Cinema Canada (Dec 1974-Jan 1975)

ROUGH CUT This particular corner of your Cinema Canada magazine was started because many of my colleagues cried in their after-work beers about the dearth of information slanted particularly to their point of view. Magazines such as this one exist primarily from the monies derived from advertising. Therefore, much, or all of the “‘new products” literature is derived from company handouts, and in their view all such products are the newest, the best, and absolutely essential for the cameraman to update his ability to pay that second mortgage. I have no quarrel with trying to make much more money than I am now, but I resent the fact that since the inception of this series of articles, some people have tried to use me to expound the particularly fine properties of product “A” over product “‘B’’. All of us working stiffs in this profession have gone on “freebies” of one kind or another and it’s great fun indeed. CBS *“Sixty Minutes” had a very nice item on this problem several months ago and not much can be added to their exposé, but please rest assured that I will try to keep as white as the driven snow. Unless some one offers me that cool half a million?? Fade-In Over the (too many) years that I have been in this racket, rumours have been drifting around on the so-called unfair practices of Braun Canada vide the importation of Arris. Horror stories about the Canadian customs agents acting like a far-flung network of private dicks confiscating Arriflex carmeras left and tight from unsuspecting and pure-inthought cameramen. People sued and people incarcerated and generally lost their shirts because of the black machinations of that villain called Braun. Of course, every time I found such a badly done-by individual he had imported an Arri to make a fast buck, so I couldn’t find much charity in my heart for him. But rumours do persist and so, several months ago, while trying to hoodwink Canadian customs in passing a ten buck item I had illegally imported (yes, I lost the game and had to pay various duties and penalties and I won’t ever, ever do it again, cross my heart and fingers) I fell into a conversation with the chief customs honcho, trying to pump him on 20 Cinema Canada the Braun situation. Like Sergeant Schultz of Hogan’s Heroes he knew nothing, nothing about it, and after sufficient hemming and hawing referred me to some other authority. In Ottawa. My curiosity being incurable, I invested some long distance calls in pursuit of the nitty-gritty. I encountered much distrust and unwillingness to impart any information. Somehow one gets the feeling that any query addressed to those who govern us (with the exception of ‘chow are you?” and the current state of the weather) seems to imbue the cloak of “restricted”, ‘classified’, or at worst, “secret”. What it all boils down to is: mind your own business, or don’t upset the apple cart. Dissolve And back to Braun. So, armed with what little misinformation I had, to the horse’s mouth. Who else but Steve Cook took me in to see Bert Simmonds, and an earfull I did get. And here is the gem, as given to me by both of them. In essence: Since a very long time ago, when Braun acquired the Arri dealership, their target has been a service reputation second to none. To accomplish this, quite a few Arri servicemen were imported from Germany, among others Theo Egelseder, Hans Gahr, Wolfgang Riegl. And from Arri of America: Harold Ortenburger. Locally, Ronald Niecke (the power pack guy) from Carveth. And others. And some of them, seeing gold in them thar Canajan hills, defected and did their own thing, like all good immigrants do after a while. To keep them working, Braun keeps on hand a half million bucks worth of spare parts. That figure blew me a little, as I hope to God all the Arriflexes in Canada don’t need that many spare parts in case they need repairs. That would somehow negate the Arri claim of being the best camera ever made. I might even submit that there are not 2 million bucks worth of Arris in the whole of Canada. But, so be it. The service is indeed extremely good. About once a year my camera goes in and comes out perfect. It’s a goal that other camera importers might well envy and try to duplicate. In some cases I could mention, there is simply no service. At all. One has to send the camera back to the country of origin. For 500 bucks in crisp new bills given to me in a deserted country lane, Ill describe to you in code the names of these other mothers. That might pay for my doctor bills. Close-Up What really astonished me was a comparison of prices for Arri products in the US and Canada. Contrary to all (mis)information it is a good deal cheaper to purchase a BL here than in the U.S. Here are a few examples. Canada (duty, tax out) 1972: BL $5400.00 (with motor, power cord, matte box) 1974: BL $6684.00 (with motor, power cord, matte box) United States (normal user’s price) 1972: BL: $ 7295.00 (without motor cord and matte box) 1974: BL: $10710.00 (without motor cord and matte box) That motor by the way was $535.00 extra in 1972 and is now $795.00. In the case of the Arri-S, the following figures: US 1972: $2896.00 Canada 1972: $2741.00 US 1974: $4410.00 Canada 1974: $3443.00 You see, after Braun got their protection against unfair competition in 1968 under section 51 of the Trade Marks Act, stories were rife of alleged rip-offs on the suffering cameramen. Everybody claimed to know that the same cameras were much cheaper in the States. This is, and was not so. Of course, it is much cheaper to buy direct from the manufacturer or in Europe from any reputable dealer. And nothing in the Trade Marks Act prohibits anybody from doing just that. Listen to this: “All of the articles listed in this memorandum may be imported, for other than commercial purposes, by individuals as personal effects or baggage (e.g. under items 70310-1) or as personal gifts, without reference to this prohibition.” ; Therefore, if you really wish to purchase your camera in Europe, for your own use, go right ahead. But don’t expect to be able to come into Canada with two or three in your luggage and sell them for a nice tidy profit, without Braun coming down on you like a ton of bricks. The pros and cons of the Trade