Van Halen – Fresno 1978-79 films

single-8: I noticed a lot of speculation and questions about the single-8 showcase youtube channel I created recently..specifically my vanhalen films that have been recently re-mastered…if you have any questions or want to know the story behind my concert film collection..I am the source for all of that information….S8S

OK, I’ll bite …

1. Exactly how much footage do you have?
2. Have you archived this footage to DVD or Blu-Ray
3. Do you have any plans to make this footage available?

single-8: I am not interested in selling dvd copys of them

We are strictly a trade site – so when Frank asked if you had plans to “make this footage available,” he was asking if you had plans to trade them.

single-8: there are 10 50ft reels of 1979 and 7 50ft reels of 1978..everything has been processed in my own studio..including all of the post-production… S8S

Curious to know how much time each reel holds/held. From info I found online (since I know next to nothing about 8mm), at 24fps, that would be about 2min 45sec for each reel?

guitard: I’d love to know the story behind your concert film collection.Feel free to go into great detail.

all of the films were shot between february 13th 1977 to may 30th 1980…very few bands didn’t get filmed or at least audio taped that played fresno from november 1976 until november 2011…several people were involved in these recordings, but there was no single person responsible for these concerts, especially the ones filmed…it was at least a 3 man operation, or more…for the films…all of the stories told (house fire, etc) are false. this person wanting to take complete credit for everything and shaft his partner(s).

I should write a book of my experiences in bootlegging. here is a true story of an event before a VanHalen show.
on may 15th 1992 I was at selland arena to record van halen for the 2nd night, when I decided to have a smoke before the show. selland had these areas roped off outside of the arena for smokers, and as I was trying to go out the door, someone was trying to come in. as I stepped back to let this person pass, my buddy said “thats eddie vanhalen” he looked half asleep and hungover with a five O’clock shadow, and I didnt even recognise him. he had a roadie or his guitar tech with him…little did he know then or know even now that he had actually met the guy responsible for the 1978-79 films!! I was wearing the bootleg rig used that night. believe it or not…I recorded both nights, (audio only) that isnt the only funny story about those 2 nights.
S8S

guitard: How did the copies that are in circulation originally get out?What was the inspiration for finally doing a proper digital transfer?What equipment/process are you using to do your film transfers?Did you ever get caught filming?What kind of camera did you use?

Take us through the process step-by-step, to include sneaking the equipment in, the actual filming itself, switching out reels, getting the film processed, how you’ve stored it over the years, etc., etc.

the original films that were let out were done in a very primitive way..
I have read that the films were projected on a wall,that is wrong,they were projected on a film screen and captured using a panasonic vhs camcorder..vhs is only 240 lines of resolution which is very low compared to my transfers which are full 1080i HD uncompressed
the vhs capture was done in the early 1980′s and the sound was overdubbed on to the vhs master
originally in the 1970′s the equipment was just walked thru the door of the venue(s)
the filming was done with a fujica single-8 film camera that had a seperate cassette recorder that connected to the camera using a midi-type cable,with a seperate microphone that connected to the recorder,those were basically cue tapes since a backup audio track was also recorded seperatly
the films were in cartridges that look kind of like a typwriter ribbon cartridge…the camera was usually mounted on a tripod with wires connecting all of the other devices..everything ran on AA batteries that had to be changed at least 2 or 3 times
later on a wheelhair was used to smuggle in the gear..this is the real story behind that
In the first week of august 1978 I took a trip back to oklahoma city to visit my dad and my daughter and took all of my camera’s and recorders with me..while I was there I recorded a couple of shows,one was the “Oklahoma Jam” on august 6th 1978..I had a friend who worked at a medical supply place in oklahoma city and he GAVE me the wheel chair and that was the first time it was used..that day I recorded VanHalen,Derringer,Climax Blues Band,Head East,and Alvin Lee and Ten Years Later..my friends left me there and I had to walk back pushing the wheelchair after it was over.I also recorded the Kinks at the Myriad a couple of days earlier…I am a vietnam vet and I brought the wheelchair back on a military flight..they wheeled me up and put me on the plane as I sat in the wheelchair
the first time the wheelchair was used in fresno was on august 9th 1978 for a show at selland arena with the British Lions,UFO,and Blue Oyster Cult…
the wheelchair was never used at the warnors theatre,only at selland arena
after the films were shot ,they were mailed to fuji’s processing lab and mailed back in white envelopes,then edited together on 400ft reels
most of the films have seldom been put thru projectors and have rarely seen the light of day having been stored in a B of A SDB
the guy that sold copies of the vanhalen films never had copies of anything else and when asked why he didnt re-transfer the films,he made up the house fire story as the reason why …that worked pretty good until I exposed him with my UTUBE trailers
S8S

My 2¢ – Let’s cut to the crash – will you be sharing these incredible recordings with the super-fans who collect every scrap we can find or do you plan on hoarding them until you die? In my experience it’s one or the other. Your stories are great, but are they leading to anything? What is your goal? You’ve come to the right place if you’re looking for a hub and help with artwork, etc…