[MacDV] Re: History of 8mm (Pt. 2 of 2)

[Scott Baldwin]

Lenny is into 3D now.

Here is his current company:

http://www.stereographics.com/

Cheers,

Scott


On Friday, December 13, 2002, at 10:39 AM, Danny Grizzle wrote:

> On 12/13/02 11:45 AM, "David Drumheller" <david at dcdrumheller.net> 
> wrote:
>
>> Thank you for your account of some of the history of the 8mm movie 
>> formats.
>
> Thanks for all the nice comments, and apologies for tons of errors &
> misspellings. I certainly didn't do full fact checking, editing, or 
> freshen
> up my research. These posts were intended as orientation, not a
> comprehensive history.
>
> Anybody really interested in Super 8 should try to obtain the books 
> written
> by Lenny Lipton. His "Super Eight Book" is excellent both for format
> specifics and historical background.
>
> "Foundations of the Stereoscopic Cinema" is also outstanding. Lipton 
> had a
> special interest in stereo movies, and the opportunity presented by 
> Super 8
> to do outstand work, owing to the fact that two small cameras could be
> operated together at near the correct intra-ocular distance, something 
> that
> was impractical and cumbersome with Hollywood-produced 35mm 3D movies.
>
> Both of these books are very sold on the human physical basis which
> underlies perception of motion. I've never seen anything better. Super 
> 8 is
> dated, but the human body has not changed. For this alone, these books 
> are
> as good and useful as ever.
>
> Amazon has a service to obtain used books. Right now, both these 
> titles are
> out of print, with Amazon listing them at $53.97 for the Super Eight 
> Book,
> and $80.00 for the Stereoscopic Cinema.
>
> Every year or two, some Hollywood feature pulls some wild special 
> effect out
> of the hat and amazes everyone. One example: The Matrix. Most of this 
> stuff
> is nearly old hat, only jazzed up by capabilities of computers. I bet 
> the
> two Lipton titles above are prized possessions of most special effects
> wizards in the industry, because they lay a real foundation. As such, I
> think they would benefit people today interested in 3D modeling, even 
> if
> they are just working on common 2D motion graphics.
>
> "Out of Print" is a term of the past in publishing. Anymore, many 
> titles are
> print on demand. It is a shame that the Lenny Lipton books are out of 
> print.
> Out of print status, anymore, is more an issue of ownership and 
> copyright
> than anything else. You would think that Lenny Lipton, if he is still
> around, would have no problem making these works available via a print 
> on
> demand publisher, unless there are entanglements with a publishing 
> contract
> that predates modern technology.
>
> BTW - I served several years as a SMPTE Officer. Each year, SMPTE 
> publishes
> a membership directory, and Lenny Lipton's name was always there. My
> membership lapsed in a computer snafu at SMPTE, and I've never 
> re-upped, but
> any current SMPTE members on the list might check their most recent
> directory, and see if there is contact info on Lipton.
>
> The other odd-ball writer who is fun to read is Mark Schubin in 
> Videography.
> His articles tend towards free-association of engineering facts, 
> something
> like the PBS series "Connections" peppered with obscure & esoteric
> historical footnotes. I like to read his stuff, and sometimes 
> understand it.
>
> Lenny Lipton's writing style is very clear, easy to approach for 
> beginners,
> and fast moving. Besides his work writing about filmmaking, he is also 
> known
> for writing the song, "Puff the Magic Dragon" -- either a child's 
> fairy tale
> or a anthem to dope smoking, whichever way you want to look at it. You 
> would
> never associate the author of such fantasy lyrics with the author of 
> first
> rate filmmaking books with factual basis to satisfy any engineer, but 
> it is
> one and the same man.
>
> Danny Grizzle
>
>
>
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