The Super Mini cassette player has no controls. After inserting the tape, simply turn the volume knob to click the device on.

Lego designer Steen Sig Andersen took three weeks to craft his interpretation of a VW Beetle from angular LEGO blocks.

At first glance, this 1983 wristwatch TV from Seiko-Epson appears to be a gadget loves delight. However, it has several fatal flaws.

June 23, 2009

Bare Bones Pekoscope 16mm Projector From 1932

Show movies anywhere (as long as you brought deep pockets).

This diminutive Pekoscope 16mm projector was made right in Chicago back in 1932, back when we knew how to make more than just backroom deals about the city's parking meters. It's such a simple system, there's good potential that it still works, though I'm terrified to try. Why?Or you might just have to get out and push. Lots of exposed moving parts, and a pair of cloth covered power cords to juice the lamp and external motor.

 I couldn't find much about the Pekoscope on the internet besides the likely date of manufacture. From looking at it, I think that you could have bought it unmotorized. A crank with some sort of flywheel action moves the sole sprocketed roller. It also moves a grooved wheel in the back that's attached by a spring-belt to the take up reel. Another belt attached to the top reel for rewinding in some way I haven't exactly quite worked out yet.

Motor After you've put on enough backyard kiddie shows, perhaps you'd have enough cash to get the external motor. Looking like a mini dynamo, this bolts onto the base driving the various external belts. The arms for the reels also are removable. Perhaps this was for easier storage or upgrade to the playback of larger reels (imagine cranking through 200 feet of film by hand going too slowly and letting it burn!).

 All in all this is one of the simplest projectors I've ever come across, making me wonder if it was intended as a kiddie unit. It's well built, and would have been an expensive item even if made for children, but the simplified construction as well as the hand When even the projector tells you to use safety film, watch out!cranking makes me wonder. With so many children's favorites available as cut down 50 foot shorts in toy & hobby stores back then, I wouldn't be surprised. Whomever it was intended for, the projector has the potential to be a real film scratching monster – there's not a very good load path for the film. Let's hope that the 50 foot reel that came threaded on this particular Pekoscope doesn't have missing footage from Metropolis on it... 

related:

Muplet cheapo projector that I still hope to find one day
Gakken projector kit is even more basic than the Pekoscope
Montgomery Ward's surprisingly simple projector in a surprising color

May 18, 2009

R.I.P. Sid Laverents, 100 Year Old Amateur Filmmaker

Multi-exposure Mickey Mouse moviemaking madness!
A few days ago we lost Sid Laverents, the 100 year old home movie genius who's film "Multiple SIDosis" was deemed significant enough to be preserved by the Library of Congress. I wrote about the short film, and my admiration for the man a while back. If you missed it, it's worth reading about the amazing home made film, and the unique personality that created it.

The little 9 minute movie manages to be charming, beguiling, and quite sophisticated all at the same time. Sid kept on producing films well into his 90's, and seemed to enjoy every minute of notoriety that his decades of home-brewed projects brought him. Rest in peace, clever man...

Jake Austen's excellent Sid Laverents filmography

related:

Watch the history-making Multiple SIDosis

March 06, 2009

Retro Thing TV: Mickey Mouse Disco

Today when you pick up a pop album, you can always expect a DVD to accompany the release. In the late 70's music was less multimedia, so it was rare that an LP might come with some kind of visual component. The 1979 release of Disco Mickey Mouse was not only an album, but also a six minute super 8 home movie reel with sound. Boogie down with us on this latest installment of Retro Thing TV as we check out this groovy movie, and you won't even have to wear your tight pants.

related:
Portable cratedigger record player from Sesame Street
Vintage 1940's record cutter
Join The "Blue Monday" Owners Club

January 12, 2009

New Low Cost 8mm Film Transfer Unit

8mm film
Long-time filmmakers are familiar with the devices produced by Tobin Cinema Systems. The company has offered a lineup of crystal synchronized camera motors for over three decades, along with tape recorder synchronizers and other related equipment. One could be forgiven for envisioning company founder Clive Tobin as cinematography’s Father Time, a precise and meticulous wizard who ensures that motion picture cameras behave only as desired. However, Tobin also makes impressive film-to-video transfer units.

TobinTobin's new TVT-S8C ($1495) is intended for serious hobbyists and low-volume transfer houses. The all-in-one design incorporates a high resolution 1 CCD camera with 490 lines of resolution. The camera is crystal-synchronized to the film and captures individual frames in real time.

Tobin took special care with the optical path: "The TVT-8C scans one film frame at a time, in real time while each frame is paused in the gate. The film movement is precisely synchronized to the camera, so the usual brief pause between film  pulldowns is ample time. Shuttering is electronically timed for zero flicker.

There is only a high quality 1:1 macro lens between the film emulsion and the built-in CCD camera. The picture orientation is digitally corrected, eliminating the usual quality-robbing parts of other systems. No cheap projection lens, easily ruined first surface mirror, uncoated field lens, poor quality uncoated plastic “Coke bottle bottom” close-up lens or zoom lens to lose light, spoil sharpness and clarity, introduce geometric distortion, show vibration, reflect room lights and gather dust. No mechanical shutter to introduce a slight residual flicker. No ground-glass screen to give a fixed grain pattern, center hot spot, low contrast and resolution and dark corners."

The highly modified Bell & Howell projection system runs at either 20 fps or 24 fps (PAL format units are also available). It outputs standard S-Video that can be recorded to tape or DVD without the need for computer processing.

A self-contained film-to-video transfer system that sells for only $1495 is a bargain and Clive should sell a truckload of these. The TVT-S8C will be released in February 2009.

Link: "My Own Telecine" - Tobin Technology, Bargain Price

October 09, 2008

Alarming 1940's College Hazing 16mm Home Movie

Back when I started thrifting, I scoured shelves for old home movies and home made audio recordings. I had this dream that I could somehow marry the two in an intriguing way. Phil Nohl has shared several films of this kind on YouTube, and shows just how downright interesting the results can be. The video above is particularly revealing. It combines a home audio recording of “Sweet Georgia Brown” with 16mm home movie footage of the secret world of 1940's college hazing.

I love films like this that show the many ways that the past isn't always different than today - despite what your parents might say. In this two and a half minute film, you can see that:

  • Young people are still quizzically drawn to groups that require surviving a brutal hazing.
  • If you're doing the Hula in granny panties, you're gonna have to really sell me on the project.
  • Frat guys are way too into paddling other guys' hinders.
  • Egg shampoos aren't a new idea.
  • Nothing caps off an evening of ritualistic abuse better than burning a joint with your new frat brothers (and what's with their “up periscope!” style of smoking?).


Phil Nohl's YouTube page where you can watch the movie in higher quality

September 24, 2008

"Raiders Of The Lost Ark": 12 Year Olds Remake A Classic

Raiders_adaptation2

For years I've heard underground whispers of a 1980's fan-made recreation of the original Indiana Jones movie. I only ever got disjointed little bits and pieces of the story. First I heard it was young boys who'd shot the film, then that it was young men. With no real knowledge of filmmaking they went and saw the film obsessively in 1981, secretly tape recorded the sound track, and came up with their own ad hoc storyboard of the whole film. I'd heard that one of the “stars” of the film had set himself on fire with gasoline, a resident of their their small home town still has the giant prop boulder from their recreation of one of the film's signature scenes, the snakes were mostly cut up garden hoses... Many odd “facts” about this mystery movie have floated around for years.

Turns out that pretty much everything I heard is true.

As boys, Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb spent every summer from 1982 – 1989 (that's eight summers, folks!) crafting their shot-for-shot recreation of the film they'd later entitle “Raiders: The Adaptation”. Raiderstheadaptationmoviestill1fireAmazingly they did actually finish the film. Fortunately the project is charming enough that you can ignore the amateurish moments, admire the surprisingly accomplished low-tech effects, and forget that the principal actors seem to vary wildly in age and appearance from scene to scene. Just check out this YouTube clip.

What started as a boyhood dream turned into an obsession, with lots of drama both in front of the camera and behind it. The details of the story take up a whole chapter in “Homemade Hollywood”, including it's rediscovery over the last few years (see our review).

RaiderstheadaptationmoviestilldragThe movie has been wildly popular at SF & fantasy conventions. It was even screened at Skywalker Ranch for employees of a Mr. George Lucas. Everyone loved The Adaptation so much they clamored for the video's release. The filmmakers flippantly answered “Ask your boss”. As it turns out, both Lucas and Spielberg have seen the video with Spielberg calling it “the best piece of flattery that George and I have ever received”.

Spielbergshot The filmmakers named their group Rolling Boulder Productions, and in the space of a few years went from being a sci-fi convention whispered oddity, to internet notoriety, to actually meeting Steven Spielberg. As if that weren't enough, get this... their story has been optioned by a Hollywood producer, and a screenplay is currently being written by Daniel “Ghost World” Clowes.  How Spielberg-ian an ending is that?

Three friendsWhether their small town video will ever turn into Tinseltown celluloid is anyone's guess. The story is such an odd Moebius of logic and self-reference that it might be hard to sell as a true story. It does make me smile to think of how many projects similar to this one we have all naively hurled ourselves at as kids. How many of us could finish even one of those projects decades later? Is the Hollywood myth true? If we work hard enough can we all accomplish our dreams and befriend our heroes? Or is it that the boys from Rolling Boulder have used up all the good luck for the rest of us?

Download a trailer for the film

related:
Goth soap opera Dark Shadows slated to return as a movie
Knight Rider is back
Quite possibly the best home movie ever

August 26, 2008

Quite Possibly The Best Home Movie Ever

Multisidbanner

Lots of creative people fall into the trap of putting off dream projects until some crucial piece of gear falls into their lap. That new guitar pedal or paint software or dual chrome exhaust is all we need to finally make our masterwork, right?  This amateur film starts off that way. Sid Laverents gets a Roberts (AKA an Akai M-8) reel-to-reel tape recorder for Christmas in 1970, and he uses it to record a song that's been rattling around in his head.

Rtr_metronome After a few minutes of introduction, "Multiple Sidosis" becomes one of the most amazing home movies ever. Ever. The movie not only shows Laverents using his new reel-to-reel to create a charming multi-layered version of "Nola" (by using the tape deck's sound-on-sound recording feature), but the film then turns into an elaborate and sophisticated multi-image performance film.

For those accustomed to editing on a computer, it may be difficult to understand just what an undertaking this film was. Effects like this used to require an optical printer - a complex piece of professional movie studio effects gear.  Laverents found a way to craft these effects at home, and have them somehow look slick and charming at the same time. Despite how labor intensive this film must have been, the spirit of fun and inspiration are in every scene.  Click the movie below to watch the nine minute film.

Even on a modern editing system, this would be a very complex project. Sid had something better at his disposal than a computer, a tape recorder, or a 16mm camera... He had his wits.

MultiframeThe rewards for "Multiple Sidosis" stretch beyond scholarly infamy, and it's more than just a cult oddity. In 2000 the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation as being culturally significant (the same year as "Apocalypse Now" & "Shaft"). Better still - Sid can enjoy his notoriety in person. He just celebrated his 100th birthday, and he's still creating films.

We can all take a page from Laverents' book (his autobiography is entitled "The First 90 Years Are the Hardest"), Sid has accomplished more than many people would in two centuries. You can buy "Multiple Sidosis" and other films directly from Laverents himself by following the link below.

Happy Birthday, Sid! I have the same reel-to-reel recorder as the one featured in the film. Maybe one day I'll stop dreaming of all the gear I'll never have, and maybe - just maybe - I'll go and create something magnificent on my tape recorder too.

Order your own copy of Multiple Sidosis
Detailed look at the other films of Sid Laverents
Download an MP4 of "Multiple Sidosis [VintageTips]
PBS video goes behind the scenes of the film

related:
Super 8 1970's tutorial film on how to make better home movies
Slate your home movies - just like the pros
3M Wollensak reel recorder

July 17, 2008

Modding a Fisher-Price Movie Viewer

F-P movie viewer
The Fisher-Price Movie Viewer Theater shows just how far kids' entertainment has progressed since 1978. The compact plastic film viewer shows silent Super 8 movies on a blurry little screen. It can also project a 10-inch image onto the wall.

Open cartIts best feature (speaking from personal experience) is that the film is hand-cranked, allowing kids to morph everyday Warner Brothers cartoons into bizarre reverse slow-motion cinematic works of art.

The only thing cooler than owning one of these would be to have one loaded with your own movies. Super8man was up to the challenge, and loaded his own Super 8 home movies into the F-P viewer, enabling his kids to manipulate their flickery images on-screen.

Conveniently, the viewer is compatible with standard Super 8 film. Super 8 film is still available, and it'll cost about $25 to shoot and process a 50 foot cartridge.

Home movies!

The next step is to carefully pry open one of the old yellow cartridges and replace the film inside with your own Oscar-worthy footage. Super8man reports that the cartridges come preloaded with about 12 feet of film, but he thinks they'll accommodate up to 50 feet, giving a maximum running time of 3 1/2 minutes at 18 frames per second.

Projection gate Before it can be loaded, the new film needs to be spliced into a continuous loop. Loading it into the cartridge is guaranteed to be a fiddly process, and paying careful attention to how the prepackaged film is positioned will definitely make the replacement process easier.

The Fisher-Price Movie viewer was also available in a hand-held version that resembled mom & dad's real Super 8 camera. It requires no batteries, you simply point it at a bright window of lamp and turn the crank. Both models turn up frequently on eBay, although prices vary considerably.

Visit Super8man's how-to page for full instructions
Browse Fisher-Price movie viewers on eBay

May 23, 2008

Buying Super 8 Film

Super 8 equipment

I've had several queries about Super 8 film recently from people unable to find it at their local photo shop. The good news is that Kodak offers five different film stocks in Super 8, and relatively affordable processing is available from a number of film labs.

The easiest and least expensive way to buy Super 8 film in the USA and Canada is to order direct from Kodak at 1-800-621-3456. Here are the current American prices:

You can get S8 film developed at number of labs including Spectra, Pro 8 mm, and Yale in the Los Angeles area. If you're shooting Ektachrome 64T, the most affordable processing service is available through Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas ($10). It makes sense to send multiple cartridges in for developing at once to reduce postage costs. You should check out the various "all inclusive" packages offered by the labs, too. They give you a single price for the film, prepaid processing, and even video transfer.

Things are a tad more expensive in Europe. Andec Filmtechnik in Berlin offers film and processing to European filmmakers by mail order, while Londoners can visit the Widescreen Centre for film and supplies.

Kodak: Super 8 Film Stocks
Super 8 Film In The 21st Century [create digital motion]

March 04, 2008

Super 8: Attack Of The 50 Foot Podcasts

I promised Giles Perkins that we'd mention the latest podcast film series at onSuper8.org. This time around, they're highlighting some favorites from the 2007 Flicker Attack in Los Angeles. Each filmmaker was restricted to a single Super 8 cartridge, shot with only in-cartridge editing. Unlike years past, the show was limited to documentary films.

50foot First up is Claudia Bestor & Tony Hall's look at the world of model trains, thanks to the members of the Pasadena Model Railroad Club. Giles describes it as "a retro mix of old school hobby and those who clearly enjoy it and a lovely example of a single cartridge documentary."

If you haven't already explored the onSuper8.org website, I heartily recommend diving in without a moment's hesitation. In addition to high-resolution streaming Super 8 films, they have created a tremendously useful and accessible archive dedicated to Super 8 filmmaking. It might even be enough to drag you kicking and screaming into a new retro hobby...

Favorites from the 2007 Flicker Attack on the onSuper8.org podcast

August 23, 2007

Super 8 Film Podcast Downloads

Lisalindal

onSuper8.org just celebrated the 20,000th download in their tremendously popular podcast series. This is your opportunity to check out some brilliant work by modern Super 8 filmmakers. You'll discover that today's Super 8 film is a far cry from the scratched and faded home movies most people associate with the format.

To mark the occasion, they have posted the site's first ever Top Ten Chart. Unlike garishly overcompressed YouTube videos, each film is hosted on blip.tv and is also available in high resolution QuickTime format. My current fave is the Lisa Lindal music clip by Matt Sandström.

Once you've had your first taste of what can be accomplised on film, learn more about shooting Super 8, processing your film and how to get your work into festivals and onto the big screen. onSuper8.org is run by Super 8 addict Giles Perkins, who somehow found time to judge 75 films in the span of 24 hours at this summer's Strawberry Super 8 Film Fest in Cambridge before jetting off on a lightning 60 hour trip to LA to judge the Pro8mm single cart festival. He is also our resident expert on anything and everything to do with British food.

onSuper8.org Top Ten Film Podcast

August 10, 2007

Make Better Home Movies - Super 8 Tutorial Film

Home Movie Day is tomorrow, and I hope that it's inspired you to pick up that old film camera and grab some shots for next year's HMD.  Here's another installment of Retro Thing TV where I share an old super 8 sound film with you that offers some useful tips on making better home movies.

I hope that you enjoy it, and for future episodes I'm really going to try to figure out why YouTube makes everything look so dark...

August 07, 2007

Bell & Howell Film Cassette Projector

Bh01Yesterday I wrote a post about a camera that used film loaded into magazines.  Of course once your film came back from the drug store, it came on a conventional 8mm reel to thread up on your projector.  Along the way there were also several attempts to have projectors use special cassettes that simplified loading the projector and was thought to make home movie making even more accessible.

Here is a Bell & Howell Multi-Motion Movie 8 Cassette Projector (who names these things?).  It looks pretty much like other dual 8mm/super8 projectors from the 1960's, Bh02but the feed reel is replaced by a socket for the special film cassette.  The idea is that you'd load up all of your home movies into special cassettes ahead of time, then just snap one in on home movie night and the show begins faster and easier than ever.

I haven't actually used this projector yet, so I can't say for certain how well the system  works.  However, other cassette based film devices I have are mostly a pain to use (all that pre-loading of film gets really old, and I probably don't even need to say that they're not inter-compatible). 

Bh03Projector cassettes seem to be a solution in search of a problem - I don't think that it's the threading up of the projector that kept people from making home movies.  The fact that these formats are a rarity today is testimony to how uninteresting the idea was to amateur filmmakers.  Then again, making this crucial step a little easier would make for smoother running on movie night, and allow your guests less time to make their escape between reels..

August 06, 2007

Revere Model 70 8mm Movie Camera

Revere7001

This Saturday is Home Movie Day!  People are getting together all around the globe to screen their home movies on August 11th.  Home Movie Day is a fun annual event that anyone can be part of (you don't even need any movies - just come to watch the celluloid flicker by!), and here at Retro Thing we're posting home movie related gadgets and gimmicks counting down to the big night.

Here is one of the most gorgeous cameras I've ever seen; it's the diminutive Revere Model 70.  It's from 1947 and shoots 8mm film, but it's unusual in that it shoots "magazine 8" that loads via a sliding drawer.  For a while some manufacturers experimented with preloaded 8mm film cassettes (much like the Super 8 cartridges that were to come 20 years later) instead of the conventional open reel.

Revere7002Some of these smaller magazine 8 cameras were marketed towards women as "fitting in your handbag" and "no complicated controls to master".  Uh, okay - points for getting dad out from behind the camera, but let's be a little more enlightened about it.

My favorite thing about this camera is the  nautical look to the viewfinder, and the chrome switch that looks a little like an anchor.  The camera is made of heavy steel, clad in leather, and together with the Bausch & Lomb optics this Revere is quality all the way.  Don't forget that this Saturday night you can see movies made with cameras just like this one, so come on and join the fun!

Main page for Home Movie Day

July 25, 2007

Bell + Howell Flat Screen for your Film Projector

Bh_screen_01

It's getting close to the international celebration of Home Movie Day, which reminds me to get out some home movie reels to prepare for the fun. When my family projected movies, my father had a special space picked out on the wall - other families had tripod screens. All are great when you've got the room to set up a big projection. Sometimes, I just want to review films with a quickie setup on a tabletop. This screen is perfect for those moments.

Bell + Howell made their name with all sorts of optical devices; cameras, projectors, and screens. This one is unusual; it has the look of a high quality picture frame. You can either hang it up like a painting, or it has feet that swing out to use on a tabletop.  Most important is that the screen is a true silver screen - super bright, and with a very wide viewing angle (apologies to all of you LCD TV's out there...).

Bh_screen_02Of all of my home movie gear, this screen may be my favorite. It's only 1" thick, and at about 31" wide it's small enough to store easily while remaining large enough for watching movies with a group. Since it's all one solid piece it never wrinkles. Being freestanding makes it surprisingly versatile, but the best part is just how darned classy it looks.

What's really funny is that when I leave this out on the table, friends (okay, my not-very-observant friends...) have thought it was the thinnest LCD TV they've ever seen! Of course I'm not above baiting them further when pointing out that super 8 can still pump out an image with higher resolution than HD. Oh sure, you kids with your desire for "sound" and "shooting for more than 3 minutes" might be a little disappointed, but I still say that threading up a movie projector is way more fun than watching a DVD.

One last thing... here's a call for help from our readers. I accidentally put a mighty scratch in the screen years ago.  A film collector friend once told me about a special kind of paint that would be compatible with the rest of the silver screen finish. I don't want to just repaint the whole thing grey... I definitely want to maintain the silver screen look and blend in the scratch. Any ideas out there?

Read about a home movie camera that shoots 3D

Home movie clapper sticks