Animation Director at Industrial Light & Magic request

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Feel free to discuss any topic related to the Mitchell Camera. Both 35 mm and 16 mm models are welcomed here. Also consider posting topics of other major motion picture cameras that you feel are important to the development of the Mitchell Camera. Feel free to upload a photo from the option on each new post.
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halhickel
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 2:52 pm

Animation Director at Industrial Light & Magic request

Post by halhickel » Mon Feb 10, 2014 3:14 pm

Hi, my name is Hal Hickel. I'm an Animation Director at Industrial Light & Magic, been here about 18 years. While the work I do now is CG, I started out as a Stop-Motion animator at Will Vinton Studios in the late '80s, early '90s.

At that time, Vinton's had around 25 Mitchell cameras that were used for shooting Stop-Motion clay animation. I became very familiar with those cameras, and really miss them now. Recently, I finally acquired a Mitchell of my own, purely for nostalgia's sake, and so in researching the camera, have stumbled onto this forum.

While I used the cameras a lot in my work as a clay animator, and became very familiar with their workings, I never really learned a lot about the their history, and about the different models (GC, NC, BNC, etc). The camera I have now is a rackover, with the number 755 stamped on the movement. The off-side door is apparently not the original though, as the badge has the number: 1108, and says "Model D". That number should match the number stamped on the movement, yes? Also, are there other places on the camera body, or in the interior where the serial number would be stamped as well?

mitchmaniac

Re: Welcome to MitchellCamera!

Post by mitchmaniac » Tue Feb 25, 2014 6:04 am

Yes there should be serial numbers inside the camera body, viewfinder, mat box and so on. But over the years there was a lot of mixing and matching going on all camera departments. It would be a rare thing to have a unit with all matching serial numbers!

marop.

Re: Animation Director at Industrial Light & Magic request

Post by marop. » Mon Jun 23, 2014 6:28 am

Hello Hal,

There are three key parts to a Mitchell camera that would originally had the same serial number; the L base, main body and the movement. To see the number on the L base you have to unscrew one of the lenses and rotate the turret. At some point along its travel, looking into the opening where the lens was, you will see a number stamped into L base. The second will be on the main body on the name plate, acorn shaped tag (as you found) and of course the movement, which you also already found. I can't say I have seen matching numbers on the viewfinder or matte boxes, which they also sold separately without a camera, so I don't know if all, or many, sets went out with all matching numbers.

As to the models, the ones I am aware of is the Standard (their first main production camera), the NC (noiseless camera) which they started making in the early 1930's, as the BNC (blimped noiseless camera), the GC (government camera-most we're sold to the government, not sure off hand when they started making those) was basically a Standard but with ball bearing collars and I believe different gears (all metal?) so it could be run at high speed. I am not sure about the model D? Mitchell of course also made the "elephant ear" vistaVision camera, which of course ILM used extensively (at least the format as they also used Technicolor cameras that had been converted to vistaVision. And we can't forget about the BNCR, a BNC which had reflex viewing. Came a little too late as Panavision was already improving the Mitchells and soon became the premiere camera.

These cameras were all work horses and lasted a long time, which contributes to them being modified over time by different owners for different purposes.

If you are interested I could dig out my copy of the Mitchell sales records and find out who the original purchaser of you camera was. Let me know if you want that. It's a good chance it was the government.

Hope this is of some interest to you,

Mark


Last bumped by Anonymous on Mon Jun 23, 2014 6:28 am.

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