Retro Thing

Retro-8: Sleek New 8mm Film Digitizing System

Movie film can last for many decades if stored in a cool, dark and dry environment. The problem is that few of us still own projection equipment, so the film shot by our parents and grandparents goes unwatched. Moviestuff in Utopia, Texas provides an impressive lineup of film digitization gear that helps you to revive old movie memories for the YouTube era.

Moviestuff's latest transfer machine is the Retro-8. This high quality device resembles a reel-to-reel tape player more than a film projector, but it can handle both Standard 8mm and Super 8 film using a state-of-the-art sprocketless film gate that allows you to mix the two film types without worrying about sprocket hole damage.

Designer Roger Evans tells us, "It runs at 2fps so it takes about 30 minutes to scan 50 feet. However, you can intermix Regular 8 and Super 8 on the same roll and it is totally automatic. The unit will stop itself at the end of a run, or in case of film breakage or jam. It is designed for home use and requires a PC with win 7 64 bit and 8 gigs of ram.

The unit connects via USB, so no special capture card is required. The software will eventually handle color negative film, too. We know neg works but the beta version of the software will be reversal (projection film) only. The final version of the software will also have a notification feature that will message your phone when the unit stops or completes its run. The gate features zero image area contact and the guide rollers are rubber that handle the film by the edges only."

The introductory price for the Retro-8 scanner is $2495. Understanding that many hobbyists don't have that kind of money, Moviestuff will also rent the machine for $100 per day, with a 5 day minimum. While that might seem expensive at first glance, if you've inherited a large stash of film reels it can work out significantly cheaper than paying a film transfer house for a decent copy.

For more information, visit the Moviestuff site.

Why iSupr8 For iPhone Is A Great Idea

iSupr8 is an iPhone app that mimics the look and feel of shooting Super 8 movie film. It's currently free, thanks to sponsorship by Levi's. I initially dismissed it as awkward hipsterism, but then realized that it may well introduce a new generation to the wonders of small format film. And that's a good thing.

The app features lots of classic imagery from the Super 8 era -- you get to choose a camera case and the type of Super 8 cartridge you're shooting. You also get to muck around with adjustable frame rates (12 / 18 / 24 fps) and even add quirks like film burn, scratches and even a visible frame gate. Of course, it's only a digital simulation. But it's enough to pique the interest.

I suspect untold thousands will download this app and muck around with it for a short while, but there will be a handful of intrepid users who move on to try real film. After all, it's possible to get into Super 8 filmmaking for far less than the $649 price tag of an iPhone.

You can pick up a decent Super 8 camera for under $50, and a 50 foot cartridge of Ektachrome 100D film costs $17 (plus another $12 for processing from Dwayne's photo). Projectors can be found at garage sales and swap meets (they're not so popular on eBay because they cost a small fortune to ship).

If you've never shot film, iSupr8 could very well be your introduction to a fantastic hobby. And if you've tried Super 8 in the distant past, it might encourage you to shoot a few carts of the real thing.

iSupr8 Levi's® Film Workshop Edition [iTunes preview page]

Cinematic Time Machines

I love watching old home movies, especially if they're shot in public spaces. It's like having a time machine that gives you an accurate idea of how people really dressed and behaved in decades past, without having to rely on faulty memories and movie cliches.

Joel Fletcher is a talented stop motion animator who worked on The Nightmare Before Christmas, Peter Jackson's King Kong, Pee Wee's Christmas Special and dozens of other films, TV shows and video games. In his spare time he made experimental films that offer tantalizing glimpses back in time.

People Patterns was shot in 1980 on Kodachrome Super 8 film. It's a simple series of time-lapse shots that paints pictures of everyday events on the University of Wisconsin campus and the Madison's downtown core. Countless amusing haircuts and odd clothing choices flit by over the course of almost four minutes.

Fast-forward ten years into the world of Mall Mania, as Joel captures a frenzied look at shopping in Los Angeles in 1989-1990. Shot on 16mm film.

Visit The Art of Joel Fletcher for more

"Remastered" Sci Fi Home Movie Epics From 1970s

Long time readers of Retro Thing may have noticed by now that I am a confirmed aficionado of old home movies. Of the hundreds that I've seen, few amateur filmmakers have turned their cameras toward making films that emulate the ones from the movie houses. There are plenty of movies about birthdays and Christmas trees, but very few amateurs tried their hand at making the next Star Wars.

In the 70's, Rob Hampton and some friends created their own versions of "King Kong", "Star Trek", and even an Alien homage called "Starbeast". Hampton unearthed those decades-old super 8 films and added in new sound effects, better editing, and dubbed in all the voices (including the girls). The results are tremendous fun. I really wish that more people would dig out their old home movies and get creative with them, even if they hadn't had aspirations of creating a blockbuster sci-fi hit.

I'd like to figure out which bits are original, and which were added recently. "Starbeast" features some quite nice stop-motion animation, and it's hard to believe that a kid had the patience and technical wherewithal to do such a good job. I've seen too many home movies shot by kids where just keeping the picture framed up and in focus is a significant achievement. Still, these are fun movies. A reminder of how much fun it might be to send your kids outside with a video camera to create future epics of their own. [Thanks Scott!]

link:

Rob Hampton's YouTube channel

related:
12 year olds remake "Raiders Of The Lost Ark"
"Steam Trek: The Moving Picture"
"Homemade Hollywood - Fans Behind the Camera" book review

Is It Wrong To Envy This 1987 Birthday Party Home Video?

My 6th Birthday Party from msim - Matt Simantov on Vimeo.

Here on Retro Thing, we celebrate home movies a lot - mostly the all-but-gone film variety. Though a much more recent innovation, home videos are in even more danger of disappearing. Video tape is less hardy than film, and the pictures tend to disappear off the tape over the years. While we could argue the aesthetic merits of film versus video forever, in the 80's video did offer color and sound more affordably than ever before. While this resulted in epic home video nights even more interminable than uncle John's slides from Beloit, in the right hands a home video could capture a lot of great moments.

Retro Thing reader Matt Simantov sent us the video from his 6th birthday in 1987. Instead of having a pre-fab party at Chuck E. Cheese, Matt's folks had something different in mind. The party was held at Jeremy's Place, a crazy fun party venue known to the kids of New York as the place to celebrate that special day. There's a lot going on, Jeremy clearly knows how to throw a do, mini-Catskills style. There are glow-in-the-dark stickers, Garbage Pail Kids, a robot at about 27 minutes into the video (I don't remember robots at any of my birthdays), and kid-sized comedy that somehow keeps the under six set relatively well behaved. Jeremy knows what works.

I didn't think that I'd be as enthralled as I was by someone else's home video (strangers' home films are easy to get into since they're only 3 minutes long), but I had to watch this 35 minute tape all the way through. I felt like I got a lot of kid-wrangling tips along the way. The video is part of the package when you celebrated at Jeremy's place (freeing up the family to enjoy the party instead of struggling with the cinematography). They did a nice job with getting a good picture, and doing some editing to create a nice tape. This is exactly the kind of thing that home video is great at capturing. Even if you only watch a few minutes, you'll enjoy with a smile.

Thanks for the video, Matt!

Kodak's Super 8 Film Labs Were As Close As Your Mailbox

When home video taping hit the scene, there were a lot of reasons that it decimated super 8 home movie making. One of the top reasons touted by camcorder manufacturers was that you didn't have to wait to develop the video tape. You can be watching your footage the moment after its shot onto a sturdy & convenient cassette. The time necessary to get your film to and from the lab was always going to be an issue (though Polaroid gave it one honey of a try!), so the best that manufacturers like Kodak could do was make it easy as possible to get film developed.

These cardboard sleeves from back then contain prepaid mailers for sending in your film for developing. The price you pay includes the processing for double 8mm, super 8, and even super 8 sound - but bring your own stamps! Once your film was shot, if you didn't have a handy drug store or camera shop, you could buy these pre-paid mailers and get your movies to the lab quickly by mail. These would be great on vacation too. Once you finish shooting a roll, drop it into the mailer and your movies might be waiting for you when you get home (and probably will get there sooner than the postcards that you sent to your neighbors).

The envelopes are unusually shaped, with pleats in the sides to fit the bulky film. They're not light-tight, so better be sure what you're mailing them in is. On the back is a map of the US with all of the officially sanctioned labs listed that handled processing motion film. Mine would have gone to Chicago's south side to this building.

I was wondering what would happen if I sent one of these envelopes to Kodak's Rochester HQ today as a joke. As it turns out I could have used them for processing from Dwayne's Photo (the only remaining processor of Kodachrome film), but they expired - get this - in December of '09. These mailers must be 20+ years old, who would have thought they'd still be good?  More importantly, why didn't I think to check a few months ago?

Of course today if you're shooting Super 8, shipping your film is the only alternative. When these envelopes were current, the pre-paid mailers were mostly a convenience. Or they were for folks who didn't have a nearby photo developing lab. Today mail order is what's keeping super 8 alive (except for those brave souls out there who process their own film!) 

I found this whole big stack of mailers at the thrift some time ago, and I did get a little bummed out that someone may have invested a good deal of money in their future home movie making. Or perhaps along the way they got a camcorder, and fell in love with instant 2 hour color videos with sound. I know that I would have... and did.

Dwayne's Photo - still processing Kodachrome film for a few more months

Foto Friendly Florida Classic "Cypress Gardens" Closed

I'm going to be visiting Florida in a few weeks, that marvelous year-round playland. Here in Chicago, we're used to hunkering down for six months out of the year, so it's downright strange to think of being able to take a swim in these winter months. I'm excited to be visiting Disney World. Last time I was there I was 4, so I'll be really interested to see what has changed and what hasn't.

That part of Florida is so geared to tourists, I'm sure there will bo no shortage of things to do, but as you might guess I'm interested in undiscovered treasures. Those out-of-the-way attractions that seem unchanged by the passage of time. Cypress Gardens was one such attraction. They opened the in 1936 with their famous water skiing shows & other attractions. It was the site of many TV and movie shoots (portions of the famous "This Is Cinerama" lensed here), and of course miles of home movie film unspooled here.

In the accompanying photo you can see the photographer's pier - a special area reserved for shooters to get a great vantage point of the spectacular water shows. Note that there are even a pair of large exposure meters hanging out over the water - one for black and white, one for color.

I was really loking forward to seeing such a timeless classic in the coming weeks, but they closed in September '09 and the site is being developed into the world's fifth Legoland park. I was dismayed since replacing the magnificence I'd seen only in photos with a lot of plastic struck me as a bit of an affront, though the developers promise that they will maintain the gardens as they've always been. We'll just have to see.

So do you dear readers have any recommendations for must-see things in the Orlando area? Classics on the brink of disappearing? Anything that a retro-minded writer should be bringing to you in future editions of Retro Thing?

San Francisco 1958 Home Movies

Jeff Altman is an aspiring feature film colorist and amateur photographer from Chicago. These scenes of San Francisco were shot by his grandfather in 1958.

He says, "It was edited by hand some 50 years ago by my grandfather shortly after shooting it. Judging by the 3 minute length, I would say its safe to assume you're seeing all the footage he shot. 100 foot rolls of 16mm are of about 3 minutes in length. The order of the shots were probably changed, as well as removal of flash frames and other junk.

Keep in mind that these are home movies. He would make popcorn and show these to his family as a Friday night activity. Editing was part of the spectacle. I can't imagine there was very much thought put into preserving the raw footage as a historical record. He wasn't a professional; just a hobbyist."

San Francisco 1958 [via Laughing Squid]

Bare Bones Pekoscope 16mm Projector From 1932

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? 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.

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 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

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

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

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

New Low Cost 8mm Film Transfer Unit

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.

Tobin'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

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

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

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”. Amazingly 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).

The 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”.

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?

Whether 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

Quite Possibly The Best Home Movie Ever

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.

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.

The 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