Introduction

The "Oxberry Junior", as it is colloquially known, is actually not an Oxberry at all! It's really a Frankenstein-esque title stand that has been cobbled together with miscellaneous OEM and aftermarket parts. The main chassis itself was manufactured by Oxberry (if you look closely behind the platen, you can see the serial number 13, which is very old) but the camera is a Kodak Cine Special II and the sequencer is a generic, JK type computer; as of 2023, the lights have all been upgraded to Fiilex and Luxli LEDs as opposed to the standard tungsten lamps.

If you look at the support beam for the camera, you'll see that most of the lettering for the Oxberry logo has fallen away, leaving only three letter: "O", "B", and "E". If you ever hear a lab assistant refer to someone called Obe, this is who they're talking about!

Getting Started

Things You'll Need

The necessities:

• Tape measure
• Light meter
• Daylight spool
• Film

Things you should probably have as well:

• A notebook
• A small flashlight
• Paper tape
• A Sharpie
• Extra 2" cores (if using the magazine)

A Breakdown of the Machine

As mentioned above, the Oxberry has several components that all work in tandem with each other. They are as follows:

• The chassis is the black, metal support structure that holds everything in place and moved the camera up and down.
• The platten is the set of glass plates and control dials that holds and moves the artwork that you're photographing.
• The camera is the big metal box with the magazine sticking out above the platten.
• The lights illuminate the artwork from various angles, including above from the left and right, and underneath from the center through an opal frost.
• The sequencer is the small black computer to the right of the platter. This controls the camera. 

The camera can take either 100' rolls of film on daylight spools, or larger 400' rolls via the magazine system. If you need a dark room to load and unload the magazine, use 800C on the eighth floor of Ansin.

The sequencer can be difficult to press sometimes, and will often double press a key on accident, in which case you'll hear two beeps instead of one. Just remember that you can easily clear whatever you have entered by pressing CLR.

The two lights above the platen are bi-color and their intensity can be adjusted. The light underneath the platen is not only bi-color, it is full RGB and can navigate through a plethora industry standard gels and filters. This can come in handy when working with transparency slides, as it allows you to change the color of the background. 

Make sure your artwork goes under the top layer of glass on the platen. This keeps it flat and safe from accidental bumps or breezes.

Powering Everything On

The main power switch for the Oxberry is on the wall to the right as soon as you want into the room. Flipping it up will activate the power strip behind the chassis where all of the components are plugged in. The sequencer needs to be turned on using the small metal switch on the back by the power cable. To turn on the lights above the platen, press the small red button on the back. The light underneath is also powered by a red button on the back, and all three can have their intensity and color changed by the knobs near the power buttons. 

To test the electrical systems for the chassis (moving the camera up and down), flip the switch on the control box underneath the sequencer to on, then toggle it to jog a couple of times. Things should start to rattle and move, and the camera will either go up or down (depending on where the third switch is positioned). 

An Important Note About the Sequencer

The sequencer is wired in a way that makes it control the camera backwards, so when you turn it on to start working, make sure you press the CAM REV button in the middle. It should beep once. A quick way to test if it registered or not is to cycle the shutter one time and see if the number goes to "1" or "59872". If the latter, you're good to go. 

Loading the Camera

When loading the camera, make sure that the lights on the Oxberry are off and the only light in the room is the overhead light. This light is dim, so if you need to practice, grab a dummy load from the annex.

The camera can be opened via the right side with a small metal latch toward the back. Hinge the cover all the way up, allowing it to lock into place. When you open it, you'll see a network of rollers and one sprocketed driver at the bottom, along with a metal rod toward the top. This metal rod is where BOTH of your daylight spools will go, stacked like crackers in a sleeve. Your feed spool will go in the back and the take up spool will go in the front. 

Slot your film onto the metal rod and push it all the way to the back of the cavity. It should softly lock into place behind a few metal beads. Thread the film by following the arrows, noting that the first roller is up above the spool system. When you get to the main sprocket in the middle, push the black switch underneath it to the right and left to open up the path before and after the gate.

When threading the gate, it's important to have the shutter of the camera OPEN so that you can get a sprocket hole under the claw. To do this, press the SHTR OPEN button on the sequencer. You will hear it half cycle. Flip up the pressure plate and slot the film in underneath it, ensuring that there are sufficient loops in front and behind the gate, then press the SHTR CLOSED button on the sequencer, allowing the claw to come down into place. Form the loops on the left and right of the gate by following the arrows on the 

Wind your film onto the take up spool then slot it in on top of the feed spool. DO NOT PRESS IT ALL THE WAY AGAINST THE FEED SPOOL. This is how you spaghetti your film. It needs to sit slightly away from the inside, almost to the edge of the metal rod. You will feel it lightly lock into place. To test it and see if it's correctly aligned, on the sequencer, type in PGM -> TOTAL PRESET COUNT -> 24 -> ENTER -> PGM -> RUN. This will advance the film 24 frames. The take up spool should move without issue. If it does not move or only moves slightly, adjust the positioning and repeat the above sequence until it seats correctly.

Once you've ensured that the camera is running correctly, close the hatch by pressing down on the support arm and gently lowering it down. Secure it using the same lever that you released to initially open the camera. Input PGM -> TOTAL PRESET COUNT -> 100 -> ENTER -> PGM -> RUN to run the camera past the point of exposure. 

Framing Your Artwork

When laying your subject, whether it be a transparency or other type of film/paper, it is important to note that your material will need to be placed upside-down. If you think about how the camera is positioned in relation to its subject (and you for that matter), you will notice that you're technically above the camera. Placing the material being photographed upside down from your perspective will actually make it right side up from the camera's perspective.

Lift the glass and place your artwork underneath it, closing it like a sandwich. Grab the ladder from the corner of the room and set it up right in front of the Oxberry. Climb up and look down into the viewfinder of the camera, using the metal switch on the right side of the eyepiece to move between a closeup view and a holistic view (see above image). This viewfinder is reflex, so what you see is what you get. If you're doing titles, make sure whatever you're shooting lines up with the dotted square, as this guide ensures a safe margin between the edge of the film and the text. The small box underneath the sequencer will move the camera up and down, either by jogging or in continuous motion. Write down the numbers on the back pillar or mark them with tape if you plan on adjusting this height throughout your session! That way you can go back to the exact heigh if needed. 

The Oxberry has two lenses on it: a wide angle and a telephoto. For the most part, you'll want the wide angle, but its always a good idea to switch between the two just to see the difference. To change lenses, pull the metal lever to the left of the turret out while cradling the turret itself in your hand (so it doesn't accidentally drop). Rotate it until the lens you want is over the gate, then push the turret back up and lock it into position. 

Once you're framed, close the viewfinder by flipping the switch to the middle position.

Lighting and Focus

Lighting your artwork for exposure can be tricky on this machine. The camera does not behave like a normal camera, and you'll need to meter in different ways for different lights. The camera's shutter speed is 1/6th of a second, much slower than most other cameras, so you'll want to compensate for this by measuring halfway between 1/8 and 1/4. 

Illuminating Your Subject From Above

When working with the two lights above the platen, you'll want to use the incident meter with the bulb right over your work in the middle of the platen. Ideally, you've got your lens somewhere around ƒ/8 or ƒ/11 so that it's nice and sharp, and are turning the intensity of the lights up and down as needed. Find the right intensity to make sure that your reading for 1/6th of a second is at ƒ/8 or ƒ/11 (whichever you've got your lens set to).

Illuminating Your Subject From Underneath

The lamp under the platen should only be used if your artwork is on a transparency. For this method, remove the incident head from the light meter and twist the head around to face the clear part of your subject. Meter for 1/6th of a second, then either increase the intensity of the lamp by two stops or 

open up your aperture two stops. The logic behind this is that the spot meter is metering your exposure for middle gray, and bumping up your exposure two stops will bring it from middle gray to a more accurate rendition of what you want it to look like (assuming that you want the transparent areas to be completely white). 

Focusing the Camera

While you can adjust focus by looking through the viewfinder, it's actually much easier to do it by distance instead. To do this, take the end of the tape measure and hold it parallel to the camera's gate. Pull it down and see how many feet are between the gate and the platter. Adjust your focus for that distance, and don't forget to change it if you move the camera up or down!

Running the Camera

Running the camera is actually quite simple for common techniques such as photographing titles or doing basic animation. Again, make sure the camera is running in reverse, then hit PGM -> CAMERA PRESET TOTAL -> [number of frames] -> ENTER -> PGM -> RUN. Keep in mind when entering your number of frames that your film will still play back at 24fps after all is said and done, so the more frames you shoot, the less fluid your movement will look and vice versa.

For double exposures and superimpositions, close down the variable shutter and and turn off reverse (allowing the camera to run forward), opening the shutter back up and reversing the direction once you hit your desired frame. 

Unloading and Wrapping Out

When you're finished shooting, chances are you'll still have some film left on the feed spool. Advance the camera 100 frames to ensure that none of what you've just shot gets exposed, then open the camera and cut the film with a pair of scissors. Unthread the camera and remove the take up spool and put it in a box, then do the same for the feed spool. Make sure you label them accordingly!

Power down the individual components of the Oxberry before turning off the main switch: all three lights, the camera control box, and the sequencer. Close up the camera and place the bag over it to prevent dust from collecting. 

Make sure that you aren't accidentally taking any of the equipment in the room with you when you leave! The tape measure and light meter live in that space, so no need to return them to the annex.