Jerry Murrel

Geovane, Sorry for the late reply - didn't see this until today. I would be doing Axel a disservice if I quoted the price - every camera is in different condition, and your camera may need more or less work than mine did. What I can tell you is that I'm very happy with the work he did, and consider it an honor to have had him rebuild it. I think if you give Axel the chance to work on your camera, you will never regret it. Probably one of the best investments I've ever made. best regards, -Jerry Murrel

In terms of "ease of use" - Arri - hands down. If ease of use is the most important factor, don't overlook Moviecam. -Jerry Murrel camera assistant Los Angeles, CA

Jack, Suggest contacting Alan Albert at Clairmont Camera. He can more than likely refer you to an honest and reliable repair house in the LA area for your PAL DigiBeta, or they may have a tech there than can work on it. Alan and Denny Clairmont are tops in the industry - impeccable character and honesty. Hope you enjoy your stay. Clairmont Camera 4343 Lankershim Blvd., No. Hollywood, CA 91602 Phone: (818) 761-4440 Fax: (818) 761-0861 email: Hollywood@Clairmont.com best regards, -Jerry Murrel Little Rock, AR

Thanks to Chris Keth, Brian Drysdale and John Sprung for sharing your knowledge here. I really appreciate each one of you taking the time to respond. I guess my follow-up question on this subject would be about the Fostex FR2LE - given that it doesn't generate SMPTE Timecode, would it still run at a constant speed; that is constant enough to keep the audio in sync with the crystal-controlled camera motor? I'm also wondering if buying an old analog Nagra might turn out to be even more expensive in the long run, considering maintenance and repair issues... -Jerry Murrel Little Rock, AR

I've got a question about audio - not sure which forum to post to. Most of what I've shot myself has been MOS - but I'd like to buy a field recorder to use with my Arri 35BL. I'm under the impression (perhaps misguided) that I need to buy a recorder with SMPTE TimeCode generation capabilities. I've considered the Fostex FR2LE and some Marantz models, but I don't think these generate timecode. Is it really necessary to have timecode to keep audio in sync with film? My camera motor is crystal controlled and frame accurate, but didn't foks use Nagras for years and still maintain sync? Surely the old analog reel to reel Nagras didn't have timecode, did they? If I'm not using a Deneke timecode slate, is it really necessary to spend the extra money something more expensive like the Sound Design model? I realize the film stock has timecode and keycode - is it worth the extra expense to have timecode on my recorder also? -Jerry Murrel Little Rock, AR

I just purchased an Arri-16BL from Ken Stone several months ago. Sent it to Axel Broda, who did a marvelous job of rebuilding the camera. Camera still had the original white grease from the factory - thankfully no one had screwed with it and Axel was able to restore it to show-room condition! I must agree with Tim - Axel is incredible, and it was a pleasure talking with him. I will be sending him my 35BL-1 next for restoration. The question of converting the 16BL to Super 16 has come up in this forum several times. According to Axel, one would be better off buying an Arri 16 SR for S16. Axel was kind enough to even mark my ground glass with 1:85 markings for telecine extraction/masking. I can stand a little grain, and today's fine grain film stocks make shooting in 1:85 a viable option. BTW- Tim, Axel asked about you - wanted to know where you were and what you are up to. He'd be happy to hear from you. best regards, -Jerry Murrel

This is really sad news. I recall talking to Mr. Kovacs several years ago at the ASC Open House. I recall that he told me he would vote for Conrad Hall in the Best Cinematography category for the 2003 Academy Awards. That is the way Mr. Kovacs was. He was candid, direct, and honest and I never saw him act rude towards anyone, or fail to take the time to answer any questions an admiring fan might have. I don't know why the LA Times hasn't picked this story up yet. How sad that we must read this in the New York Times and the Hollywood Reporter (before the hometown newspaper). -Jerry Murrel 1st AC Los Angeles

Hi David, Do you have an idea as to what that hypothetical $150,000 S16 budget would increase to if one were to shoot 35mm instead? (with same small crew, and keeping same crew and talent...) -Jerry Murrel 1st camera assistant Los Angeles, CA

David, What can we ACs do in prep to make certain that the disaster which happened to Austin doesn't occur on one of our films? I typically do the magazine scratch test, but I don't believe that would have helped here. Is there an electronic device to test the shutter, or should one merely expose a few hundred feet of film? (Again, in Austin's case, he shot 3000 feet before the problem occured.) I really feel bad for Austin - his footage looks great except for the streaks. Hopefully this post will generate some ideas on how to prevent this from happening again. -Jerry Murrel AC, Los Angeles

I recently read on the Kodak cinematography website that two of my favorite film stocks have been discontinued. Kodak's 5248 EXR-100T was a wonderful stock to shoot daylight exteriors- fine grain, lot of latitude and it intercut well with interiors shot in 5279 (Vision 500T). I am going to miss this film stock dearly. Does anyone know why it was discontinued, and what Kodak stock serves as a decent replacement? Also, I've heard nothing but great things about Kodak's 5289 (Vision 800T) and had plans to shoot some night exterior pickup shots with the stock. Why would Kodak discontinue this stock? Will it be replaced by a Vision2 stock? Surely we are losing a valuable cinematic tool here and I find its sudden disappearance alarming. Is anyone taking note? -Jerry Murrel cinematographer and camera assistant Orange Coast Productions