My father introduced me to the USA Max Headroom tv show a very long time ago, he had about 6 episodes on VHS. Saw the DVD set the other day, bought it, and I've been watching through it. I was happy to find out that it was still as cool and edgy as I thought it was back when I was much younger. Even though I don't think I could pull off a convincing Edison Carter character at a convention or anything, it think it would be really cool to build up the weather-beaten slammed around vidi-cam he carried and depended on for his job and sometimes saving his bacon.
Back when I was a kid I used to fix up old VHS camcorders and the occasional U-Matic 3/4" 'backpack' models that the schools I attended generally had buried under tons of useless junk (I even salvaged a U-Matic 3/4" linear editing system from the props room of the drama club which they had lit pyrotechnics out of during one show, and had it not been for the box of spare parts and the service manual below I would have never gotten that sucker up and running!).
Anyway I look fondly upon those years of cobbling equipment together to make video announcements possible, but in all my time I have yet to see a camera that looks like Edison's from the TV series. Unless you know what you are looking for exactly, the internet is a headache. I do not think very many people have attempted this, as an in-depth internet search turns up nothing but old usenet chats about Zik Zak coffee mugs, but I am sure someone has the potential to identify the viewfinder or some other piece of the camera as it certainly is unique.
From what I can see without going for screencaps is it really looks like a pro-sumer studio type camera, IE no VTR (Video Tape Recorder) built into it, but there may have been a sidepack which would have contained that. The series is '87, and looking at my collection of old camcorders the body looks to be post 1979 and pre 1986.
I'm looking to probably spend 10 years+ tracking down information and pieces, I need a good project which will hopefully not have positive or negative consequences, but I may grab some pieces at the goodwill and make my own 'from the world' version anyway.
This will be the first ever prop I've attempted to build, and I am at square one: Fact Finding.
Again I want to reiterate that this will likely take time (years) just to find/figure out details, and I think just figuring out what they cobbled together in the heat of the moment to make that thing will be an exciting adventure. I'm very good at getting things as long as I know what I am looking at and for. If you have any hints or tips I am all open ears.
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On the photo of the bottom left, the viewfinder with the square bellows really reminds me of something that I'd see on a 80's panasonic though.
Back when I was a kid I used to fix up old VHS camcorders and the occasional U-Matic 3/4" 'backpack' models that the schools I attended generally had buried under tons of useless junk (I even salvaged a U-Matic 3/4" linear editing system from the props room of the drama club which they had lit pyrotechnics out of during one show, and had it not been for the box of spare parts and the service manual below I would have never gotten that sucker up and running!).
Anyway I look fondly upon those years of cobbling equipment together to make video announcements possible, but in all my time I have yet to see a camera that looks like Edison's from the TV series. Unless you know what you are looking for exactly, the internet is a headache. I do not think very many people have attempted this, as an in-depth internet search turns up nothing but old usenet chats about Zik Zak coffee mugs, but I am sure someone has the potential to identify the viewfinder or some other piece of the camera as it certainly is unique.
From what I can see without going for screencaps is it really looks like a pro-sumer studio type camera, IE no VTR (Video Tape Recorder) built into it, but there may have been a sidepack which would have contained that. The series is '87, and looking at my collection of old camcorders the body looks to be post 1979 and pre 1986.
I'm looking to probably spend 10 years+ tracking down information and pieces, I need a good project which will hopefully not have positive or negative consequences, but I may grab some pieces at the goodwill and make my own 'from the world' version anyway.
This will be the first ever prop I've attempted to build, and I am at square one: Fact Finding.
Again I want to reiterate that this will likely take time (years) just to find/figure out details, and I think just figuring out what they cobbled together in the heat of the moment to make that thing will be an exciting adventure. I'm very good at getting things as long as I know what I am looking at and for. If you have any hints or tips I am all open ears.
On the photo of the bottom left, the viewfinder with the square bellows really reminds me of something that I'd see on a 80's panasonic though.