blimping a camera

[jocko]

Yea ..like I said this was back in the 80's..a company..made them out of plexigass..only a couple for super-8 camera's..the canons,beaulieu..they were expensive..but I bought mine off a diver that never made his film(so I got it cheap)then I remember that EWA made some waterproof bags for camera's..I have seen housings for video cams..but I guess the only place to buy s-8 housings is on E-bay..still just an Idea..or you could rent a PANAVISION camera

Neil
JOCKO FILMS

[This message has been edited by jocko (edited August 05, 2001).]

[rollemfilm]

hi neil; my film was completed as of april this year. i need to update my web page. i used any film stock i could get my hands on at the time. so it's a mix of tri-x, plus-x & kodachrome. i shot in many low light situations so i also used some 16mm ektachrome 400. as you can see i used all reversal film. my main camera was the canon 514xl-s. not as fancy as the 1014xl-s, but very dependable. i used this camera for all sync sound. when i started the film, you could still get sound carts from kodak, although they had already begun to phase it out. so i used these early on for sync. i also used an un-motified pro-walkman for other sync shots. since these recorders are so stable, and since the 514 is so stable i was able in most cases to stay in sync for the entire roll. sometimes it would drift at 2min. i also used an 814E for exterior shots. and i was also able to sync with this camera! for low light i used a bell & howell filmo 70dr. it has a 203 degree shutter and runs almost a half a roll with on whole
winding. recently i have updated my audio package with a marantz minidisk recorder, an audio-technica field mixer, a good stereo mic and a short shot gun mic. my editing was done with an avid. i transfered original fim to beta-sp at cine post. in march of this year i had a local showing. over 70 folks came out. we rented a video projector from a local music store and made an s-vhs copy for that. it was truely a moment. after 3 years of work it was great to hear audience reaction to the film. they laughed when they were supposed to and asked the right questions after. i'm now in the process of finding funding for my next project and trying to find the right outlet for this film.

[rollemfilm]

right, nothing was crystal. the film is a spring wound camera. but they held sync fairly well. with the 814E we had to tweek the compression a bit in post, so it's not as good as a good sound camera. but it does work well. not the best way to shoot, but when you have no choice....i recently also got a blooper from the film group. this alone will make shooting much better.

[rollemfilm]

i meant to say, the "filmo" is a spring wound camera.

[Matt Pacini]

First of all, Clerks was shot on 35mm, not 16mm.
I've built about 7 different blimps & barneys, (because none of the completely kept out the noise, I kept trying different things!), while making my feature, LOST TRIBES, and here is what I finally concluded:

The metal or plexiglass blimps, unless they are really professionally done, will not cut down very much noise, because if any part of the hard material touches the camera, ANYWHERE, it will actually amplify the noise through the body of the blimp.
In the end, the thing that worked best, was a Sega game machine leather case, stuffed with foam & rubber-backed bathroom carpet, flipped upside down so the lens and eyepiece will sit where the ends of the zipper are, and then sew velcro so you can close it up tight. Sounds cheesy, but believe me, I tried everything else, and I recorded the sound, and this was the best.
Also, get those moving blankets they sell (hardware stores have them) and lay them all over where there are hard surfaces: floors, gaffer tape or hang them off stands to cover walls, etc. to absorb as much sound as you can.
I built the barney from plans in the Broadski & Treadway book (good book, get it), and it worked pretty well, except a lot of sound leaked around it because it didn't cover the camera very well, using that thick vinyl, which is stiff and hard to work with.
BTW, Compendiums (Matte-boxes) are NOT designed to have anything whatsoever to do with cutting down camera noise, and this posting is the first time I've ever heard anyone make such a claim.
Bizarre....
Matt Pacini

[Matt Pacini]

P.S. I have since bought a Nizo 6080, and it is quieter without a blimp or barney, than any of my other cameras were WITH a blimp or barney.
My past cameras were:
Canon 1014 XL-S
Canon 814 XL-S
Bauer 715 XL-S (Kept that one, awesome camera!)
Nizo 801
Beaulieu
Nikon R-10
Nikon Super ZoomSo buy a Nizo 6080, or 6056.
They are THE quietest Super 8 cameras ever built, period!

[ulrichsd]

I was pretty sure Clerks was shot on 16mm so I checked out the specs on www.IMDB.com (the best site EVER!)
http://us.imdb.com/Technical?0109445
Technical Specifications for
Clerks (1994)

Camera
Arriflex 16 SR2

Film negative format (mm/video inches)
16 mm

Printed film format
35 mm (blow-up)

Aspect ratio
1.85 : 1


Anyway, I recieved and watched your film Matt, and really enjoyed it. Thanks for all the help and advice. I'm wishing I had a Nizo 6080, but I can't complain because in my test footage all the shots with my Canon have been very crisp and clear. A barney with coats over the top has really worked well in my tests. It doesn't look very pretty or professional, but professionalism is judged by the end result, IMO.

Scott

[This message has been edited by ulrichsd (edited August 05, 2001).]

[dogstarman]

Please Clarify:

Your 514xl-s was not crystal synced? Correct?
Nor the 814E or the B&H? Just curious.



[This message has been edited by dogstarman (edited August 05, 2001).]

[dogstarman]

No, the 814E wouldn't be... duh. Brain's not working today...

[dogstarman]

Back to the blimping question...

I have a Canon 514xl-s that came with the original soft, padded, pleather Canon bag. This post got me thinking, so I put the camera inside the bag backwards (lens at the bottom) zipped it up and left enough of a space for the eyepeice, and fired it off using the remote. Cut the sound by about 2/3. Admittedly I still have to cut a hole for the lens, but I think with some minor adjustments (extra padding) it might work fairly well. The main attraction here is that it's EASY to get on and off, and isn't huge and ungainly...

One other thing: there is this aerosol stuff, I can't remember what it's called, but they use it at car-stereo instalation places to coat non-visable parts of car interiors and in the areas where they put speakers. I don't know what it is (chemical-wise), but is absorbs sound quite well. It sprays on, so you can use it anywhere. Just a thought...