Thank You for taking me on-board.

A warm welcome to all. Here we talk about films, which people put onto YouTube or Vimeo and embed here. The idea is to allow useful, friendly discussion.
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Desmond Godwin
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:30 pm

Thank You for taking me on-board.

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Dave Watterson
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Location: Bath, England
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Re: Thank You for taking me on-board.

Post by Dave Watterson »

Hi Desmond,
We are always pleased to welcome people, especially those from Ireland who are a relatively rare breed on this forum. Tell us about your video interests.

Dave
Desmond Godwin
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:30 pm

Re: Thank You for taking me on-board.

Post by Desmond Godwin »

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tom hardwick
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Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:59 am

Re: Thank You for taking me on-board.

Post by tom hardwick »

Unlike you I embrace digital with open arms every day I wake. My music collection doesn't have clicks, pops and hiss, my broadcast TV pictures are clean and noise-free, the audio crystal clear. My cinema shows bitingly sharp digital images with not a single scratch in a two hour film, and the 7 tracks of discrete audio pin-point the sounds precisely.

The DVDs I make are tens of times better than the VHS tapes of 10 years ago and there's no splices, gate weave and projector vignetting/noise as in my Super-8 days. My film editing is effectively lossless and distribution costs are zero on YouTube, pence on Blu-ray. My Panasonic SD900 costs a quarter of what my Canon 1014E did yet shoots 50 fps rather than 18. My films are liquid smooth rather than just acceptable. Editing? It's a million miles away from the good old analogue/chemical days.

Yet all this will change, there's no doubt about that.

tom.
Last edited by tom hardwick on Fri Feb 10, 2012 5:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Desmond Godwin
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Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:30 pm

Re: Thank You for taking me on-board.

Post by Desmond Godwin »

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Dave Watterson
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Location: Bath, England
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Re: Thank You for taking me on-board.

Post by Dave Watterson »

It is true that there is an atmosphere when you stand beside a clattering projector and see the magic on screen. It feels more like steam technology than the magic of video.

With another hat on I am part of a film society. Just before digital for cinema screenings took off , we acquired a 35mm projector. We had to dismantle it in the small projection booth of a long-closed cinema and manhandle it down twisting stairs. At the other end we used a cherry-picker to lift the parts up and over a balcony rail into the long-disused projection booth of the town hall where we met. It took its place beside a couple of 16mm projectors there, which we used at the time. Months of restoration work saw the 35mm machine brought back to its glory so we organised a celebration.

A full-house came for the occasion. The chairman stood before curtains on the stage and explained that these days most of us watch films on television ... like this. At which point the curtain parted a couple of feet to show a portable tv set maybe 18 inches wide with a film playing on it.
The chairman went on to explain how some of us had 8mm films. The curtain opened five feet revealing a screen and in the front row an 8mm projector started, its picture filling the width.
Then we operated for years on 16mm ... the curtain opened 12 feet and a 16mm projector at the back of the hall started and showed a large picture.
Now ... pause ... we can go all the way to 35mm ... and the curtains went all the way back revealing over 20 feet of screen width which was filled with close-ups of the robot from Short Circuit.

The applause was thunderous! Then a spotlight followed the trolly as we brought in a special projector-shaped cake, which the chairman cut. Everyone enjoyed cake while the first 35mm show started.

Afterwards several people told me they had a warm wash of nostalgia when the 16mm machine ran for a minute at the back of the hall. Since we had moved projection up to the old booth some years before, they missed the steady purring sound. Later when we took people on tours of the box and they heard the 35mm machine's smooth sound there were big smiles all round.
Dave
Desmond Godwin
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:30 pm

Re: Thank You for taking me on-board.

Post by Desmond Godwin »

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