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Topic: The 8mm forum = superb
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Mike Peckham
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1461
From: West Sussex, UK.
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted December 18, 2006 09:45 AM
Peter
It’s a great hobby isn’t it?! A very social one too, Film Collectors seem to be a very friendly and helpful bunch, buoyed by their enthusiasm. Like you, I’m a newcomer (in relative terms) but was made to feel welcome from the outset, and now consider my self one of the gang. There are so many strands to film collecting too, seeing the image on the big screen is but one element of this addictive and sometimes compulsive pastime.
For me, the element of “Showmanship” is a great draw; I love to put on a show and attend to all the minutiae that makes it come together, getting the screen set up with just the right overlap of image to make the picture look sharp, making the room dark, preparing the programme and the seating, doing a sound check and then running a film or films through the projector with seamless joins. The family love it, and a film show is one of the things that my nieces and nephews associate with me and expect when they come to visit, it forms a catalyst to bring the whole family, including Mums and Dads, Granny and Grandpa into the same room with the little ones.
From a collector’s point of view, package movies are a gift! The plethora of titles available, in such a huge variety of edits, on different film stocks, in different packaging and from different producers is a collectors dream, there literally is something to attract everyone. I personally don’t get too excited about Horror, though others do, I do however like the great Musicals whilst others don’t. Some people concentrate their collections on Scope subjects or Brit Movies from the great days of Ealing, whilst others prefer to stick with animation, both stop frame and cartoon. For some only feature length prints will do, while for others it can only be digests.
The packaging itself is a great draw for many people, myself included and the fact that many producers released their filmic offerings in numbered series presents an irresistible challenge for completists like me. Whilst I would argue that the majority of my collection comprises films that my family, my friends and I enjoy watching, it is also true to say that there are a significant number of films on my shelves that are there to complete a set. Box Art has come into its own, with many films being worth significantly more if they are offered in their original livery.
And then there is the equipment. Us boys (and some girls) like nothing more than to have a good fiddle and the world of cine equipment could not be more inviting to fiddlers. The range of cinematic equipment, from the true classics of the 8mm and 9.5mm gauges through to the technically advanced models from the last push of the cine manufacturers in the early eighties, offer us fiddlers a joyous world of possibilities. Maintaining and repairing our equipment is an integral part of the fascination of film collecting, keeping the projector in top running condition is a matter of pride and sharing our experiences of repairs, updates and sources of spares is a matter of honour!
And of course the wonderful world of the film convention… I’ve only ever made it to Ealing but have had a ball at each one. Next year I’m going to make a concerted effort to make it to the famed “Blackpool Bash”. The atmosphere at these conventions is really quite unique; I particularly like to hear the constant purr of the projectors emanating from behind the various stalls, it’s a sound that creates its own kind of magic. And then seeing so many package movies all in one place, being able to make a mental note of what is there before you decide on your purchase, being able to hold the film, check the packaging, give it a sniff and of course that old cine collectors ritual; run off the first couple of yards and hold it up to the light, marvellous.
At Ealing this year, the day for me was most notable for the number of great people I met, people with whom I had been in contact on the forum for several years but might never have met, people who shared my passion for collecting series and those that, even as collectors themselves, found the notion comical.
It’s a great hobby, I only wish I had discovered it earlier, but then maybe it’s better I didn’t…
I'm glad you're enjoying the forum, great pics by the way!
Mike ![[Cool]](cool.gif)
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Auntie Em must have stopped wondering where I am by now...
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted December 18, 2006 10:01 AM
I recently returned to Super 8 collecting just two years ago and it probably took that long (15 years) before I realized just how stupid it was for me to sell my whole collection 17 years ago to move into Laserdisc, (okay everybody, have a good ole laugh on OSI's behalf, why not, I am!)
It's like a romance for me, coupled with a certian amount of "science", (that is, when it comes to collecting prints).
But, when it all comes down to it, it's a great bit of fun!
Just yesterday, I decided to watch my print of Crocodile Dundee, (super 8 optical sound), and I already have the DVD of this film too, but to see it, as I remember it, from the cinema's a good 20 years ago, I'm right back in that slightly mildewing, feet sticking to the floor from God knows what cinema.
(Funny, the things you'll fondly remember.)
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Graham Ritchie
Film God
Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted December 18, 2006 02:15 PM
Peter
Good photos, its an addictive hobby, but one you will get a lot of enjoyment out of and thats the main thing. Its also one of the few pastimes I can think of that others can get a lot pleasure out of as well. Even in this video age we live in, people are always fascinated not just by the image on the screen, but also, and most importantly how it does get there.
Film projectors hold great interest with most people and I still remember with fondness, years ago putting on many film shows at various venues, always a lot of fun. I remember one such time I was asked to put on a film show at a pub for the ambulance service, The theory was the films were to be used to keep the kids happy, while the adults had a few drinks in the lounge bar. However it diden't work out like that as the kids were really enjoying Tom and Jerry etc, the adults started drifiting back and were joining there children "I think they were feeling left out of it" ![[Frown]](frown.gif) In the end no one was at the bar, everyone was enjoying the films. It was an interesting reaction considering it was supposed to be just for the kids. The films were all joined on 1200ft reels so there was no mucking about "quick, fast, and loud". My one and only projector in those days was my trusty ST1200. There was always interest in the projector etc and thats something that video cant, and will never achieve, well enough rambling ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
Regards Graham. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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Keith Ashfield
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 997
From: U.K.
Registered: Dec 2006
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posted December 19, 2006 03:48 AM
My love for this addictive hobby of ours started as a very young child when attending the Saturday afternoon matinees at our local “fleapit”. I was lucky enough to gain access to the “magic booth”. For a long time, I sat in the auditorium with the other minions who stamped their feet and shouted when the film broke and I always wondered what happened where that beam of light that transported these magic images came from. Images that took our young minds to “open plains with redskins behind every hill, or to distant planets where you battled with Mole Men or to a world where a cat and a mouse could batter each other to a pulp and still survive”.
I always found sympathy for the poor old projectionist when things went wrong and complete admiration at the showmanship when it was fine.
I suppose, when I put on my film shows, I see myself as “Old Quill – the projectionist from Smallest Show on Earth, played by Peter Sellers (but without the “drink problem” I hasten to say).
I do not know of many hobbies that are as friendly as ours. We have one goal, it appears – to preserve the origins of cinema and the medium it uses, to provide a service, be it to others, or merely to ourselves, by showing our films and most of all maintaining a camaraderie, second to non amongst ourselves.
Long may it continue?
Keith
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"We'll find 'em in the end, I promise you. We'll find 'em. Just as sure as a turnin' of the earth".
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Gary Crawford
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 979
From: Manassas, VA. USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted December 19, 2006 01:32 PM
Yes..this hobby has an appeal that never seems to let go. I've been collecting since I was nine ( 1958) and it's amazing that I get roughly the same rush today when I the long expected film I purchased finally arrives and I hold the first few feet up to the light. The hobby is also good for the little gray cells. While I can't remember what I was doing five minutes ago, I can look over the shelves of films and I can usually remember where each one came from and how much it cost and other little details associated with it....even if I acquired it 30 years ago ..or longer. As some have said, the box art evokes many memories. I have had many great Christmas suprises in my time, but the one that stands out was when I was about 12 or 13 years old. The presents came and were unwrapped. I received a board game of Sorry, and didn't open the box or anything. I was a bit disappointed that there were no Castle films or anything, although my parents did give me a nice portable screen. I spent the day at my grandparents and that evening decided to open up the board game and when I took out the playing board, there underneath was the real treasure....a 150 foot version of Bride of Frankenstein. 8mm sound had not come out yet..so this was the silent version..but I was so very happy. I had no yet seen the entire movie, but had read about it in Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. What a day that was...I must have run it a dozen times. The next year my parents gave me a reel to reel tape recorder and when the Bride of F. was shown on TV, I recorded it....and then attempted to edit it to the Castle print.... Back then, the dialog titles were not superimposed and so I had to cut them out of the print..and match the dialog up.....what a job..but when I finished , it was not a bad job...depending on how well I managed the showing of it. The projector , of course, did not run at 24 fps....so I had to sometimes insert bits of blank audio tape to make up the difference....and do other things to keep things in sync. I still have that old print.....scratched up beyond help... I just love this film hobby.
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