Bruce McNaughton

You should have a discussion with Fotokem. I have had a long running problem with a 'stickiness' issue with them. In a looping system the film just will not slip against itself until I treat it with a solvent. Fotokem have never given me any satisfactory answer and "we have never had this problem before" just isn't helpful. It seems that your 'cinch' marks are another lab issue. But don't expect any resolution...

Open letter to all members This may be of interest to those of you who are ‘fighting' the digital reaper and hoping to continue to use magnificent film. Many of you know that we are specialists in camera conversion, especially in the Techniscope format and also in Super 16. The Aranda Group in Melbourne Australia has been of service to the film industry for many years now but with this unstoppable and extraordinarily rapid swing to digital we are approaching the cessation of these services. We still receive a trickle of enquiries for conversions but as the cost of film cameras plummets the fixed price of our service conversely appears to be disproportionately high. So this is the situation. We have a few parts on the shelf for Arri 1,2,3 conversions. When these are depleted, we do not plan any further manufacture. We will listen to a client or a consortium of clients who has/have two or more cameras to be simultaneously converted but the manufacture of the very intricate and expensive parts for a single conversion is no longer viable. On our shelves we have 4 cameras converted to 2 perf Techniscope. These are for sale. 2 Arriflex 2C models and 1 each Mitchell Mark 2 and S35R models. We have priced these so low that the cameras are free, only the conversion cost applies. If you wish to discuss anything our email is bruce@arandafilm.com.au Please allow me to thank all members who have dealt with us over the years when film was king Regards Bruce McNaughton The Aranda Group Melbourne

Hi Leo Yes we convert BL4 models to 2 perf. These are permanent conversions, unable to return to 4 perf due to machining work on the camera movement and magazine drive system. We do not supply a conversion kit. Regards Bruce

These Zoom lenses were pretty well all that were available in the late fifties. When the Angenieux 10:1 came out in the early sixties it was such a great lens with a fantastic zoom range that the Som Berthiots were all but retired. And a good thing too. They were a horrible lens. The only nice feature was the zoom control, being a forward/back lever. It was very very nice and sadly has not been employed by others since. The quality of the Som Berthiot was so bad that it was used ONLY when a zoom shot was required and then pulled off the camera instantly. The images would not intercut with primes unless you were using dirty Schneiders or clean Kinoptics but if you needed a zoom shot you had no choice... Now you know why they are so cheap. Bruce

If you not shooting studio sound you simply cannot get a better camera than the Arri 2C. These days quite cheap and the most reliable MOS camera ever made. We add OCT19 mounts to these and have a couple available with anamorphic gates AND anamorphic desqueezing viewfinder optics... If you want higher speeds than 50 you can go to an Arri 3 If you are shooting sound then your hope of a 'handheld' camera diminishes and Arri BL comes to the fore. All convert to OCT 19 mounts and are the best workhorse cameras in the world. Bruce

I'm sure that all power tool batteries will do the job equally well. Maybe I like the bright yellow 'hard to misplace' colour of the DeWalts...

I advise all of my clients to run down to either the power tool shop and buy a DeWalt 18V battery and charger or just pick up a 12V and a 6V sealed lead acid pair. The latter will cost some $30 from Radio Shack, 3, 4, 5 amp hour capacity is fine. 18V will spin an Arri very well, it will not overheat a governed motor and it will give the full range of speeds up to 50 fps on a wild motor. You can use 12V on either motor but not with the versatility of 18V. Regards Bruce

This speed control is a very basic wire wound resistor which is swept by a spring loaded device. The wire wound surface is not broken because you are getting some voltage. Well it may be broken at the "6" point but unlikely. But it may be dirty. Most likely though is that the spring loaded device is not making contact either because it is worn away or that the spring is jammed or has lost its tension. You can take the bottom off the motor and check out these possibilities. Regards Bruce

Sometimes the light bounces between the lens and the film. If your lens has a silver rear or just a large rear element (like Nikons) the image can reflect beck into the lens and back again into the film. I noticed this on our VistaVision cameras before we blackened the rear of the lenses. Bruce

We do a video tap in the APEC door of a BL16 But at $1800 for colour, it's a little more expensive than Du-All Bruce

Well I wish them good luck. It's the exact opposite direction that I believe the we should be taking with film recording equipment Bruce

Not a hope in hell. The Konvas lightweight motor would burn out instantly trying to drive a heavy NC

I really get so annoyed when I read that this and that equipment is 'so heavy' that you need four million crew to move it. Crews today have never had it so good but they complain more than ever before. No one ever complained when the BNC Mitchell shot 85% of the world's films. Now no one can lift it. Maybe that says a lot about both the physical and mental state of industry members. Similarly when the only colour film speed was 50ASA no one bitched. They made it work and produced fantastic images. Last week someone was complaining that an Arri 3 was too heavy to use effectively and some time ago someone counselled against using the 'elephant' of a 16BL. These may be the same people who want to light a scene with 3 redheads because anything else is too hard to lift. The XR35 was the first 'lightweight studio camera'. The Panaflex was introduced at around the same time ( and now this is too heavy for some.) The XR was a noisy camera. It was an NC in a magnesium blimp with a motor that was under powered. Many burnt out. Absolutely excellent images of course and a simple, easy camera to use. But, introduced in 1974 it did not have the electronic sophistication that is now available. 24 and 25 synch and a range of variable speeds, controlled by a pot up to 32 fps. I owned 2 of the 25 made. 2 perf was not offered by CP. An NC 2 perf gate, camshaft and gears can be fitted. We have these. Regards Bruce

Dear Annie If this excites you you would have more fun than you can handle in any of my cupboards... This is the guts of a BL16 Wait until you get a peek at a BL35... Bruce

The Arri 2C has had an unsqueezing element available since 1965. That was one of the changes that occurred from 2B to 2C. The larger, circular section at the front of the camera door houses this element. It can be swung in and out as well as serving to close the viewing tube. Bruce

Second rate, ego charged, rude, arrogant, paranoid, unstable and undisciplined people have no currency on serious film sets.

Yes but you would need a governor, which is a make and break device found in a constant speed motor. Bruce

The motor can be re-set to 24 but you will need to get into the governor and set it using a strobe light for speed confirmation. You will need to do this with the motor attached to the camera and read the speed from the movement because the motor does not run 1:1 with the camera. Bruce

Hi Try Ebay item number: 320312821289 Regards Bruce

Seems that I worked out how to do it... This is a recent CM3 conversion to super 35 3 perf. It also has a hard front, new handle, video assist, new paint and our 5000 motor and electronics. There is another nearing completion. Regards Bruce http://www.cinematography.com/forum2004/st.../attach_add.png http://www.cinematography.com/forum2004/st.../attach_add.png

I think I'll have to start paying you guys for these glowing endorsements... I am trying to post a photograph of the CM3 with our new motor etc... Can anyone tell me how to succeed at this? I have reduced and reduced the file to a mere 79KB but the upload failed due to the file being "too large" even though it seems that the system will accept 2MB. I even compressed it down to 36KB with the same result. I have had very little satisfaction trying to place photos in this forum. But I am no genius at the keyboard... Regards Bruce

Hi We manufacture a 5000 speed crystal motor for most cameras. We have certainly made some for the CM3 Regards Bruce

Dear Kevin I have several. They are a little cosmetically shabby but I intend to repaint them and add a nice aluminium panel on the lid, similar to the latest 500 ft units. Bruce

Hi gang The parts for the 2 perf conversion of 2C and 2B are the same except that the ground glass is a different size. With the 2B there is a little more work required in fitting a gear to the vertical drive shaft. Conversion is reversible. We supply a new changeover gate, complete new movement and ground glass for 2 perf but if an original gate is available along with an original ground glass, the camera can be converted back. We keep the old movements and have a cupboard full of these. The machining of the camera body will not affect the reinstatement of original parts. Regards Bruce

Dear Bruce I wish... Merry Christmas Bruce