Debrie Parvo
Encyclopedia
The Parvo was a 35mm motion picture camera
developed in France by Joseph Jules Debrie, in 1908. The camera was relatively compact for its time. It was hand cranked, as were its predecessors. To aid the camera operator in cranking at the correct speed, the camera had a built in tachometer
.
The Parvo held up to 120 metres (393.7 ft) of film inside without the need for an external film magazine, yielding almost 6 minutes of film when cranked at the standard 16 frames per second silent film rate. It allowed the camera operator to focus the camera lens but - as all other cine cameras of its era - had a side optical viewfinder to be used during actual filming.
The Parvo was immensely popular in Europe during the silent film era, straight through the 1920's. Directors who particularly liked the camera were Abel Gance
, Leni Riefenstahl
, and Sergei Eisenstein
. The latter's cinematographer, Eduard Tisse
, would use the camera into the sound era, i.e. filming the duelling sequence in Alexander Nevsky
.
Movie camera
The movie camera is a type of photographic camera which takes a rapid sequence of photographs on strips of film which was very popular for private use in the last century until its successor, the video camera, replaced it...
developed in France by Joseph Jules Debrie, in 1908. The camera was relatively compact for its time. It was hand cranked, as were its predecessors. To aid the camera operator in cranking at the correct speed, the camera had a built in tachometer
Tachometer
A tachometer is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute on a calibrated analogue dial, but digital displays are increasingly common...
.
The Parvo held up to 120 metres (393.7 ft) of film inside without the need for an external film magazine, yielding almost 6 minutes of film when cranked at the standard 16 frames per second silent film rate. It allowed the camera operator to focus the camera lens but - as all other cine cameras of its era - had a side optical viewfinder to be used during actual filming.
The Parvo was immensely popular in Europe during the silent film era, straight through the 1920's. Directors who particularly liked the camera were Abel Gance
Abel Gance
Abel Gance was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. He is best known for three major silent films: J'accuse , La Roue , and the monumental Napoléon .-Early life:...
, Leni Riefenstahl
Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens , a propaganda film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party...
, and Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
. The latter's cinematographer, Eduard Tisse
Eduard Tisse
Eduard Kazimirovich Tisse April 1897 - 18 November 1961) was a Soviet cinematographer born to a Swedish father and Russian mother in Liepāja, Courland. He grew up in Liepāja and started his career as a newsreel cameraman during the Russian Civil War...
, would use the camera into the sound era, i.e. filming the duelling sequence in Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky (film)
Alexander Nevsky is a 1938 historical drama film directed by Sergei Eisenstein, in association with Dmitri Vasilyev and a script co-written with Pyotr Pavlenko, who were assigned to ensure Eisenstein did not stray into "formalism" and to facilitate shooting on a reasonable timetable...
.