Webster Colcord

Very interesting, I had no idea about the difference in the shutter. I love my Bolex M and it has always produced great results but was also a bit of a mystery. My model has the flat base and 1-1 gear like the RX-4.

Responding to this ancient thread - I just acquired one of these Filmo "Superspeed" cameras. They weren't actually a modification, but a version of the camera that Bell & Howell made in (presumably) smaller numbers than the standard Filmo. I found a manual online which says that the full spring wind will shoot 15 feet of film at 128 fps. My camera came with a motor, but I'm more interested in shooting with the spring wind (at least for the first tests I'm going to shoot).

Here's a photo of it as it currently stands in Bruce Bickford's crowded garage studio.

On September 28th, 2019 I will be traveling to Seattle to dismantle a full-size 35mm Oxberry animation stand at the home of the late Bruce Bickford, who passed away a couple of months ago. Sorry I didn't post this sooner but over the last few months I have asked around extensively in the animation/VFX community, and some film schools, and no one has stepped forward to take it. We will, of course, salvage the camera but the bulk of the stand will be going to the scrap metal yard. One important thing to note is that it doesn't appear to have the original lenses. It has the focus cams - and the lenses may be on the premises - but currently there's a Nikkor lens on the camera. You would have to come to Seattle and pick it up in a moving truck. If you're interested, please contact me at my email address: wcolcord@gmail.com

For moves on flat art using old traditional animation stands, the stand only moves the camera toward or away-from the art. The rest of the axis were achieved by moving the art. In the old days there was often a pantograph off to the side of the platen which was used to plot out the move. If anyone wants a full-size Oxberry, in two weeks I have to dismantle one in Seattle and take it to the scrapyard. I have asked around extensively and no one has room for it - it's huge! We will, of course, salvage the camera. If you have After Effects you can do everything the Oxberry could do and more, on your laptop.

I have used a couple of the same motors with a relatively inexpensive 24V Lithium Ion power tool battery made by a company called Kobalt. There's an ebay seller who casts up "docks" for these batteries: Ebay Link It works great! Two things to remember: the speed governor on your Bolex will still be regulating the 24fps, so make sure that is set correctly. Also the Lithium-Ion batteries are a bit finicky. You kinda always have to keep it charged between uses, otherwise they can go bad. I have had to replace it once. Also make sure to insulate or cover your wires/connector when not in use, as 24V is a lot of juice and you don't inadvertently want to cause a short.

If I understand Keith's answer, which differs from but doesn't negate the validity of Bruce' answer, the larger lens allows more light to get in which in turn enables a wider minimum aperture (like T1.8)?

Simon, I don't know the CP well at all. Jeff Kreines set me straight on this: the CP movement was a copy of the Auricon movement (the patents were expired) with a few modifications. It was the precursor to the CP-16, the Frezzolini, that actually used bodies that were purchased for Auricon and (very) heavily modified. While on the subject of 16mm movements and pin registration; I recently picked up a Milliken high speed camera and have been examining its pin-register movement. Attached is a photo with the pressure plate removed. Have you taken a look at these before? If so, what is your opinion of the quality? The register pin coming in thru the back is similar to the Arri S, as I recall.

Does anyone know who got all this stuff? I just picked up one of these cameras and I might be looking for a couple of spare parts.

Bill Tondreau - motion control pioneer. His Kuper Controls software is still used on set today, even though it's last version was released in 2004. Retired (I think). Jaakko Kurhi - in business as JK Camera Engineering for 30 years (or more?). Maker of Bolex accesories for animation, low cost optical printers for students and professionals, and all kinds of other gismos for analog animation and vfx. Retired (but still tinkering).

I can't speak to the sharpness/danger of the spring metal itself but I once had an Eyemo spring break on me (in the camera) while I was winding. The winding key suddenly snapped back, hit and jammed my thumb really hard. Sore for weeks!

To add to the info above, for 16mm it's necessary to do A & B rolls to make invisible cuts on your print. You can also add additional rolls for titles or even optical FX (Mike Jittlov's films are a good example of this). I am in the process of doing a little all-analog film right now, but I plan on getting the workprint scanned so that the sound can be handled digitally. Once the mix is done, we'll send a digital file to the lab to get an optical sound negative shot. Fewer and fewer labs make prints any more. Fotokem, Colorlab, and Spectra come to mind. Cinelab just recently stopped making prints, sadly. ...another option is to skip the whole process and shoot on an optical sound camera like an Auricon, on reversal film. Your camera original would be your release print!

On a related topic; I'm curious if anyone shares the opinion that the extra-wide shutter of the Filmo (204 degrees vs. the more-or-less normal 180) contributes to a "smearing" of the image? My recollection is that motion blur on Filmo footage has always seemed subtly more prominent.

Really great stuff! What perfect subject matter to shoot! In particular I like the split-screen, multi-image scenes. Not sure why, but I think the film looks great when you present it in that reformatted way.

Hey Dom, Thanks for pointing me back to this old thread - it all comes full circle. Earlier in this thread, October 2018, I was asking about this very gate and indeed it seems like the High Speed gate I got is the expanded (full silent) height but Academy width. Since shooting the test, I believe that it's the adjustable pressure plate (just like you mentioned) that is not applying enough pressure for normal speed filming - or perhaps not evenly distributed pressure. Also, I believe that the gate I got is for a 2C and not a 2B - but it fits! Here's some pictures -

Thanks Dom, Yes this was my first time swapping out the gate in the Arri and I was shocked how it actually "pops" into place like a snap-together model kit. I'm used to the Mitchell and Wall gates, which as you know slide in on a very tight tolerance - there's no question as to the fit. I didn't see any shims in there and I think that the old academy gate is the factory original - have you seen shims used in cameras straight from the factory? I would imagine that adjustments like that would have been made by a camera tech later. Also, do you know what the difference is between the high speed gate and the regular gate? The only major thing seems to be that the aperture is larger (almost full).

Well, I think the pressure plate doesn't quite have as much spring to it as the old Academy pressure plate. I'm going to put the old gate back in until I can get a pro to look at it. The breathing is normal, but the rest of the footage is actually soft so something's not right.

From a recent test of my very old Arri 2B. This is at 2fps, and at the start of each take the image "breaths". I had swapped out the Academy gate with a high speed gate, in order to get closer to a full aperture frame. The Arri has quite a tight curve in the upper loop before the gate, and I think that when that goes thru the gate it still has a bit of the bend in it, hence the breathing? That problem is not unique to my camera, and it was also happening with the old gate. But I think the fact that it goes into focus during the breathing, but settles out-of-focus means that the new gate is not seated properly - probably half the width of the film too far from the back of the lens? Caveats: this was a test with very old, badly stored stock from a friend. And the wide angle attachment seems to be soft in the middle. But the slate at the head of the test was shot with my trusty 35 Schneider, which has always been very sharp.

Simon, the CP-16 movement is the Auricon movement, correct? Actually manufactured by Auricon and I think unchanged throughout its history except for model CM-74 which had Sapphire inserts in the gate?

Fox has put up the first 10 minutes of the film on Facebook for free viewing: https://www.facebook.com/theoldmanandthegun/videos/595555740887525/

25K is not a huge number to hit if it were a crowdfunded enterprise... Kickstarters that offer an actual product seem to fund very quickly. What worries me is the Product Manager's note that, "the cost per foot would be at least 20% higher than the list price of the closest stocked film". I'm not great with math but here goes... Ektachrome Super 8 is $40 per 50ft. roll = $.80/ft Multiply that by 2 for the double width, add 20% = $1.92 25k divided by $1.92 = 13,020 ft of film. That would give you about 130 spools @ 100ft each, cost per spool would be about $192.!!! Argh

Hi Bernhard, I sent you a personal message - want to hook you up with a friend who has been looking for 320T.

Sorry Frank, I missed that! I'm curious about the serial numbers though...

Wow, and the research into who put that camera together is lost? It is quite a feat of engineering and machining. I would hazard to guess that the Mitchell-like movement in the 2709 body was there before the animation motor and Nikon mount were added; that the work to add those was done later. I see that there's a serial number on the movement, it would be interesting to know if there's a matching serial number somewhere on the body or if it's a miss-match. Has it always been on the East Coast or was it shipped out from California?

Doh! I made a mistake posting that... it turns out that I don't have it any more but I couldn't delete my posting for some reason. Sorry!