Frezzolini LW-16 (Transport Problem)

I have a nice, clean, quiet Frezzi-LW 16 camera which was recently overhauled. I have come to understand that before I was born, the Frezzi w/ their Auricon movements shot reversal by the truckload. But mine does not move reversal. It can only transport color negative, and I assume because of the relative thickness of the color stocks. So when I pull the pressure plate back to investigate, it appears that the claw pokes into the reversal and when left running for a few seconds, this jams the movement altogether. when I swap the mag and test the color neg, the camera performs perfect for any length of time. has anyone seen this problem with the Auricon movement???

I have attempted to get older cameras repaired without much success- if fact I have noticed that some repair people make things work. so am I locked into only shooting color neg with this camera or does anyone see a possible solution?

Taylor Wigton
Portland, Maine
DP

Taylor Wigton wrote :

>I have noticed that some repair people make things work. so am I >locked into only shooting color neg w/ this camera or does anyone see >a possible solution?

Now here is weird advice, I know, just bear with me. We used to have that problem with reversal stock and we did the following in the early fifties.

Don't you DARE laugh...

We rubbed some nose fat (rub the SIDE of your nose, don't use a booger) and smeared that on the gate and pressure plate. I suppose in these days of absolute cleanliness you might use some hard paraffin, like candle wax.

Probably a birthday candle, those tiny ones might work best

No problemo anymore with your reversal. Try it, what can you loose?

Robert Rouveroy csc
The Hague, Holland

I plan to live forever. So far, so good.

Robert Rouveroy wrote :

> We rubbed some nose fat (rub the SIDE of your nose, don't use a >booger)

Robert, no one will laugh. Nose grease is a standard procedure, with some cameras. I learned to apply it to an Arri-S, way back in college. It became such a standard that in the Arri SR book, there is a Note that the SR runs dry, don't even use nose grease.

Steven Gladstone
Cinematographer - Gladstone Films
Cinematography Mailing List - East Coast List Administrator
Better off Broadcast (B.O.B.)
New York, U.S.A.

Robert Rouveroy said :

>We rubbed some nose fat (rub the SIDE of your nose, don't use a >booger) and smeared that on the gate and pressure plate. I suppose in

The most abundant oil in the world…seriously.

Roderick Stevens
Az. D.P.
www.restevens.com
12 On / 12 Off

You all might enjoy seeing that Leica had a project to collect nose grease for use with Leica cameras :

http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/v13/msg17258.html

Walter Graff
Producer, Director, Creative Director, Cinematographer
HellGate Pictures, Inc.
www.film-and-video.com

>We rubbed some nose fat (rub the SIDE of your nose, don't use a >booger) Robert, no one will laugh. Nose grease is a standard >procedure, with some cameras.

The Photosonics uses a water soluble silicon oil in the gate, maybe this could
be used by those of you who suffer from dry skin
My two groats worth...

Andy Taylor
Camera Engineer
Arri Media UK
www.arrimedia.com
www.arri.com

>We rubbed some nose fat (rub the SIDE of your nose, don't use a >booger) Robert, no one will laugh. Nose grease is a standard >procedure, with some cameras.

Really, I thought no one would take my advice seriously, maybe thinking : "there's that old fogy again" but then I had some unexpected support by (presumably) other old fogies so then I tapped Google for "nose grease' And "Arri Nose Grease", got hit by about (at last count) 900 hits. And my good friend Jim Mercer csc who's visiting me from Canada, concurs.

So now I'd be curious to see if Taylor Wigton succeeded in running that reversal stock…Remember, NO boogers, just fat.

Robert Rouveroy csc
The Hague, Holland

I plan to live forever. So far, so good.

Nose grease is also the solution to SR3 and Ilford stocks.

Cheers

Geoff Boyle FBKS
Director of Photography
EU Based

(This follow up was posted a few days later…)

I was fiddling with the Frezzi - with the assumption that there was something fundamentally wrong with the camera and that if I tried hard enough, the negative would eventually have the same transport problem. I suppose I willed it to happen and it did.

Here is what it feels like...with the Panavision cameras that I’ve had contact with. There is a knob to adjust the pitch of the claw. you adjust until the sound is gone. The problem with the Frezzi seems like I need that Panavision feature. With the low ‘tec’ Frezzi, there's a metal guard that covers the claw and helps keep the pressure plate in place, and when I run film through at 24fps and hold down that claw cover (name?) with a clean pointer finger devoid of boogers, the film, both reversal or neg, runs fine. but it sure does not feel right.

I will try the nose grease, but something tells me a repair is needed. Worth the money? The camera is fun, I spent some money on it and would like to use it, but I wonder if anyone still services the Auricon's without taking 2 months and more money then its worth. I heard Whitehouse AV or Frezzolini are the first places to call.

Thanks as always and I will update with any developments.

Taylor Wigton
Portland, Maine
DP