ZC1000´S 50th ANNIVERSARY: TAK KOHYAMA INTERVIEWS SHIGEO MIZUKAWA.

My friend, the Japanese film producer Tak Kohyama (also owner of Retro Enterprises), interviewed yesterday to the great and only one Shigeo Mizukawa, the engineer whose greatest creation, the ZC1000, has gone down in history as the best motion picture film camera ever designed (an honor that Ivan Watson accurately predicted "will retain forever" , at this point in the film of story of film industry).

The ZC1000, which went into production half a century ago, has carried in my life  fifty years of tireless victories, from the sands of the desert to the frozen Antarctic.  I still film with the ZC1000, refilling the film cartridges with Kodak film personally.

Shigeo Mizukawa with Tak Kohyama

• The ZC1000 has features that no other film camera offers or will have:

MOUNT FOR INTERCHANGEABLE  LENSES. 

Only a few cameras offer this feature,  essential for my use: most of the Beaulieu models, the Leicina Special and the ZC1000; The winners are the Leicina Special and the ZC1000 for their extremely resistant mounts capable of withstanding very heavy lenses (but it is necessary to clarify that the Leicina uses a special bayonet from the brand, while in the Beaulieu, although they have a universal C mount, there are quite a few lenses that cannot be focused). In the case of the ZC1000, with a truly compatible C-mount, this one is also made of bronze!, like the giant Talos. 

VARIABLE SHUTTER ADJUSTABLE IN ANY POSITION. 

In the Leicina Special the shutter is fixed. In the Canon 1014 XLS, which only allows filming in two positions, 150 and 220 degrees, shutter is electronic, prone to faliure, specially in hard situations. The variable shutter is essential not only because I usually shoot, for a sharper frame, at 120 ºC, but, sometimes,  and with film over 100 ASA, the only way to reduce the light without filters (which I prefer not to use) is with the shutter at 80º and even at 40º, with whose apertures it is as if I were shooting the 100 ASA at 50 and 25 ASA respectively.

DIRECT LIGHT PATH FROM THE LENS TO THE FILM, without passing through prisms or semi-transparent glass. 

Only the Beaulieu and the ZC1000 offer this feature thanks to their guillotine mirror that alternatively allows all of the light to pass to the film or the viewfinder. This technology, in addition to allowing you to enjoy a very bright image in the viewfinder, produces a flicker that mesmerizes the cameraman, with a supreme cinematic sensation that makes you feel that the cinema is flowing onto your retina. There is a problem with the Beaulieu: its mirror is also a shutter, which on certain occasions produces some exposure errors. On the other hand, the ZC1000, in addition to the oscillating mirror, has its own circular variable shutter, for perfect exposures in difficult situations. In addition, it is faster: on the ZC1000, in low light conditions, at 24 frames per second, it allows you to shutter at 1/54 compared to 1/87 on the Beaulieu 4008.

LOW ENERGY CONSUMPTION. 

ZC1000 requires very little power: just four regular AA batteries (except when shooting at 72 frames per second). When the camera is on but not working only consumes 10 mA (compared to 40 mA for the Bauer, and even more for other models). The consumption, filming at 24 f.p.s on the ZC1000 is 360 mA.

The battery compartment is very well insulated, it can be replaced with a warmer one in a matter of seconds and, in addition, the camera has its own special leather exterior battery compartment for low temperatures.

Mini camera, in this configuration

TRANSFORMABLE INTO A MINI CAMERA. 

In my latest documentary in Antarctica, some of my filming would be in a mini helicopter with only one rotor, with very little space. The only cameras that can be adapted are: the ZC1000N with the Fujinon 5.5 mm lens and a Soviet grip instead of the normal one or the Leicina Special with the excellent Cinegon 10 mm fixed focal.

ERGONOMICS AND GRIP. 

I really appreciate that while I hold the grip with one hand and hold the lens with the other, at the same time, I can rest it firmly on my forehead. Only Leicina, the Bauer A512 and the Fujica ZC1000 score in this category, with the ZC1000 being the winner due to the extreme ergonomics of its handle, the availability of two electromagnetic release triggers and the provision with not one, not two, but no less than three tripod threads (up to 4, on certain models!), one of them on the top, very useful in certain special shoots that a documentary filmmaker who works as a lone wolf comes across.

Mini camera!, in this configuration

SUPREME FRAME STEADINESS. 

The ZC1000N provides a picture steadiness unattainable by any Super-8 camera (the closest is the Nikon R10), thanks to two features of the Single-8 system: 1) the in-camera metal pressure pad, which firmly presses the film against the window, instead of being "floating" as in Super-8; and 2) pull of the film after the window, and not before as in Super-8 cartridges (in position -3 to -2); The ZC1000, in addition, has a double claw, after the gate window, that pulls from frames +2 and +3 to +3 and +4. Another additional claw, above the window, pulls the film in reverse when it is necessary to shot in reverse without changing the frame line.

Double claw here in +3 and +4

CIRCULAR IRIS WITH MANUAL CONTROL. 

Leicina Special has a very ugly rectangular-looking iris of its 6-66mm lens. The most comfortable system meter control, for handling with gloves, is the one the ZC1000 has: there are no automations to disconnect or break down since the exposure adjustment is always manual.

My interview to Shigeo in Tokyo in 2004, for the British magazine "International Movie Making" and the German "Schmall Film"

REVERSE FILMMING THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE FILM AND WITHOUT VARIATION IN THE HEIGHT OF THE FRAMING LINE. 

Only the ZC1000 meets this requirement, described above. Many of the effects achieved with this technique can be replicated in post-production, but myself prefer do this effects during the shooting

MECHANICAL FRAME COUNTER, EVEN REGRESSIVE. Another exclusive advantage gives the ZC1000. The Beaulieu 7008 Pro and 9008 also have a frame counter but it is not mechanical, but electronic, with an LCD panel that does not work at extremely low temperatures.

LENS WITH MACROFOCUS AT ANY FOCAL LENGTH. 

Only the ZC1000 offers this technical feature using ALL THE FOCAL LENGHTS.

RELIABLE METHOD OF CONTROLLING FILM ADVANCE IN FORWARD OR REVERSE. 

One of the defects that makes me most nervous about Super-8 cameras is that, especially in timelapse filming, it is not possible to know if the cartridge is advancing correctly. This does not happen, however, with the ZC1000 because, like all Single8 cartridge cameras, a small porthole-type window allows you to observe the rotation of one of the cartridge's axes.

SLOW MOTION. 

We can only count here on the Beaulieu and the ZC1000, the latter being my favorite due to the greater stability of the image filmed at 72 frames per second, a merit not only of the pressure pad in the camera but also of the direct path of the film in the cartridge.

LOW NOISE AT 24 F.P.S. 

Of top level cameras,  quietest, in my opinion, are the Beaulieu 9008 and the Canon 1014 XLS but a well maintened ZC1000N is very near.

FACILITY FOR SYNCHRONOUS SOUND RECORDING. ZC1000 which allows you to use both Cine Assist (digital sound recorded with your mobile phone) and FTS (in sync with a Sony WM-D6C stereo tape recorder). Of course, the old Puls Sync system, too.

THE BEST GOOD LENS COATING. 

My favorite is Fuji's EBC of the original ZC1000 lenses, which is applied electronically and doesn't peel off or degrade over the years. The Schott T-coating that can be found on the Leicina, the Nizo Professional and the Bauer A512 Mark II is very good but it has an Achilles heel: a rear group of lenses from these Schneider optics, glued with Canada balsam, to these heights of its life it presents, in special light conditions, a halo effect: its cleaning is only within the reach of experienced optics experts at a very expensive cost.

SUMMARY. ZC1000 (1974 - 2024) 50 YEARS OF VICTORIES. The Fujica ZC1000N, introduced in 1974 (half a century ago!), emerges as the true champion.  From its superior ergonomics,  reliability, and ability to shoot in reverse without change in the frame line, to impressive slow speed and a foolproof method of film advance verification, this camera stands as the ultimate choice for a serious filmaker specillay in extreme locations and without possibilities for "surgical" interventions.

Shigeo and Tak, yesterday

THE COUNTERPOINT. Nothing is perfect and everything has its Achilles heel. In this case, it is not due to the camera but to the film loading system: the ZC1000 is designed to film with single-8 cartridges, which were marketed by Fuji between 1965 and 2013. In this type of cartridges, to fit fifteen meters, the film base is required to be made of polyester, which, unfortunately, is no longer available, having to use the much inferior (for archival purposes over centuries) triacetate (also less flexible at low temperatures) and which, as it is thicker , only accept 10-12 meters per cartridge (only about 90 seconds of filming at 24 frames per second!). Film must be preloaded in the cartridges by the filmmaker himself, as no commercial film is available in Single-8 cartridges (except very small batchs by Retro Enterprises or Click & Surr).

Photograph of Shigeo with a prototype of ZC1000 in wood!, presiding the HAL 9000 room in my small production film company

GOKO RM 8008 STEREO SPECIAL EDITOR FOR SALE (SOLD!!!)

Clean picture, with all the mirrors cleaned.

SORRY, THIS ITEM IS SOLD ALREADY!

The Goko Stereo 8008 Editor is the best ever manufactured tool for Super 8 mm film enthusiasts: it´s an essential tool not only for the filmmaker thinkins in his editing and construction of sound tracks (stereo track service available even on poliester base by Movie Magnetic), but also for the film collector who seeks to dub super-8 films in his own language, or with stereophonic sound,  from digital sources. To obtain synchronization (raising or lowering up to two frames per second) this special moviola has, like all of mine, a special speed variator ON THE LEFT SIDE, very comfortable for the operator, and not in the back. Also, a brilliant HALOGEN lamp, specially adapted.

Special electronic speed regulator +-2 frames on the left side, near controls

Unit of moviola Goko Stereo 8008 for sale is delivered FULL OVERHAUL in immaculate condition, one new main gear fitted two years ago, carefully lubed and with all internal mirrors and prisms cleaned by a specialized technician.  This is very important. Perhaps you can find other similar moviolas but surely not with clean internal mirrors, which results in a less bright picture with little contrast. Th technician, also adapted a HALOGEN LAMP, with the special mount, for ultra bright pictures.

Technician also set the speed at precise 18 and 24 f.p.s. (as I wrote, additional electronic speed regulator for + or - 2 f.p.s. on the left side)

I sell one of my 5 Goko Editors for revised and tested by only 595 € more delivery. If interested, please, write me HERE (in English, Spanish or Italian).  Reason of the sale: I need more space in my film editing room.

• I only can send the parcel to European Union countries, sorry.

This is the unit sold:

1) FULL OVERHAUL 

2) New designed and built lateral side buttom for speed variation of + and - up two frames  

3) Precise 18 and 24 adjusted by technician.

4) New drive gear.

5) Professional cleaning of all the optics,  mirrors and prism.

6) Lubed; 

AND:

7) Adapted for ultra brilliant HALOGEN lamp, for very clear viewing of the film.

Using the Goko 8008 for rerecord commercial films in your lenguage or with stereo sound (in this case, Soylent Green feature):

Technical sheet:

screen size: color corrected 5.51 x 4.14 inches

screen diagonal: 6 inches

lamp: 10 W, 6 V

reel capacity: 360 meters

film loading: manual threading

film transport: capstan drive pinch roller or manual by crank

projection: forward, reverse

projection speed: 18, 24 fps adjustable plus or minus 2 fps ON THE LEFT SIDE (not in the rear of the machine, as the standard units)

frame counter: yes

NF system: Non-Flicker system with 16-face polygon optical glass prism.

sound: magnetic playback on both sound tracks

amplifier: 6 Solid State IC, 2 transistor, 8 diode

amplifier output: 1W, 8 Ohm

VU meter: 2 (Rigth, Left), recording level meters

recording system: multi single and stereo magnetic recording on main and balance track

recording level: A.A.L. (Automatic Level Limiter) single and stereo recording on the main and balance track.

input terminal:

• 2 MIC with mini jack - 60 dBm input impedance 600 Ohm

• 2 AUX with mini jack - 20 dBm input impedance 50K Ohm

output terminal:

• MONI with 1/4" jack for stereo headphone 8 Ohm

• 2 EX SP with mini jack 8 Ohmon 1W

built-in speaker: yes

accessory shoe: yes

film drive motor: DC magnetic motor; DC22V with Function Generator

power source: 110/120 or 220/240 V AC, 50/60 Hz, 40 W

weight: 16 lbs

dimensions: 10 x 11.42 x 19.60 inches

220 V 50/60HZ

MICRODELTA BALEARS: DESPEDIDA Y CIERRE

A los 75 años el amigo Mateu Bauzá se jubilará totalmente, dejándonos huérfanos a todos los que hemos confiado en él durante décadas. En mi caso, Mateu, con sus manos de geisha,  se ocupaba no sólo de mantener mis cámaras de cine, sino de volver realidad ocurrencias consideradas imposibles fuera de España. 

Por ejemplo, Mateu consiguió reducir el obturador de 220 grados a 150 grados en las cámaras Fuji P2 y PX300, lo cual representa una ganancia significativa en la definición de cada fotograma (los obturadores de 220 grados carecen de sentido debido a las grandes sensibilidades de las películas disponibles hoy, y que esos modelos aceptan, como la Vision 500).

Auténticas "bellezas negras": la Beaulieu 9008 es también bonita pero muy poco adecuada para rodajes extremos

Rizando el rizo de lo imposible, Mateu ¡consiguió preparar una pequeña P2 con mando a distancia!

Entre otros logros internacionales conseguidos por Mateu Bauza tal vez el mas sonado fue el de resucitar los fotómetros de las Nikon R10 ¡¡¡cuando incluso en el Japón los daban por difuntos!!! Su técnica, hoy ha sido imitada por otros. O, por ejemplo, conseguir reparar el talón de Aquiles de las Canon XLS, accediendo al piñón principal en una cámara que no fue concebida para desmontar. 

Cada lustro, le envio a Mateo mi Fujica ZC1000N para limpieza y revisión, cámara con la que, desde 1979, he filmado desde en las arenas del desierto, en Egipto, a +50 grados Celsius, hasta en el Valle Seco de Taylor, en Mc Murdo, en la Antártida, a -35 ºC . La cámara sigue perfecta pero se la he regalado a Álex, pues, dado que su obturador de espejo ha oscilado millones de veces durante este casi medio siglo, no quiero que me pueda fallar en mi siguiente destino remoto: ¡el mismísimo Polo Norte!

Preparando el paquete para Microdelta

Esta vez, y como último encargo, antes de su jubilación, estoy empaquetando dos ZC1000N de fabricación consecutiva, la 206-0053 y la 206-0054 (la primera de ellas, usada muy esporádicamente, incluso en la Antártida, como segunda unidad; y la otra, apenas sin uso), para revisión "definitiva" y colimación de los objetivos con las que la usaré mientras Dios me mantenga en este mundo. 

Como ya saben los lectores de esta bitácora, sigo en contacto con el diseñador de la cámara, Shigeo Mizukawa, el ingeniero de Fujifilm que, cerca de 90 años, está muy orgullo de que siga usando su creación.

Debo decir que conozco personalmente tanto a Mateu Bauzá como a Shigeo Mizukawa, a los que estoy muy agradecido: no podría seguir dedicándome a esto, al cine de verdad, en single-8 (que es el formato que me inspira a crear, ¡pese a que Fuji lo mató en 2013!), sino fuera por Mateu y Shigeo. 

Deseemos a Mateu una buena jubilación... aunque puedo prometer y prometo ¡que no le dejaremos en paz con nuestras consultas!

Conocí a Mateu hace muchos años en Barcelona pero esta fotografía, Fujifilm Natura de 1600 ASA, la disparé hace dos o tres años, con ocasión de su peregrinaje a Santiago de Compostela

"DR. CYCLOPS": AQUELLOS BONITOS RESÚMENES EN SÚPER-8...

Hubo un tiempo, cuando uno era un niño, en los años setenta, antes de que los sistemas de grabación electrónica llegaran a los hogares, que la distribuidoras cinematográficas, o los propios estudios, editaban versiones resumidas en Súper-8 de los largometrajes que,  con una duración  que solían oscilar entre unos tres y veinte minutos,  se vendían en las tiendas de fotografía (para los bolsillos poderosos, también era posible conseguir largometrajes).

La edición de algunos de estos resúmenes (conocidos como "digestos"), a menudo hecha por los propios directores, como en el caso de Jack Arnold o Steven Spielberg, era absolutamente fantástica en ciertos títulos. De aquella época, conservo el resumen de "Doctor Cíclope", una de las pocas películas de ciencia-ficción de los años treinta y la primera de este género rodada en color.

Aunque la película no se llegó a estrenar en España, curiosamente el resumen de veinte minutos está doblado al español. "Dr. Cyclops", de Ernest B. Schoedack y Merian C. Cooper (responsables, entre otras, de "King-Kong" o "This is Cinerama"), contiene multitud de efectos especiales y secuencias en stop motion.  Este digesto, cuando estudiante, lo habré visto miles de veces pero, como está en soporte de poliéster, se encuentra impecable.

En la fotografía, la versión de 120 metros que compré en Docampo, de La Coruña, en color... ¡pero que ya estaba docolorida a rojo! cuando nueva.  También conservo la versión de sesenta metros, adquirida igualmente en Docampo, muda con subtítulos y en blanco y negro, adquirida unos años antes.

16 MM WITH OPTICAL STEREO SOUND TRACKS

 Many people, even in the film industry, believe that 16mm commercial positives have always been distributed with a single track in monophonic sound. It's a mistake. 

On the one hand, there were, and still exist today, 16 mm positives in two languages ​​("Oppenheimer" is an example, with optical sound in English and magnetic sound in Italian or Spanish). 

On the other hand, in 1984 the Italian distributor San Pablo Films began distribution in 16 mm with optical stereophonic sound, in Italian and Spanish, of titles such as "Gandhi" (Scope and Stereo), "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (Scope and Stereo) and "2001: A Space Odyssey" (stereo, but flat!). 

This century, Phil Sheard, from England, marketed several trailers in 16 mm with optical stereophonic sound.

More information coming soon.

One of the Bond features distribuited in 16 mm Stereo by San Pablo Films

FILME Y MEMORIA

Por su interés, y con su permiso, reproducimos la siguiente entrada de Jesús Odreman en la Cofradía de Editores de Cine y Vídeo:

"Film and memory".

“Seria interessant que poguéssim fotografiar tot això, les cases caigudes, les ruïnes, les ciutats destruïdes… O filmar-ho. Com no ho hem pensat?

—Potser perquè no entenem això.

—No és raó..."

"Mecanoscrit del segon origen", Manuel de Pedrolo, 1974

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cuando va pasando el tiempo y veo que algunas personas siguen considerando que con la llegada de la era digital y Hardware, la película ha muerto como soporte primordial para la imagen en movimiento, no puedo evitar recordar la novela de ciencia ficción "Mecanoscrit del segon origen", publicada en Catalán por Manuel de Pedrolo en 1974, y la cual leí en Catellano en Venezuela, en la década de los 90. En esta obra, dos jóvenes, que rememoran a Adán y a Eva en el Paraíso, utilizan cámaras fotográficas y cinematográficas (de cine, con película), para retratar las ruinas de una civilización tras una hecatombe nuclear, así como su experiencia como los últimos habitantes del mundo precedente, y los primeros del venidero. Esta obra retrata también un mundo que es un mausoleo de trastos inservibles, ante la ausencia de electricidad. Y si bien el libro es del año de mi nacimiento, en mis actuales 50 años no se hace nada difícil para mí imaginar incontables filas de dispositivos como ordenadores o teléfonos móviles, apilados e inútiles para almacenar o transferir texto, (qué decir de imagen en movimiento o sonido) en esa ficción narrativa.

Paradójicamente, los años setenta y ochenta constituyeron una etapa de elevada sofisticación en el mercado de los equipos VTR (Video Tape Recorder), los cuales hoy son considerados obsoletos, y los contenidos audiovisuales que solo se encuentran disponibles en estas tecnologías, cada vez son más difíciles -cuando no imposibles - de reproducir.

En nuestro presente, se que lo que voy a decir podría resultar incómodo para diversos lectores, pero la realidad con la tecnología, más allá de los espejismos del mercadeo de productos tecnológicos; en lo que respecta a soportes para imagen en movimiento y sonido, los único que diferencia una tecnología sofisticada y eficiente de un trasto, es que el usuario pueda acceder a la información almacenada, no solo a la hora de implementar el sistema, sino con el paso del tiempo.

Los desarrolladores de tecnología son excelentes solo si pueden prever este aspecto, e incorporarlo como parte de su plan de desarrollo, de manera eficiente.

rancamente, si tomamos en cuenta que incluso hoy, con HDR, el color en la imagen digital es arbitrario ( pues, pese a que hay estándares y un enorme trabajo de ciencia detrás, sensores de cámaras, monitores de imagen expresan el color de manera distinta entre sí, dependiendo de quién o cuál fabricante), yo no veo hoy genios como George Eastman de finales del siglo XIX, desarrollando una tecnología que permita el acceso a la información visual o sonora contenida en sus soportes dentro de 100 años, sin que la sostenibilidad del sistema tecnológico requiera una inversión de capital capaz de llevar a la bancarrota a cualquier entidad. Y esto, por supuesto, sin tomar en cuenta que tipo de obras alcanzan la condición de merecer ser preservadas, ante el panorama de la inimaginable cantidad de contenido audiovisual producido en nuestro tiempo. Eso es otro tema.

En el caso de las instituciones de preservación audiovisual, en mi experiencia como postproductor, una vez me topé con un caso de un archivo fílmico cuyo flujo de trabajo de digitalización de imágenes y sonido se detuvo totalmente por cinco años, simplemente porque una tarjeta de red de un equipo dejó de funcionar. Se trataba de un flujo de trabajo implementado al final de la primera década del siglo XXI, cuyos soportes de información funcionaban a partir de equipos IBM, basados en soportes LTO. Y la administración de la institución responsable de la tarea no pudo superar los retos de resolver el problema de la tarjeta de red de la unidad antes del vencimiento de las licencias de los equipos y software, la obsolescencia de la versión de LTO, la obsolescencia de las estaciones terminales de control. Y otros aspectos.

Mientras tanto, la inversión inyectada en ese flujo de trabajo de color no pudo ser empleada en procesos de preservación de obras, cuyo deterioro fue aumentando, aún ante el hecho de que la institución había invertido capital en el intento de paliar esta situación.

Al igual que la tecnología digital, la tecnología basada en soportes fotoquímicos tiene su complejidad, que requiere profesionales calificados, y sobre todo, entendimiento del tema por parte de los responsables de proyectos, para orientar la inversión. Sin embargo, y recordando las lecciones en la ciencia ficción de Manuel de Pedrolo: hay una realidad que los soportes digitales aún no pueden sustituir. La información de un fotograma está allí, para verla sin otro dispositivo que no sea una fuente de luz natural, o artificial ( puede ser incluso un fósforo o una vela, pero cuidado con nitrato, por favor), que se hace pasar por un orificio en un cuarto oscuro y una pared , y está disponible en un tiempo mayor al que cualquier dispositivo digital pueda ofrecer, y a un costo operativo mucho menor, en mi opinión, si se contrasta el gasto del mantenimiento de las condiciones ambientales (temperatura, humedad) que requiere el soporte fotoquímico con el desafío que implica el pago de licencias, obsolescencia de equipos o versiones de software, partes y piezas de repuesto, y otros... en la tecnología digital.

Algunas referencias a considerar:

Santanach, J. (2018, enero 29). En defensa del Mecanoscrit de Manuel de Pedrolo. Sonograma.org. https://sonograma.org/.../en-defensa-del-mecanoscrit-de.../

6.3.10 Obsolescencia de formatos y ciclos tecnológicos. (s/f). Iasa-web.org. Recuperado el 6 de julio de 2024, de https://www.iasa-web.org/tc04-es/6310-obsolescencia-de-formatos-y-ciclos-tecnol%C3%B3gicos

Lars Nakkerud auf LinkedIn: #piql #arcticworldarchive #sustainability #archives. (s/f). Linkedin.com. Recuperado el 6 de julio de 2024, de https://www.linkedin.com/.../larsnakkerud_piql...

Archival films. (2020, junio 23). Kodak; Eastman Kodak Company. https://www.kodak.com/.../products/post/archival-films/

Super 8 films. (2020, julio 20). Kodak; Eastman Kodak Company. https://www.kodak.com/en/motion/page/super-8-films/

en la foto: Descarte de reportaje filmado en 1995. Positivo 35mm (Copia de trabajo). Foto 6 de Julio de 2024

6.5 K, 184 MB PER FRAME!!!: SUPER-8 SCANNED AT SUPREME LEVEL BY OCHO Y PICO

The feature film “Perfect Antarctic Madness” is a Super-8 presentation unique worldwide due to achievements not achieved by any other filmmaker, which has earned international echo to the project, as a 6 full colour pages in the luxury printed SILVERGRAIN CLASSICS magazine,  (read more about the project in next link: CLICK HERE )

1) "Perfect Antartic Madness" was filmed using Super-8 film self-loaded to Single-8 cartridges (to be able to shoot  at temperatures of -35 degrees Celsius, avoiding the risk of jams).

2) "Perfect Antarctic Madness" was shot using the glorious  ZC1000N motion film camera, following carefully advices of its designer, Shigeo Mizukawa,  for use it at extremely low temperatures (-35 º Celsius --even colder with the katabatic wind- in some places as Taylor Dry Valleys, near McMurdo). This camera has an built-in pressure pad and a double hook claw under the window gate, which pulls the film down, as happen with 16mm, and does not push it down, as with Super-8 cameras (please, read more about this in English in next link: CLICK HERE )

3) "Perfect Antarctic Madness" was shot using not only all current Kodak emulsions, negative or reversal, but also Kodak Double X film or Fujichrome 64T, the sharpest film ever available on S8, and a special gift from Shigeo Mizukawa,  the ZC1000 designer, for this project in the 50th anniversary of the camera.

4) "Perfect Antartic Madness" has an exclusive design  of a grain reduction system, FHJ, for the television version. Please, read more information in English in next link: CLICK HERE

Our HAL 9000 room

And something very important, which exceeds the technical limits of the Super-8 film, thanks to the invaluable collaboration of one of main experts in digitalization in Spain, José Luís Sanz  "Speed", from OCHO Y PICO:

5) Scanning of all the reversal film shooting (Ektachrome 7294 and 7285, various types of Fujichrome, MFX, Tri X, Double X --from the very same master roll manufactured by Kodak for "Oppenheimer", slitted for Nolan in 65 mm and for Ignacio Benedeti in S8!) at 6.5 K, occupying each frame 184 MB!!! José Luis had already digitized this part to 4K. But a few days ago he called Ignacio to tell him that he had ubdated his Kodak Genesis scanner for this quality and a special Super-8 gate, custom made by José Luis. 

José Luís´ Lab in Ocho y Pico

JAIME CHÁVARRI, VAL DEL OMAR... and Ignacio Benedeti.

José Luis, in addition to being a teacher, is a highly respected figure in Spain both by the industry and by the main film libraries;  important digitalization works on Spanish cinema have been possible thanks to his designs. As he is a film passionate, he sometimes wants to collaborate on independent projects, like this climatic tetralogy... fortunatelly for us!

The new scanning system developed by José Luis Sanz has only been used in three projects: the preservation of films of the legendary Spanish director Val del Omar, the preservation of the Super-8 films of the prestigious director Jaime Chávarri (a fundamental figure in the Spanish cinema) and now "Perfect Antarctic Madness".

Alex and me are watching a preview, and we don´t believe our eyes with the quality obtained by José Luís Sanz. Very soon, more information. 

FRENCH SPLIT REELS FOR 16 MM ARE NOT STANDARDIZED

I really regretted not buying more 16 mm split reels  manufactured by decades by Julio Castells in Barcelona! They were cheap and of excellent quality, in alluminium.  I only have one! These types of split reels are used to manipulate the films when they arrive from the laboratory, in cores, to transfer them to standard reels ready for projection.

16 mm split reel with ORTF core standard

In all Christian countries these plastic cores are standardized in two sizes. In all the countries? No.  There is a country, which in its day was also the one that had a color television system, SECAM, different from the rest of Western Europe, which, as I just discovered, has also a different standard for 16 mm cores, called ORTF standard (acronym for the French public television). 

At the bottom, the ORTF core for split reel, different from the two standardized 16mm cores.

I promised myself happiness with a French supplier who has an inexhaustible stock of these reels, to be able to project certain titles I like on cores in my secret film vault, but all the joy in a well: they are useless. Caution with the split reels coming from the country of Melenchon!

EUMIG S938 AND S940: HOW TO UNTHREAD THE FILM.

While unthreading a Fumeo or a Fujicascope projector can be done, without tools, in a matter of two or three seconds, it is not so easy in the top models of Eumig, the 938 and the 940 Multiprocessor, which require a certain amount of time, skill and tools, including a special one, which comes originally with the projector, but which many users have lost (however, it can be obtained from VAN ECK in Holland).  

The steps to follow to unthread the films are those:

Removing the front cover

1) The first thing, in the 938 and 940, is to remove the cover, which is not swinging like in the Fujicascope SD Auto or the Fumeo 9119, or snap-on, like in many other projectors, but is held in place by two screws with a plastic head.

2) Remove the lenses (detailed instructions, in the following link: REMOVE THE LENSES  )

3) Unlock the film pressure pad carefully since its clip is plastic, to open it.

Tool to remove the magnetic head pressure pad

4) With the red tool, remove the magnetical head pressure pad, turning it a quarter of a turn clockwise.

Removing the rear cover of the film guide

5) Remove the film guide cover between the rear toothed wheel and the end of the trajectory. It´s necessary do it carefully because it is held in place with plastic clips. We remove the film guide protector, which is a plastic piece that goes in and out with slight pressure.

Rear plastic film guide cover is out now

7) Now you are ready to remove the film, starting with the upper toothed wheel.

Before to use again the projector, you must follow all these steps in reverse.

CONCLUSIONS.

Unthreading in a matter of seconds is not only important for collectors, who often only want to see part of a film, but also for those of us who shoot on film, since our edited films have usually hundreds of splices that do not always go well in some projectors: therefore, none of these models is the best for us. But the 940 and the 938 have something hypnotic that makes me continue using them.