It’s alive! The FC friction head restoration is finally complete! Here, you can see the friction head supporting Mitchell FC camera sn.8. Mitchell friction heads have a surprising number of parts that all had to be reconditioned or remanufactured in order to make this unit complete again. The casting hides 10 steel friction plates, 14 […]
The Mitchell FC Friction Head Is Complete! Read More »
Last week we showed you the 2-perf Arriflex II C, and thought this week it would be fun to show you the II B. Both of these cameras were skillfully converted to the 2-perf Techniscope format by my friend Daniil Nevskij. The Arri II B has all of the same features are the II C,
Arriflex II B Techniscope Camera Read More »
Just in are an Arriflex IIB and IIC Techniscope camera. Shown here is the Arri IIC. For those who don’t know, Techniscope is a 2-Perf pull-down 35mm film format developed by Technicolor and introduced in the 1960s. This format is ideal for the budget-conscious filmmaker who wants to shoot widescreen without using anamorphic lenses. It
Arriflex II Techniscope Cameras Read More »
After much struggle, hammering, prying, wiggling, pushing, and pulling, I was finally able to completely disassemble this much abused unit. It is shown here in its current state, all the pieces cleaned for rust, petrified grease, and stripped of the old, crumbling paint. I still need to make a couple more parts before everything gets
An Update on the Mitchell FC Friction Head Read More »
Discussion on last week’s post made me think that this machine would be interesting to share. Back in the 80’s I built several single frame rear process projectors like the one pictured here. These projectors were used mainly to create composites of live action photography and matte paintings. Matte painting composites are an art form
Cinema Engineering Rear Process Projector Read More »
In 1920, Bell & Howell introduced the Cinemotor, a revolutionary electric motor drive for their model 2709 motion picture camera. Research suggests that Bell & Howell was the first to introduce an electric camera motor that incorporated a centrifugal governor and a rheostat in order to achieve constant speeds at variable frame rates. For its
Bell & Howell Cinemotor Read More »
One of our next pieces up for service is this Auricon Super 1200 camera, a favorite for news-gathering, documentary, and industrial films beginning in the 1950s. Auricon cameras were designed and built by the Berndt-Maurer Corporation (later Bach-Auricon), founded in 1935 by Eric M. Berndt and John A. Maurer. Previously, Berndt and Maurer had both
Auricon Super 1200 Camera Read More »
A pan/tilt head for our John Wayne Grandeur camera! My friend Michael Geiger came across this partial original Mitchell FC friction head and was nice enough to sell it to me. It arrived missing the top plate, tie-down screw, castle nut, handle attachment plate, and the telescopic handle. But, it has an original Mitchell FC
Mitchell FC Friction Head Restoration Read More »
In 2015 we did a few conversions on Lomo Anamorphic zoom lenses. While we don’t offer that service any longer, I thought the presentation that was made for our clients was interesting enough to share.
The Resurrection of a Lomo Anamorphic Zoom Lens Read More »
In the days of yore, back when I was shooting movies with Mitchell and Bell & Howell cameras, we often struggled with getting leather belts spliced together so they ran quietly and smoothly. Several of the assistant cameramen I worked with had a bag full of pieces that they would use to splice belts together.
Leather Camera Belt Splicing Block Read More »
