Maintaining a steady film image

Kind of shaky this morning! Today in L.A. we had a moderate earthquake, just enough to get everyone’s blood moving a little faster. Coincidentally, I was involved in a discussion concerning an image “shake” problem. The first assumption was that there may be a registration problem with the film camera. Film cameras have an intermittent movement. While the shutter is closed the film is moved into place by a claw and held still while the shutter opens. After the shutter closes again, the claw disengages, retracts and moves to pull down the next frame. The movement does this 24 times a second for normal motion. This requires an extremely precise and durable movement to accomplish this for thousands of feet of film—each frame exactly where the previous one had been exposed. Registration is the exact, repeatable placement of each frame. Poor registration results in a projected image that is not steady.

In this particular case, the shots in question took place at a windy beach. Was the camera going to need an expensive repair? Was the telecine machine to blame? Or was everything fine, and the camera that was moving? In this case the problem was camera stability. The buffeting wind was creating very small camera movements that even the operator wasn’t aware of. The entire camera assembly was shaking and the camera was faithfully recording the movement. The tripod and head he was using were inadequate to provide a dead still platform for the camera. It’s always better to use support that looks like overkill than risk camera shake that will ruin your shot. If bigger support isn’t an option, the weight of sandbags or water jugs (which you can transport empty) tied to the tripod can provide the weight needed to keep things steady.

In other unfortunate cases an unsteady image may be caused by the lack of experience of the camera operator/loader. An improperly threaded movement or magazine can cause lots of problems. Debris from a film jam can go on to cause registration problems or scratches if everything isn’t properly cleaned up. Don’t let this happen to you! If you’re renting your gear, ask the rental house to go over every detail of mag loading, threading and camera operation. They should be happy to help and watch you do it yourself a few times. Get a dummy roll and practice on your own. If you’re using unfamiliar gear, don’t shortcut these steps. When everything runs smoothly…at least in the camera department!.. you’ll be glad you did.

Bruce

 

Film Formats! 35mm? Super 16? Super 8?

I read a lot of posts these days with a lot of confusion concerning film formats. In a short blog I can’t get into the smaller details, but I can provide a general outline that will at least get you started. Many young filmmakers coming up have not actually worked with physical film, and now they want to go out and shoot some– but what film should they shoot? Super 8? 16mm? Super 16? 35mm: 2 perf, 3 perf, 4 perf, 4 perf anamorphic? Super 35? 8 perf 35mm VistaVision? It’s a jungle out there! More so now than in years past, because the digital revolution has changed the way we think about film.

In the old days, the film image acquisition format had a lot to do with the final, deliverable print. Formats smaller than 35mm would take a lot of money to get blown up to a 35mm print for a movie theater. Regular 16mm was the way to go for educational, industrial or student films. Super 8 was the home movie format. That has all changed. Since nearly all film footage is now transferred to a digital format for editing and/or release, the old rules that got you to a final film print no longer apply.

Super 8 is now routinely used as a professional format. It has its limitations in resolving power and grain, but what a great way to get a vintage home movie look, or as an inexpensive way to get a feel for what film is like. Kodak and others provide amateur and professional films packed in 50’ cartridges for anyone to try. And though my beloved Kodachrome 40 is no more, the new Ektachrome comes pretty close. Best of all, you can still project  (wow!) the reversal film as soon as you get it back from the lab and enjoy the rich and subtle colors.

!6mm has come a long way. Originally designed as the “amateur” format (the Super 8 of the 1920’s and 30’s), it quickly became the format of choice for motion pictures that were not destined for the movie theater. I have to admit that as a member of my junior high A/V Crew, I was the kid sitting in the back of the darkened room threading the old Bell & Howell projector. The invention of relatively small, silent 16mm cameras made 16mm the choice for documentary filmmaking in the 1960’s. With continual improvements in film stocks, 16mm was sometimes used to shoot dramatic theatrical films that were optically “blown up” for 35mm release in theaters—a very expensive process. Sven Nykvist, the Swedish cinematographer, championed the development and acceptance of Super 16, a format that used the additional film area reserved for the optical soundtrack for picture instead. This development made 16mm a viable alternative to the theatrical standard 35mm, especially with the continued improvement in film stock. Even today, Super 16 holds its own in the world of HiDef digital video.

The wide dynamic range and resolving power of film still make it a great way to capture images, no matter what the final deliverable will be. The wonderful qualities of digital video are not to be denied, but one of film’s disadvantages really works for me. That is the high cost of shooting film. It seems counterintuitive, but the fact that I have to think really hard about my frame, focus, exposure, camera moves, etc., before I pull the trigger makes me a better image maker.

Next week I’ll delve into the confusing world of 35mm film formats; it really gets wacky.

 

Bruce

These Aren’t Disposable Machines

This week a batch of my lenses went off to Paul Duclos of Duclos Lenses for service.  Some of them need general service, a dropped one needs to be sorted out, and the gigantic Ekran 25- 500mm zoom needs a restoration. Regular maintenance service is such a big part of maintaining precision machinery to assure long, trouble free life. So many machines these days require no service, they are used until they break and then thrown away. Even machines as maintenance intensive as cars need a fraction of the service they did 25 years ago. But even now, a timely squirt of the right kind of oil or the occasional cleaning can add years of life to most tools.

Many years ago in high school I had a wonderful machine shop teacher that I think about even today. Johannes Thompson was old school German and a master at his craft. He was quick to point out the flaws in our work. Some of the kids never got past the first project—they just filed and filed but couldn’t get the 45 degree chamfer correct on the tie rod end we were all required to make. Mr. Thompson’s pet project was two steel plates that he hoped to make so flat and square that air pressure alone would keep them stuck together if you pressed one to the other. Particularly memorable for me were the three metalworking lathes Mr. Thompson had saved from a factory that was being torn down. They were from the 1880’s, when a single shaft ran across the factory ceiling to power all the machines with long leather drive belts. He fit each salvaged lathe with its own electric motor and a short leather belt, and two or three more generations learned how to operate them.

What always stuck with me, more than the clever modifications that made the tools useful again, was the fact that they were maintained and repaired regularly. It was the regular oiling, cleaning and adjustment that got at least a hundred useful years of use out of these precise machines. Many of the imaging tools we use now are not that different. Care and regular maintenance will keep our tools accurate and reliable for years. It might be time to take a look at your ditty bag and see what needs to be cleaned, oiled and adjusted. Precision tools, well taken are of, will last for many years and give excellent service.

Bruce