Regarding SLEEP: the definitive source on Warhol's filmmaking, Callie
Angell, explains that SLEEP was indeed made with the Bolex using 100-
ft. rolls, on which Warhol made multiple shots (i.e. not simply
letting the full 100 feet run in one take as in the screen tests),
which were subsequently optically printed and then edited together -
the film is heavily edited, though it lacks the flashy, more jarring
in-camera editing that Nicky mentions. As an example, Angell mentions
that reel 5 of SLEEP has 133 splices, varying between shot lengths of
10-20 feet each repeated 10-20 times.
Regarding projection speed: since "correct" projection speed is a
matter of shooting speed, the "technically correct" projection speed
of Warhol's silents is 24fps, since that's how fast he shot them. But
of course he stipulated that they be shown at "silent speed," which,
again according to Angell, was re-standardized from 16 to 18fps around
1970 (according to her, to reduce noticeable flicker). Is there a
record anywhere of Warhol specifically saying "16fps" rather than just
"silent speed?" I don't know the extent to which EITHER 16 or 18 fps
was ever REALLY the standard; certainly during the silent era, both
shooting and projection speed were so varied as to thoroughly
complicate the idea of a "standard."* Which is to say that making do
with 18fps seems entirely legit. Warhol himself could be pretty
cavalier about projection - the "correct" order of reels in THE
CHELSEA GIRLS, for instance, has a history that begins with Warhol
dropping the reels off to the projectionist and saying "good luck."
Best,
Jonathan
*of course, we're talking about 35mm in that case, but presumably the
elusiveness of the standard was carried over into 16mm technology.
On Feb 13, 2012, at 3:26 AM, nicky.ham...@talktalk.net wrote:
The long films were made with an Auricon single system camera that
records sync sound directly onto the film (either optical or
magnetic). This is what Warhol used for the long take sound films
and, if I'm not mistaken, also used for films like Bike Boy, where
there are loads of in-camera edits, resulting in flash frames and
blips on the track.
NIcky Hamlyn.
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Jonathan Walley
Associate Professor of Cinema
Denison University
wall...@denison.edu
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