[Frameworks] 16fps 16mm projectors?

[cbifilms at gmail.com]

If you can find an old analyst projector (used for studying films as fast or slow as you want) you can go any speed. I have an old one here that needs a bit of work, but it is almost functional.

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  Original Message  
From: Dave Tetzlaff
Sent: Monday, August 3, 2015 23:26
To: Experimental Film Discussion List
Reply To: Experimental Film Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Frameworks] 16fps 16mm projectors?

I don't know of any specific models, but since 16fps was once the standard, there must be really old 'silent only' projectors that run at that speed, yes?

I vaguely recall that some sound projectors can be made to run at 16fps by changing a pulley. I'm guessing they wouldn't be Elmos or Eikis though. Maybe Singer/Graflex?

Depending on how much the speed matters (and what kind of resources are available) you could probably get a custom pulley fabricated (and find a proper sized belt) for a Graflex or maybe some Bell and Howells that would make them go at 16fps. I wouldn't want to try that on a Pageant: too hard to take apart.

CONFESSION OF HERESY!
The first year I taught experimental, I rented a couple films that were meant for 16fps, but had only a 24fps projector to show them. Not good, just ruined 'Serene Velocity' for example. So i subsequently obtained (COUGH) video copies of the works in question that had been telecinied at 24fps, dropped them back to 16fps in Final Cut, output them at something our video system could play (I forget if it was 24P or 29.97 interlaced standard NTSC - this was pre-HD). Despite all the pull-down, frame blending, and what have you, they looked fine on screen, and having the intended speed made a huge difference for the better in the aesthetic - what had previously been all but inaccessible to the students (and me) became 'Oh. Now I get it!"

BACK TO THE MECHANICAL
That said, it all depends on the specific work. A lot of experimental films were made in light of exhibition conditions that would vary a lot from one screening to the next, including projector speed. The artists knew this was just how it was (whether they preferred it or not) and the works gained some kind of notoriety and identity in the world by having some aspect that transcended variations in exhibition contexts. That is to say, their aesthetic accommodated a fair measure of randomness.

Which is all to say, while I wouldn't want to show anything specified for 16fps at 24fps, ever, I think a good number of films speced for 16fps work just fine - i.e. more-or-les the same - at 18fps. But others don't, YMMV etc. etc.

> Hi all, anyone know of 16mm projectors that run at 16fps? As far as I know most Pageants, Eikis and Elmos run at 18 if they have a silent speed. 
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