WHICH SUPER-8 PROJECTORS TO BUY? HEURTIER STEREOVOX, THE STEAMPUNK PROJECTOR (Part 7 of 10)

I was an adolescent when Heurtier introduced the Stereovox in 1977. I was very susprised with its amazing slider sound control console and its design so cinematic that combined the latest technology, with then novel LEDs, along with very archaic mechanics conceptions together even with jewels!, in what was already a retro-futuristic design already at that time. The general appearance is also absolutely iconic: the Heurtier Stereovox, due to the arrangement of the reels, comes true the image that even children have in the imagination of as a a motion pictures film projector should be. 

Heurtier, for those who do not know it, was a French firm that from the 1930s to 1981 manufactured some of the most amazing film projectors ever conceived. One day we will write about his tri-format sound projector (for 8, 9.5 and 16 mm), present in my  collection, or about the first stereophonic projector, the ST42, manufactured in 1972 !, many years that the Japanese , achieving what Kodak, the inventor of the format, said was impossible: record sound on the compensation track to achieve Super-8 stereophony.

The owners, a French family,   closed its factory in 1981, just before the unpredictable collapse of the Super-8, because its main patents were expiring and could be freely used by anyone. This chance of fate saved them from ruin.

A REAR PRESSURE PLATE WITH RUBIES.

As is traditional in French projectors, and in some German ones, the Stereovox has a rear sprung pressure plate (in the lamp side): it is a technical delicatessen and is very important to project films of different thicknesses on the same reel. This allows to project films of different thickness (polyester with triacetate, Ektachrome 100 with Provia 400, camera originals with print positives), without the need to adjust the focus during projection, as this arrangement allows the distance between the emulsion and the lens to be constant regardless of the film thickness, as seen in the previous installment.

The most amazing feature, and unique in the world, is that the pressure plate has two real rubies embedded just before and after the projection window, in order to keep the image of the frame perfectly flat in order to be able to use very high luminosity lesses, very critical with the focus. But wiht this ingenious madness, however, is much better not project recently processed material, called "green film" in Spain,  with the soft emulsion, because it could be scratched!

OTHER FEATURES.

The Stereovox comes with the famous 12 to 30mm Scheneider Xenovaron variable focal lens, but not the 1.1, but the 1.3, technically sharper. The level meters, made of LEDs, in the Seventies! they were sensational and almost hypnotic.

Unlike projectors from other brands, even from later years, the Stereovox does not need an external cable to transfer the sound from one track to the other: track to track transfer can be done by simply pressing a button!

THREE MAGNETIC HEADS.

The Heurtier Stereovox has three magnetic heads.  Heurtier being the first brand to incorporate this feature (later, it was included in only three other devices: the Bauer 610 Microcomputer Stereo, the Beaulieu Stereo and one cheap projector made by Silma in Italy). Thanks to the third magnetic head, the projector not only manages to record with an echo effect, but, even more importantly, allows you to listen, as soon as it is done in a recording session, to the superimpossed sound mix recorded by the immediately preceding heads, to check that the sound is recorded with the correct mix percentage (nowdays, it can be done easily with the computer, and, later, transfered to the film track, buy many readers are like me and enjoy recording the sound of the most traditional way possible, becasue it is a real delight).

ANSELM VIDAL: THE GREATEST EXPERT IN HEURTIER.

My friend the engineer Anselm Vidal,  from Barcelona, a Bolex and Beaulieu fan, and the proud owner of a Fujica ZC1000, is also the world's greatest Heurtier expert: he owns several projectors of this brand, to which he has incorporated various improvements designed and manufactured personally.

Heurtier 3 format.

THE STEAMPUNK PROJECTOR.

The Heurtier Stereovox is the  most amazing piece of retrotechnology aplied to Super8 sound projectors, that does not leave even the neophyte indifferent: the Heurtier Stereovox with its amazing slider controls console that would make Hollywood sound engineers pale with envy. In this projector, I like the notable quiet running, the sound mixing features and the rear pressure plate with rubies!But above all, I like to see it, to look at it. Even though I don't consider it a practical projector to use, it's so beautiful! that I used it in my very popular music clip shot in Super-8 "Camino de Vuelta": 

CAMINO DE VUELTA (Pleasant Dreams). KODAK SUPER-8 4K from IB CINEMA Motion Picture Films on Vimeo.

In this series of ten articles, a digest of the one published in the international magazine SilverGrain Classics, are described the most interesting projectors to buy, depending on the use they will be put to. 

Originally published in SilverGrain Classics

Part 1 of 10, click here

Part 2 of 10, click here

Part 3 of 10, click here

Part 4 of 10, click here

Part 5 of 10, click here

Part 6 of 10, click here

WHICH SUPER-8 PROJECTORS TO BUY? REAR SPRUNG PRESSURE PLATE MACHINES (Part 6 of 10)

 

WHEN THE  GERMAN ENGINEERING MARKS THE POINT: REAR SPRUNG PRESSURE PLATE.

Only a handful of sound Super-8 projectors were made with a great German idea: the rear sprung pressure plate, in the lamp side. This allows to project films of different thickness (polyester with triacetate, Ektachrome 100 with Provia 400, camera originals with print positives), without the need to adjust the focus during projection, as this arrangement allows the distance between the emulsion and the lens to be constant regardless of the film thickness. All motion pictures projectors should have been manufactured in this way.

Which model has rear sprung plate combined with a swing open type lens holder, together with a first class lens? The one chosen by Steve Jobs for his London house and sold to him by Lee Cameras, the Braun Visacustic 2000, possibly the most elegant machine of all. 

This lovely jewel of German technology  can project at 16 2/3, 18, 24 and 25 frames per second (with fine adjustment of plus / minus 1 frame), stereophonic sound, digital LED counter with LED and 150 W  lamp.

The Visacustic 2000 Digital has other features: 1) it can be synchronized with other devices, as DVDs; and 2) the pull down moviment  is so fast that it is able to get more light on the screen with a 150 W lamp, cheap and easy to find, than others with 200 W.

All Braun Visacustic 2000 projectors offer a very sharp and flat picture on screen. This is not only due to the rear sprung pressure plate but also that in the Braun factory, when they received from Schneider each batch of the famous f 1.1 11-30 mm zoom, they checked each lens individually: a third of each shipment was returned (and, perhaps, mounted on other brands?). 

Another interesting point of the Braun Visacustic 2000 is that the projector itself it is placed on a loudspeaker box that can be separated from the projector and placed under the screen: the machine thus becomes a very small wonder, very easy to keep in a closet at home, without your wife protesting! There is a cheaper version of the Braun, the Viscustic 1000, without a digital counter, with a 100 W lamp instead of 150 W one,  and without the Schneider lens.

For those filmmakers that space is not a problem,  the Mercedes Benz of Super-8 projectors with rear sprung pressure plate is the Beaulieu Studio Stereo, a French projector with a German heart, which remained in production until the nineties (with two previous versions). But I will write about the Beaulieu in other installment of this series, the one dedicate a high range projectors.

Also, in another chapter,  I will write about two other brands with rear sprung pressure plate machines:  the German Noris and the French Heurtier that, due to their importance in the world of Super-8, deserve extended chapters.

Of great interest, in the category of projectors with this type of rear sprung pressure plates, is a very well built projector in Germany, that can be bought for peanuts!, the Afga Sonector S Automatic. 

Introduced in 1969, it not only has a lamp side pressure plate, but the lens holder is of the fully swing-open type, as in the Braun Visacustic, the Elmo range or the Beaulieu. 

In addition, it uses a lamp of the same halogen lamp of many slide projectors (so, only the bulb), with its corresponding condenser lenses and mirror built-in the projector. 

This kind of lamp is very cheap (about eight euros, or even less) and it can last up to 2,000 hours. The sound level meter is really beautiful, of the "eye magic" bar type: amazing!  

The only drawback of this projector is that it only accept up to 120 meters spools.

CONCLUSION. 

Rear sprung pressure plate (in the side of the lamp) is a technical achievemet and the ideal solution for projecting Super-8 films. The reason that only a few European manufacturers have supported this great German idea is that the cost of mass production is higher. If budget is not an issue, my recommendation is to buy a Braun Visacustic 2000 Digital projector, but you can still get a great projector with rear sprung pressure plate with a small pocket, and reliable and cheap to maintain, with the Agfa Sonector S. If you are a silent man, then, the Bolex 18-5, sold in the late ´60s, could be ideal for you (available too for 8 mm).

 In this series of ten articles, a digest of the one published in the international magazine SilverGrain Classics, are described the most interesting projectors to buy, depending on the use they will be put to. 

Originally published in SilverGrain Classics

Part 1 of 10, click here

Part 2 of 10, click here

Part 3 of 10, click here

Part 4 of 10, click here

Part 5 of 10, click here

HEURTIER STEREOVOX: EL PROYECTOR STEAMPUNK

Escribo sobre esta extraña máquina francesa en mi artículo sobre proyectores de Súper-8 que verá la luz en el próximo número de SilvergrainClassics, la biblia internacional sobre tecnología fotoquímica, lujuriosamente impresa en Alemania en el esperanto moderno que es el inglés.

Heurtier fue un acreditadísimo fabricante francés (en España e Inglaterra compartía distribuidor con Beaulieu), que tuvo la suerte de cerrar la fábrica dos o tres años antes del colapso del Súper-8, cuando varias de sus patentes expiraron.

Cuando Kodak lo consideraba imposible, y años antes que los japoneses, Heurtier introdujo la esterefonía en Súper-8 en 1972 o 1973.

Uno de sus modelos estereofónicos, el Stereovox, me fascinó desde adolescente, con esa consola de mandos deslizantes que haría palidecer de envidia a los técnicos hollywoodenses del Sensurround de Multidimensión.

Considero al Stereovox un proyector puramente steampunk por todo lo que conjuga: una disposición de las bobinas al mas puro estilo de principios del siglo XX con una consola de mezclas setentera, aderezada ¡¡¡con un vúmetro de LEDs!!! de absoluta ciencia-ficción en su día, justo debajo de una lámpara de cortesía tubular de incandescencia que parece de finales del XIX.

Sin olvidar, por supuesto, la mayor locura: ¡¡¡auténticos rubís en ventanilla!!!, para intentar mantener la película plana ¡aunque para ello hubiese que rayar las emulsiones recién reveladas! (en España, esto era una opción extra).

Al igual que los proyectoresp profesionales Fumeo, los garfios de arrastre están bajo la ventanilla, no sobre la misma, como ocurre con los proyectores domésticos de Súper-8. Coincide, esta práctica, con los proyectores de 16 mm, así como con cámaras de S8 como la Fuji ZC1000.

¿DÓNDE COMPRAR ARTÍCULOS DE SÚPER-8? Siempre recomiendo la misma tienda que usa Steven Spielberg y J.J. Abrams, Pro 8 mm de Hollywood. Atienden en español e inglés, en el siguiente enlace:  https://www.pro8mm.com?sca_ref=221762.t1gzXnwJIC

HEURTIER STEREOVOX: EL PROYECTOR MÁS LOCO JAMÁS FABRICADO

Cuando Heurtier presentó el Stereovox, en 1977, su consola de mandos hizo palidecer de envidia a los técnicos de Hollywood, al igual que su diseño tan cinematográfico que conjugaba la última tecnología, de los entonces novedosos LEDs, junto con mecánicas arcaicas (¡encomiéndose uno a Dios en caso de que se necesite acceder al interior del aparato!), y artesanías propias de joyeros, en lo que ya entonces era un diseño retrofuturista.

UNAS PALABRAS SOBRE HEURTIER.
Heurtier, para quien lo desconozca, fue una firma francesa que desde los años treinta y hasta 1981 fabricó algunos de los proyectores de cine mas sorprendentes jamás concebido. Un día escribiremos de sus aparatos triformato (para 8, 9.5 y 16 mm), presentes en la colección de la Cinemateca de Galicia/IB Cinema, o del primer proyector estereofónico, el ST42, ¡fabricado en 1972!, muchos años que los japoneses, que consiguió lo que Kodak, inventora del formato, decía que era imposible: grabar sonido en la pista de compensación para conseguir la estereofonía en Súper-8.
La familia propietaria de Heurtier cerró su fábrica en 1981, justo antes del impredecible colapso del súper-8, debido a que sus patentes principales expiraban y podrían ser usadas libremente por cualquiera. Este azar del destino les salvó de la ruina.

UN PRESOR CON RUBÍES.
Como es tradicional en los proyectores franceses, y en algunos alemanes, el Stereovox cuenta con presor trasero: se trata de una golosina técnica es muy importante para proyectar películas de distintos grosores en una  misma bobina sin necesidad de corregir el enfoque en proyección. ¡Ningún proyector ni de 35 mm ni de 16 mm se llegó a fabricar así!, por increíble que parezca. 
Lo mas asombroso, y único en el mundo, es que el presor cuenta con dos auténticos rubíes encastrados justo antes y después del ventanuco de proyección, con objeto de mantener perfectamente plana la imagen del fotograma a fin de poder emplear objetivos de muy alta luminosidad, muy críticos con el enfoque. Esta ingeniosa locura, sin embargo, impide proyectar material recién revelado, con la emulsión blanda, pues se raya.

OTRAS DELICIAS.
El Stereovox trae de origen el famoso objetivo de focal variable Scheneider Xenovaron de 12 a 30 mm, pero no el de 1.1, sino el de 1.3, técnicamente mas nítido. Los vúmetros, de LEDs, ¡en 1977! causaban sensación y resultaban casi hipnóticos.
A diferencia de proyectores de otras marcas, incluso de años posteriores, en el Stereovox no se necesita de un cable exterior para transferir el sonido de una pista a la otra: ¡se logra simplemente presionando un botón! 
TRES CABEZALES.
El Heurtier Stereovox cuenta con tres cabezales magnéticos, siendo Heurtier la primera marca en incorporar esta golosina (posteriormente, fue incluida en sólo otros dos aparatos:  el Bauer 610 Microcomputer Stereo y el Beaulieu Stereo).  Gracias al tercer cabezal, la máquina no sólo consigue grabar con efecto eco, sino que, todavía mas importante,  permite ir escuchando, tan pronto como se hace en una sesión de grabación,  la mezcla sonora en sobreimpresión que registran los cabezales inmediatamente precedentes, para comprobar que la superposición sonora se encuentra en el porcentaje correcto (es una particularidad que, aunque no se vaya a usar nunca, o que actualmente se consiga fácilmente con un ordenador, para quienes valoramos estos ingeniosos diseños setenteros y nos gusta grabar el sonido de la forma mas artesanal posible,  es una auténtica delicia).
ANSELM VIDAL: EL MAYOR EXPERTO EN HEURTIER.
Mi amigo, el ingeniero barcelonés Anselm Vidal, forofo de Bolex y Beaulieu, y orgulloso propietario de una Fujica ZC1000, es también el mayor experto mundial en Heurtier: posee varios proyectores, de distintos modelos, a los que ha incorporado distintas mejoras diseñadas y fabricadas por él.