8mm Forum: London on 8 millimeters a day.....Reel 1

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Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on May 28, 2004, 09:47 PM:

It was in late January that I thought it might just be possible. Maybe I could clear my work schedule. Maybe I could book early and save money. Maybe I could tell my wife I’m going out to get some milk and I’ll be back in five days.....

Let’s go back a little earlier. This all actually started with Fabrizio’s first posting shortly after the new year. We all welcomed the new forum member from Milano and I wrote that in addition to the forum growing larger, it’s also nice to have more people to visit when traveling internationally! Then Mr. Milman asked “Do you come to the UK at all on your travels? Be great to meet up sometime”, which was followed by Mike Peckham suggesting “Why not plan a trip now to coincide with the next BFCC. Perhaps we could all meet up in Ealing for a pizza and a couple of pints of old scrumpy before [or after] the event”.

Old Scrumpy? Anyway, two invitations in a row are hard to turn down. I asked/beseeched my wife and her reply was “Go! Maybe you’ll get this Super 8 thing out of your system!”.
Anything is possible.

5/19
I take the 11:00 pm British Airways flight out of New York. A mere 7 hours and 3,458 miles later, I am in the country of Drake, Nelson, Churchill, and Simmonds.

5/20
I can’t say enough about how warmhearted and neighborly everyone is. Within minutes of arriving at the hotel, my schedule is set for the next four days. I ring John Clancy at work and he asks the magic question “How about a bit of home cinema tonight?”.
That evening I meet John, his lovely wife Susie, and fellow forum member Agnello (Aggers) Guarracino. I am then introduced to John’s very impressive screening room (pictures on the BFCC site). I haven’t seen Derann’s Pearl Harbor extract yet, so that’s up first. Terrific print, beautiful color, nicely cut. Next is a sync pulse demonstration using reels from Predator & Speed. This uses the perfect combination: high quality Super 8mm with crystal clear DVD audio. After a 35mm presentation, it’s time to go. I have to rest up for tomorrow’s pilgrimage to the mecca, Derann Film Services Ltd.

5/21
The next morning I take the train to Woking and I’m met by Master Film Handler Tony Milman. Tony was kind enough to offer me a ride for the long haul out to Dudley. We pick up Mike Peckham (who doesn't look nearly as sinister in person as his posting photo suggests) and we‘re off. The trip takes over 2 hours so we talk about super 8mm, politics, super 8mm, families, super 8mm........you get the idea.

Some ancient, primordial film collecting instinct leads Tony straight to Derann’s car park. The exterior of Derann showcases the TV and Hi-Fi products, as does the front area inside the store. Towards the rear is the 8mm/16mm section. Shelves lined with projectors are to my right and boxes full of films to be sold at the BFCC take up much of the floor space. Behind the counter are stacks and more stacks of those lovely white boxes whose contents would fit nicely into the spare suitcase I wish I had brought.

We are greeted by Duncan, Gary, Steve and Ged. Mike and Tony normally deal through Duncan, while I purchase through Gary, who handles all orders outside of the UK. Steve is in charge of the 16mm dept. and at the moment is screening a used print for evaluation. Ged handles the technical duties, and he is the sole master of the sound striping machine. In his spare time he prints up the newsletter!

Duncan, Ged, Steve, Gary

Ged has been with Derann for close to 30 years. He starts our tour with a look at the equipment in the back room.

There is the monster sound striper, which stripes a 16mm perforated print. The 16mm is then split in half to make two separate prints.

The shelves are filled with soundtrack masters, the titles of which are familiar to anyone who has thumbed through a Derann catalogue.

There is also a row of recorders, which handle both stereo and mono.
We are regaled with stories about Derek and the heyday of Super 8mm. Ged tells us that the “Scars of Dracula” abridgment is Derann’s best seller with over 3000 prints sold. A sign of the times is that the first “Gladiator” extract is now considered a success with sales of 150 units.
Gary takes over for a tour of the other floors. We all get a bit melancholy as we’re shown Derek’s office (untouched since his passing), and the 16mm and 35mm edit systems that he used. Derann’s cinema is nice and large, with Gary mentioning that it gets quite packed on Open days, with lots of traffic throughout the store.
Duncan is in the middle of redesigning the web site and seems very enthused about Derann’s future. Of course, that future is really up to all of us. Collectors are now down to only two suppliers and we need to support both Derann and Classic if we want to have anything more than old used prints to thread up on our beloved projectors.

Ian and I at the BFCC

On the way back we stop at the house of Ian O’ Reilly. The man from Perry’s is a good natured, wonderfully energetic person who has just finished packing up the films that he’s bringing to the BFCC. Tony, Mike and I instantly start rummaging through the boxes (first come, first served). I come across that 600’ copy of The Muppet Movie that Alan Rik was looking for a few months ago!
Ian takes us out back to show off his beautiful Ford GT. Nice to know where our money goes to. On the other side of the garage is the famous shed, or as Mike Peckham describes it “Uncle Ian's large, climate controlled and meticulously catalogued storage facility". The three of us instantly revert to kids in a candy store.

Mike & Tony

“Look! It’s that rare Dynamo Doc title.....”
“What if Customs goes through my bags and sees the Emmanuelle trilogy?”
“Wow, there’s that Bette Midler movie......and over there.......and up there......and....”
“Is this the one where Tom chases Jerry and he ends up getting hurt?”

Stacks of Super 8 surround us as we look in box after box. If only the exchange rate was in my favor..........

Doug (Reel 2 forthcoming)

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on May 29, 2004, 01:15 AM:

Great read! [Smile]

Continue!

Posted by Chris Quinn (Member # 129) on May 29, 2004, 03:59 AM:

WOW!! Great read Doug, wish i could have come along, alas i had to work. Can't wait for the next instalment.

Chris.

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on May 29, 2004, 04:20 AM:

And how did you get those wonderful pictures up on the forum?

Kev.

Posted by Mike Peckham (Member # 16) on May 29, 2004, 04:28 AM:

I can't see the pictures!!! [Confused]

Great write up though, almost feel as though I was there with you [Wink]

, looking forward to the next instalment!

Mike

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on May 29, 2004, 06:35 PM:

Very good stuff Doug! Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us. Looking forward to more story and pics! [Smile]

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on June 01, 2004, 02:43 PM:

Gentlemen,

Thank you for the feedback. I understand that some members are having difficulty seeing some or all of the photos attached to this posting. I've heard tell of a message that reads "Illegal Picture" in the spot where the photos should be. Maybe Brad can explain what's up, or if I've done something wrong.
Kevin, I'm just following Pedro's lead! While writing the post, click on the upload button and directions are given how to put a picture on the site. The maximum per post is 8.
I should have the 2nd part up shortly.

Doug

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on June 01, 2004, 03:11 PM:

When I got the "Illegal" picture pop-up..I assumed that was when you went down to the infamous "Red Light" district of England......sorry.. I had to! [Smile]

Posted by Ian O'Reilly (Member # 76) on June 01, 2004, 04:46 PM:

Try Knocking off your fire wall and the pictures should down load ok, they did for me [Wink]

Posted by Dick Lee (Member # 194) on June 01, 2004, 07:10 PM:

Ian:

Thanks for the info; disabled firewall and they came right up.

Great Pic's

Thanks, Dick

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