PANOPLY PRODUCTIONS

This is a Super 8 Sound-on-film, splice-edited short dark comedy.  The film was originally shot with K-40 sound-film cartridges which came to about $50.00 for three mintues developed to a spool you could show with electric projectors.  For editing you were lucky if you had a hand crank dimly lit viewer.

Razor, glue and tape-splice edits had to be strategic and timed in-camera because the sound head and appeture gate were 18 frames apart. If you cut for picture, you lose almost a second of sound at the edit point. If you cut for sound you had almost one second of imagery.   It was a lame system, but it was the cheapest way to make a K-40 sync sound film!.

Crystal sync super 8 film cameras with remote recorded sound were way way out of our price range.  My Dad's unemployment check affored one bought maybe one "borrowed."  

 The Babysitter was a Super-8 sync-sound last hurrah!  Most kids submitted 16 mm silent films to some sort of playback.  we shot a nine minute dark comedy with dialogue! I submitted The Babysitter as my final film in the LACC Cinema program.

Dermott Downs, former child actor and television director of today, starred back then as Rufus, a hapless stoned babysitter who confuses Thanksgiving while babysitting for his neurotic but beloved Aunt Peg.