external capping shutter, but then you can't see through the finder, so if you're doing serious animation or timelapse you want a focal-plane shutter. 

One of the go-to cameras for animation was the Mitchell standard rackover, which also comes in a 16mm version. These can usually be bought more cheaply than an S or M, because they are older and seen as an antique and less obviously a 'valuable' movie camera (Though, oddly, Mitchell standards were built into the very late 70's, long after the last Arri S or M rolled off the line)

On the other hand, Will Vinten shot a whole lot of work back in the day on 16mm Bolex Rex's, equipped with step motors driven by Thing-M controllers. (Bolexes also having a focal-plane shutter)

Edited December 22, 2024 by Steve Switaj