Info on a very exotic WW II piece of equipment.

[bob letterman]

I know this will be difficult, but, I thought I would give it a try.

I have scratched a large 16mm WW II newsreel camera for the big dio I am working on. I found lots of photos.

Does anybody know if they used boom mikes back then, or just the internal microphones built into the cameras? I don't want to screw this up! I'm talking about the Movietone footage in combat, European Theater of Operations, where they would be filming a column of tanks and you could hear the squeaking of the road wheels and the roar of the engines in the background of the announcer's voice.

I've checked the Internet every way I can think of and could find nothing.

Bob

 

[JSteinman]

I am not 100% on this but I think most of the footage was silent, then they dubbed over post production.

 

[bob letterman]

Thanks John,

I do know that at least some of the Movietone cameras had built in microphones. I'm just afraid if I use the camera only, some dude in The Czech Republic will post a "Yeah, yeah yeah yeah, you screwed up!!! I've been through that so many times, I'm paranoid!

You're probably right!

Bob

 

[moon puppy]

The Sound on film cameras were not that portable back in the day, if they had done any spot on recording it would have been a separate system.

 

[jknaus]

I dont think they did Bob. There is a movie on Netflix that may or may not help http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250730/
This one doesnt have a boom operator

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTbpQEOduwI62LQEF41CbxfDciQpbnKlczkBT-j4IHEFpvlI4vu

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS-uj3HfHi9v083JXjyqsd_s46MdE5FC-u1kYhOUmqcHXVdkNA_oA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dWjHN1Ryjtg

http://www.histomil.com/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5824&hilit=aufkl

James

 

[Sharkmouth]

Most of the combat cameras did not have sound. As james posted, many of the correspondents used the rugged Bell & Howell 71-Q 35mm Eyemo:

This link takes you to the National WWII Museum.


Click image to visit site with manuals.



The sound on film (optical) camera used in WWII were the Auricon 16mm CT-70:

In 35mm, Mitchell SS (Single System) cameras were used by the US military.

I hope this helps a bit.

Regards,

 

[bob letterman]

OK, thanks all,

I have two war correspondents with cameras. ONe, with the small hand held one, I was pretty sure there was no sound.

But on the larger 16mm, The photographs and text that I used to scratch build this said it had an internal mike. It was the type used by the Movietone newsreels that were shown at theaters throughout the war years.

Sometimes I concern myself too much with these little details. I'm gonna forget the boom mic and just assume the internal one is sufficient for their purposes. It seems everywhere Patton was, there were always war correspondents and photographers.

Thanks again you guys!

Bob

 

[chukw]

Jeez, Bob- this is nothing short of stupendous! Those cameramen will add a ton to the panoply of this scene. I can see the folks at home watching the newsreel and eating popcorn during the latest news from the war!

 

[Sharkmouth]

Oh, GIs with cameras, I thought you planned to have the scene being filmed from the air...

Kidding! Great work Bob.

Regards,

 

[moon puppy]

That picture may be fake...the guy's canopy is open.

 

[Cheyenne]

Hey Uncle Bob , how's it goin .......

Closest I can come to this is a 1936 [ 35mm - 16mm ] movie camera with sound man filming a rugby match .

I'm still huntin pics.

 

[bob letterman]

Hey Uncle Bob , how's it goin .......

Closest I can come to this is a 1936 [ 35mm - 16mm ] movie camera with sound man filming a rugby match .

I'm still huntin pics.

Absolutely fantastic Glenn,

Obviously has the sound equipment, headphones, recorders, and the camera has a very similar appearance to the one I built. The camera in the foreground has a very long telephoto lens.

That's about perfect man! I will definitely get some use out of this photo.

I really appreciate this! Where the hell did you find it?

Bob

 

[SA Dave]

Not sure if this will help Dad Bob but there is a WW2 docu on Youtube about the war photographers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5RtjQr26nE

 

[bob letterman]

Not sure if this will help Dad Bob but there is a WW2 docu on Youtube about the war photographers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5RtjQr26nE

Of course it will help! You can never have too much research!

Thank you so much!

Bob

 

[denstore]

I'm just afraid if I use the camera only, some dude in The Czech Republic will post a "Yeah, yeah yeah yeah, you screwed up!!! I've been through that so many times, I'm paranoid!

He he! It's the curse of the hobby. Sometimes I'm completely convinced the internet brings out the worst in most people.

 

[bob letterman]

I'm just afraid if I use the camera only, some dude in The Czech Republic will post a "Yeah, yeah yeah yeah, you screwed up!!! I've been through that so many times, I'm paranoid!

He he! It's the curse of the hobby. Sometimes I'm completely convinced the internet brings out the worst in most people.

Agreed, it's true! However, I'm an old guy and believe me, it was there long before the Internet. Back in 1985, when Superdioramas was first published, there was a photo of the town square of Legacies, one of my cityscape dioramas. There were many road signs with directions and mileage to various French cities. I had lived in that particular area for 3 years back in the late fifties, early sixties and returned many times since. Here are a couple of shots of the dio.

One of the first letters I received about the book was from a guy in what was then Czechoslovakia and he proceeded to tell me that he had checked the mileage on my scratch built signs against a Michelin Guide. He said all were correct, but there was a town listed that didn't exist. It was a town called Spincourt. Well, I roared through that town a hundred times on my motorcycle back then and knew it existed. I sent him a photo of the town with the sign reading Spincourt as you entered it. I never heard back from him.

You know, it's like, "get a life" with these guys! Why somebody would waste their time doing something like that is beyond my grasp!

Bob

 

[denstore]

It's sad really. Nitpickers. Some people just can't see the positive side in anything. They seem to believe that finding faults in others builds (or new kits) makes them experts. Nothing is ever good. It's like a competition in finding the flaws first, and shout them out to the masses.
I believe that it's one of the reasons why people hesitate to show their models.

 

[Cheyenne]

Hiya Bob , I've had this pic and some others for the same reason you do .
When I surf ref. pics [ I have thousands and thousands ] I save everything from the 30's and 40's , military and civilian - never know when you'll want to scratch build a movie camera !!!
The only problem is , when I started saving ref pics back when the internet started [ not quite as old as you but when I was in school we didn't even have history ] , I never categorized anything .
So when I look through my refs I have to search through many , many albums !!!
At least when a ref pic is needed I can say " hey I have that " , only problem is ........ where :laugh:
I know I have some others , ....... just got home from work and I'm lookin . :laugh:

 

[Sharkmouth]

I never categorized anything .
So when I look through my refs I have to search through many , many albums !!!

I know the feeling but I started filing later and had to buy a program (Clone Remover) to help me get rid of duplicates.

Regards,

 

[Prop Duster]

Gee, Bob with nit [strike]wits [/strike]Pickers like the sign guy, its amazing you get anythin' done.
Seriously, your work is at a level that, pickers-nits, are to be expected and their words will display their ignorance and crassness.

So I'm not even gonna mention the loose shoe lace on the German prisoner, don't want to upset anyone who missed it
just kidding