"Hugo", directed by Martin Scorsese, is a delightful movie, and
simultaneously a wonderful advertisement for 19th century mechanical
marvels.  In fact, so many film makers decry the switch from
celluloid to digital production of movies, that I think Scorsese is
writing a love letter to "mechanical moviemaking."  The affection for
the character, enthusiasm and human imperfections of old fashioned
moviemaking is the exact analog of our love of mechanical music in
an age of perfect MIDI performances.

The automaton is very fun to watch even though it is clearly designed
by a movie person rather than a clock or musical movement maker: the
armature is too elaborate and heavy and the mechanism is too light and
simple.  Nevertheless, I was delighted to see that in the center of the
torso is an enormous stack of cams.

The ugly cam stack was in curious contrast to the all the other
showy and impractical movie-studio-designed components.  The automaton
performs an unprecedented elaborate series of movements and such
a cam stack would be just the sort of control mechanism required,
elaborating on the three-cam stack of a singing bird box.

However fanciful the mechanism was overall, I was please to see this
nod to the real world of automata makers.

Jonathan Herz - Herz Music Box Co.
Vermont
http://www.herzmusicbox.com/