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"Nothing like it in this century has ever been seen. Of course it's a machine, but so is an automobile, so is a plane. But no other machine touches the minds and hearts of men and women as the film-camera can."
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Lillian Gish, Actress 1893 - 1993
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 Camera loaded with 400ft (120m) 16mm color negative film (The film is destroyed now by taking this shot!) |
| Considered as workhorse of the 16 mm Movie and TV Industry, Arriflex 16 BL Camera is used for recording of Feature film, Documentary, Sports and Music Video. Shoot in 16 mm, and blow it up to 35 mm for Independent Feature Film, Theatrical, or Commercial release. Rental Rate: approx. $ 150.00 per Day without Tripod and Fluid head |
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| Introduced in 1965, the 16 BL is ARRI's first silent 16mm camera. This model was originally designated the 16 Q (Q for Quiet), and was renamed before it became available for purchase in early 1965. The ARRIFLEX 16 BL designed to be used with a 400ft magazines has long been a standard production camera for 16mm sync sound filming. Combining the features of light weight, compact design and quiet operation with the ARRI reputation of ruggedness and reliability, the 16 BL can take any job, even hand-held work! Camera features 180 degrees mirror-shutter, reflex viewfinder with TV ground glass and separate auto-closure eyepiece. Bayonet lock lens mount. Accepts multi-speed crystal motor. Available with blimped Zeiss 10-100mm or 12-120mm Angenieux. |
| Full discription of the ARRIFLEX 16 BL |
| Function mode of the Camera Movement: |
| The "Movement" is the heart of a camera. It transports not only the film, but is also responsible for its accurate stop. It is not simply sufficient to stop the transport only on the contrary it must be ensured that each frame remains standing by hundred percent exactly positioned before the Film Gate. The tolerances amounted to about 1/2000 of the image height, which corresponds to a value of 0.0037 mm for example with 16 mm. |
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| The transportation cycle of the Movement must be synchronized additionally with the rotation of the Rotary Shutter. Only if the Rotary Shutter is before the Film Gate, thus no light falls on the film, these may be moved by the grippers. Usually the synchronisation takes place between Movement and Rotary Shutter via the mechanical coupling by means of a common drive shaft (see upper diagram), in rare cases in addition, on purely electronic way. The following diagrams show the typical course of motion of "Movement" work and Rotary Shutter: |
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Phase 1 The picture is exposed. The Register Pin (red) keeps the film strip accurate in the demanded position. |
 (24 times per second) |
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Phase 2 The Rotary Shutter takes off the Film Gate completely. Now only the Register Pin arm may go back and dive the Claw (yellow) into the perforation. |
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Phase 3 The Claw pulls the film one step downward. |
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Phase 4 The Claw steps back during the Register Pin positions the film strip accurately. Only afterwards the Rotary Shutter may release the Film Gate. |
| Errors in the Movement and/or in the synchronisation with the Rotary Shutter become apparent already in the case of very small deviations from the target in the picture. The causes are various. So rough transport of the camera or a fall can be responsible for the disadjustment. Even film jam can lead to problems, for example if the camera-internal jam switch functioned not perfectly and the film tightened itself in the camera. For the better visibility of the error effects these were oversubscribed represented on the example photos. In practice similarly glaring results will be found only in the case of really substantial deviations from the standard. |
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Problem with the Register Pin: The Register Pin positions the frames of the film inaccurately. Reasons for this can be - apart from a mechanical defect of the Movement - also an inaccurate, damaged or wrong film perforation ("positive perforation"), unsatisfactory raw film dimensions or also strong layer paragraph in the range of the Film Gate. |
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Synchronisation error between Rotary Shutter and Movement: The film is transported during the exposure. Thus the upper or lower display space one exposes more briefly, which entails the shading visible in the picture. With extremely strong disadjustment also movements in a diffuse way can be visible in individual picture portions. |
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Problem with the film loops (operating error no camera defect): The lower film loop is substantially too small, so that the film is pulled away during the exposure from the lower tooth drum. |
| Film stock and cost of footage: |
 16mm film strips with optical stereophonic sound track |
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Cost of Footage:
Cost of 400 ft. roll of 16mm color negative film stock, plus developing, plus editing - a minimum of around $250.00 or so. A 400 ft roll runs for 11 min. 7 sec. Or around $1350.00 per hour of footage. Now, in terms of how much actually has to be shot for, say, a 90 min. feature, let's assume a minimal 3:1 shooting ratio for film; that works out to 4.5 hours of footage. The final result for the cost of shooting stock for a 90 min. feature: 16mm Film: $6075.00 |
1200 ft (360m) film magazin for 33 min 24 sec. film footage
very rare magazin for Arriflex 16 BL  |
| An Invitation to Dream |
| "Imagine..." To realize dreams, to transform them into moving images - this is what cinematography has been about since its beginning. This medium, combining imagination and technology in a unique and fascinating way, has created increasingly realistic illusions in its 100 year history. And often one could not determine afterwards what came first: the filmmaker`s untamable imagination, or the technology that made it possible to capture it on film. Thus the history of film is also the history of film technology. |
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Download as pdf the full pictures story of ARRI (Arnold and Richter):
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