Seattle-based animator, author and educator Tony White is hoping to find a home for his much-loved 35-mm animation rostrum camera (and accessories) as he is moving back the U.K. The camera comes with a one of the first ever IMB, remote-control computer units, plus a 16-mm film Moviola.
“I’m desperately trying to find a safe home for an incredible piece of film history, which is most definitely a museum piece that I have been preserving in my garage for the past 15 years or so,” says Tony. “It was state-of-the-art technology in its day, worked for many decades in Seattle (before and after the arrival of computer technology) and is now one of the last of its kind in the world. It is available to anyone who can give a safe and protected resting place — hopefully enabling future generation of animators, fans and/or filmmakers to view it, in all its splendor.”
A Rostrum camera is a specially designed camera used in TV production and filmmaking to animate a still picture or object. It consists of a moving lower platform on which the article to be filmed is placed, while the camera is placed above on a column. Visual effects can be created from this simple setup, although it is most often used to add interest to static objects. The camera can, for example, traverse across a painting, and using wipes and zooms, change a still picture into a sequence suitable for television or movie productions/
The camera is connected to a mechanism that allows an operator to precisely control the movement of the lower platform, as well as of the camera head. The lower platform is often called an animation compound table. A computer controls the horizontal, vertical and rotational movements of the compound table, the “zooming” (lowering and rising) of the camera head on the column, and the lens bellows.
This rostrum camera requires a 12-foot-high ceiling height above it, as well as a solid base floor (concrete or reinforced floorboards) beneath it. It is currently stored in Seattle, Washington.
White has made a brief video about it, which can be seen below:
https://www.2dacademy.com/camera.html
To find out more, you can email info@2dacademy.com
