Passage to Polynesia, Part 1

Edited film
"Filmed in the Islands of Tahiti, Bora Bora, Maupiti, and Moorez,
Producer: Dr. Harry B. Wright
Audio/Visual: silent, color
Harry B. (Bernard) Wright (1897-1958), an orthodontist practicing in Philadelphia, was also a passionate traveler and amateur filmmaker. A member of the Explorer's Club in New York City, Dr. Wright also wrote a book based on his travels, A Witness to Witchcraft (1957), which was originally to be titled My Colleague, the Witch Doctor. Dr. Wright traveled to and made 16mm films in several countries, in Latin America, West Africa, and Oceania (New Guinea). One produced film, some elements of which we may have in our collection, was called Savages in Paradise (1954), and took place in Papua New Guinea. We do not seem to have a complete print of this film or know where another print exists. Dr. Wright does not seem to have consulted with anthropologists or area specialists in his investigations outside of his own culture.
It can be noted that there was another Harry Wright making amateur travelogue films at the same time, whose films can be found at the Library of Congress. Thanks to research by Magdalena Acosta of the Mexican Film Archives we have distinguished the two creators, her emphasis on the latter reveals him to be an American living mostly in Mexico City, note also that the latter Harry Wright had no middle name

That Mexican Holiday,silent, b&w

Producer: Dr. Harry B. Wright
Audio/Visual: silent, b&w
Harry B. (Bernard) Wright (1897-1958), an orthodontist practicing in Philadelphia, was also a passionate traveler and amateur filmmaker. A member of the Explorer's Club in New York City, Dr. Wright also wrote a book based on his travels, A Witness to Witchcraft (1957), which was originally to be titled My Colleague, the Witch Doctor. Dr. Wright traveled to and made 16mm films in several countries, in Latin America, West Africa, and Oceania (New Guinea). One produced film, some elements of which we may have in our collection, was called Savages in Paradise (1954), and took place in Papua New Guinea. We do not seem to have a complete print of this film or know where another print exists. Dr. Wright does not seem to have consulted with anthropologists or area specialists in his investigations outside of his own culture.
It can be noted that there was another Harry Wright making amateur travelogue films at the same time, whose films can be found at the Library of Congress. Thanks to research by Magdalena Acosta of the Mexican Film Archives we have distinguished the two creators, her emphasis on the latter reveals him to be an American living mostly in Mexico City, note also that the latter Harry Wright had no middle name

Brazil Part 5,silent, color,

Producer: Dr. Harry B. Wright
Audio/Visual: silent, color
Harry B. (Bernard) Wright (1897-1958), an orthodontist practicing in Philadelphia, was also a passionate traveler and amateur filmmaker. A member of the Explorer's Club in New York City, Dr. Wright also wrote a book based on his travels, A Witness to Witchcraft (1957), which was originally to be titled My Colleague, the Witch Doctor. Dr. Wright traveled to and made 16mm films in several countries, in Latin America, West Africa, and Oceania (New Guinea). One produced film, some elements of which we may have in our collection, was called Savages in Paradise (1954), and took place in Papua New Guinea. We do not seem to have a complete print of this film or know where another print exists. Dr. Wright does not seem to have consulted with anthropologists or area specialists in his investigations outside of his own culture.
It can be noted that there was another Harry Wright making amateur travelogue films at the same time, whose films can be found at the Library of Congress. Thanks to research by Magdalena Acosta of the Mexican Film Archives we have distinguished the two creators, her emphasis on the latter reveals him to be an American living mostly in Mexico City, note also that the latter Harry Wright had no middle name

Brazil 3 ,silent, color,

Brazil Part 2 ,silent, color,

Harry B. (Bernard) Wright (1897-1958), an orthodontist practicing in Philadelphia, was also a passionate traveler and amateur filmmaker. A member of the Explorer's Club in New York City, Dr. Wright also wrote a book based on his travels, A Witness to Witchcraft (1957), which was originally to be titled My Colleague, the Witch Doctor. Dr. Wright traveled to and made 16mm films in several countries, in Latin America, West Africa, and Oceania (New Guinea). One produced film, some elements of which we may have in our collection, was called Savages in Paradise (1954), and took place in Papua New Guinea. We do not seem to have a complete print of this film or know where another print exists. Dr. Wright does not seem to have consulted with anthropologists or area specialists in his investigations outside of his own culture.
It can be noted that there was another Harry Wright making amateur travelogue films at the same time, whose films can be found at the Library of Congress. Thanks to research by Magdalena Acosta of the Mexican Film Archives we have distinguished the two creators, her emphasis on the latter reveals him to be an American living mostly in Mexico City, note also that the latter Harry Wright had no middle name

Home Movie of Home Movie Day Raleigh 2007,

Documentation of home movie day with super 8 camera - demonstrating that the film format isn't obsolete as commonly believed.

Funeral For A Friend,

Created in memorial of Kodachrome 40 super 8 film stock. Film scratches courtesy of Kodak processing.

Of the Earth (1998)

Super 8 film of an earth-oriented prayer ritual,

How to Make Home Movies Your Friends Will Want to See Twice,

Educational Super 8 film covering film making techniques that will improve your super 8 home movies. The first part focuses on shooting a birthday party indoors and the second part covers shooting a family camping trip,

Production Company: Lost in Light
Audio/Visual: silent (subtitled), color (red)

Fish Trip, Rogue River, 1979,

8mm home movie of Gustine, California in 1949, From LostinLight.org,

Family Camping Through 48 States,super8 Format with sound,

During five summers from 1957 to 1961, the five-member Barstow family of Wethersfield, Connecticut, set out to visit all 48 of the then United States of America on a series of month-long camping trips. Part I includes seeing famous sites from "America's History" in 24 Eastern, Northern, and Southern states. (58 Minutes)

New York World's Fair, 1939-40] (Reel 5) (Part III) (1939)

Introduction to the 8mm formats ,

You can tell this film apart from Standard 8 because the sprocket holes are aligned with center of each frame. More information on What is Super 8 film. Super 8 system by Kodak Single 8 In 1965 Fuji introduced the "Single 8"-film which is nothing else than "Super 8"-dimension film in a totally different cartridge. The "Single 8"-cartridges do have some advantages (complete rewind possible, pressure plate in the camera, ...), but most companies stuck with the "yellow giant" (a.k.a. Kodak): Agfa and Konica never released their "Single 8"-films and only Elmo, Konica, Yashica and Canon joined Fuji in producing "Single 8"-cameras. Single 8 system by Fuji

Classic 1960s Chinon Zoom 8 Millimeter Camera,

Classic 1960s Chinon Zoom 8 Millimeter Camera
VINTAGEModel No:   Chinon Zoom 8
Special Price $ 100.00
E-mail us for pricing on larger volumes
The Chinon Zoom 8 was a perfect 8 millimeter movie camera for the aspiring movie producer in the 1970s.  This is a true collectable, made well before the Video Camera of today. The Chinon Zoom 8 was MADE IN JAPAN and operates on 4 "AA" size batteries (not included).  Some innovative features of that day include an automatic electric eye, electric motor drive, and a reflex zoom lens.  This 8 millimeter camera is very portable and can be taken just about anywhere to capture those embarrassing moments or those unforgettable ones. BRAND NEW IN ITS ORIGINAL BOX!!!
How to order:
Shipping & Handling charge on this item is $25.00 per unit.  Texas residents please add 8.25% Texas Sales Tax.  Send a money order or cashier's check to:

Jack Berg Sales Company
P.O. Box 96
El  Paso, Texas     79941-0096
                     or
We can ship UPS COD immediately for an additional $9.50 surcharge.  We do accept personal checks, but there is a 7 day delay in shipping to allow for clearance.  If you have any questions or to place a telephone order please call (915) 532-4519
9:00 - 5:00  MST    M-F

New Old Stock Chinon 8mm Movie Cameras,

New Old Stock Chinon 8mm Movie Cameras

Jack Berg Sales is a wholesale liquidation company that offers a variety of strange electronic gadgets from the 1960s and 1970s. We first mentioned them several of years ago, and RT co-author Bohus just reminded me of their existence. Their prices are incredibly steep, but where else are you going to find brand new 8-track stereos with stacking turntables these days?
One device in particular caught my attention: A brand new Chinon Zoom 8 Movie Camera from 1963. It features a Chinon 9.5-30mm f/1.8 zoom lens, electric eye exposure and runs on 4 x AA batteries. This camera is several years older than Kodak's Super 8 cartridge format and uses "Regular 8" film on tiny 25-foot reels (available from John Schwind's International Film, prices start at about $10 for B&W). Strangely, it's mis-classified under "Video Equipment."

For Sale: Charlie Chaplin's Movie Camera,

For Sale: Charlie Chaplin's Movie Camera

Christie's will be auctioning the Bell & Howell Model 2709 camera once owned by Charlie Chaplin on July 25, 2007 [update: It didn't meet the reserve bid]. It is expected to fetch between £70,000 and £90,000 ($140,000 to $180,000). The auction includes a copy of the original sale document indicating that the device was sold to Chaplin about a month after he founded Chaplin Studios Inc. with his brother Sydney in 1918. At the time, this state of the art device sold for $2,000 - about $31,000 in 2006 dollars.
The Bell & Howell 2709 was a hand-cranked 35mm camera that became the mainstay of Hollywood silent movie production upon its introduction in 1911. In fact, nearly every major Hollywood production of the era was shot on a 2709 or its competitor, the Mitchell Standard. Unbelievably, this model remained in production into the 1950s, although I suspect many of the later units were used for animation purposes, rather than hand-cranked live action.
Chaplin's company owned three other 2709s, but this camera is special because it was the only camera purchased by Chaplin himself -- one of the few Bell & Howell 2709s owned by an individual. It is very likely that this camera was used to shoot some of his most important work, including A Dog's Life (1918), Shoulder Arms (1918), The Kid (1921) and The Gold Rush (1924), since the studio possessed only one other Model 2709 during this period. It's also probable that the camera remained at Chaplin's side through the 1930s, when he continued to cling to silent film while others made the leap to sound. As a result, it could have played a role in the production of his highly regarded later works including City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936).
This auction lot includes the original camera, a selection of lenses, a Mitchell side-mount viewfinder, wooden legs and a pan-and-tilt head, along with four top-mount "Mickey Mouse Ears" 400 ft. Bell & Howell film magazines. Interestingly, the magazines aren't the originals that were shipped with the camera, for the simple reason that these were probably worn out from years of hard use.
It is hard to imagine any other vintage camera that had such an enormous impact on the film industry. Modern equipment is usually rented from companies such as Panavision because of its prohibitively high price, so the cameras remain largely anonymous. This particular machine had a far more organic relationship with its owner, since Chaplin and cinematographer Rollie Totheroh hand-cranked many thousands of feet of film through its magazines over the span of decades.

Soviet Super 8 Movie Cameras,

Soviet Super 8 Movie Cameras

Filmmaking was a surprisingly popular hobby in the USSR. As with many things in the Soviet era, making movies required a bit of planning and forethought. Equipment and film was expensive, so many people belonged to film clubs and were able to obtain film at a significant discount. Two major film manufacturers - Svema and Tasma - produced color and black & white cine film, although the color stocks were usually reserved for motion picture and television production. Each new Super 8 camera shipped with a handful of reloadable Super 8 film cartridges, so all you needed was a supply of raw film.
Several cameras - such as the Quarz 2x8 Super-3 above - did away with the cartridge completely and accepted Double Super 8 film on reels. Double Super 8 (DS8) is a hybrid format that uses 16mm wide film to capture Super 8 sized frames. One half of the film is exposed, the reels are flipped, and the other half is shot. The 16mm strip is cut into two 8mm-wide reels after processing. It was a clever system.
Over 200,000 clockwork Quarz DS8-3 cameras were produced between 1971 and 1983. They require no batteries, thanks to a quaint windup motor and a solar-powered selenium exposure meter. Apart from having to wind up the motor every 20 seconds or so, the camera was fairly well specified with an f1.8/9-38mm Meteor zoom lens. It offered 12, 18, 24, and 36 frame per second shooting speeds, along with a single frame mode for animation.
These cameras appear frequently on eBay, sold direct from Russia. Purchasing one is a bit of a gamble: it might have lived in a damp shed for several decades. Instead, I recommend a fellow by the name of Olex Kalynychenko in the Ukraine. He services the cameras he sells, so you know that yours will be in good running order when it arrives.

Underwater Moviemaking [Classic Retro Thing]

Underwater Moviemaking [Classic Retro Thing]

Thanks to computer-based editing, filmmaking is more popular today than it was ten years ago. To get you started, how about The Fujica AX100? It's a tiny Single-8 movie camera produced by Fuji in the early 1970s. It's easy to use, with an extremely fast F/1.1 lens for low-light shooting and one-button point-and-shoot filming. The AX100 uses Fuji Single-8 film cartridges, which are still available for $16 plus processing.
If you're really lucky, you might find one with the Fujica MarinePack 8 underwater housing (pictured after the jump). With its targeting sight, weird plastic fins, and suspicious looking lens holes, this is definitely not something to toss into your carry-on luggage.
The Fujica AX100 in its optional MarinePack underwater housing. When new, these were waterproof up to 40m (about 120ft). These days, I'd try it in the bathtub first. Perfect for re-enacting Jaws in your neighbor's pool.

An Affordable Piece of Motion Picture History,

An Affordable Piece of Motion Picture History

Fred and Stephanie Marriott run a little shop in Hornsea crammed full of old books, cameras and model railway paraphernalia. Luckily, they also offer their wares on the Internet. The F. & S. Marriott Cine Catalogue offers a wonderfully esoteric selection of vintage motion picture cameras. One device in particular jumped out at me, a Cine-Kodak Eight Model 20 -- the first 8mm movie camera -- introduced in 1932 for the princely sum of $34.50.
The Cine-Kodak Eight featured a wind-up spring motor and a simple parallel viewfinder built into the handle on top of the case. Everything was completely manual -- you set the exposure by hand and fancy zoom lenses were still decades away. None of that mattered, because aspiring filmmakers suddenly had an affordable and compact camera to shoot home movies. It remained on the market until 1947.
Believe it or not, amateur movie makers started off using 35mm film, making it a hobby for well-heeled gadget fiends. There were many attempts to shrink the format, including 17.5mm, 9.5mm and 16mm Kodak film (now regarded as a fully professional format, thanks to dramatically improved modern film emulsions and optics).
Amateur filmmaking truly took off following the arrival of Double 8mm film in 1932 (it's also referred to as Regular 8mm or Standard 8mm). The format was based on 16mm film with twice the number of perforations. Two tiny 8mm film frames sit side-by-side on the reel. You exposed half of the film before flipping it over to expose the other half. After processing, the film gets sliced into two 25 foot long 8mm strips.
The Double 8mm format remained at the forefront of home movie making until 1965, when Kodak and Fuji unveiled the immensely popular cartridge-based Super 8 and Single 8 formats.

Super 8 Projector... In Avocado Green,

Montgomery Ward Super 8 Projector... In Avocado Green

Here's proof that there was a time when absolutely everything was for sale in avocado green.  I used to think that avocado was a color reserved for kitchen appliances and primary school counter tops (and avocados of course!), but here it is – a pea-soup & ivory colored Super 8 projector.
It's easy to forget that home movies weren't just the turf of spendy camera shops.  Regular department stores wanted in on the lucrative domestic cinema market.  This Montgomery Ward 866 projector simply has to be from the 70's (I'd welcome any confirmation of that) from the color scheme.  Of course the 70's were back when Super 8 was king.

It's quite compact, maybe about the size of a six pack of tall-boys (I'm thirsty as I write this - so kill me...).  The take up reel is neatly built in (though the hub is oddly for regular 8).  Montgomery Ward looks like they wanted to simplify projecting home movies with this affordable projector.
The threading is much simpler than most projectors, which makes me fear for the safety of any film I'd run through it.  All of those extra gears and spindles that you see on larger projectors are there to take the strain off of the film as it runs through the projection path.  Not the kind of thing I'd want to eliminate to reduce costs.
I can't run it because the rubber belt inside has rotted to bits.  Looking at the internals it's simplified compared to most projectors I've seen.  It's got forward and reverse as well as a still function – not totally commonplace features, especially in what was probably a pretty affordable projector in its day.
Since I have so many misgivings about the safety of this “monkey wards” projector (no wonder they went out of business in 2001!) I doubt that I'll ever run movies through it.  It doesn't look like I'll be missing much.  Check out the tiny lens.  The lamp is plenty big but not much light seems to make it out the front of the thing.
Sometimes department stores can sneak out something crazy and cool, but in this case I think they should have saved their avocado green for a washing machine.

Standard 8 mm film,

Standard 8 mm film, also known as Regular 8 mm film, Double 8 mm film or simply as Standard-8 or Regular-8, is a film format originally developed by the Eastman Kodak company and released onto the market in 1932.
The format, initially known as Cine Kodak Eight, was developed by Kodak to provide a cheaper and more portable alternative to the 16 mm film format introduced a decade earlier.

Standard 8 mm film stock consisted of 16 mm film reperforated to have twice the usual number of perforations along its edges, though using the same size sprocket holes. This film was run through the camera, exposing one edge of the film only (the frame size of standard 8 mm film is 4.8 mm x 3.5 mm). The spool was then reversed and the film run through again, exposing the other edge. After processing the film was cut down the centre and spliced together to give one roll of 8mm wide film. The standard spool size for amateur use contained 25 ft of film, giving a total of 50 ft available for projection; at the usual filming speed of 16 frames per second this would give around three and a half minutes of footage.

The format was an immediate success, but retained a number of inherent problems and quirks, mostly connected with the fact that the spool needed to be removed and reversed half way through filming. This procedure was tricky for the inexperienced user and needed to be carried out in subdued light to avoid fogging of the edges of the film. In addition, the central six feet of the finished film would include a characteristic burst of light corresponding to the reversal point (unless the film was again edited and spliced).

In the early 1960s, a new filming and projection standard of 18 frames per second was introduced, although many cameras and projectors included a multi-speed facility.

The standard 8 mm format was quickly displaced by the Super 8 mm film format - which offered cartridge loading, a 50% larger frame size and electric-powered cameras - from the mid 1960s onwards. However, standard 8mm retained some advantages over Super 8: in particular, the latter's use of cartridges with an integral film pressure plate resulted in a less steady image than the earlier format, in which the pressure plate was part of the camera itself. More sophisticated standard 8 mm cameras permitted backwind of the film - not possible with a Super 8 cartridge - enabling simple double-exposure and dissolve effects to be made in-camera. Super 8's smaller sprocket holes, while allowing a larger frame size, were also inherently more liable to tear.
Manufacturers

The first camera produced was Kodak's own Cine Kodak Eight Model 20. Like many subsequent cameras, it was extremely simple and powered by clockwork. The Swiss company Paillard-Bolex SA introduced its first 8 mm camera in 1938 and its first 'pocket' 8 mm camera aimed squarely at the amateur market, the L-8, in 1942. Bolex cameras and projectors continued to occupy the high end of the market. In the US, Bell and Howell introduced an 8 mm projector in 1934, and in 1935, the Filmo Straight Eight camera, using pre-prepared 8 mm wide film. Standard 8 mm equipment was also manufactured by Carl Zeiss, the Austrian firm Eumig, Fuji (as Fujica), and Canon, amongst others.
[edit] Film stocks

The most commonly used film stocks were produced by Kodak. In particular, the 10 ASA Kodachrome colour reversal stock, with its distinctive colour rendition and fine grain, was closely associated with the format. Kodachrome II, rated at 25 ASA, was introduced in the early 1960s. Kodak continued to produce standard 8 mm film directly up until the early 1990s, although its 16mm stocks are still reperforated and respooled by other companies. Other film stocks from different manufacturers, such as Agfa's Agfachrome, were also available.

Kodachrome's excellent archival qualities mean that old 8mm film can still appear remarkably fresh if stored in the correct conditions.
[edit] Standard 8mm variants

Various attempts were made to simplify use of standard 8mm film over the years, but none was especially successful. The Straight Eight format, using pre-prepared 8mm wide film, had some popularity in Europe, where Agfa manufactured their own stock. Kodak eventually introduced a magazine-loading system, but it was never as popular as spooled 8mm film and was discontinued by the early 1980s. Some manufacturers (e.g. Pentacon in East Germany) made cameras with special magazines that could be pre-loaded with 8 mm spools. They were simply pulled out and flipped in mid-roll, avoiding re-threading the film.
[edit] Packaged movies

Although standard 8 mm was originally intended as a format for creating amateur films, condensed versions of popular cinema releases were available on the format up until the 1970s, for projection at home. These were generally edited to fit onto a 200 ft reel. Many Charlie Chaplin films, and other silent movies were available. The Walt Disney Studio released excerpts from many of their animated feature films, as well as some shorts, in both Standard and Super 8, some even with magnetic sound. New releases of material were not stopped until the late 1970s in the US.

Amateur Film: "West 1940"

Great steady Kodachrome shots, a feel for what it must have been like to visit there in 1940. Is this not the same Medicus who shot the 1939 Worlds Fair films? Compare the son who rode the horse here with the son who climbed up on top of the model Perisphere at the World's Fair Kodak exhibit.

Brazil 1,silent, color,

Brazil 1,silent, color,
Producer: Dr. Harry B. Wright
Audio/Visual: silent, color
Harry B. (Bernard) Wright (1897-1958), an orthodontist practicing in Philadelphia, was also a passionate traveler and amateur filmmaker. A member of the Explorer's Club in New York City, Dr. Wright also wrote a book based on his travels, A Witness to Witchcraft (1957), which was originally to be titled My Colleague, the Witch Doctor. Dr. Wright traveled to and made 16mm films in several countries, in Latin America, West Africa, and Oceania (New Guinea). One produced film, some elements of which we may have in our collection, was called Savages in Paradise (1954), and took place in Papua New Guinea. We do not seem to have a complete print of this film or know where another print exists. Dr. Wright does not seem to have consulted with anthropologists or area specialists in his investigations outside of his own culture.
It can be noted that there was another Harry Wright making amateur travelogue films at the same time, whose films can be found at the Library of Congress. Thanks to research by Magdalena Acosta of the Mexican Film Archives we have distinguished the two creators, her emphasis on the latter reveals him to be an American living mostly in Mexico City, note also that the latter Harry Wright had no middle name