Arriflex – What Was Pebble Mill?

Film Unit – BBC Midland Region

These photos date from the 1960s, when the BBC Midland Region Film Unit was based at Broadcasting House, 52 Carpenter Road.

The following information was added on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Steve Saunderson: The camera looks like an Arriflex 2b 35mm. With a 400ft magazine ( 5 mins run time at 25fps ). The motor was underneath the camera body and fitted into a special tripod head such as a Ronford-Baker Fluid 15. Fitted with a clip-on bellows matte-box with filter tray. There was a smaller version, the Arri 16ST 16mm which could take a 100 ft ( 2mins 30secs ) daylight loading spool inside the camera body or have a 400 ft ( 10 mins run time ) magazine on top like the camera pictured.

The Land Rover emblem doesn’t specify “Midlands Film Unit” so it may have been sent up from BBC Ealing Studios.

Filming at the canal

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This photo probably dates from the mid 1960s, and shows filming at the canal with a Arriflex 16mm film camera.

The photo was originally posted on the Pebble Mill Engineers’ Facebook group.

Would this have been for news pictures, or a hobby film? Please post a comment if you can add more information.

Thanks to Stuart Gandy for allowing the photo to be shared.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Malcolm Hickman: ‘Looks like the Worcester Bar at Gas Street Basin. You can see Stanier House and the Town Hall in the distance. No Alpha tower or Central TV. Looks like he has a sound recorder over his shoulder, but I can’t see a mic. Probably professional.’

Jim Knights: ‘Hazard a guess at freelance cameraman from Midlands Today. Certainly a mute cameraman as Arri 16 has no sound box. Could be Ed Mullis? Mid 60’s when I arrived in Broad st news , he was one of 3… Charlie Moody.. Derek Johnston and Ed Mullis. I stand corrected if wrong!’

Keith Brook: ‘I think that’s the battery pack over his shoulder. Years before belt packs.’

Malcolm Hickman: ‘Weren’t those Arris clockwork?’

Steve Saunderson: ‘It’s an Arri ST and it is the battery strap over his shoulder. As Jim says, it’s a mute camera 100 foot loading ( 2mins 30secs at 25fps ) and you can see the battery lead going to the back of the camera.’

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Early film cameras – John Williams

Shooting on early film cameras from pebblemill on Vimeo.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Specially shot interview with film cameraman, John Williams, talking about working on early film cameras, e.g. Arriflex cameras, early zoom lenses, and blimps.

John Williams