Hi Tom,

The console looks like an early MCI JH400 series. I've never seen the 24
track, it looks custom built.

Cheers!

Corey
Corey Bailey Audio Engineering

<snip>
> Here's another look at AAV, the video montage from the grand opening gala:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMwZWLPpcFM
> this one features heavy use of the Rutt-Etra video synthesizer, which was
> a new toy back then.
> By the way, can anyone positively identify the recording console and
> 24-track tape machine types?
> That's an Ampex AG-440B 4-track in the small production studio.
>
> Back squarely on-topic, AAV was involved in many of the typical mid-70's
> corporate and entertainment
> multi-media productions. I think that era was pretty much the heyday of
> that sort of thing,
> worldwide.
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Schroth" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2012 1:21 AM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] archiving slide-tape shows (was voca-film
> technology)
>
>
>> Hi Mike:
>>
>> No, Unfortunately the Eastman House is not doing anything regarding
>> archiving these types of
>> programs. I think for several very understandable reasons:
>>
>> A huge percentage of these programs were proprietary - used for huge
>> sales meetings and trade
>> shows to release new product lines to sales people within the company or
>> distributors. Like Apple
>> releasing the first Macintosh with a program called "Blue Busters" (a
>> takeoff on Ghost Busters -
>> Apple busting "Big Blue" aka IBM), or Saab releasing the new (back then)
>> 900 line, titled "Saab
>> 900". Since many of the really big budget shows were for corporate
>> presentation, it would be tough
>> to get companies to release these privately owned programs.
>>
>> How many people are really interested in preserving them? I for one
>> would be, but I'm in the small
>> minority. There is not a lot of money to be recouped from trying to
>> preserve a multi-image slide
>> presentation. The funds at many institutions are very tight. When money
>> does become available it
>> is most often used for preservation of high-brow or more well-known
>> media that a large percentage
>> or people can identify with, know about, and would be interested in
>> helping to support, or paying
>> money to see, or is viewed by people as a more valuable or important
>> asset.
>>
>> How do you recreate a multi-image program digitally and project it with
>> the same effect, the look
>> would really not be the same. Also, part of the wonder of watching a
>> multi-image slide
>> presentation is watching all those projectors firing away, hearing the
>> clicking of the advancing
>> slides and just shaking your head thinking how mad it was that it even
>> worked.
>>
>> The few programs of note that would be worth taking a stab at
>> resurrecting and preserving are in
>> rough shape. I've talked to many of the old "well known" producers and
>> owners of the past large
>> production companies. The few shows they have kept are stored in garages
>> and old warehouses.
>> Mothballed away because they were so significant at the time and cost so
>> much to produce that the
>> people who produced them, loved them, and could not see throwing them
>> out. But in most cases they
>> did not store them properly. Fading and mold would be just a couple of
>> the issues facing poorly
>> stored slides.
>>
>> Richard mentions "The New York Experience". I remember seeing this
>> program with my dad, then going
>> back to see the projectors all firing away and watched in wonder. My dad
>> was with Kodak for 35
>> years in the motion picture/audiovisual division and worked with people
>> who produced such
>> programs. Also Richard mentioned some great presentations used at
>> National Parks. Kodak also
>> produced many widescreen multi-image programs that were glorious wonders
>> of photography and took
>> you all over the world. These were used as promotional image pieces and
>> toured the globe helping
>> to promote Kodak. Donna Lawrence productions produced an amazing 360
>> degree slide presentation
>> that ran as a fixed display for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
>> There was even a 24
>> projector show that ran as a fixed display on the Queen Elizabeth II (I
>> have one of the slide
>> projectors taken from the ship before the Cunard line retired her). All
>> of these are noteworthy
>> and would be worth preservation, but they were either fixed displays or
>> touring displays. Even if
>> a working copy was available, the slides got to a point of being so
>> faded that they would be hard
>> to bring back to their former full-color glory without a lot of work.
>> And I wonder how many
>> surviving audio tapes used to run the programs would have been in even
>> decent shape.
>>
>> AMI - the Association for Multi-Image, which I was a member of for many
>> years before it went
>> defunct, had a national competition every year. Shows from all over the
>> world were submitted. Any
>> shows that won awards had Ariel Image transfers made of them to share
>> with anyone in the AMI
>> community who wanted to rent them out. This would be worth investigating
>> to see who were the
>> leaders of the organization prior to closing up shop, and who had the
>> tape masters of the shows.
>> Could they be had and if so, make arrangements to get them converted to
>> digital format. At least
>> the stories and the content could be saved. Several years back at my
>> 25th reunion, there was talk
>> of doing just that, but everyone got busy and nothing became of it. I'd
>> still think I'd like to
>> pursue this and should. I'm glad this posting came about so that I can
>> again put this up a front
>> burner.
>>
>> As a side note, many of these shows could be classified as moving image
>> presentations. Many times
>> we used a fat back that held a large roll of 35mm slide film on a Nikon
>> 35mm still camera with a
>> motor drive, to shoot moving image sequences. When you cycle these
>> sequences these through 15 or
>> more slide projectors - the likeness of motion picture film movement is
>> close, with a different
>> effect, but still amazing (and much cheaper than hiring a film crew and
>> the equipment).
>>
>> I have a collection of these shows that I will post on Vimeo sometime in
>> the next week or so for
>> anyone that is interested. They were originally mastered on 1", then
>> dubbed down to 3/4"-U. Copies
>> were made and sent out on 3/4"-U dubs. I quickly copied these to VHS
>> whenever they came in - so
>> the quality is far from perfect, but it gives you at least an idea of
>> how neat these shows really
>> were.
>>
>> Kind Regards,
>>
>> John Schroth
>> Media Transfer Service, LLC
>>
>> On 8/6/2012 1:39 PM, Michael Biel wrote:
>>> From: John Schroth <[log in to unmask]>
>>>
>>>> I majored in Multi-image slide presentation at RIT over 25 years ago.
>>>> They had a core-curriculum in Multi-Image slide production, the only
>>>> one
>>>> like it in country at the time.
>>> Wow!  In this thread we have really hit on a nearly forgotten format
>>> for
>>> archiving, and your info and expertise is valuable.  Is Eastman House
>>> doing anything on this?  I think this topic is worthy of an ARSC
>>> Conference presentation -- not sure if the Moving Image organizations
>>> are interested in these non-moving image presentations.  I remember the
>>> ones I've seen being very impressive -- but every time a movie was
>>> inserted, the combination of the noticeably lower resolution and the
>>> disruption of looking at lengthy-held still images reduced the effect.
>>> These programs could be reproduced with the superior HDTV projection
>>> now
>>> available, using multiple projectors and screens of course.  There
>>> should be an effort to do it NOW while we still have people like you
>>> that remember the equipment and programming so it can be converted to
>>> computer controlling.
>>>
>>> Mike Biel  [log in to unmask]
>>>
>>>
>>> -----
>>> No virus found in this message.
>>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>>> Version: 2012.0.2196 / Virus Database: 2437/5181 - Release Date:
>>> 08/06/12
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>