British Amateurs leap to victory at Cannes --and 'Dog' wins in a |
Canter. |
BRITAIN'S AMATEUR FILM MAKERS can take a bow - or possibly a bow-wow - this month.
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A cutting from Nice Matin shows the happy prizewinners at the Cannes Festival clutching their trophies. Notice our man on-the-spot, Tom Clarke (extreme right of picture), is holding the lions share. |
They carried off five awards - including the Grand Prix - at the 1972 Cannes International Amateur Film Festival. What is more, the Challenge Cup for the best group of entries by any of the 25 nations taking part also went to Britain.
Winner of the Grand Prix, presented by the President of the French Republic, was Dog, Michael McCloy's joyful slow-motion study of a Dalmatian loping through the four seasons which is also one of Movie Maker's current Ten Best. (Incidentally, Giuseppi by Cecil Satariano of Malta, which topped Dog in the Ten Best, was placed second by the Cannes jury.) Gerry Gavigan's Trophy, another Ten Best winner, was awarded the special cup commemorating the late Prince Louis of Bourbon-Parma, one-time President of the Cannes Cine Club.
The prize for the best documentary went to Guitar Maker by William Landale and the genre award to the same producer's Synapse, which was a winner in the last 'Scope' competition organized jointly by the BBC and the Scottish Film Council. Finally, there was a special plaque in the educational section of the festival for James Holt's Le Devore et Le Devoreur, British to the core despite its title.
An interesting footnote to this success story is that four out of the five award winning films - Dog, Trophy, Guitar
Maker and Synapse - were entered as a group by the British Amateur Cinematographers Central Council. The
BACCC is a composite body, consisting of representatives from the British Film Institute, the IAC, the Scottish Film
Council, the RPS, Movie Maker and Amateur Photographer and was originally formed to represent Britain at
UNICA. In recent years the Council has been extending its activities and supporting other international festivals.
While the credit for the Cannes trophies belongs to the film makers concerned, it's unlikely that they would all have entered their films but for the BACCC's initiative. So when Tom Clarke of the Scottish Film Council, who attended the festival as the Council's official representative, came home laden with prizes, he was also wearing a halo of reflected glory.
Sound film enthusiasts in the London area will have a second chance to hear the 'Arthur Dakin Sound' when Farnell- Tandberg's Technical Manager stages one of his impressive demonstrations of lip sync recording on Smm stripe at the Norway Trade Centre in Pall Mall on Tuesday, October 24 and Wednesday, October 25. The first time Mr Dakin was persuaded to appear in London at the invitation of Movie Maker and Burlington Cameras Ltd his show at the Victoria Halts last October was an outstanding success. This year's show is rather more ambitious and will be linked with a continuous exhibition of the Farnell-Tandberg sound system, taking place each day from 11 am to 7 pm. Admission is free. Arthur Dakin's personal lecture demonstraton will start at 8 pm and continue until 11 pm with the usual period for questions. Again admission is free but by ticket only as accommodation is limited. Tickets are available on a 'first come, first served' basis from Burlington Cameras Limited, Burlington Arcade, London WIN OHU.
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A new addition to the Sankyo MF-Macro range of cameras is the MF 606, which has a 6-to- 1 zoom lens with macro focusing from 0 to 100cm. Introduced at Photokina, it will have a recommended retail price in the UK of £127.95. |
THE CANADA TROPHY for the best film in the Canadian International Amateur Film Festival has been awarded to Colin Gregg's To Sunset and Beyond, which was the first prize-winner in Movie Maker's 1971 Ten Best competition. This is the first time that the top Canadian award and the $300 cheque which accompanies it (donated by Molson Breweries of Canada Limited) has gone to a producer outside the North American continent.
Sunset also took the award for the Best Scenario Film. Coincidentally, both Gregg and Michael McCloy, who has just won the Grand Prix in Cannes, live in Devonshire.
Other major awards in the Canadian Festival went to Devoti by Rolf Mandolesi of Italy (Best Documentary), Monkeys in the Snow Mountain by Masatoshi Okochi of Japan (Best Natural Science Film), The Great Walled City of Xan by Hal Barwood of USA (Best Animation).
Hanimex (UK) Ltd announce that they are the first UK photographic distributor to launch their own flashbulbs, flashcubes and projector lamps. They say that the Hanimex lamps are made to the highest standards by one of Britain's leading electrical manufacturers, and are intended to offer top light output combined with lasting reliability and realistic pricing.
FENCOLOR LABORATORY LTD of Coldhams Road, Cambridge (PO Box 47), the distributors of the Syncronette and Perfect Sound, have been telling us about the latest developments on their sync sound front.
It seems that despite high hopes, it was found that the new Canon 814E would not respond to the pulse control system although a 1-to-1 flash contact is fitted. The snag lies mainly in a new type of shutter release which ends in a relay and this cannot possibly respond to the required 18 or 24 switchings per second.
However, Fencolor have found a way of overcoming this problem in a simple manner and they will do the slight modification needed for £12. In all respects the camera will work normally when not required for sync sound shooting.
They have also been looking hard at the Bell & Howell Filmosound 379 camera and have designed a lead for this, so that without any tinkering it will operate with the Filmin Perfect Sound synchroniser. This means that movie makers who buy the 379 will not necessarily have to acquire the associated Filmosound apparatus but can use any tape recorder (reel to reel).
They will thus end up with a tape and film which can be edited on a 1-to-1 basis with Fencolor's Sound Reader and then transferred to stripe - either professionally or with the aid ofthe Edi-Sync.
For further details of this and all other items in the Filmin range of sync equipment, contact Fencolor Laboratory Ltd at the address given above.
AS WELL AS COMING BACK in its original form on BBC radio, Denis Gifford's memory lane show, Sounds Familiar, is to be net- worked by Thames Television under the title, Looks Familiar.
Denis, who devises these shows between writing his columns for Movie Maker, tells us that the TV series will follow the same nostalgic form as that established by the radio version, except that instead of aural extracts he will be using clips from old films, newsreels, shorts, trailers, advertisements and comic strips.
The panellists will include Arthur Askey, Ted Ray, Anne Shelton, Pat Kirkwood, Leslie Welch, Benny Green and George Melly. And there will be surprise guests every week - including forgotten former film stars. Denis Norden is the Chairman.
We wish our columnist the best of luck with his new show. Sounds exciting.
WESTWOOD STUDIOS of Barclays Bank Buildings, 12a Piccadilly, Manchester, tell us they are launching a mail-order service for animation and titling materials.
Among the items they will be supplying are acetate cells (clear and coloured), drawing paper (white and coloured), drawing inks, poster paints, filmagraph colour (especially designed for cel work), and a variety of pens and brushes. They also handle a selection of lettering and numbering stencils.
The firm stress that this is a mail-order service only, and customers are invited to send 5p (not in stamps) to Section Z at the above address for sales lists.
The Electricity Council Film Library of 1 Charing Cross, London SW1, announces the addition of three new 16mm colour films. These are That's Electric Iron, Joe, dealing with modem methods of electric smelting; and Sold on Electricaire and Trouble-Free Electricaire, two films about Electricaire warm air central heating.
Random Film Library Ltd of 25 The Burroughs, Hendon, London NW4, is now handling the distribution of Kodak's award winning film, Images.
Aubrey LymerIt is with sincere regret that we announce the sudden death of Aubrey Lymer at the age of 49. Mr Lymer, who was Vice President of Blythe Clue Group and a member of Stoke-on-Trent Amateur Clue Society, was a real enthusiast for movies and had a great affection for all the film gauges. An ardent admirer of the work of Laurel and Hardy, he had a substantial collection of old silent movies which made him a much sought-after showman, and he was well known locally for the free entertainments he put on for old age pensioners, Women's Institutes and other charity organisations. He was an active film maker, a widescreen supporter and a reader of Movie Maker who, so we are told, never missed a Ten Best show. Bill Townley, producer of Baskeyfield, VC, who was a close friend of Aubrey Lymer says that he "lived for his hobby", and was "big, gentle and kind". He will be sadly missed.
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2nd West of England Film Festival, organised by the Ballard Centre Cine Group of Plymouth. Open to all amateur films on 8nim, super 8 and l6mm, silent or sound (tape, stripe or optical). Seven trophies valued at over £150, plus over £100 of cash and voucher prizes to be awarded to: the Best Film of the Festival, Best Use of Editing, Best Use of Lighting, Best Use of Sound, Best junior Entry, Most Artistic Film and the Best Film from the Westward TV Region - this Westward TV Trophy is a new award this year.
The winning films will be shown and the awards presented at the Ballard Centre in January (date to be announced). The closing date is November 15, and entry forms and further details may be obtained from the organiser, Mr A. J. Dawson, 28 Belle Vue Road, Saltash, Cornwall.
Scottish Amateur Film Festival accepts entries from all over the world up to October 19. Films which may be l6mm, 9.5mm or Smin should be sent to the Scottish Film Council, 16/17 Woodside Terrace, Glasgow G3 7XN.
Presentation of the winning films will take place in the Cosmo Cinema, Glasgow and the Scottish Film Council's private theatre on Sunday, November 19. There will be a repeat screening in London on a date to be announced later.
FROM HALL 10 of the Photokina exhibition in Cologne came news about a new range of 'Low-Light' cameras being introduced by Sankyo. These carry the letters LXL in their title.
Features include Sankyo's 9-22-5mm zoom lens with an aperture range of f/1.2 to f/32, running speeds of 9 and 18 fp.s. and single- frame, and a shutter with an open angle of 220 degrees. One model - the LXL 255- is fitted with Sankyo's Macro lens which permits focusing from 0 to 100cm, thus making it possible to shoot low-Iight macro movies.
FROM 3m UNITED KINGDOM LTD comes news
of a new magnetic tape and packaging. This
is the Scotch Hi-Fi system that not only
comprises a new range of low-noise J-in.
recording tape in all popular sizes, but what
is claimed to be a totally new concept in
tape presentation "designed to harmonise
with the latest and best in audio equipment".
The new tape has a 11 db improvement on the existing Scotch Dynarange tape, which it replaces. It is available in standard-, long-, double- and triple-play versions (identified by the initials SP, LP, DP and TP on the tear-away polyester box wrappers) and in three popular reel sizes - 5in., 51in. and 7in.
Features of the system are the Italian-designed interlocking library boxes in black with white hinge-down spines, a white spool with an enclosed almost solid flange for resistance to warning and the intrusion of dust, a dummy box containing a master index book, and tear-off index numbers for both spools and library cases to help identification of recorded material.
Recommended retail prices for the Scotch Hi-Fi system (tape and library cases) range from £l.48 for a 5-in. reel of Standard-play to,£4.86 for a 7-in. reel of Triple-play.
As an introductory offer, 3M is offering the system's index book in library case at half price - 75p instead of £1. 50 - for customers sending in the Hi-Fi flash from any of the new spools.
FROM CRESTA ELECTRONICS LTD - who, as we
mentioned in September, now market all
Carol equipment - comes news of the new
Carol Cinesound CS/2 Mark III. This, say
the distributors, "does everything the CS/2
Mark II did and more". The built in
synchronisation meter enables the operator
to synchronise to an accuracy of a tenth of a
frame when transferring completed sound
tracks to stripe. This dual purpose meter can
be switched to read projector speed when
desired.
Cresta are also now offering the following transfer services: Cassette tape to stripe, perforated or pulsed tape; 1-in. pulsed tape to perforated, stripe or cassette; J-in. perforated tape to pulsed, stripe or cassette; copies from perf to perf, pulse to pulse or cassette to cassette.
The firm also produce composite sound tracks which they will then transfer to stripe or pulsed tape.
Further information about these services and any other details of Carol Cinesound products may be obtained from Crest Electronics Ltd, 72 Loom Lane, Radlett, Herts. Incidentally, we must apologise to Cresta and readers for an error that crept into our Test Report on their sync system last month owing to a misunderstanding. Cresta do not, in fact, have a special offer of two Cine- pulse cassettes for £10 as was stated oul page 743.
HIGH WYCOMBE FILM SOCIETY's Hellfire Francis, a 16mm Gold Star film in this year's Ten Best competition, has now won the overall award in the Welsh Amateur Inter- national Film Festival, organised by the Penarth Urban District Council. As many readers will already know, it's a lavish production that reconstructs some of the activities of the notorious eighteenth century nobleman, Sir Francis Dashwood.
Other Welsh Seven winners are: The Horla (standard 8mm) by Selby Cine Club, Yorkshire; All Available Trumpets (standard 8mm) by Argos Productions of London; The Ghost in the Machine (standard 8mm) by Craig and Andr6e Clements of Belfast; Return journey (standard 8mm) by G. E. Pettit of Colchester, Essex; Do Not Disturb (standard 8mm) by the Southern Sound & Cine Club of Chichester; Extraction (16mm) by the Chaucer Film Group of London.
Special award winners are: The Holiday Trophy - Spiez (16mm) by John Hemming of Bristol; The Dixon Cup for Editing - All Available Trumpets by Argos Productions of London; The Randal Cox Candelabra for Colour - Hellfire Francis by High Wycombe Film Society; The Thom Lighting Rose- bowl for Lighting - The Horla by Selby Cine Club, Yorkshire; The Craely Cup for Sound - The Ghost in the Machine by Craig and Andr6e Clements of Belfast.
HANIMEX (UK) LTD tell us that they have
recently introduced a new Fujica Single-8
camera into this country - the Z800. The
interesting thing about this Single-8 model
is that it has facilities for coupling to a
suitable cassette tape recorder for sync
sound shooting.
Other features include an 8-to-1 zoom lens which is claimed to have greatly improved light transmission properties, TTL exposure control with backlighting adjustment, reflex viewfinder with split-image focusing and function indicators, and a single-frame release that is synchronised for electronic flash (particularly useful for time-lapse filming). The camera also includes a back- wind facility for making lap dissolves - comparatively easy with the Fuji Single-8 cartridge.
The recommended retail price of the Fujica Z800 is £225.
Also from Hanimex comes news of the
recently introduced Ricoh 80OZ super 8
camera. This is an 8-to-1 power zoom model
with two zooming speeds. Its other features
include CdS TTL exposure control with
manual override, reflex viewfinder with
aperture indicator, and a simple fade control
which permits fade-ins or fade-outs to be
made at the touch of a switch. Three running speeds are provided - 18, 24 and 32 fp.s. -
and single frames may be taken using a
standard cable release in the appropriate
socket.
Recommended retail price: £149.
"If he'd been at my christening perhaps I wouldn't be hacking out film reviews for a pittance on this miserable rag." Disgruntled critic to a colleague after the Press show of The Godfather.
Reproduced from the November 1972 issue of Movie Maker
This page was last updated 02 Dec 2002