Michael Collier

I think the question is do you mind? Your basicly going from 9 rolls to 36. That is a pretty steep jump. I am guessing this is for a short, likely shot over one weekend, and I am guessing your loading as you DP. Do you really want to stop every couple of takes to rethread the camera? Will your schedule allow 3 hours devoted to loading the camera (5 mins * 36 rolls) The cost you'd pay (other than grumbling actors) would be in the leader labs need to process your work. They take a good 10' off the top before processing. That's a 2.5% overhead for a full roll, but 10% for 100' rolls. That means you'll end up wasting 360' compared to what could be 90'. That might be significant to consider.

If your talking about the scene where she is the queen of spain asking "will you deliver spain from bondage?" You can see BTS on the bluray disc. Possibly the standard def too, but not sure.

I just ordered some 7219 and some 7207 and they were both 146.18

You should probably have it clip tested. Even knowing all the details about how old it is, how it was stored etc you really can't guess what the base fog has done. Its best just to take it to a lab and get a test done on it and be sure.

Gotta give you points for obscure link to prove your point. I can't help but think the 1000kv has something to do with their efficiencies. My question for their operation is how do you convert 1 million volts DC into anything usable? Without the ability to use transformers (without modulating the DC into an AC form) how does the average home owner use that power? Or what facility does use that power? (in the course of writing I think I found my answer) From wiki: "High-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology is used only for very long distances (typically greater than 400 miles)" I assume the low loss has to do with extreme high voltage, which would reduce current greatly, and more importantly, would be constant with my understanding of the physics of electricity....so I don't have to rethink everything I have been taught. Crisis averted But back to film-- Another advantage of a DC set: put a squeezer on a tungsten light and you (I assume) shouldn't hear the filament buzz like you do when dimming an AC supplied light. I also imagine a DC set would be safer in general, but I am having difficulty formulating a reason why. Just seems to fit that it might be. I suppose in the hands of a qualified gaffer and genny op, any distribution of power should be safe, just as in the hands of a duntz any style of distribution could be dangerous. as far as carbon arcs go, I don't think we ever need to revisit those things. but if we absolutely must, maybe we can claim efficiencies gained in electric usage would offset the smoke produced (local carbon offset. Taken to the extreme maybe one could finance their picture on offsets gained by saving electricity. It could work: "see all these lights I have up? I'll only strike half of them if you pay me", instant carbon credit. well, it makes as much sense as offsets gained by not clear cutting forests.)

well I think we have different ideas of success/failure. You say you hope I sell a ton. I hope I sell 100. maybe 150 (maybe 15-25 pounds of gear in the end...no where near a ton). There are aprox 1000 CPs still being serviced at least every other year. market penetration probably won't exceed 20%. 200 sold is a smashing success. 100 sold at least gets me to the next invention. This one is mostly a project of time. The features are achieved in the software, not hardware, so I can add more features by spending more time, not by cutting my profit margins. Also its customized to the type of person that would be using this camera. Its optimized for short ends and limited funds. Its a niche, which if nothing else, I will make a few grand off of, get to the next invention (that will be more aimed at the general market, not a niche segment like this product) and get to shoot a few thousand feet of film for free. That last bit alone almost makes it worth it. Through the generous support of dozens of people and companies (including Kodak) I will get to try out the new V3 stocks, get some fashion photography on my reel (which at this point has none) and set me up to develop a product that I guarantee you won't find to be so limited in its potential. But you did recognize one true thing, most after market crystal motors are saturated. That's why tobin got out of the game, (I infer of course, not directly quoting him) but CPs never had an after market crystal sync. Nor could one be easily adapted to the camera. Add in the fragile nature of two of the hybrid circuits included on the board that is no longer manufactured. It was when my board fried, in talking with the camera tech who told me there is no solution for a fried board. He would replace my board with a board from another camera, for almost as much as my upgrade costs. so its a small niche that I am filling by designing a board with as much functionality as I can, to make the CP sexy again, and give it features only found in used cameras more than 5 times the value of a CP.

Damn it John, I thought of that about halfway through the read and thought I would be original in that idea. There are a few things that would need working. First is the long power runs a film set often has. In long runs, AC transfers power more effeciently than DC, and that line loss in a long DC run could negate any efficiencies seen in a DC set. If we were to hybrid the set, both DC and AC, perhaps we could have a 3 phase feeder going to a distro box that has a PFC AC-DC converter. If there has to be one to handle all of the loads, then it could effectively reduce the cost of the PFC, rather than having it in every ballast. Then ballasts could be easily designed to run on both (the DC line providing power after the non PFC- AC section) Since its common on long runs to go into a distro box somewhere near the hot set, it wouldn't require any extra steps to set up. The distro box would just be a bit more expensive (but allow for cheaper ballasts.) Because it seems (from reading the above) the best technique would be to individually rectify all 3 phases, and then sum the voltage into one single bus, there would be no need to ballance a DC power, since all load would be equally shared by the phases as their individual peaks are reached. Perhaps because all 3 reach their peaks at different times, the work that must be done to PFC a DC distro box compared to a ballast that works on a single leg of 3 phase AC power would be simpler, since the duration between non-peak times would be minimized and spread more evenly over time (6 peaks rectified at 60 degree intervals, rather than 2 peaks at 180 degree intervals). That DC could then be re-inverted (or just a isolated tap off one of the phases, since the harmonics would be lessened with such a system) could be sent to devices that absolutely need AC current. Might not be the cheapest upfront solution, but cheaper than stocking several PFC ballasts on set, and might even be cheaper than non-PFC ballasts eating up extra gas (diesel is expensive, and if we are talking 20-30% efficiency loss, it could add up.) hell if it became the norm, then the cost of DC only ballasts would go down compared to AC ballasts (since the whole AC to DC section can be omitted.) Just a thought that was totally original until John beat me to it.

Finally! somebody calls me on it. That is in my head a lot as I work, but keep in mind, this is just a side project. its cold and dark outside, there is litterally sun only until about 4 these days. Work is slow, so I got time to kill. And the economics are right for me. I don't have to sell very many of these boards to make it worth my time. Plus its a two part effort, one is to gain credibility for the next time I want to design a new product so I can get financiers so I can hire engineers (so I don't have to design all the hardware and code and debug everything myself) and so I can get a little bit of cash to patent my game changing idea. Full worldwide patents aren't cheap. But I need a patent to even get to the stage where I start looking at how much it would cost to develop the next invention into a viable product. but as far as my personal time, looking at very very conservative estimates on how many I can hope to sell, I should do alright, at least enough to make it worth my time, along with setting up other opportunities. You mention SR3s and their dwindling market, that is the whole point, is to capitalize on a dwindling market that is shifting to the lower end/hobbiest with less cash to burn, where I can be more competitive. SR3s still sell north of 10-15K depending on accessories. Modifying a CP-16 which might cost $1000 on ebay with a $1245 upgrade results in a camera that has almost every feature the SR has (minus pin registration, which on a well maintained CP isn't an issue). Instead of spending 300 a day on a rental, you can spend under 2500 for a camera you own. I have already gotten requests from people who have very low budget film projects in the works, and want to use my system to keep costs down, while sticking to a 16mm origination. film schools that just want to teach the basics of film can keep their cameras running, and bring it more in line with features that are available only in higher end cameras. Trust me when I say I have done lots of thinking on this subject, and it is a limited niche market, but one where I can make some money in. (also, I spend only about 10-15 hours a week on the project. Max I have done 20 in a week, but that is rare.) But thank god you called me out, I have been waiting for anybody to play devils advocate.

John, yes I am counting frames, (actually feedback pulses, which are 1/25 of a frame) but I wanted to get an exact measurement of how many interrupts to count per foot, so I started with what I had commonly held to be accurate: 36'/min. Thanks JS and Charles, going off those figures it would seem that film runs at 35.928'/sec. 36'/min is accurate enough for the mag film counter, but for the odometer I will have to adjust my values to make sure the figure is accurate over a 6.5 million feet pull. Its more like every 100.2004 interrupts/foot.

I am working out the final details on my controller, and one sticking point that I haven't been able to 100% verify is the speed at which film runs through a camera. I have always used 36' per minute as a rule, and I am sure its pretty close to that figure, but since my board will hold an odometer that counts up to 6.5 million feet, and because my warranty will be based in part on total film run, I need an accurate figure of the exact speed film runs through the camera. So my question is has anyone heard of a more accurate figure than 36'/min? (my calculation of feet passed for the counter works like this: 36'/min = 1440 frames @ 24fps. the motor has a 5:2 ratio in feedback pulses:frame. so every 3600 pulses = 1 min = 36', so 1' = 100 pulses. If its not exactly 36' then it might be 101 pulses or 100.0456 etc. Just want to be accurate) Thanks

John, thanks for that. It was a bit easier to wade through. I only had to read it over 3 times. My question is why do PFC circuits cost so much? How do they work. Obviously they must store inductive kickback and either put it back into the lines in a more orderly fasion, or put it back into the light over time. What components make the cost in 1000s of dollars instead of 100s? Are there large coils or capacitors needed? Even then I can't imagine a coil costing that much. This is my question....just in case I need to start designing cheap PFC ballasts.

I think that is an unfair characterization of our community. While the vast majority will go cross eyed reading Guy's lengthy posts, I think it must be recognized the level of sophistication many of the readers here have. As proved by my project, and about 4 or 5 others I have seen on this site....cinematographers and gaffers are not limited to knowledge about light, lens and film stock. I am sure many here have deep understanding of the physics of electricity and want to read in depth analysis of the issues we face on set every day. I would venture that there are dozens who not only didn't go cross eyed, but was actually able to understand all the issues Guy presents. I know I have a better understanding as a result of reading Guy's work....even if I had to read it 5 or 6 times to fully comprehend. To assume that readers here aren't able or willing to wade through dense electrical theory is doing a disservice to our community. This is one of the best threads in a while, specifically because it has so much information to be gleaned from it...for free no less. (not to mention the people giving the information are obviously well versed in the industry and in the theory...not BSing off something they read on another site.) So keep it up. More information beats less information. I like a dense neg, I like a dense technical read.

Ken at whitehouse is a pretty helpful guy. There is no take up motor on the CP-16r, so you likely have one of two very fixable problems. Possibly, the toothed belt that connects the main wheel to the take up clutch might have been stripped. If so it would be possible that the main wheel turns without turning the take up. The other possibility is that the clutch itself is slipping too much and needs to be adjusted/replaced. Good luck. PM me if you have any questions. I am not a camera tech, but I have a bit of experience poking around the CPs.

Looks like some useful products. Do you shoot too? I love the creativity and intelligence of film makers! Looking at your site though I realize I have a while to go....I need a few more products under my belt. If every cinematographer/gaffer/key grip made one thing that makes life easier, the science of film making would evolve much faster (and better than it does when corporations without field experience advance the line) Keep it up!

Quick Update: after discussing the product with the manufacturers, I can announce a price for the Archimedes electronics: $995 for the board, $250 for the install. The first 10 to sign up get free install. Still working on a Q2 date for the first install. Professionally built boards on double sided PCB boards with protective green solder mask. Install includes full functionality test, and a 12 month/12,000' warranty against manufacturing and install defects. Each board personally installed and tested by the inventor. email me at CP16@randomacronym.com for more information or to join the mailing list to be notified when installs will be scheduled. Happy New Year!

Yeah, well its a classic give and take between servicability/cost/ruggedness. While a DIP is easier to service (especially in a socket) they are less durable than their surface mount counterparts (especially when talking about a 44pin package) I will be the only one to service these, and service will likely be more based on parts that could fail, namely the output amplifier, which is through hole and over the shelf. Since the chip contains proprietary software, there is no way a user or tech could service a failed one. It would have to be sent back to me for replacement. And lets be honest, the odds of a solder going bad on either package is very low, more commonly wires and connectors fail long before a chip soldered to a board will. If there is a problem with the chip, I would likely just replace the entire board, it would be cheaper at that point, but the number of incidents would be greatly reduced. In my opinion the first problem experienced by a user should be 15-20 years down the line, not 2 years down line, even if the 2 year fail would be cheaper for me to repair. Also since my design leverages R&D in software, not hardware, a surface mount reduces fraud. Finally the size of the PDIP chip is huge compared to its surface mount counterpart. There is barely room in the camera to fit the surface mount. If I went for a PDIP, there would have to be two boards, which would increase the possibility of a defect. Its all about making it rock solid. That's been my mantra from the beginning.

Introducing the CP-16 Archimedes. 2-64fps crystal sync CP upgrade. So the prototype is done, Kodak has graciously sent us some film to evaluate the function (and to get some beauty shots with it), still trying to organize labs for the processing (I have spent all my money getting these boards made, not much left to pay processing and telecine.) But the video of the prototype going through its various tests is online and can be viewed at: Note that this is my down and dirty proto board version (and the video is quite down and dirty...I apologize the LCD is hard to read through the Youtube compression). The through hole CPU seen in this video will eventually be a more rugged version of the same chip in surface mount packaging, making the unit lighter and more durable. Jan 4-Jan 15th is the official first film test date (although I have already run several hundred feet of gash film through the unit without problems.) Takes original batteries, all original film light/sync light/battery light work, it has an EXT input to allow for an after market intervelometer and milliframe controller. The unit itself will fit in the space where the old back panel used to sit. Now I just need a name....I have been leaning towards CP-16 Archimedes. Any suggestions? (note there is a deal available still: the first 10 to sign up and pay a deposit on their boards will receive free installation (a $250 value) email me at cp16 (at) randomacronym (dot) com for more information, or to sign up. The design is at the manufacturer and will be available for install sometime Q2 2010. (if your a camera tech or deal with these cameras on a regular basis, email me. perhaps we can work together.)

Excelent news. I am eagerly awaiting a critereon Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as well as se7en. Its easy to look at a terrible or marginal movie and decide not to wait until Bluray, but those really good movies that you have loved forever, its a bit of a waiting game when you think the Bluray will be worth it ('Never Ending Story' anyone? I have a weird obsession with that flick...don't ask why.)

Apparently PMs don't work well, so I'll put this offer out en mass. Email me if you would like to be involved in the first few installs. Discounted price and free install for those who sign up. First 10 only, installs will be scheduled around the manufacturing return schedule. cp16@randomacronym.com (oh, and I suppose I should say it works, and its really friggin' sweet!)

Traditionally graffiti artists were the most clairvoyant. Ok, that's all I needed to know your trolling. My question is why here? Why the hell is this the place to troll to affect the social change your looking for? I come here to learn new ideas that can help me when I am shooting. This sort of crap belongs on opinion blogs and news comments. Not here. But whatever. [warning: expect some bluntness, I am usually very slow to outright call someone out for being a troll. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. But you ignore my request for more information with even more inflammatory partisan crap. so here goes. enjoy] I am elevating my suspicion to a full blown accusation of Intellectual Dishonesty (let me put it another way....YOU LIE! I doubt you even have a friend who runs a generator company, and if you do he sure as hell isn't being forced to liquidate his inventory and buy green generators. My guess is you got a mass email that spun a tale about a farmer who had to, and you changed a few details to personalize it so it seemed more relevant and self evident. I hope your 'friend' is able to cope with the prospect of being a figment of your imagination.) So, again. You Lie. [btw, I am done with this thread, so don't expect future responses. Don't infer I lost the will to debate because of your rock solid arguments. I baited the troll enough, and now I am done]

Mr. Perdijk is not in the US, and so his experience cannot be linked as evidence of it happening here. I understand the desire not to post the letter, but that is not in itself evidence. What law has been touted as a reason for the letter? He must have something that says in article 52, line 35 etc cited in the letter as a reason for the notice. There must be some verifiable information in the letter that we can then go to the law and see it says: "by 2010 all generator operators shall be running E85, or have an EPA estimated emission of whatever the law says" You get the idea. That would be independently verifiable evidence. My aversion to this whole topic is not based on partisan issues. Actually I could care less. What leaves a bad taste in my mouth is the propensity in this country to use false information, exaggerated stories and out right lies to push one idea or another. Extremist on the right and left do it in equal measure, and its equally harmful to the evolution of the species and our country. If we forget that facts have value and go around making stuff up and touting it as true, then what the hell are we doing on this earth anyway? And as Fox news leans more right into outright lies and MSNBC leans left into outright lies, the more extreme populous start to think its ok, and just par for the course. Its not. This is what gave us 8 years of "bush is a Nazi who knew about 9/11" and its whats going to give us 4 or 8 years of "Obama is a socialist secret muslim who wants to sell your grand kids down the river and kill your grandparents." My suspicion of this stands.

David, you have been very helpful over the years on this site, so let me carefully choose my words here. This to me has a taste of political trolling and/or baiting. If you have some documents to back this up of course it would make a good topic of discussion, but the idea that a letter goes out saying you have 2 months to get new generators....it seems a bit suspicious. I for one would like to see some kind of evidence of this happening, something more concrete than: a friend of mines anecdote. A law passed, a letter with EPA or other government headers, something legit and concrete. I have several friends who live off the grid in remote Alaska who live off generators, and I have not heard any of them claiming similar notices (including farmers who use generators for commercial purposes) Believe me if there was a threat they would loose power and heat in the coldest, darkest state in the union, I would hear it very loudly. Not that this is necessarily untrue, but there is a steep lack of first source material, and this would be particularly incendiary in our industry, so I think its in everyone's best interests to get the FACTs. If this is happening then its vital we know for sure what the rules are and what sectors of the industry are affected. If this is not based in fact, then it does a great disservice to this board and the industry as a whole. My suspicion is that it is not true, since I have seen several demonstrably false chain emails to a similar effect. But if I am wrong, please provide details and evidence and we can take it from there. I also fail to see what the Glenn Beck clip has to do with generators. perhaps I missed something, but it seems like that was posted to arouse political divisions, which has no place on this board. I would caution anyone on any side of the isle to be careful when posting stuff like this. To me this site should not be hamstrung by politics, or rumor mills. I am sure there are rules on this board against political arguments, its simply not the place for it. Now if this is indeed true, then its pertinent to the industry, and warrants discussion here.

Hi Matt. The project is coming along well. In the last week I increased reliability (finally!) I had a ghost in the machine that a simple resistor solved, now 3 nights in a row it hasn't failed to detect a single feedback pulse, which is good. Missing one would mean the whole system would run 0.04 frames fast, and flash the sync warning light for a second, not acceptable in my opinion. before it might miss 2 or 3 in a 24 hour period. Other than that I am still on schedule more or less. My shooting schedule has picked up a bit from the summer standstill, so maybe I have fallen slightly behind. I am working on making the user interface, and the LCD interface, along with menu structures, etc. Its all pretty simple stuff, but the number one tenant of this project has been to make it rock solid, and make it upgradeable. I have an idea what it MIGHT cost to the end user, but I shouldn't post any numbers yet. A big factor in this is how long it takes the installer to put the thing in. I haven't had it timed yet, so I won't venture to say for sure. I do know that compared to other controllers and upgrades I have seen for similar cameras, it will be cheaper than any solution currently available for similar cameras (note that there is no over the shelf available mod today to directly compare it to.) Sorry to burst your bubble though Matt, it won't be appreciably lighter. The original board wasn't all that heavy, so we might shave a few ounces off total, but it won't mean much to a lunk of a camera like that. It might make certain repair jobs easier though, since the main wheel won't be half covered by a circuit board. The cool thing is it directly replaces the entire stainless steel back panel, where the batt indicator, run switch and FPS selector sit. One thing I always hated about upgraded controllers is they are boxes that connect to a (failpoint) connector and look awkward and out of place. This will just touch up the looks of the camera, and still appear to be stock, though anyone who has seen an original CP will know its not. It may make super 16 mods easier (maybe dare I say cheaper?) there are a few I have talked with who said they won't modify a CP because of the boards frailty. If there is a board that could be repaired rather than replaced in that event, it might ease the minds of the people doing the S16 conversion. Not to mention the fact that it will be far away from any inadvertent damage during the mod, since it will be in the back of the camera, as apposed to the side. Good ideas John! As it stands right now there wouldn't need to be a change in ratios, actually when you change the selected FPS in the camera all it does is load a new interval variable into memory, to define the exact time between each feedback pulse. So I wouldn't program a ratio divider, I would just enter a new data table of intervals. Unfortunately there is a bit of a complication to making it too versatile (IE an off the shelf board that you attach to anything and make it run) The software needs to be tuned to the motor its going to be used on, otherwise when its slow it will overshoot the select speed and end up oscillating between going too fast and too slow. Granted that even in a well tuned machine that will inevitably happen, but my aim is to keep the margin of oscillating to an acceptable minimum. To rework it for a different camera (or golf cart, or prius) I have to know something about the physics of the motor and the dynamics of the mass it is trying to move. It is directly re-purposable for just about any task that needs constant motor speed, but I would need a sample of the camera and rework the code parameters to tune the function to the cameras physics. But that would be a simple 4 hour job max.....much shorter turn than the R&D on this project. Keep up the good responses though, it does encourage me to keep working on it, as apposed to just watching movies endlessly. Teaser trailer: I have even bigger ideas afoot! The next two projects, though I am not sure what order I will tackle them in, but they will be good. One is an idea for a new camera system (I know, new cameras are never new, but this one is clever I promise!) and a new light system (yes I know, but same comment above) I can't say too much about them until I get the ideas that make them different patented. I also have to get investors interested. I can spearhead the project and design the hardware, but I need some better programmers than myself! R&D would take forever if it was just me hacking away at it, since its all part time nerding for me.

Looking at the data sheet (from phillips, your brand might be slightly different) The 74HC390 is rated nominally to 28mHz in a wide range of ambient temperatures, but you must supply 6.0v. you can get up to 24mHz at 4.5v, but you probably want to work in some overhead to keep it stable.

Sorry. I missed that part about the projector. But if you want to get into electronics, learn to program microcontrollers. Its a good skill to have, and greatly reduces the number of individual parts you have to have on hand to build a project (and increases the complexity possible). Sometimes one crystal, a couple of caps and a chip is all you need. Plus whatever input/output parts are needed (buttons, LEDs, etc) I picked up something like this: http://www.jdm.homepage.dk/newpic.htm but mine was factory made on greenboard for $12. You could likely make one for 3-5 bucks. then use it to program chips like this: http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devic...ocName=en010205 notice the price is $0.39 in volume, and includes the crystal drive circuit on board. It has flash memory so you can program 100,000 cycles. I have had the same 3 chips in rotation with my prototype programing them sometimes 20 or 30 times in a day and have yet to have one fail. Really nifty little devices.