It’s a little late for Star Wars Day, but we wanted to share this latest project in anticipation of the premiere of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” tomorrow. Previously, in 2019, I completed a major restoration of the Dykstraflex camera crane for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The restored Dykstraflex was prominently displayed at the Academy’s “Galactic Innovations” event in June 2019. Recently, the Academy asked me to do some general maintenance on the Dykstraflex camera so it could be demonstrated in an upcoming interview with John Dykstra celebrating this groundbreaking technology. This fascinating camera was used in the filming of the original Star Wars trilogy and “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark,” among many others. Before I dive into servicing the mechanics of the camera, we needed to know if the electronics were still operable since the camera has been in storage for many years. This hastily assembled video shows the first tests that were conducted with the help of Joe Lewis of General Lift and Kuper Controls, and his assistant Luca Cioci. Now that we know the motors are working, I will begin work to check all of the mechanical systems and make sure they are all in good working order.
