I was a projectionist at a theater in the before time. Had a pair of these working 20-minute reels. Never broke myself of the habit of looking for change-over dots in the corners. Eight seconds. You had eight seconds for the next reel to come up to speed so you could "open the blast doors", and get ready to hit the foot switch to swap shutters, and flip the sound switch at the same time. Then it was on to closing the door on the old reel, shutting down the projector, queue up the next reel, check the rods -- which you did continuously during the film in between making some emergency splices and running off the old reel back onto a new one (rewinding). It was a job. You might have ten minutes for a bathroom break, but if you saw the film starting to "blue", you had to race back and get those rods realigned...quickly. They would shelf easily, but at least you never opened the doors while it was running...mostly never.
I have a friend into 16mm film and with the oversized reels depending on the movie it's one, maybe two switchovers. He's got two projectors and 2-3 times a year we do an outside movie night. Not as intense but I can relate. Having seen both digital and film based versions of movies there is no question that film is superior in experience IMO.
I was a protectionist also in the 70's and 80's. I still see the cue marks on old shows. A 200 amp dc generator in the back room. Peerless arc lamp, simplex project, exhaust fans. Candy girls. Those were the days
I remember back in the '70's going to the drive-in with friends using the carbon arc for the projector Ted's father taught me a quite a bit about it along with watching free movies evey summer good times back then.. and the bowl shaped mirror ...
Now imagine feeding over 10,000 times the amps as this 600 volts of triple phase power and you got yourself an electric arc furnace for converting iron into steel or recycling old steel.
Mole Richardson guy: I can strike a one inch arc! Foundry dude: How cute. My neighbor ran the crane at Ford Rouge Steel, I don't remember the size of the bucket, but they struck a 6ft arc!
I'm a computer geek (I work in IT), and have a fascination with old tube radios and phonos. Yet the algorithm knew I needed to know how to operate a Mole Richardson carbon arc lamp, and I love it! I find film fascinating and have been lucky enough to have service calls at several of the major Los Angeles studios, where I always take the long way out when I'm done.
I got to operate a 800 million candle power WW2 searchlight as a kid. Every Christmas eve the church would hire a guy to run his searchlight. To create the North Star. He was very kind to show me how to run the light. I have loved carbon arc lights ever since ❤️
We had one of those at our city's new year's eve celebration. The operator showed me how it worked. Watching that big spotlight was the best part of the night for me.
I did a Western in Flagstaff in '86. Two Lighthead Brute arcs and even a Duarc. Great lights; they each have a personality. Actually, each trim has a personality. And they kept the brothers workin'! Each lamp (sometimes two, if close together) needed an operator. I can recall various old-timers showing up to work w/ one pair of heavy leather gloves and one pair of pliers. (Maybe a small flask too) Notice a fold-up handle at each corner of that head. Yup, one man on each corner to lift it. It may look like a giant Midget, but it is truly a Heavy Head. Good times. IATSE 728 - Los Angeles
as a kid in the late 50's on moonless nights occasionally you would see this brilliant beam sweeping the night sky, at that time advertising the grand opening of a dealer ship was common..you had to be there to appreciate it. some of the mobile units had four smaller dia. lamps which rotated independent of one another
A few film foundations that take projecting very seriously still use carbon arc. I know Pacific Film Archive used to do that when I lived in the Oakland, Berkeley area. Never seen such vivid, even natural light. It makes black and white films look more lifelike. To be fair their projector must have the best lens ever.
I learned how to operate the beautiful Mole arc light in 1988. Operated them in Commercials till the mid 90's. Sorry to say I haven't oparated one in over 20 years. Those grids made great heaters on those cold nights.
This is a terrific historic resource. My career began as HMIs were moving in strongly, and Brutes were no longer on any of the sets I worked on. I was lucky to have a good education on their light, and differences with discharge types. Young folks often ask questions that lead to an explanation of spectra, the black body curve, and CRI. I love to send them here to see this video to see what a Bruite is. Thanks Mole-Richardson for making this available!
Wonderful to actually see the man himself, demonstrating what was an essential lighting tool for the movie industry worldwide until led lights and hdmi lights took over, and film speeds increased. I worked at Pinewood in England in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, and those lights were in constant use on the James Bond films. The “evil genius lair” sets, which were huge and incredibly expensive for the time, could not have been lit well without the big Mole Richardson arcs, hired in from Samuelsons, in London.
As a kid growing up in the 1960’s there were lots of carbon arc “searchlights” used in shopping center and car dealer promotions. This is the first time I have ever seen how they work> Thanks for the content!
I had completely forgotten about those lights that used to dance around the sky at night. Once or twice we visited the parking lots where you would find three or four big "batman" style lights (at least that's what I called them since they looked like the same light used to call batman).
Lit up an old Carbon Arc today, been sitting for many decades now, and it lit quite nicely. beautiful light, the video dose not do it justice, one must see it in person.
So many years ago, my parents lived about 6 miles from the river. The barge tugs at night would use carbon arc lights to spot their targets. I would be in my bad, looking out the window and the lights would light up the tree tops. Kind of a good memory of cool summer nights. Smiles!
Yes. My uncle ran a theater that used carbon ark projectors. When he was short handed, he would get me to run the projectors. I remember adjusting the feed rate. I remember me and my friends watching movies from the projection booth. The worst place imaginable to watch a movie from. But it was the *projection booth* so me and all my fiends thought it was cool. Do you remember changing projectors?
Awesome. I was lucky enough to learn much of the old techniques for projecting with arcs when I worked as a young man in a chain of old theaters. So the carbon arc technology is familiar. But it's great seeing these large stage lights. Very cool. Thanks.
I remember I'm my younger days hanging out with some friends that had parents that owned the drive in and the had carbon arc lights in them as well as the bowl shaped mirror...good times back then
if you watch styropyros video with the car batteries he arcs some carbon together and its mental how bright it is haha, he also cut a microwave in half with it
There used to be a carbon arc lamp atop the Palmolive Building on Chicago's near north lakefront. It was called "The Lindbergh beacon" and was at the time the brightest carbon arc lamp in the world. It could be seen for more than 30 miles over Lake Michigan.
I really enjoyed this video I remember seeing one of the Old world war II search lights that operated with carbonarchs on the end of the pier in Daytona Beach many years ago. I really enjoyed seeing how the movie lighting worked using the similar principles.
Wasn’t The Wizard Of Oz filmed under carbon arc light? That would pre-date this featured light. I read that the film used for that movie had a speed of 8. That necessitated the carbon arc lights.
Yes your right and I think ze Germans had a similar type of light long before that to spot allied planes and try to blow them out of the sky. I think that guy's grandfather worked for the Reich before coming to Hollywood
I remember seeing a Searchlight in town around 20 -25 years ago. It operated with the carbon Arc inside. I don't remember what the event was but, I do remember the light. You could see it from 10 miles away!
This is an excellent video I remember the old drive in out west having projectors like this... I thought I would never see one of these ever again... This is the first time I seen it since 1980 good fun times never end they just become memories...
Thank you for sharing an interesting demonstration! When you mentioned "throw your HMIs away", I wondered if it would be true if digital cinematographers today would have less trouble with image flicker when shooting different frame rates and shutter speeds if they just used carbon arc lamps instead of HMIs?
@@Eli.Suarez : Actually, I didn't think (or say?) that HMI was LED. I just have heard that there is sometimes flicker problems in the recorded video (and not seen in the HMI light itself on set) when shooting with HMIs powered with magnetic ballasts. I just thought I'd give a plug for old-fashioned carbon arcs here, since I don't believe they can cause flicker problems for film and video like HMIs sometimes can.
Never used one of these but I believe when he says it puts out a much more beautiful light than an HMI. Ive been hearing that for thirty years. Most big HMIs are pars and are used because of their high output not great light quality.
@@tracypanavia4634 Especially the par style lamps with the big source. At least the older double end HMI lamps had a smaller globe. Small globe + big fresnel = better quality light
Such beatutivul memories! I was a gaffer in Russia we also use to use carbon arc lights in the 80s. I hope cameraman didn't get a UV burn when you opened a lid 🤣
I remember years ago a small drive-in out west back in the '70's I used to hang out at with some friends that used the carbon type arc for the lights for the projectors and the perfectly bowl shape mirror .
Thank you for this video. I grew up on a TV set in the 70's and this arc brought back so many memories. Any chance you have an old 9 light you can feature?
I've always been interested in this stuff, Charles Brush considered the first proper carbon arc inventor brought his stuff here to Britain and today Brush remains a very well known name in railways as much as remembered for powering the first electricity networks in London. Certainly Brush's company became entwined with British military innovations and even built aircraft for the Royal Navy.
I am asked fairly often why Indiana Jones/Kingdom of the Crystal Skull color didn't look like the first three (especially the first two). I tell them I know one reason...and the discussion begins as mentioned. ;-)
It’s a good bet that the generator’s engine was a Continental. Definitely a 1200 rpm machine, that’s why it’s so quiet. It would have actually been driving two generators on the same shaft. A small one called the exciter exciter which generated a low voltage DC current that supplied the field voltage for the main generator. And the main generator itself that produced the 90 volt, 1000 amp current for the arc lamp. A lot of those DC generators were made for the military during WWII and then sold cheaply to the movie studios. Same for the large arc searchlights that were common in the late 40’s and 50’s at outdoor events and store openings. Those mobile searchlights were used in the war to spot enemy airplanes.
I have an old welder/torch (around 1950's circa) that runs off of 110 volts and is built into it's own suitcase. It has two carbon rods of which are "struck" to make the arc for welding. I call it an "electric torch". It was left behind in a house my wife & I bought and I have yet to try it.
I was fascinated by search lights when I was a kid. Here is a much smaller version of a Carbon Arc lamp. Used in the movie industry. 1000 Amps at 120 volts = 120,000 watts or 120 Kw. so that is one big generator to run a single lamp.
This video just answered all my questions about how this spotlight works. I clapped my hands when he said "we are going to start it with the door open". Bravo!
We didn't have that but had an arc spotlight in college. They only let this one certain senior run it. And like here, he always wore gloves. Looking back on it, I think they chose him because he was expendable.
Interesting 🤔... I've seen some old timey movies where they showed the set with the actors on stage as part of the story and did remarke the smoke rising from the light like this one....now I know why. Life is so interesting when pieces of the puzzle come together unexpectedly like that. 😁
Just saw one made by G.E. about two weeks ago at an airshow. The owner told me all about the light like where it came from and where he got parts. The unit was an original U.S. government issue with D.C. generator on a fabricated trailer. The light was bright white. Took me back to the days when carnivals, state and county fairs and car dealers used them for attracting crowds.
120kW for that little light output??? German WWII aircraft searchlights were carbon arc lamps as well, IIRC, but these looked a lot brighter than this thing. I wonder what 120kW in LED light would look like, probably death ray beam ;-D
Carbon ark was used for many things. Searchlights, Lighthouses. Carbon arke was even used in welding. Which, I once used. Poorley, I have to admit. It wasn't easy to manage the carbon rods and the welding rods at the same time. And the heat that it produced was unbearable. Thanks, Grandfather.
