Jon O'Brien

I'm looking for the specifications for the Cinema Products Crystal motor designed for the Arriflex IIC camera. Can anyone help me out? Mine has no label or other information on it anymore (unless it's on an interior label). Here's a couple of pictures of the CP motor (neither are mine). Interestingly, I see on the side of the first it says 16-24V. Les Bosher also advises that the original Arri motor was 16V. My motor is mounted underneath the camera. https://www.ebay.com/itm/PANAVISION-ARRI-2C-35mm-flat-conversion-base-motor-adapter-unit/192779300650?hash=item2ce28aaf2a:g:jSEAAOSwvfpcLlPp https://www.ebay.com/itm/Arriflex-IIC-35mm-Cine-Camera-Hard-Front-PL-Cine-60-Motor-Base-Look-More/282248888804?hash=item41b75841e4:g:YbEAAOSwHMJYIgka Any info on amps etc would be great. By the way, in that second photo, I think you might find that's actually a PV mount.

Someone wrote it above already, but let me repeat it. Wow. That production looks wonderful. And the film image looks really wonderful too. Film at least sometimes (and maybe more often than not) seems to have a bit of an emotional edge, if I can put it that way, at least for many Digital has an emotional effect too but in a different way. Different emotion. It's not just the music, or the way it's photographed. I realize that's rather an inexact statement to make. There, I've done it - I've mentioned the film/video dichotomy/thing-amy again, and it's only February into the new year.

The film/digital thing, even on the surface of the moon!

Yep, I will be sticking with film for my own projects (as long as I can). It's just I might be getting a few gigs with a digital camera. That's if it proverbially 'goes through'. I've said this before, and last year I was asked to do some digital camerawork, but someone came in later and was more qualified. I was fine with that.

If you've only ever shot film before, and you get handed a job which, let's say, might be specified to be with a professional digital camera (for instance an Alexa), is it a difficult transition for the maybe set-in-their-ways film person - assuming you know what you're doing with film, and you have a good understanding of lighting, exposure, and with the new camera the frame size and lens choice etc? Does it depend on the camera system eg. Arri/Canon/BM. Provided you have a good understanding of how to set the camera up using the display/buttons, can you program in your familiar shutter length, ISO, and typical 'film' settings? In other words treat it like it's a film camera only you don't need to reload magazines.

I once met a guy who got the rights to an enormous 'tailings heap' as they're called, in the outback. It had been an old mine site about 70 years ago and the site had a truly gigantic dirt formation that in appearance was similar to a natural geologic structure. You could climb up it, and walk all over it and it was like a plateau. It was a small mountain. I got to know it as I used to do a lot of work in the outback. Anyway, it sat there for decades and no one cared about it. He saw potential in it and got the rights to it. He brought in a processing plant next to it, and started to put the dirt through it. He reclaimed the silver within it and made a fortune. Took my camera out there and shot a film on it. I was about 14. It featured two immensely colourful local characters from the nearby town (er, that is, a literally one petrol bowser, one pub town) who I will never forget. Rodney and Spa. I can't remember why Spa was called that. Maybe it was from "spar."

For a good price I'm sure! :D

That is an extremely helpful offer Tyler. I will be in touch again soon. Thank you. I will be looking to get a 400' or thereabouts roll of 250D or 50D if possible.

On Apollo 11 I think Buzz Aldrin filmed Neil Armstrong walking on the moon from within the LM with 16mm too.

Can anyone tell me what approximately a can of 400' weighs, complete with can? And approx. dimensions.

I've gotten in touch with Reel Good but they don't ship to Australia :( However if I send labels and documents they will do it. I wonder how that works. Contact Fedex I guess and ask. Alternative is Frame24.

Hi Dom, I've got in touch with Malcolm. Will let you know how I get on.

Hi there, can someone help me with a question about electronics - a subject I'm not all that familiar with. I've got a 2 perf Arri IIC camera recently modified by Aranda and the next thing I need to do is get a battery. I need a 12V sealed battery, the 7 amp hours version. I've located one of those. The camera has a power lead with a Cannon 4-pin XLR male plug at the battery end. I need to attach a 4-pin female receptacle to a short length of cable, which then has connectors attached to the other end that fits onto the battery terminals (slip on, or alligator clips I suppose). My question is what amperage/wattage strength of cable will be good to buy - I want to make sure I get this right and don't cook anything or add unnecessary resistance.

What is the going price for recan and short end 35mm, and can you get a much better price per foot for shorter short ends eg. 200'? Are recans much more expensive than short ends? Thank you. So far I've found a couple of businesses that sell short ends, one in UK and one in US.

Maybe just screw-in filters and a lens shade will do me for now.

Well, there's two mattebox threads going at the moment, so thought best not to start a new one. I need to use some filters but at the moment having just bought a camera I don't want to spend much money. I have some lenses with 52mm front diameter and one with 72mm, which I will be using. So just two requirements, something that will fit both those sizes, and can easily put filters in, and obviously with the sun shade but that can just be basic. What would be a good, low-cost type to start out with? Thanks for any advice. I will have a means to fit rods, if needed, but maybe just something light weight that clips onto the lens will do.

Yes I thought that was good. I was wondering if you were going to have the piano. One of my friends has worked as a silent film pianist, as there is a silent cinema nearby to him.

Very nice to see!

Some excellent advice, thank you. I've started out just holding the film in my hand, using daylight, and a very nice Carl Zeiss 9x handlens and an achromatic 20x. The image literally looks as big or bigger than what you see in a cinema and I can see the size of the grain in relation to image detail.

Man, there's another movie script right there. We, the people of the world, decree that real-film-will-not-die! Rage, rage against the dying of the light... (which, don't worry, isn't going to happen). ... "Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight ..."

Even the light flares smearing slightly across frame in a few shots I like the look of.

Ageism occurs in the music biz too - in fact in the arts that is probably where it's most marked. I'd think in cinematography it would be far less of a problem. There's a widespread feeling in classical music performance for instance that you have to be really great by a young age to have a career at the highest level, but there have been exceptions to that rule. Just do what you do, if you can, and don't worry about it.

The 2 perf looks fantastic on Blu-ray.

I'm pretty sure Kodak and photochemical film and processing will be fine. The chemistry and expertise still exist. There's a market for it.

I see a script rise before me. Famous cinematographer finds his old Super 8 reels. A long-forgotten thing within the images from the 70s is revealed. An adventure is launched. Yes it has possibilities.