Dan Paola

Hello! I am developing a documentary film project about that most ubiquitous of super-8 filmstocks, Kodachrome 40, and am seeking experts / devotees / willing participants who might be willing to contribute to this exciting project! At present I am aiming for 52-60 mins, to be shot primarily on HDCAM, but of course featuring masses of beautiful (and not-so-beautiful) K40 footage! Although my primary focus will be around K40 in its super-8 format, I am also interested other Kodachrome incarnations, especially those with particularly 'familial' associations, (e.g. Kodachrome 35mm stills, exhibited as slides etc). So, I'm after technical / historical experts (everything from manufacture to degradation), artistic devotees, and generally anyone with an interest in this unique stock who might be interested in contributing to this project. If you know of someone who might be able to help - please feel free to pass on this message or my email address etc - I'd really appreciate it! My approach to this particular subject matter is somewhat unique, and definitely not a run-of-the-mill technologically-focused or social history flavoured doc! More will be revealed to those who think they might like to contribute in some small way! You can PM me here on Cinematography.com, or contact me by email at the following address: k40.film@yahoo.co.uk Thanks for reading & hope to hear from anyone who might be interested! Dan

Hi - thanks for your comments - I think I understand what you mean regarding the camera - there have been various 'rumours' circulating for years about new cameras in the 8mm gauge (anyone remember the a-cam one?), and I think inviting people in the know to speculate about possible developments in this area might provide an exciting thread to the event, providing a counterpoint to the consideration of the format in industrial / artistic / educational / recreational / archival guises (for example). Understand your reasons for advising rigour & thanks v. much for your input! (",)

Hi Thierry - thats fantastic! You really should be proud of what's been achieved with the Cambridge Super-8 Festival - can't wait to find out more about the symposium event you had! I'd rather add to discussions around the format than repeat discussions - any pointers? I'm probably thinking a London venue at the moment - but not necessarily! Maybe we should combine forces!!

Hi Ian - Have already spoken to Tony Brakespear at Kodak who likes the idea & seems keen to contribute (",)

Thank you very much for your feedback - really appreciated!! I have done a bit of searching and will definitely be able to securing funding to make this proposed symposium happen - provided it is in the UK (perhaps US possibilities could also be explored?). I think the next step is to keep adding to / refining a list of invitees / contributors - Michael thank you so much for your suggestions and YES I'd very like very much to take you up on your offer of help! I guess one of the biggest tasks is to start spreading the word sooner rather than later - (even though at this stage this event is still in the proposal stage) so that by next spring, everyone will know about it. What do you think should be the subject of discussion? I thought of focussing it around contemporary usage and looking to the future of the format - is there anything else anyone would like to see discussed instead - or perhaps a change of focus? I am completely open to all suggestions & would really value your feedback. I'll add to this topic on regular basis to keep it 'active' and will also investigate setting up a social networking site for this event - any preferences? Thank you again for your feedback and please anyone who is interested in this idea please reply to this topic or get in touch: flipside-festival@blueyonder.co.uk For now the main questions are: would you be interested in this event? who do you think should be invited to contribute? what do you think should be the main focus of the symposium? what would be your preferences for setting up a social networking site to enable this event? Thank you so much again - I'm really determined to make this happen! Dan :D

Following on from the relative success of the Flipside Festival which I curated in Plymouth, UK last year (http://flipside.co.nr) I am thinking about possibilities for next years festivities (c May 2009). One of the features I would love to have would be a symposium type event which would explore the extent of current use of the super-8 format and also discuss its future. Obviously the event would I hope feature 'experts' from right accross the wonderful world of super-8, at present I'm thinking Giles from Onsuper-8.org, Nathan of Super-8 Cities, Straight-8, someone from Soho Images (since they took over Todd A-O (to discuss where Todds s-8 neg dev facilities might be going), maybe Tony Brakespear from Kodak, maybe someone from a-minima / aaton to discuss their (allegedly) proposed new 8mm camera (yeah fat chance I know), No.W.Here, Super-8 Today and a selection of film-makers who actively use this format. I'm well keen to progress this - but would like to hear your thoughts first. Would you be interested in the event, or even participating in it? Who do YOU think should be invited to participate? Obviously there are going to be glaring omissions to my list - who are they? I don't think that anyone's done anything like this recently and it could potentially be something really interesting which might make others take this format a little more seriously - you never know! I'll do the legwork & the admin etc - just wondering who might be interested or indeed would there be enough interest? I'm looking to publish any results obtained from this research event. And of course the whole thing would be filmed on ..... you know :D (",)

This morning the rubber eyecup on my trusty Leicina Special finally split making it the useless piece of plastic it had been threatening to be for the last 6 months or so! Have scoured the web fr a replacement but can't seem to find one! Does anyone know of somewhere I might be able to purchase one or indeed does anyone have a spare that I could buy directly from them? Am keen to get hold of an orginal one of possible. Any help or advice would be massively appreciated ciao for now (",)

Big thanks to all for your responses - v. helpful (",)

I've recently purchased a Leicina Special (with a lovely cinegon 10mm prime) and I have a couple of questions which I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me with. The battery compartment is unfortunately covered in battery acid (old & dried into a crust) - it still seems to work fine, just looks a bit of a mess & I'm worried that it could cause a problem before long. Does anyone know the best way to clean it - I'm really worried about further damaging the compartment & the actual metal contacts by cleaning it with the wrong products etc - any advice on this would be fantastic. I've attached a photo (jpeg) to this post to give you an idea of the damage. The second question is regarding the rubber eye-cup - does anyone know where I could find one - or one that'll fit it, as the original one is unfortunately missing from the camera. I really cant wait to start using it - had to part with my treasured beaulieu 4008ZM4 to purchase the leicina - I'm really hoping it's gonna be worth it!

Hiya I have just purchased a Braun Nizo 801 Macro camera and am intending to use it for some animation work. I have managed to locate the corresponding shutter speeds for all of the various shooting speeds on the camera, except single frame exposure. As I will be shooting under a variety of conditions, I really want to manually meter my exposures, which is why I really need your help! These are the shutter speeds I have managed to find out for this camera so far: 18 fps = 1/43 24 fps = 1/59 54 fps = 1/130 If anyone knows the correct shutter speed for single frame exposure on the Braun Nizo 801 Macro camera, I would really appreciate if you could let me know. Thanks for your help

Hiya I have just purchased a couple of Nizo 801 Macro cameras for a film project, and was hoping that someone might be able to point me towards an instruction manual for this model. It would appear that the link left for this info on an earlier post is currently inoperative (http://www.filmshooting.com/manuals/nizo_braun.phps). If anyone could poin tme in the right direction I'd really appreciate it & also if anyone knows what the shutter speed is for the single frame feature on this camera that info would also be gratefully received. Thanks in advance for your help Take care Dan (",)

Thanks for your advice - really appreciated. To be honest, I am keen to avoid actual modifications to the camera itself if possible (although definitely not counting this out if all else fails) andhave been looking for a supplier for a replacement Beaulieu charger and / or battery & I found this really interesting site: http://www.beaulieu.de/pages/s8_azub8.php Was wondering if anyone had dealt with this company before, as looks very promising indeed! Thanks once again for your help - really is appreciated Take care Dan (",)

Help! Advice desperately needed!!! I left my immaculate Beaulieu 4000ZMII camera charging unattended for approx 4 hours yesterday, and this morning I plugged the charger into the mains & camera, to continue charging it for use this evening. However, when I plugged the charger into the camera this morning the LED on the charger did not illuminate. I changed the fuse in the mains plug on the charger but still no joy once it is plugged into the ZMII. The battery had only a very weak charge in it from 4 hours of charging yesterday & went just about flat as far as powered camera operation was concerned after no time at all (less than 1 minute). I am really worried that I may have fried either the camera, the battery or the charger, but don't know how I'd go about isolating the problem area, I dont know of anyone locally with a ZMII that I could do a battery test with etc. Any advice would be massively helpful as I'm really worried & was really looking forward to shooting some lovely Kodak Tri-X tonight! Am really hoping my camera is not history! :blink: Kind regards & all the best for the New Year Dan (",)........ ......Of course that should have read Beaulieu 4008ZMII Dan (",)..............

I have recently purchased a Beaulieu ZMII & would like to purchase a book on super 8 cinematography and was wondering whether anyone could reccomend one? I have trawled thru amazon and there seem to be a couple of titles circa 1978-82, but as these are quite expensive I thought I'd get some guidance before making my purchase. Take care Dan (",)

Has anyone heard of (or even better used) the Andec filmtechnik Frame Master Device? It appears to be an attempt to replicate a pressure plate type device for super 8 cameras (although this device fits into the actual S8 cartridge rather than the camera). Here's the link: http://www.andecfilm.de/html/bildstand_e.htm Be interested to hear your thoughts

I was wondering if anyone could suggest an appropriate external light meter to use with a Beaulieu 4008ZMII camera, (as I understand that this exposes at 1/87th for 24 fps shooting?). Also does anyone know what film speeds this camera will 'read' automatically so that the TTL meter can be used accross the range? Thanks in advance! (",)

I am looking to buy a super 8 camera that permits up to 400 asa shooting and am stuck choosing between a Leicina Special or a Beaulieu 4000ZMII, both in immaculate condition (including batteries & accesories etc)and both with the Optivaron F1.8 6-66mm Zoom lens. I was wondering if anyone could offer any opinions about the best camera to go for because they both appear to be much the same in terms of the functionality offered. Any advice would be gratefully received, as I want to purchase the camera within the next week or so if possible. Kind regards Dan

Hmm - that's really got me thinking. Looks like I'd probably be better off putting my purchase on hold for a bit. 100mbps - that's unbelievable at that price & 1080p - if that proves to be the case then I'm sold!!!! I guess firestore will be bringing out a larger capacity DTE recorder for this camera that can also cope with the data transfer. I think I would go that route rather than P2 cards. Are there any drawbacks about using such a setup, has anyone encountered any using similar technolgies? I've got to get this purchase right & the whole firestore thing could well swing it. If anyone knows anything about either DVC ProHD firestore / DVC ProHD DTE, or indeed can verify the camera info (I know it's all guess work until the camera is actually released for sale) I'd really appreciate it. From the advice so far I would definitely consider the HVX200 (minus the P2 cards with a DVC PRO HD firestore instead). Really appreciate your responses!!

Thanks for the info on the Panasonic camera - very helpful. I don't think this camera is going to be the right choice for simple financial reasons though. I wont be able to afford to hire firestore this time (although I will definitely investigate this option for future projects) & I cant realistically shoot this documentary with only 8 mins storage - even with multiple cards & even if the media is re-usable. I was originally going to shoot super16 (Arri SR3) but decided against it simply because the nature of this project would prevent me from being able to continually change mags. A lot of the project is going to be shot guerilla style so mobility, versatility & lengthy record time are all major factors that I have to take into consideration. Thank you for your help on this one - really appreciated :)

I'm in the early pre-production stages of a v.low budget documentary feature (music documentary, initially for retail dvd release, but potentially other commerical outlets also inc blow-up to 35mm for festivals etc) & to save costs, I will self-shoot a lot of the footage as well as directing. I am quite keen to originate on the HDV format, but am undecided on what camera to go for. So far I think the Sony HVR Z1 seems like a good option for a number of reasons (One of the main reasons is its' native 16:9 DVCAM option), I'd really welcome some opinions of this camera I have also looked at the JVC GY-HD101, although reviews seem less favouable about the versatility of this 720p camera - any comments? The other choice would be the Panasonic HVX200, but I'm told this only records HDV onto a P2 card & that these hold 8 mins of footage & are around £1,000 a go. That seems like an expensive option - any comments? I hope that someone could give me some advice on this purchase, because its a bit of a HD quagmire out there with so many conflicting viewpoints! Take care Dan (",) :blink: