Tim Hawkins

...or failing that a superduper8 camera would be a good second best

Hello fellow super8ers. Does anybody know of anywhere or anyone in the UK that rents out Super8 anamorphic lenses/adapters in the UK - I'm willing to rent a whole camera package if that's easier. Thanks in advance Tim

I was recently given a Eumig 501 projector by a friend who inherited it and had no use for it. It's not in bad shape except the drive belt keeps slipping. The belt itself looks alright, not too eaten away, so I'm not sure what's causing it. I've got no real experience with projectors so it could be something pretty obvious that I'm missing. Any ideas? Cheers Tim

Super 8 is all cartridge based. It was designed for the average Joe consumer so the non-profesisonal cameras tend to be geared towards ease of use - the cartridge system is pretty straight forward to use and you don't need to worry about exposing your film while you're loading it. In this respect Super 8 can be a fairly gentle introduction to film, you can pick up a camera for not too much money and be shooting pretty much straight away - you just have to decide if the super 8 'look' is what you're after as you're not going to get much flexibility without spending a bit of cash on a decent camera

I know it's not the most professional solution but check this out: http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/dof/index.htm DIY ground glass and 35mm lens adapter!

I saw someone who had a little metal iris for his Bolex that did exactly that. Maybe have a hunt round ebay

Go to the BFI library in Tottenham Court Road - they've got loads of books and film magazines from years back, just tell the person at the desk what film you're looking for and they'll print you out a list of everything they have on that film - Got me through my degree!

Hi Patrick, I've got a Quarz that someone gave to me - it's in pristine condition, runs like clockwork (in fact it is clockwork!) and it has exactly the same lightmeter issues - I've heard they're pretty poor when they do work so it's probably best just to use a handheld meter. I'm not sure about the +/- correction - I'll have to have a look at my camera to see what you mean.

Hi everyone, I was just wondering how much work needs to be done on an H-16 to shoot single perf - is it just a matter of removing the loop guides like the K3 or is it more complicated than that? Cheers Tim

Your best bet is to go the begging and blagging route - call around for shortends and re-cans and see if a camera rental company will loan you a camera for free. Getting film students involved who have access to their school's equipment is another good way of getting your hands on stuff

I know we're creeping off the subject of music videos here but with regards to Michael's points on the decline of the film industry I think it's worth looking back to the 60s just before the directors you mentioned (Scorsese, Coppola etc) really started coming into their element - Hollywood was in a massive decline thanks to huge amounts of money wasted on re-making older films and taking few chances on original material, coupled with the domination of a new medium (TV) the result being people lost interest in Cinema - Hmm, sound familar? It was this decline that (with other factors) resulted in the experimentation and originality of New Hollywood directors like Scorsese etc. - It could be argued that a similar thing happened in the 90s with the boom in Indie cinema following the boom (and then decline) of the big budget High Concept films of the eighties. Therefore, couldn't it be possible that we are just in another cyclical slump caused by a new medium and Hollywood's slow response to what people really want from films; something fresh and exciting which makes them think? Maybe I'm being over optimistic but I reckon we're about ready for another Hollywood rennaisance - we're just at the low point of the dip