Camera Operator 2004 Spring/Summer by Society of Camera Operators

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Volume 13, Number 1 July/December 2004

FEATURES

11 A Brief History of the SOC

by Bill Hines soc How it all began

12 SOC 2004 Lifetime Achievement Awards Preview Where, when, who’s being honored, who’s been honored 14 ‘Total Recall’ Becomes a Virtual Reality

by George B Stephenson soc An innovative new machine can diagnose injuries with the patient in motion

1 8 The Amazon in Focus by Shannon Wright How Amazonian Indians are using video to defend the rainforest

20 Dan Owens: Craftsman, Artist, Innovator by Emme Headroom Need something designed and fabricated to make your movie? Dan can create it.

24 Dateline Vietnam 1968 by Ted Acheson, Sp5 Combat photography in a live firefight

2 8 Making the Move: A Career in Transition by Michael St Hilaire soc

Thoughts on the SOC and his move to DP

32 They Got the Shot

by Rick Mitchell A tribute to camera operators of the past who achieved miracles of cinematography without today’s technical innovations

Michael St Hilaire, Randall Robinson, “Terminator” and Mike Benson.

40 The Operating Cameraman Magazine: Highlights of the Past 13 Years by Michael Frediani soc An in-depth account highlighting articles from each of our issues over the past 13 years

Departments

2 A Letter From the President

by David E Diano soc

4 From the Editor’s Desk

by George B Stephenson soc

64 Roster of the SOC (Society of CameraOperators) 6 News & Notes

Flying Condor; Cree Joins Band Pro; Fairburn Photo Display; SOC Members Attend ASC Banquet; Silverdocs Festival; Hines Scholarship; SOC Included in Credits; Documentaries Honored; A Tribute to Storyteller Charles Guggenheim; Some People Behind the Scenes at SOC; Panavision 6 Poster

Volume 13, Number 1 July/December 2004

FEATURES

11 A Brief History of the SOC

by Bill Hines soc How it all began

12 SOC 2004 Lifetime Achievement Awards Preview Where, when, who’s being honored, who’s been honored 14 ‘Total Recall’ Becomes a Virtual Reality

by George B Stephenson soc An innovative new machine can diagnose injuries with the patient in motion

1 8 The Amazon in Focus by Shannon Wright How Amazonian Indians are using video to defend the rainforest

20 Dan Owens: Craftsman, Artist, Innovator by Emme Headroom Need something designed and fabricated to make your movie? Dan can create it.

24 Dateline Vietnam 1968 by Ted Acheson, Sp5 Combat photography in a live firefight

2 8 Making the Move: A Career in Transition by Michael St Hilaire soc

Thoughts on the SOC and his move to DP

32 They Got the Shot

by Rick Mitchell A tribute to camera operators of the past who achieved miracles of cinematography without today’s technical innovations

Michael St Hilaire, Randall Robinson, “Terminator” and Mike Benson.

40 The Operating Cameraman Magazine: Highlights of the Past 13 Years by Michael Frediani soc An in-depth account highlighting articles from each of our issues over the past 13 years

Departments

2 A Letter From the President

by David E Diano soc

4 From the Editor’s Desk

by George B Stephenson soc

64 Roster of the SOC (Society of CameraOperators) 6 News & Notes

A Letter From the President

Society of CameraOperators Officers

GEMMA LAMANA, SMPSP

appy Birthday SOC! As you may all know by now, the Society of CameraOperators is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year. The Society was formed in 1979 by a dedicated group of camera operators who wanted to advance the awareness and the importance of the camera operator as an integral part of the film crew. The SOC is an honorary organization recognizing the excellence in the field of camera operation in the cinematic media be it film or video. Because the members of the SOC make their living with their eyesight, the founding fathers agreed to make their charity support organization the Los Angeles Childrens Hospital Eye Care Clinic. Over the years we have raised money with annual pin sales, silent auctions, SOCWear and other fund-raising events which provide contact lenses for infants with serious sight problems, thereby helping correct and save their eyesight. The motto chosen for the society was “We see it first!” but with the use of video assist and video playback on nearly all sets today, we still see it first—along with the director, producers and whoever else happens to be near video village. The Operating Cameraman Magazine has evolved into a first class publication with articles written by and about our members, keeping the membership up to date with new technology and production methods. This issue is a retrospective of the SOC, with a brief history of how it began, and a look back at 13 years of the magazine. We have included some short biographies from some of the people behind the scenes who have contributed many hours to keep the society running. I would like to express my gratitude to them and everyone else who has volunteered their time over the past twentyfive years to make the SOC what it is today.

President . . . . . . . . . . . . . David E Diano 1st Vice President . . . . David E Frederick 2nd Vice President . . . . . . . . . Ernie Reed 3rd Vice President. . . . . . . . Allan Lum Li Secretary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Blake Treasurer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gary Baum Sergeant-at-Arms. . . . . . . . . Greg Collier Corporate Liaison. . . . . Georgia Packard Magazine Editor. . George B Stephenson Webmaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark R Leins Administrative Assistant . . Diana Penilla

Board of Governors Michael Chambliss Tom Fraser Michael Frediani Buddy Fries

ision, the essential ingredient that we as Camera Operators use in our work, intrinsically bonds us to children with vision problems. Our organization contributes its full support to the Eye Care Clinic of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

June 11th and 12th, 2004 Exhibitor Contact: Juliane Grosso 310/440-8547 jgrosso@cinegearexpo.com Information: 213/538-0488 info@cinegearexpo.com For more information, directions and updates visit us at

www.cinegearexpo.com THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: president’s letter

® is a registered

www.soc.org

where hollywood’s filmmakers gather

Douglas Knapp Denis Moran Philip Schwartz Ben Wolf

David E Diano, SOC President

be part of the action at

THE BEST FOR BOTH WORLDS

Cinegear: June 11th and June 12th on the Universal Studios backlot featuring Exhibits, Premiere Seminars, and more. Master Class Seminars: June 13th at the Sheraton Universal Hotel • Pre-Visualization: Getting Control Over Digital Post for the Cinematographer with Karl Walter Lindenlaub asc & the ‘Kodak Look Management’ system. • Update By Digital Cinema Society, co-founded by Cinematographer James Mathers and Digital Cinema magazine Editor/Associate Publisher Brian McKernan. • The Digital Cameras of the Future: Emerging From Years of R&D, these cameras are variously called 4K cameras, QuadHD, or Super High Definition (SHD). The class will also offer an inside look at the new 1 inch CMOS chips. • HD Camera Workshop with Bill Bennett specifically aimed at the cinematographer. The HD workshop will cover: Cameras and formats, Interlaced/progressive/segmented frame. • RGB vs. Y, Pb, Pr Sampling/Quantization (bit depth), Compression, Latitude/Sensitivity/Dynamic range, Tonal curve anatomy, Monitor set up, HD color system, Color temperature and the masters, and Motion in a multi speed world.

The worlds of film and video, that is. Camera operators know that both require a smooth and steady move to look good on the screen. If you are making the transition, or work in both worlds at once, you still want the best camera support you can get. All the reasons that have made OConnor the leading name in film camera support apply to video support too. From DV to HDTV, we have the fluid heads and tripods to get the job done right. Visit our web site for a look at our full line of film AND video camera support products.

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A Letter From the President

Society of CameraOperators Officers

GEMMA LAMANA, SMPSP

Board of Governors Michael Chambliss Tom Fraser Michael Frediani Buddy Fries

www.cinegearexpo.com THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: president’s letter

® is a registered

www.soc.org

where hollywood’s filmmakers gather

Douglas Knapp Denis Moran Philip Schwartz Ben Wolf

David E Diano, SOC President

be part of the action at

THE BEST FOR BOTH WORLDS

YOUR BEST MOVE

A Division of Sachtler ®

100 Kalmus Drive Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Tel (714) 979-3993 Fax (714) 957-8138 http://www.ocon.com sales@ocon.com

July/December 2004 Editor George B Stephenson soc Assistant Editor Georgia Packard soc Associate Editor Michael Frediani soc Post-Production Manager Douglas Knapp soc Design & Production Lynn Lanning, Double L Design Cover Design Mark R Leins All the covers in order from 13 years of publication Production Coordinators The Ingle Group, Brentwood Advertising Director Dan Dodd Contributors Ted Acheson David E Diano soc David Frederick soc Michael Frediani soc Bill Hines soc Douglas Knapp soc Lynn Lanning Rick Mitchell Georgia Packard soc Michael St Hilaire soc George B Stephenson soc Shannon Wright Photography Gary Baum soc Copyright © 2004 by the Society of CameraOperators The Operating Cameraman Magazine is published semi- annually by the Society of CameraOperators. Subscription Rates USA $20/year Outside USA $28/year (U.S. Funds Only) For article submissions, please contact: SOC Attn Magazine PO Box 2006 Toluca Lake, CA 91610 Phone (818) 382-7070 For display advertising information, contact: Dan Dodd (323) 856-9100 dandodd@pacbell.net

Visit the SOC web site www.soc.org

suzanne connor

The Operating Cameraman Magazine

From the Editor’s Desk

ot long after the inception of the Society of Operating Cameramen, I joined as an associate member. Then in 1985 I was promoted to camera operator and became a full member of the Society. Little did I know at the time that one day I would become the editor of this fine publication. Here we are 25 years later celebrating the Society and, if I may say so, Operating Cameraman Magazine! Michael Frediani soc has done a superb job of collecting excerpts from all the past issues and reflecting on our history as a Society and our careers as camera operators. Just when we thought we’d seen the last of Rick Mitchell’s articles on the history of wide screen cinema he has blessed us once again with an article that pertains specifically to the art and craft of camera operating: “They Get the Shot.” His well-researched history of camera operating in the early days illuminates our proud heritage. Continuing our series on combat photographers and cinematographers, the personal account by Ted Acheson is close to my heart and mind. I too was a member of the elite organization in which Ted served: the Department of the Army, Special Photographic Office (DASPO). Many of our alumni have gone on to Note on digital photos for magazine reproduction: Most digital

cameras offer pictures at 72dpi. This magazine requires photos at 300dpi. Therefore, we re-size the images in Photoshop from 72 to 300 dpi, effectively cutting picture size to 25% of original. These photos used in a larger size look out of focus or pixellated, so we don’t enlarge them. That explains the relatively small pictures in parts of this issue.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: From the Editor’s Desk

noteworthy careers in the film industry. I invite them to contribute articles for future issues of Operating Cameraman. Please take a moment to review the article on Digital Motion X-Ray by yours truly. As camera operators who manage to subject our bodies to all kinds of contorted positions, this new technology can help to ascertain the source of our pain. In so doing, a probable remedy may be readily found. Finally we get to see and hear from some of the incredible people who have contributed to the making of Operating Cameraman and to the administration of the SOC. Most of them are volunteers and all have alternate careers out of necessity. This publication has grown not only in circulation but in quality and scope and we owe it all to our selfless volunteers and contributors.

In 90 Years, We’ve Developed More Than A Great Reputation. We’ve listened to you, the Director of Photography, and have responded with the most complete palette of tools in the industry. We’ve maintained the highest standards for laboratory services – and we’ve embraced your need for “best-of-breed” digital post-production technology and talent. With Technicolor, there is a difference. For more information, please call us at 818.505.5124, or visit our website at www.technicolor.com.

Edmund M DiGiulio died June 4 at his home in Malibu. He won multiple Academy Awards, including the Gordon E Sawyer Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 2001, and was also an Emmy winner. He was 76. “We in the Steadicam fraternity owe Ed more than can be expressed. In 1974 he welcomed an outsider to Hollywood and embraced his improbable contraption. He gave it its name and sent it into the world to change the way movies are made. His integrity and warmth and wit and innovative zeal have been a beacon ever since. Ed will be with us as long as cameras move. I miss him.” —Garrett Brown, Below the Line magazine

Film Processing Print and Digital Dailies Digital Preview Screenings Digital Intermediates Film Release Printing Large Format Preservation and Restoration Worldwide

As the trusted steward of your creative vision, we provide a full-service solution for moving entertainment quickly, safely and efficiently to audiences worldwide

Visit the SOC web site www.soc.org

suzanne connor

The Operating Cameraman Magazine

From the Editor’s Desk

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: From the Editor’s Desk

Film Processing Print and Digital Dailies Digital Preview Screenings Digital Intermediates Film Release Printing Large Format Preservation and Restoration Worldwide

As the trusted steward of your creative vision, we provide a full-service solution for moving entertainment quickly, safely and efficiently to audiences worldwide

Cree Joins Band Pro

Flying Condor

aving completed all requirements by Contract Services in the Safety Pass program, David J Frederick, SOC 1st Vice President, operates an Arriflex camera from a very high condor with all of the proper safety requirements met. This was a shot used in the TV pilot for ABC titled “Lost” directed by JJ Abrams. David was having a family vacation in Hawaii when the producers called him into service as a splinter Unit Director of Photography and C camera operator. David returns to the island of Oahu to operate the A camera and Steadicam on the new series for NBC-TV called “Hawai’I” with Director of Photography Crescenzo Notarile. The network has committed to 12 episodes. y

David Frederick soc on the condor.

Master Class with

Silverdocs Festival

WES CRAVEN

ilverdocs: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival included 75 documentaries, some even before they were released theatrically. Created through an alliance between the American Film Institute and the Discovery Channel, Silverdocs this year received over 1,200 submissions from 65 countries. The 2nd Annual Charles Guggenheim Symposium, named for the late four-time Academy Award® winner, honored Barbara Kopple, a two-time Academy Award® winner. The Symposium honors filmmakers who exhibit a passion for their subject, convey a profound respect for democratic values and have mastered the power of the documentary to capture current events and frame history. After screening of Harlan County USA, a 1976 film chronicling the struggle of 180 coal mining families during a yearlong strike, Kopple, her mentor Al Maysles and other guests had a lively discussion of her film

Director of Nightmare on Elm Street & the Scream trilogy

Presented by CSULB’s Widescreen Film Festival Wednesday October 27– Sunday October 31 Spend 5 days watching and discussing the 10 films that most influenced the artistic vision of acclaimed horror film director Wes Craven: Blow-Up, The Virgin Spring, Repulsion, War of the Worlds, Diabolique, Frankenstein, The Bad Seed, Nosferatu (with live score), Don’t Look Now and Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast. Students attend a four-hour DIRECTING MASTER CLASS taught by Mr. Craven as well as a LIGHTING WORKSHOP taught by a world-class cinematographer. Also, in a series of lectures, faculty from the Film and Electronic Arts Dept will provide cultural, historical and theoretical perspectives on the films screened by Mr. Craven. Course Fee: $150 (includes tickets to all screenings and admission to all lectures, classes and workshops) For a full schedule of course events visit: www. widescreenfilmfestival.com Or call UCES at 800-963-2250

career and the role of documentary films. Opening night showcased the world premiere of Seeds by Marjan Safinia and Joseph Boyle, “an intimate portrait of the Seeds of Peace Summer Camp in Maine where kids from Israel, Palestine, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and America come together to build a brighter future.” “For Discovery, honoring and showcasing the best traditions of storytelling in documentary form is what we attempt to do every single day, in over 160 countries and 35 languages. Our goal with Silverdocs is to go back to the roots of this wonderful art form, and honor and celebrate independent filmmakers whose craft produces these documentaries.” The festival’s final evening offered the world premiere of Children Will Listen, “in which 100 Washington DC public school students staged and produced Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods, Jr. as part of the Kennedy Center’s Sondheim Celebration. From set and costume design to learning lines, the kids did it all.” y

Last call

for applications for the

William E Hines soc Scholarship 2004 Any active SOC member’s dependent child who is studying the art and craft of cinematography is eligible. Send applications to SOC, Hines Scholarship, P.O. Box 2006, Toluca Lake, CA 91610

SOC Included in Credits

he credit crawl for Van Helsing included camera operators Paul Babin, soc and Tom Connole, soc. It was good to see the initials following the names. y

SOC Members Attend ASC Banquet

Photos by Gary baum soc

photos courtesy david frederick soc

News & Notes

and Pro proudly announces the addition of Jeff Cree to its team of high definition specialists. As the company’s first Manager of High Definition Develop-ment, he will work closely with Band Pro’s Chief Technology Officer Michael Bravin to seek out innovative and technically superior tools and to educate filmmakers in their effective use. Formerly HDVS Acquisition Systems Specialist for Sony, Cree is recognized as a world expert in HD technology. Cree was an SOC corporate rep for Sony during his many years with that company. Operating Cameraman readers will remember Jeff Cree’s article on filming the rescue of the ship’s bell from a sunken ship 500 feet down in Lake Superior (“Future Technology Records the Past: Recovering the Bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Fall/Winter 96/97). (see page 52 of this issue for an excerpt). y

Top Row: Hot Gears partner Barry Colvin. Georgia Packard, SOC past president. Phil Schwartz soc. Bonnie Blake soc. Bottom Row: Mark Leins, SOC Webmaster & magazine cover designer. David Diano, SOC president; Ernie Reed, SOC 1st Vice President; Michael Chambliss soc and Michael Frediani, another SOC past president. George B Stephenson soc, editor of Operating Cameraman magazine. y

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: News & Notes

Cree Joins Band Pro

Flying Condor

David Frederick soc on the condor.

Master Class with

Silverdocs Festival

WES CRAVEN

Director of Nightmare on Elm Street & the Scream trilogy

Last call

for applications for the

SOC Included in Credits

he credit crawl for Van Helsing included camera operators Paul Babin, soc and Tom Connole, soc. It was good to see the initials following the names. y

SOC Members Attend ASC Banquet

Photos by Gary baum soc

photos courtesy david frederick soc

News & Notes

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: News & Notes

Documentaries Honored

he International Documentary Association’s 19th Annual IDA Awards Gala saluted three outstanding individuals for their contributions and several documentary films and filmmakers on December 12, 2003. The event has been sponsored by Kodak since its inception in 1984. Sir Ben Kingsley presented the IDA’s Career Achievement Award to Sir David Attenborough, the creative force behind the documentary series Life on Earth and The Blue Planet. These documentaries sent him traveling around the world many times over. The renowned producer, writer and host, knighted in 1985 by Queen Elizabeth, considers receiving an award from an American organization devoted to documentary filmmaking especially meaningful. Attenborough’s 13 part Life on Earth series was indeed enjoyed by nearly a billion viewers worldwide. Civilization and The Ascent of Man are among BBC docu series produced under his leadership. Mel Stuart won the Pioneer Award. Stuart is a director and producer who has made his mark in documentaries, including Four Days in November and Wattstax for David L Wolper Productions and war docu series Victory at Sea and The Twentieth Century with Walter Cronkite. His fiction work includes telefilms, sitcoms and such enduring features as If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium and Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. IDA’s scholarship award is for an individual or organization that has made substantial contributions to non-fiction filmmaking — a fitting description for Michael Rabiger, who has devoted over 40 years to the art and craft of documentary film. Retired now from the chair of Columbia College Chicago’s film department, he has recently completed new editions of Directing the Documentary and Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics. The 2003 winners include Balseros, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, American Experience: The Murder of Emmett Till, Chavez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story, Bus 174 and Berga: Soldiers of Another War. Berga: Soldiers of Another War, Charles Guggenheim’s last film, is a very personal

tale in which Charles includes himself in the telling of the story for the first time. Many of the American soldiers sent over to fight in the Battle of the Bulge were from his 106th Infantry Division. Their fate would have been his if he had not been injured in basic training. The film’s narration states “They went oversees, and I didn’t. And some of them didn’t come back. And I’ve been thinking about it for fifty years, wondering why it didn’t happen to me. And that’s why I had to tell this story.” yyy Jack Black and Laura Kightlinger hosted the International Documentary Association’s Academy Award celebration on February 5, 2004 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The annual event now receives major support from the Sundance Channel as well as continuing support by contributing sponsor Eastman Kodak and associate sponsor Cascade Pass Inc. Documentary feature films nominated for the 76th Annual Academy Awards were Balseros (Seventh Art Releasing), Carlos Bosch and Josep Maria Domenech; Capturing the Friedmans (Magnolia Pictures), A Hit The Ground Running Production, Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling; winner The Fog of War (Sony Pictures Classics), A Globe Department Store Production, Errol Morris and Michael Williams; My Architect (New Yorker) A Louis Kahn Project Production, Nathaniel Kahn and Susan R Behr); and The Weather Underground (Shadow Distribution), Sam Green and Bill Siegel. Films nominated in the documentary short category were Asylum, A Constant Communication & Make-do Production, Sandy McLeod and Gini Reticker; winner Chernobyl Heart, A Downtown TV Documentaries Production, Maryann DeLeo; and Ferry Tales, A Penelope Pictures Production, Katja Esson. Host Laura Kightlinger recently has finished directing her first documentary, 60 Spins Around the Sun, which won Best Documentary at the Empire Film Festival. Kightlinger received the Director Award at the Black Maria Film Festival and the International Festival of Cinema and Technology’s Best New Director Award for the short film Dependable People. y

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: News & Notes

A Tribute to Storyteller Charles Guggenheim

erga: Soldiers of Another War, directed by Charles Guggenheim, won the Pare Lorentz Award at IDA. It was his last film. No matter what the subject of his films, at the heart of every story lies the heroic struggle of everyman – and Guggenheim’s belief that there is dignity in that struggle. Guggenheim, who once said, “I don’t care if they write on my tombstone that I was a filmmaker… I’d rather they write that I was a storyteller,” died of pancreatic cancer on October 12, 2003. Georgia Packard soc interviewed cinematographer Tom Ackerman asc, who said: “Charles Guggenheim was perhaps one of the most respected American documentary filmmakers ever. He was nominated for several Academy Awards, and walked off with the Oscar at least three times. I started working with Charles in early 1970. They were located in this horrendous old building at the corner of 17th and H streets. After a few months, I started shooting film for Charles, and became his principal cinematographer for the next three years. I also did a lot of film editing. Charles was doing political commercials for a lot of interesting candidates, including Ted Kennedy and Walter Mondale. Charles was a great believer in cinema verité. He felt the best material would be that which was the most truthful and the most honestly obtained. I have vivid memories of 10 to 12 hours a day with an Éclair NPR camera on my shoulder. Charles was pretty much of a purist. He refused to shoot films for any candidate in whom he didn’t personally believe. I learned as much about editing for Charles as I did shooting. Cinematographers are so enamored of what we see through the lens that we can neglect thinking about what it means. Not that every picture has to have a meaning, but certainly if filmmaking is a language of images, you need some grasp on how the images go together. Charles Guggenheim could be very tough. He was relentless in his pursuit of something that made sense and that conveyed what he believed to be the truth. And he was very quick to detect gratuitous cutting just for cutting’s sake.” y

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Documentaries Honored

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: News & Notes

A Tribute to Storyteller Charles Guggenheim

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THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: News & Notes

bill coss

soc archives

Nelson green

1996 banquet book

aramis richards

soc archives

Randall Robinson

Mike Frediani

A Brief History of the SOC

ynn Lanning does graphic design and layout for Operating Cameraman magazine. She came on board when Mike Frediani was president and editor. Like so many others connected to the SOC, Lanning was discovered by Bill Hines. Bill talked her into taking on the magazine and then talked the SOC into taking her on. Lynn did so well with the magazine, Hines also got her to edit his books and prepare them for publication. In real life, Lynn is a middle school teacher in Los Angeles. She’s been teaching at the same school since she first got her credential, and some of her former students are now teaching there. Lynn began as an English teacher and along the way taught journalism, French and basic photography in addition to producing and directing two plays (or is that the same play twice, four years apart?). After that she was the school librarian for 8 years, and has been the computer teacher for the past 8 years. Her knowledge of computers has served us well on Operating Cameraman. Lanning fell in love with Macintosh computers in January 1988, and has been maintaining Macs and doing design work for various kinds of publications and organizations ever since. The Operating Cameraman magazine is the biggest project with which she is currently involved, and the most multi-faceted. She also did the graphic design and layout for the last two banquet books and is working on the third for this Fall. In what’s left of her life, she dreams of when she had plenty of time for reading, takes short intense trips with Zee Hines, and collects unusual earrings. y

Mike Benson

by Bill Hines, soc

n late 1979, a group of leading camera operators affiliated with International Photographers Guild Local 659 met in the parking lot of DuPar’s Restaurant in Studio City and agreed among themselves to form an honorary society of camera operators. They had just finished discussing over dinner the lack of recognition given the film camera operator, particularly in work on television episodics and sitcoms. From their number, they formed a provisional ad hoc guidance committee. The die was cast. The decision was made. The Society of Operating Cameramen was in process of becoming. During the next several months, other camera operators were contacted and meetings were held to explain the proposed purposes of the embryonic organization, to invite these operators into membership, and to get input from those interested in becoming a part of the society. Following several meetings during 1980 and a lot of preliminary work by the founders and charter members, the Operating Cameramen’s Society was

Stan McClain

David Robman

last updated by Bill in 1999; updated to 2004 by editorial staff

formed, officers were elected, a Constitution and By-Laws were written, and more active and associate members were taken in. In early 1981, the decision was made to call the organization The Society of Operating Cameramen. On 28 March 1981 the provisional membership approved the Constitution and By-Laws of the Society. On 25 April 1981, more than 100 members of SOC, who were also members of The International Photographers Guild, Local 659, IATSE, met to elect its first Board of Governors and install its first elected Officers. On 13 June 1981, both Frank Stanley asc, President of IATSE Local 659, and Harry Wolf asc, President of the American Society of Cinematographers, attended the SOC general membership meeting. Both distinguished cameramen congratulated those in attendance for the formation of the SOC and lauded the importance of the work of the camera operator. The first of the SOC Lifetime Achevement Awards Banquets was planned and presented in 1981 at the Friar’s Club.

Georgia Packard

The Presidents of the Society from 1980 were: Bob Marta (3 terms), Bill Clark (2 terms), Mike Benson (1 term), Randall Robinson (2 terms), Michael Frediani (1 term), Stan McClain (1 term), David Robman (4 months), Georgia Packard (almost 2 terms), David Diano (in office). The first elected officers were: President, Bob Marta; First Vice-President, Bill Clark; 2nd V-P, John Stevens; 3rd V-P, Peter Hapke; Treasurer, Gil Haimson; Secretary, Jack Green; Sergeant-at-Arms, Bill Swearingen. Today, the active SOC membership of several hundred men and women internationally is composed of the leading camera operators practicing today, along with an impressive associate membership which includes distinguished cinematographers as well as working camera assistants, still photographers, gaffers, grips and other crafts. A distinguished corporate affiliate membership includes leaders in the film and video industries. Addendum: The SOC has undergone a name change and is now The Society of CameraOperators. This was one of the names considered back at the beginning, but it can now be structured like a dot-com company to leave SOC as the initials. The term “operating cameraman” is outdated, not used any more on the set. Like the equipment we use that evolves over David Diano time, so has the SOC. gemma la mana, smpsp

iana Penilla has worked with the SOC for five years, beginning her position as the Administrative Assistant to the President and as the SOC’s Office Administrator during David Robman’s term as president. She and David met while working at The Photo Lab & Digital Imaging, in Hollywood, where Diana is also employed as the Production Manager. Her primary responsibilities include updating and maintaining the collective databases for the SOC membership and the Operating Cameraman subscribers. She directs the day to day correspondences that come through the SOC phone line including emailed requests related to subscriptions and contacting members. Her central location in Hollywood also serves as an unofficial physical site for the SOC, helpful in collecting donations for the yearly auction benefiting the Children’s Eye Care Clinic. Diana is currently studying business, English and cinema at LACC. In between attending classes she works at developing her skills as a writer and a photographer as well as working on Mini-DV and Super 8mm shorts and music videos with a collective group of friends and artists who work under the banners of Hell Foundry Productions and Fabian Dead Films. It is due to her hard work and dedication that the SOC continues to function on a daily basis. We owe her our deepest gratitude. y

Bill Clark

michael frediani, soc

arrie Imai speaks: During the past 18 years I’ve been doing the calligraphy and certificates for the SOC. It’s been so long I can’t remember how it all started. I believe I was brought in by Bill Hines, who was a client of my husband’s CPA practice. I’ve seen many positive changes in the Society as it has grown throughout the years. It has been my pleasure to help honor those who have assisted in that growth with my calligraphy. Thank you all for the privilege to serve. y

Bob Marta

Nelson green

Diana Penilla

Lynn Lanning

Nelson green

Carrie Imai

courtesy of diana penilla

courtesy of carrie imai

Some People Behind the Scenes at the SOC

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: News & Notes

bill coss

soc archives

Nelson green

1996 banquet book

aramis richards

soc archives

Randall Robinson

Mike Frediani

A Brief History of the SOC

Mike Benson

by Bill Hines, soc

Stan McClain

David Robman

last updated by Bill in 1999; updated to 2004 by editorial staff

Georgia Packard

Bill Clark

michael frediani, soc

Bob Marta

Nelson green

Diana Penilla

Lynn Lanning

Nelson green

Carrie Imai

courtesy of diana penilla

courtesy of carrie imai

Some People Behind the Scenes at the SOC

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: News & Notes

PREVIOUS HONOREES — SOC LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Society of CameraOperators Two Thousand Four

Lifetime Achievement Awards November 6, 2004 Blossom Room

•

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

•

Hollywood

Governors Award

Camera Operator

Roger Corman

Ray De La Motte

Roger Corman’s producer/director credits include The Little Shop of Horrors, A Bucket of Blood, The Wild Angels and The Trip. His New World Pictures produced fast-paced, youth-oriented pictures like Rock’N Roll High School and Battle Beyond the Stars, and released high-quality foreign films by Ingmar Bergman, François Truffaut, Federico Fellini and Akira Kurosawa. Corman’s eye for talent and his abilities as a mentor have launched many careers including actors Sandra Bullock, Charles Bronson, Robert DeNiro, Peter Fonda, William Shatner and Sylvester Stallone; and directors James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola and Ron Howard.

During Ray de la Motte’s work as a draftsman, he discovered that he possessed two things: an interest in the visual arts and a firm belief that working in an office might not be his ticket to happiness. Cinematographer and family friend Joe MacDonald introduced Ray to Universal’s camera department where Ray discovered a career. Lucky breaks and a lot of nerve led him to Tyler Camera Systems and to cinematographer Phil Lathrop who invited Ray to join his camera crew. With over one hundred films in the can, Ray still runs to the set in the morning just as fast as he runs to the catering tent at lunch.

Camera Technician

John Walker “Johnny” Walker, born in London, was first a tool and die maker. This got him a job in Universal’s machine shop which brought him in contact with the camera department. Hired as a film loader, he became a 2nd AC on Kojak. He was promoted to 1st AC by David Walsh, ASC on The In-Laws. He has worked with Gerald Perry Finnerman, Bruce Surtees, Michael Ballhaus, Bill Butler, Laszlo Kovacs, Fred Murphy and Chuck Minsky, all asc, among others.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: 2004 Awards

GOVERNORS’ AWARD John Huston 1981 Ernest Laszlo, asc 1983 John Biroc, asc 1986 Frank Stanley, asc 1992 Kemp Niver 1993 Steven Spielberg 1994 Jacques-Yves Cousteau 1995 Kathleen Kennedy 1996 Ron Howard 1998 James Burrows 1999 Robert Wise 2000 Sidney Poitier 2001

Mobile Camera Platform Operator

PRESIDENT’S AWARD Phil Caplan, soc 1992 Douglas Knapp, soc 1993 Howard Block, soc 1994 William Hines, soc 1995 Bob Marta, soc 1996 Jack N Green, asc 1998 Dean Cundey, asc 1999 Stephen Lighthill, asc 2000 John Bailey, asc 2001

Camera Categories combined 2001

Still Photographer George Hurrell 1981 Mel Traxel 1983 Alfred St Hilaire 1986 Gene Stein 1990 David Sutton 1992 Bud Gray 1993 Phil Stern 1994 Douglas Kirkland 1995 Peter Sorel, smpsp 1996 Elliot Marks, smpsp 1998 Wynn Hammer 1999 Marcia Reed 2000 Gemma La Mana, smpsp 2001

Clay Lacy Clay Lacy started flying at the age of 12. At age 19, he joined United Airlines. Military duties put him in Air Force Pilot Training. Then he returned to United Airlines, flew military fighters with the California Air National Guard and started winning air races. With his Astrovision equipped Learjets, Clay does almost every airline commercial filmed, and most Hollywood aerial filming. He provided the aerial sequences for Top Gun, Flight of the Intruder, The Great Santini, and many more films.

Film Camera Operator Jimmy King, soc 1981 Al Meyers, soc 1981 Til Gabbanti 1983 David Kurland, soc 1986 Al Bettcher, soc 1990 Owen Marsh, soc 1992 William Clark, soc 1993 Bill Johnson, soc 1994 Ralph Gerling, soc 1996 Joseph S August, soc 1996 Vaughn Wilkins 1998 Howard Block, soc 1999 Lou Barlia, soc 2000 Video Camera Operator Sam Greenwald 1981 Robert “Curly” Fonarow 1983 Paul Basta, soc 1990 Ben Wolf, soc 1992 Parker Roe, soc 1992 George Meyer 1994 Joseph Epperson, soc 1995 Bob Keys, soc 1996 John Lee 1998 Wayne Orr, soc 1999 Susan A Campbell, soc 2000

Historical Shot Garrett Brown 1998; Bound for Glory Philip H Lathrop, asc 1999; Touch of Evil David M Walsh, asc 2000; Bullitt Leonard J South, asc 2001; Vertigo

Camera Operator Michael St Hilaire, soc 2001

Assistant Camera Charles Termini 1981 Joe Raue 1981 Walter Rankin 1981 Emilio J Calori 1983 John Thoeny 1986 Richard Meinardus 1990 Robert Feller 1992 Bruce Catlin 1993 Kenneth Hale 1994 Anthony Rivetti 1995 Robert L Greene 1996 Cal Roberts 1998 Gary-Olyn: Armstrong 1999 Kenneth Nishino 2000 Category renamed 2001

Camera Technician Robert A Torres 2001 Mobile Camera Platform Operator Harry Jones 1981 Lawrence E Milton 1983 J David Jones 1996 Jim Buck 1998 Tommy May 1999 Gaylin Schultz 2000 Elizabeth Ziegler, soc 2001

Also in 2004:

Technical Arriflex Corp 1992 Panavision Inc & Albert Mayer, Sr 1992 Cinema Products Inc & Garrett Brown, soc 1992 Chapman Studio Equipment 1993 Nelson Tyler 1993 Sony Corporation 1993 JL Fisher Inc 1994 Buzz Aldrin & NASA 1994 OConnor Engineering 1994 John M Stephens 1994 Weaver/Steadman 1995 Louma Crane 1995 Vinten Broadcast 1995 HydroFlex 1996 Bob Nettmann & Matthews Studio Electronics 1996 George H Worrall, Sr 1996 Philips BTS Company & Wolter Wolthers 1996 Fuji Photo Optical Company, Ltd 1998 Sachtler AG 1998 Shotmaker Company 1998 Cartoni USA 1999 Geo Film Group 1999 Technocrane, Ltd 1999 Eastman Kodak Company 2000 Clairmont Camera 2000 Hot Gears 2001

Still photographer:

Stephen Vaughan, smpsp Historical Shot:

To Be Announced

Longer biographies and larger pictures of the Honorees will be in the souvenir Banquet Book and in the next issue of The Operating Cameraman Magazine.

Technical Awards for: Arricam and Doggicam

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: 2004 Awards

PREVIOUS HONOREES — SOC LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Society of CameraOperators Two Thousand Four

Lifetime Achievement Awards November 6, 2004 Blossom Room

•

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

•

Hollywood

Governors Award

Camera Operator

Roger Corman

Ray De La Motte

Camera Technician

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: 2004 Awards

Mobile Camera Platform Operator

Camera Categories combined 2001

Historical Shot Garrett Brown 1998; Bound for Glory Philip H Lathrop, asc 1999; Touch of Evil David M Walsh, asc 2000; Bullitt Leonard J South, asc 2001; Vertigo

Camera Operator Michael St Hilaire, soc 2001

Also in 2004:

Still photographer:

Stephen Vaughan, smpsp Historical Shot:

To Be Announced

Longer biographies and larger pictures of the Honorees will be in the souvenir Banquet Book and in the next issue of The Operating Cameraman Magazine.

Technical Awards for: Arricam and Doggicam

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: 2004 Awards

photos by George b Stephenson soc

The patient’s image appears on the TV screen. Note the video tape recorder as well as a CD burner. The patient’s interior structure—bones, muscles, ligaments, organs—show up in the low-resolution x-rays. The physician asks the patient to perform a series of movements which are recorded on video and CD. The results show where and when pain occurs, enabling the most appropriate treatment to be selected.

‘total recall’ Becomes a Virtual Reality

Injuries can be diagnosed with the patient in motion By George B Stephenson soc

ost people have “total recall” of the images in the science fiction movie that showed Arnold Schwarzenegger walking behind an x-ray screen. But most people don’t know that this science fiction has become scientific fact with DMX®. A new sound system from George Lucas? No, DMX® is Digital Motion X-Ray imaging. Now for the first time in Toluca Lake at the office of Dr Ronald Saltman DC,*

patients can stand before the Digital Motion Imaging equipment and move. Why is movement so important? Most patients are pain free when they don’t move. Many connective tissue injuries just

*“Prevention of Spinal Injuries & Maintenance Care,” Ron Saltman DC, Operating Cameraman Fall/Winter ’95–’96 Vol 5 No 2

cannot be seen while the patient is immobilized. If your neck, arm, shoulder, knee, or other body part hurts when you move it, it’s only logical that to find out why it

Patients who have more pain when they move should be tested in motion.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Injury Diagnosis

hurts you need to do the diagnostic study in motion. A Digital Motion X-Ray examination shows 2,700 x-rays in a real time movie (played at 30 frames per second). The radiation of the examination is so low that it compares with just seven cervical x-rays. If you are injured, it’s easy to see why your doctor can find the cause of your pain or the location of your injury more easily in 2,700 x-rays than in just seven. Digital Motion X-Ray or DMX is more than a test that shows damage. It is a test that drastically changes how doctors treat patients. DMX is a unique technology using advanced optics and computer chips to

Big enough to do the job. small enough to do it right. HOLLYWOOD TEL 323-469-2774 www.ottonemenz.com HONOLULU TEL 808-536-9260 www.hawaiimedia.com UTAH TEL 801-978-9292 www.redmanmovies.com

photos by George b Stephenson soc

‘total recall’ Becomes a Virtual Reality

Injuries can be diagnosed with the patient in motion By George B Stephenson soc

patients can stand before the Digital Motion Imaging equipment and move. Why is movement so important? Most patients are pain free when they don’t move. Many connective tissue injuries just

*“Prevention of Spinal Injuries & Maintenance Care,” Ron Saltman DC, Operating Cameraman Fall/Winter ’95–’96 Vol 5 No 2

cannot be seen while the patient is immobilized. If your neck, arm, shoulder, knee, or other body part hurts when you move it, it’s only logical that to find out why it

Patients who have more pain when they move should be tested in motion.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Injury Diagnosis

Big enough to do the job. small enough to do it right. HOLLYWOOD TEL 323-469-2774 www.ottonemenz.com HONOLULU TEL 808-536-9260 www.hawaiimedia.com UTAH TEL 801-978-9292 www.redmanmovies.com

view the human anatomy in motion and to record a diagnostic study which can be reviewed on a VHS tape. For example, a camera operator with a chronic shoulder injury complains of continued pain when using his/her arm and shoulder in a particular range of motion. Traditional x-ray technology would only be able to view the shoulder in a one dimensional static view at one specific milli-second in time. With DMX the actual full range of motion of the shoulder and upper arm can be viewed in all dimensions and through all ranges to determine specifically the action and structures that may cause the continued pain and dysfunction. DMX is the most clinically objective breakthrough

Ninety percent of all trauma cases result in permanent ligamentous damage that cannot be diagnosed while the patient is standing, sitting, or lying still during traditional diagnostic procedures. in medical technology for helping to diagnose musculoskeletal injuries and conditions. Only 10% of the structural integrity of the spine is supported by the actual skeleton with 90% being directly attributed to the ligamentous (connective tissue) structures. Ligaments support joints of the body in a manner similar to hinges supporting a door. Unlike bone fractures, which may heal stronger than the original bone, ligamentous damage is painful,

rogressive and permanent. The elastin in p the ligaments will not regenerate following an injury. Scar tissue forms, making the joint weaker and more susceptible to future injury. This makes it imperative to use digital motion x-ray to accurately and objectively evaluate these structures, find the injury, and develop a treatment plan to help the patient. DMX is used to detect many types of injuries including whiplash. Historically, diagnosis of whiplash injuries relied upon nonmoving diagnostic procedures, such as x-rays and MRI. During these tests, patients are told to stand or lie still and not to move. This is a problem because pain in most cases indicates injury. Most patients are pain free when they don’t move. So whiplash injuries have for many years gone undetected. Many patients were disbelieved by their doctors, spouses, friends and personal injury prosecuting attorneys. “Studies have found that after whiplash, ligamentous injuries are extremely common in the cervical spine. The reason for this is the upper cervical spine consists of ligaments only, not discs.” (Nicolai Bogduk, MD in Spine orthopedic journal.) In fact, 30% of the cervical spine does not have discs. This helps explain why MRI (which is designed to look at discs) so often misses injuries in the upper cervical spine. By moving the patient through a series of protocols DMX can provide diagnosis of all 26 ligaments and can detect both facet and compression fractures and other injuries that heretofore have gone undiagnosed. Speaking of other injuries, while I was witnessing a demonstration of the DMX machine, Dr Saltman introduced me to

an eleven year old patient with an unusual injury—unusual for a chiropractor that is. This young man, seemingly in no pain, had a BB pellet lodged behind the orb of his left eye! Since a normal x-ray does not

Patients may not respond to their treatment programs because they do not believe anyone has diagnosed the cause of their continued pain. DMX can help improve patient compliance, etc. reveal soft tissue, only the skeletal cavity surrounding the eye and the BB could be seen in the x-ray. In order for the young patient’s ophthalmic surgeon to gain an accurate assessment of the situation, Dr Saltman used his newly acquired DMX equipment to record a live image of the BB imbedded behind the orb. A completely painless and noninvasive examination allowed us to view the BB as the patient was asked to move his eye vertically and horizontally. With the horizontal movement the BB moved ever so slightly to the left, causing Dr Saltman concern. If the BB were to dislodge from its current position prior to removal, it could possibly cause permanent damage to the optic nerve or some other part of the eye. The motion of the eye in relationship to the BB recorded on video tape in real time provided invaluable information to the attending ophthalmologist. With this new technology a precise surgical technique could be designed to extract the BB with the least amount of trauma and with no damage to the patient’s vision.

Dr Saltman is a Motion Picture Health & Welfare provider. He can be reached at his office in Toluca Lake (818) 508-6188, for answers to questions about the use of his newly acquired DMX technology as well as the broad-spectrum benefits of chiropractic care. His specialties include spinal and extremity manipulation, muscle manipulation and nutritional counseling.

There’s a new king in the jungle.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Injury Diagnosis

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There’s a new king in the jungle.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Injury Diagnosis

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The Amazon in Focus

How Amazonian Indians are using video to defend their rainforest lands and communities

hen the military helicopter unexpectedly swooped into the Kichwa indigenous village of Sarayacu located deep in the Ecuadorian rainforest this March, the locals were ready this time. Armed with a video camera, a team of trained Sarayacu residents captured the helicopter’s unwelcome arrival to their community. Captured too on tape was the subsequent series of threats the visiting Ecuadorian general made to the indigenous community. “Indigenous opposition to oil will be met with force,” the visiting General pronounced in a heated meeting with community members. The people of Sarayacu already knew this too well. Over the course of the last two years, the community has waged a peaceful campaign to protect its traditional homeland spanning some half million roadless acres of ancient rainforests from a new oil project. The community has called on the Ecuadorian government and the oil companies—including the Houstonbased Burlington Resources—seeking to explore for oil on their land, to cancel the project and instead support a plan for the area’s permanent protection and a program of ecologically sustainable, locally led development. To date, Sarayacu’s requests have been met with increasing threats, harassment, detainments and even severe beatings at the hands of the operating oil company, contractors and the Ecuadorian military. The deteriorating situation called for documentation— audiovisual documentation—of the hostilities the community face, in order to publicize their plight in Ecuador as well as the US. This is where collaboration with outside allies—in this case our non-profit organization Amazon Watch— comes in. At the community’s request, Amazon Watch provided the equipment (including the video camera, extra batteries, a solar powered system, storage devices and more) and training to ensure that the community could document the escalating tension and violence in the region. Amazon Watch also worked with community leaders to establish a flow system for information to guarantee that new footage could be quickly taken from the isolated village to the TV stations in the capital city of Quito and on to the US for dissemination here. Following the latest threat by the General in late

One of Chevron Texaco´s oil fires in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Amazon tribesman impacted by oil pollution.

Children affected by oil company operations.

Protesting at two events.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Amazon in Focus

March, this footage was transported from the community to our office in Malibu in under a week. An Amazon Watch team then quickly integrated the vivid scenes into a 10-minute video exposé on Burlington Resources’ involvement in these rights violations in Ecuador. Two weeks later the exposé was shown to top business press and delivered to the corporation’s Board, top management and many shareholders. (To view the video, please visit www.amazonwatch.org/videos.) The same week the New York Times and Houston Chronicle ran a story on Burlington’s conflicts with indigenous communities in Ecuador. The pressure helped move the company quickly—during its mid-April annual meeting for investors it announced its new policy opposing the use of military force against local peoples where the company operates. While Sarayacu’s conflict with the looming oil project is not over, recent events have demonstrated how the powerful images they captured through the on-site video camera can play a pivotal role in securing increased protection for them against rights abuses. Stories like Sarayacu’s can be found throughout the region. In the last few years, Amazon Watch has delivered cameras and training to more than a dozen indigenous communities and organizations in the Amazon basin, each one engaged in a frontlines struggle to protect their lands and peoples from new, sprawling oil and gas projects. These partnerships have only happened because of the generous equipment donations of individuals and companies as well as the pro-bono work of professional videographers who have helped train indigenous communities and carry out missions to the Amazon to gather professional quality footage to accompany the community documentation. To learn more about these audiovisual partnerships, the work of Amazon Watch or how you can help support this critical effort, please contact us at 310 456 9158 or visit us on the web at www.amazonwatch.org.

The Amazon in Focus

How Amazonian Indians are using video to defend their rainforest lands and communities

One of Chevron Texaco´s oil fires in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Amazon tribesman impacted by oil pollution.

Children affected by oil company operations.

Protesting at two events.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Amazon in Focus

Motion Control Floating Pan-Bar

Rock N Roll handle

Super 16mm Optical Printer

Dan Owens, Craftsman, Artist, Innovator by Emme Headroom

Dan Owens

Photos courtesy of Dan Owens

ittle did I realize when I first heard about his work that I actually knew a modern day wizard. The first time he was mentioned was in the early part of my career as a camera assistant. I was on a feature with cinematographer Greg Berblinger. Working with cameras mounted on the insert car caused major vibration so I was constantly adjusting the lens supports to take up the slack. It was when we brought on a second camera for the long final chase where we “owned” a major freeway that I met camera technician Linda Morgenstern. As we put our heads together to find solutions to our equipment challenges, Linda would often offer, “Oh, I know this great machinist! He can build anything!” I wasn’t as optimistic. Through putting in long hours out in the field, we came up with many of our own design adaptations. Quite a few were motivated by our complaints about how certain camera parts were designed by people with little or no experience using the equipment in the field on a day to day basis as we do. On another occasion working with cinematographer Berblinger, Linda came in

was mates with cinematographer for a second camera position. Ueli Steiger and KW Fleenor. How That night after we wrapped I many Dan O’s in this world could asked about the machinist she there be? Back then he wore glasses had mentioned on a prior shoot. and usually a hat, and was pretty “Can he really come up with good on the rack-over camera we some of these desperately needed had at the school from Samuelsons brackets and supports for the (see photo page 22). He had even 7:1?” Not only could he, but he Hockeycam painted this absolutely amazing backdid. He designed and tooled a drop of New York City for a B&W 35mm great support bracket that fit the existing short I operated on called Manhattan 15mm matte box rods for my threateningMona Lisa directed by Dieter Trattmann. to-droop heavy zoom lenses. Morgenstern filled me in on a few more He was also commissioned by Available pieces of gear this designer of Light’s John Van Vliet to create this unique Bracketworks had created, including a puppet for examining and recreating humotion control floating pan bar used on man movement. Our bits of conversation Little Mermaid, a device called the over the next few days piqued my curiosHockeycam used a lot in rock videos/comity about this guy. He just sounded too mercials/action sequences, and a Super good to be true—in my price range and 16mm optical printer. These inventions quick turn-around. It wasn’t until Linda are of great interest to camera technicians and I were loading onto our two separate and cinematographers alike. helicopters for the air-to-air sequence that his name popped up – DanO. The Several months later I had occasion to name was familiar but I wasn’t sure why. visit Panavision Hollywood with camera Quite a while later my brain kicked in: assistant Brian Garbellini to ask about a Dan O. I used to know a Dan back in new piece of equipment that would end film school in London who was in the the laborious taping and retaping of a class ahead of me. From Washington, he Microforce onto the OConnor Ultimate

Nancy Schreiber, ASC, has earned Director of Photography credits on an eclectic mix of features such as Your Friends & Neighbors and Stranger Inside, music videos for Aretha Franklin,

Billy Joel & Sting and documentaries such as the acclaimed Visions of Light. Schreiber received the 1997 Kodak Vision Award and was one of Variety’s “10 Cinematographers to Watch” in

Photo of Nancy Schreiber, ASC, by Joel Lipton exclusively for Schneider Optics

Puppet

“When we started prepping for Greg Harrison’s November with Courteney Cox & James LeGros, I was thrilled to find that manufacturers were making professional tools to fit our little Panasonic DVX 100 cameras. Like Century’s DV Matte Box. It’s lightweight, excellent for handheld work and well-suited for the camera. I used it with the same Schneider filters I’ve been enjoying on film and HD. I felt the Schneider ND filters yielded more control than only using the in-camera ND’s, allowing me to shoot wide open —even outside—limiting my depth of field to achieve a more filmic look. We used the follow-focus constantly. The lens on the Panasonic has a focus ring that spins 360° so there’s no repeatable focus. To solve this, Century makes a Manual Focus system complete with a mechanical lens stop. We were able to pull focus, hitting precise marks, just like on a film lens. Constantly aware that we were going to film, I was careful of what we used in front of the lens. The Century 1.6X Tele-converter worked perfectly every time I needed a longer lens. And their Fisheye came in handy on the dream sequences. The HD master looks great. I’m convinced it’s in part due to innovations from companies I’ve trusted throughout my career. Century & Schneider helped us achieve a professional filmmaker’s standard.”

2000. She’s worked in 35mm, Super 35, Super 16, HD and now—MiniDV—on November, for producers IFC/InDigEnt & Map Point Pictures.

Visit us at NAB Booth# SU10615

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Dan Owens

Classic Filmmakers Choose Schneider.

Tel: 818-766-3715 • 800-228-1254

www.centuryoptics.com • www.schneideroptics.com

Motion Control Floating Pan-Bar

Rock N Roll handle

Super 16mm Optical Printer

Dan Owens, Craftsman, Artist, Innovator by Emme Headroom

Dan Owens

Photos courtesy of Dan Owens

Nancy Schreiber, ASC, has earned Director of Photography credits on an eclectic mix of features such as Your Friends & Neighbors and Stranger Inside, music videos for Aretha Franklin,

Billy Joel & Sting and documentaries such as the acclaimed Visions of Light. Schreiber received the 1997 Kodak Vision Award and was one of Variety’s “10 Cinematographers to Watch” in

Photo of Nancy Schreiber, ASC, by Joel Lipton exclusively for Schneider Optics

Puppet

2000. She’s worked in 35mm, Super 35, Super 16, HD and now—MiniDV—on November, for producers IFC/InDigEnt & Map Point Pictures.

Visit us at NAB Booth# SU10615

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Dan Owens

Classic Filmmakers Choose Schneider.

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insider’s perspective because he has been capture difficult shots while in motion. trained and schooled plus has extensive Dan had also designed an 8x10 optical flat experience as a filmmaker. He knows how to be used on Leaving Las Vegas, a swingathe equipment is being used way mattebox, and the on a shoot because he has “Waterbox” which had been there, done that. extra large handles added DANO Engineering has for better control in extreme designed and built many conditions. different devices and practiOwens is emphatic about cal mechanicals for a variety feedback from the field; he of studios and companies, calls it “the survive, adapt e.g., Panavision, Available and evolve formula.” He Dan Owens at London Light, Dreamquest, Camera also talked about his years Film School Effects, HydroFlex, Walt designing and building Disney, the Chandler Group and the New motion control equipment and other Zealand company WETA Productions gear for special effects photography. which used his uniquely designed encodWhile working in the machine shop at ing devices on the Lord of the Rings films. Boss Films he helped develop the Prototypes built and tooled by Dan Zooming Aerial Printer which received have made their way into the Panavision the 1986 Special Photographic Award for Water Box Lo-Ball inventory and onto the camera carts of Scientific Achievement from the Motion many camera technicians. For example, Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. many sessions with Panavision’s customers. to simulate the rolling motion of a ship In addition to his technical versatility, Just another problem solver,” quipped Dan. at sea, Dan and Al Mayer Jr, an engineer Dan is also an accomplished artist and He filled me in on the Hockeycam, an from Panavision Woodland Hills Home creator of a comic strip series. He is a ingenious support device with heads-up Office, have created the LoBall 4˝ articuunique craftsman who has gained a great display that enables a camera operator to lating Teflon ball and socket camera head used on The Truman Show. New designs and equipment just Estate Planning is keep coming. A wall mount support for a 61˝ Plasma Screen which descends is Planning for from its starting position above the fireplace into the optimal viewing position was recently commissioned by an internationally acclaimed cinematographer. Cindy J. Macho, Esq. • Kenneth E. Ostrove, Esq. Dan Owens is very approachable. You might have caught him on Monster Garage’s Jesse James building an awesome motorcycle. “We chopped a ’72 Peterbilt semi truck into a custom Trike powered by a 350 horsepower turbocharged diesel. You can read more about it on the Monster Garage web site: www.discovery channel.com.” Dan concludes, “I’d like to point out that my job at Panavision is like the Estate Planning making of a film, a collaborative experiWills, Trusts & Powers of Attorney • Probate and Trust Administration ence. Like history being made—not the work of a lone individual.” Seminars for Guild members Available Check him out at his web site www. Cindy J. Macho, Esq. • Kenneth E. Ostrove, Esq. hometown.aol.com/danoengine/ or 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, Ste. 535 • Los Angeles, California 90036 contact Dan at Panavision Holly-wood. You will be glad you did and so will 323.939.3400 your production. cjmacho@earthlink.net • keostrove@aol.com panhandle. A prep technician pointed out their head machinist—the same guy who designed the Microforce Control Rock N Roll handle. Past complaints from many a camera operator had motivated the invention of this essential piece of equipment. Standing there in the hallway I heard a familiar voice from the past—Dan Owens, the one from film school. “The Microforce handle was a PVH response to customer feedback—again more input from camera assistants and

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THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Dan Owens

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Dateline: Vietnam 1968 A Personal Account from a Vietnam Vet By Ted Acheson, Sp5 Photos courtesy of The Ted Acheson Archive, The Vietnam Project, Texas Tech University

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till photographer Ken Powell and I were on a sweep with the 101st Airborne LZ Pinky near Hue close to the village of La Chu approximately 15 kilometers NNE of Hue May 5th 1968. The 101st Airborne was responsible for protecting the approaches to the city of Hue. They called this particular mission Operation Caranten II. It was named after a 101st Airborne mission from the Normandy invasion of WWII. Earlier in the day I had given my canteen to Ken to carry for me. I had an Arriflex 16-S that I was using with a 200ft magazine and belt type battery pack and had no way to carry the water. My pockets were full of 100 and 200ft rolls of film. We were shooting tungsten ECO film that was rated ASA 25. By using a Wratten 85 filter for daylight filming the rating was reduced to ASA 16. I also carried a backpack with additional batteries and personal gear. We had been filming the 101st Airborne Div 2nd BN 501st infantry A, B and C companies all day, getting shots of them doing a sweep of the area. We were walking with a group of men when all hell broke loose right in front of us. Ken Powell jumped into a bomb crater as he tried to get some still shots. I told him that was the last place he wanted to be, but he pulled a John Wayne and ran for the crater. I knew he couldn’t even hold up his camera without getting sprayed by incoming fire near the bunker as the enemy position was about 50 feet in front of him. I ran into an old Buddhist temple with an ABC cameraman. Powell was directly in front of me in the crater

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about 20 feet away. I stuck the 12 to 120 Angenieux lens through a shell hole in the temple and started filming. I don’t think the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) understood I only had a camera, because they put an RPG (Rocket Propelled

We should have been killed in the blast but for some reason we were spared. Grenade) into the temple blowing the ABC cameraman and myself about 15 feet out of the right hand side of the temple. The ABC cameraman had some chipped teeth and was bleeding out of his ears from the concussion. He was a South Vietnamese stringer for ABC (many reporters would send these guys by themselves if it looked like an overnight in combat). We should have been killed in the blast but for some reason we were spared. Both of us moved to a different location to be able to continue filming. I shouted to Ken I was moving out to a new location and would catch up with him when the fighting died down. I told him to stay put. Powell and I were separated by quite a distance as more fighting flared up around me. I was still trying to find him when I made my last shots before the slow speed ECO reversal stock I was shooting wasn’t going to work any longer. From the time I left Ken until the battle subsided I continued filming. I had shots of guys resting, guys wounded,

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Dateline Vietnam 1968

Sp5 Acheson with Bell and Howell Filmo 16mm handheld camera.

dead VC and guys diving into tunnels and bunkers. Snipers were everywhere and it was brutally hot and I had no water, having given my canteen to Ken. There were numerous bunkers that the NVA kept popping up from and shooting at anything that moved. It was getting dark. An NFG (New F***ing Guy) spotted an NVA that stuck his head up and the NFG ran over and tossed in a grenade. The only problem was he pulled the pin and didn’t count to three. The grenade came right back out as fast as he threw it in. The inevitable blast killed him and another one of his squad and wounded several of us. I dove as he tossed in the grenade. The shrapnel went everywhere hitting me in my left rear “cheek.” I didn’t think I was hit but thought some of the rubble from the blast had struck me. That night we humped through rice paddies where we were being hit and into the woods where we continued to be fired on from all directions by snipers. It was the only time in Vietnam where I picked up an M-16 from a dead grunt and was ready to use it. At about 0200 in the morning we stopped at the edge of a rice paddy where a water buffalo was not too happy about seeing us. I had my first drink of water in ten or twelve hours. Fortunately I had iodine pills and another guy let me use his canteen. I filled it up with the nasty looking water and threw in about ten pills and drank it through my teeth, using them as a filtering device for the

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Dateline: Vietnam 1968 A Personal Account from a Vietnam Vet By Ted Acheson, Sp5 Photos courtesy of The Ted Acheson Archive, The Vietnam Project, Texas Tech University

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THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Dateline Vietnam 1968

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sludge. It was probably the best drink of water I had ever had. I kept looking for Ken Powell but no one had seen him. I was scared that something had happened to him, and I was scared something was going to happen to me. The next morning after I had been in a firefight most of the night and was almost totally dehydrated from sweating so much, a medic told me “Your pant leg is filled with blood.” That was the first time I was aware that I had really been hit. When it was daylight and we had walked to a base camp I still didn’t know where Ken was. Next thing I know I hear this voice “Are you all right? I’ve been worried about you man.” It was Ken. I went through hell all night trying to find him and he’d been medevaced to the base camp after the fighting died down. We hitched a ride on a chopper to Phu Bai where I checked in to the medical aid station to have the shrapnel removed and get sewn up. What a way to get a Purple Heart. I knew there would be a lot of razzing about it back at the Villa.

Little did we know that night that whole city. I remember we had one of Saigon was being over run again. They the most frightening landings I have ever called it the second Tet Offensive of 1968. had. The plane came down on one tire Than Son Nhut airbase was on one wing and bounced shut down to all non-essential sideways then the same thing aircraft and we couldn’t get happened on the other side. a ride from Phu Bai. We sat When we stopped I thought around the runway with my what the hell was I doing flyrear getting sorer by the mining on this old crate! ute. The evening still wasn’t Finally I bummed a ride over as we had to get back for us to the other side of the to the Villa. I called the Villa base where Air America was from some place and they loading and unloading cargo. said they would pick us up. I asked one of the pilots where The White Mice2 escorted our they were headed and he said DASPO team to pick us up as Saigon. We were allowed to go Sp5 Acheson with there was a curfew in effect. Arri 16S on the flight. The plane was a Once we left the airbase the battered DC3 which was old Saigon streets were deserted even then. We sat with some but we could hear occasional Montanyards1 and their pigs and foulgunfire. We made it back to the Villa on smelling bales of God knows what — Trung Minh Ky Avenue safe and sound. I didn’t ask. NBC Nightly News used the footage of When we flew over Saigon it looked the firefight and so did ABC. I have the like all hell was breaking loose, tracers captions and a critique by Paul Molton. going everywhere, flares lighting up the (It was funny reading Paul’s remarks and comparing them to remarks from Army Pictorial Staff… you would have thought I had shot two different jobs.) We had four men wounded during this one week period, the most wounded at one time in DASPO’s history.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Dateline Vietnam 1968

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Specialist 5 Ted Acheson joined DASPO (Dept of the Army Special Photographic Office) in 1967. He served in Vietnam on three different occasions for DASPO. Acheson was the lead network pool photographer when the Pueblo crew was released from North Korea. Ted shot many stories used by the networks while in DASPO and was awarded Department of Defense Cinematographer of the Year in 1969. He owns his own production company, Adam Productions in Detroit where he has produced automotive commercials and music tracks for the auto industry during the past 23 years. ____________ 1Montanyards or Montagnards, native villagers who live in the highlands of South Vietnam. 2White Mice, euphemism for the RVN (Republic of Viet Nam) national police.

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tough when you move up to a new classification. Whatever your reputation as an operator or assistant, you practically start from scratch, proving yourself all over again. In these slow times, it also helps to have an agent to submit you for interviews. I must mention how important it is to be able to work with a good operator! After the cinematographer and director have established the look they want to convey, the DP and gaffer can devote their attention to that end. It is essential that the camera operator establish a relationship with

Making the Move

A Career in Transition

By Michael St Hilaire photos courtesy of Michael St Hilaire

Michael St Hilaire takes a spot-meter reading. Bill Clevenger is operating camera.

small 2nd Units, which put me close to my 40 day allotment, I was asked by Matt Leonetti if I would like to shoot the 2nd Unit for 2 Fast, 2 Furious. John Singleton, the director, remembered me from the SOC banquet where I received my Lifetime Achievement Award, and was more than happy for me to be on the picture as the 2nd Unit DP. It also didn’t hurt that Matt’s younger brother, John Leonetti, had recommended me to Matt after I had shot a few days of 2nd Unit for the movie Scorpion King, where I had worked primarily as “A” Camera Operator. So off I went to South Beach in Miami, Florida for four and a half months on my first official job as Director of Photography. What a great first assignment it was! I had about six weeks of prep in Florida, as the 2nd Unit was scheduled for sixty-five shooting days. We began the shoot with five weeks of night work. The race scenes called for four different locations of ten to twelve blocks long with a few street corners thrown in. Most of these scenes were for the opening race, and so it was important to depict the cars effectively. Since the 2nd unit director, Terry Leonard, wanted to shoot several cameras all the time, Michael’s Angels: Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu. Matt and I decided it

ow! I can’t believe it’s been 25 years since a few camera operators got together and decided to form The Society of Operating Cameramen! The early days were more about fun and social gatherings while we charted our course for the future. There were a handful of members, and there were lots of family picnics, volleyball games, movie screenings, and backyard parties. When we had an event several of the charter members would get together at someone’s house to stuff envelopes. So here we are 25 years later with hundreds of members from all over the world. Some of the original members have retired, some have passed away, some are still operating, and many of us, like myself, have moved up to Director of Photography. Thanks to good fortune and great friends, I have been able to make that move. After shooting several

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Michael St Hilaire

best to use top light with cross lights hidden down the side streets. I actually had three electrical crews working: one rigging, one de-rigging, and one onset crew. The onset crew, in addition to their regular duties, had to keep the lights in the cars working. Each car had Kinoflos

St Hilaire films Jean-Claude Van Damme in Nowhere to Run.

On the set of Nowhere to Run, Michael St Hilaire goes handheld with a 5:1! Anthony Rivetti is 1st AC.

the director as well as the DP, in order to realize their vision. As the director’s confidence in the operator grows, the operator gains a greater voice in creating the set-ups. Added to all that pressure, a good operator must be keenly aware of focus. An operator with these qualities acts more as an “Operating Cameraman” (or woman) than just a “Camera Operator.”

It is essential that the camera operator establish a relationship with the director as well as the DP, in order to realize their vision. orking along with headlight dimmers. w Keeping up with this immense lighting package was not an easy task. We used the Sparrow head quite extensively with camera operator Bill Clevenger doing an excellent job. Bob Scott from Florida operated a lot of handheld and motorcycle work. (Bob also operates for NFL football games on Sundays). I was able to hire camera assistants Bill McConnell Sr and Peter Farber, who were friends from years back when I had worked as an operator on a movie in Florida. The entire project was a fabulous first assignment as DP, and I was quickly exposed to the many extra hours a DP has to put in before and after production time. You have to make yourself available almost seven days a week for location scouts and impromptu meetings. So with this job done, I am currently looking for the “Next Biggie”! It’s always THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Michael St Hilaire

Making the Move

A Career in Transition

By Michael St Hilaire photos courtesy of Michael St Hilaire

Michael St Hilaire takes a spot-meter reading. Bill Clevenger is operating camera.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Michael St Hilaire

St Hilaire films Jean-Claude Van Damme in Nowhere to Run.

On the set of Nowhere to Run, Michael St Hilaire goes handheld with a 5:1! Anthony Rivetti is 1st AC.

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name(s) of the camera operator(s) whenever that could be determined. I regret not being able to list them all.

The Really Early Days

Richard Arlen and Charles Rogers in Wings (Paramount 1927)

Cast and crew watch Lloyd Nolan emote in Lady in the Lake (MGM 1946). Lead actor/director Robert Montgomery is sitting under the camera with a script in his lap. Jimmy Harper is operating camera, which is suspended from MGM’s overhead rig.

They Got The Shot By Rick Mitchell A tribute to camera operators of the past who achieved miracles of cinematography without today’s technical innovations

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Rick Mitchell

hile I applaud the incredible shots achieved today with Steadicams, Cam-Remotes, Technocranes and other devices, as a film historian having some knowledge of the equipment of years past, I am even more amazed by the shots achieved by camera operators in those pre-reflex/pre-video assist days. I salute them and their oftenunacknowledged crews. You’ve all heard the adage that to really know a person you should walk a mile in his shoes. Perhaps it’s because of the miles of awful Regular 8, 16mm, and 35mm footage I’ve shot over the years that I have a greater appreciation and respect for the skills of

the camera operator than someone who has never tried to execute a smooth pan or tilt with a friction head. It’s unfortunate that most depictions of a scene being shot do not focus on the unique coordination between the operator, camera assistant, dolly grip, and other crew members involved in executing a complicated shot. Such choreography is often more fascinating to watch than the scene being photographed. I witnessed this with the first professional film crew I ever saw in action, that of The Flim-Flam Man, shooting on location in Kentucky in August 1966. The director of photography was Charles Lang asc, the operator Al Lebowitz, the assistant a guy named Charlie, last name unknown. (Charlie can be seen following focus during the shooting of a musical number in Inside Daisy Clover (1965) on which Charles Lang was DP.) The picture was being shot in Panavision anamorphic and as I recall, the principal camera was a BNCR. The second unit used Arriflexes for action sequences, such as the car chase that trashes Lawrenceburg, KY. Unfortunately, in my later years in Hollywood working as an assistant editor and later film editor, I had little opportunity to visit the set. The only significant film with which I did have some involvement with the camera crew was Star Trek —The Motion Picture (1979). Richard H Kline asc was DP; Albert Bettcher, operator; Michael Genne started as camera assistant and was promoted to camera operator. Dave Stewart handled the 65mm camera for effects elements shot in that format. I’ve selected examples of the kinds of shots I’m talking about, but it’s impossible to mention them all. I’ve included the

Though Kevin Brownlow cites a dolly shot in the 1915 version of David Harum, descriptions of camera movement beyond basic panning, tilting or shooting from moving vehicles is usually traced to the German films The Last Laugh (1924) and Variety (1926). Cinematographer Karl Freund achieved director FW Murnau’s desire for a constantly moving camera by any means he could devise. Most of the pre-1925 films I saw at LA’s Silent Movie Theater when it was briefly reopened a few years ago had few pans or tilts, much less dolly or crane shots. American silents from the 1925–29 period did reflect the

of it. However, his version of Beau Geste (Paramount 1939) has some interesting shots from a camera on a sled, of Robert Preston’s body rolling down a sand dune and of Ray Milland chasing after it. Archie Stout asc was the director of photography for the location scenes. There is some confusion about the extent to which cameras in booths were used in early sound films. A number of resourceful cinematographers came up with ways of silencing their cameras, allowing them to be mounted on movable devices. Sunny Side Up (Fox 1929) photographed by Ernest Palmer asc has a single-take dolly shot down one side and up another of a backlot street during a musical number. The musical number was no doubt pre-recorded. Recent screenings reveal a number of dolly

Backlot group photo from Sunny Side Up (20th Century Fox 1929)

impact of the importation of the Freund/ Murnau collaborations on camera movement. Using dollies improvised from tripods on wheeled platforms and other methods, cinematographers managed complex fast in and out moves that required complicated focus shifts. William Wellman has described the trestle Harry Perry devised to do the shot moving down a long table into a closeup of Charles “Buddy” Rogers in Wings (Paramount 1927). In an early interview he stated he was initially a big fan of wild camera movement when he first started directing, but quickly tired

moves in the pioneering In Old Arizona (Fox 1928), Arthur Edeson asc, DP; and The Love Parade (Paramount 1929) Victor Milner asc, DP.

Broadway Crane According to cinematographer Hal Mohr asc, Universal’s famous Broadway crane was specially built for the 1929 film of that title because director Paul Fejos wanted to do some of the complex dolly and crane shots in a sound film that were pulled off in the late silent films. This crane, on which the camera could be panned and tilted in ways

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Rick Mitchell

name(s) of the camera operator(s) whenever that could be determined. I regret not being able to list them all.

The Really Early Days

Richard Arlen and Charles Rogers in Wings (Paramount 1927)

They Got The Shot By Rick Mitchell A tribute to camera operators of the past who achieved miracles of cinematography without today’s technical innovations

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Rick Mitchell

Backlot group photo from Sunny Side Up (20th Century Fox 1929)

moves in the pioneering In Old Arizona (Fox 1928), Arthur Edeson asc, DP; and The Love Parade (Paramount 1929) Victor Milner asc, DP.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Rick Mitchell

that could not be done on other cranes until the ’50s, was used for some of the unusually operated shots in later Universal films. These included All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and Frankenstein (1931). Arthur Edeson was the DP on both. Alan Jones was 2nd cameraman on the latter. (The second cameraman filmed the version for foreign release.) Phantom of the Opera (1943) was photographed by Mohr with Technicolor cameraman W Howard Greene asc. An example of the complex type of

Complex continuous take moving shots were characteristic of a number of “stylish” directors in the ’40s & ’50s. shot achieved with this crane can be found in Gung Ho! (1943). The camera dollies back and cranes up from a medium shot of a Marine slowly advancing into a jungle to a wider shot including his advancing teammates, through a stand of palm trees, then tilting up to and moving in on a Japanese soldier hidden in ambush at the top of the palms. Milton Krasner asc was the director of photography.

Continuous Take Shots The crab dolly wasn’t developed until 1947 during the shooting of The Paradine Case, by Steve Granovich from ideas by director Alfred Hitchcock and DP Lee Garmes asc, among others. However, production stills circa 1930 show a variety of dollies and cranes

designed to give mobility to the heavier blimped cameras. MGM even had one in which the camera was suspended from an overhead arm, which was used into the ’50s. (See photo, page 32.) Many directors whose careers began in the last days of silents exploited the new freedom of the camera, perhaps overtly, such as in One Way Passage (Warners 1932), directed by Tay Garnett and photographed by Robert Kurrle. Howard Hawks, working with either of the two credited DPs Lee Garmes asc or L William O’Connell asc, opened the original Scarface (United Artists 1932) with the kind of complex continuous take shot that best exemplifies this. The shot begins by pulling back from a miniature street sign and moves laterally on a forced perspective set past a little person dressed as a milkman, picks up a janitor outside a nightclub dumping some trash, follows him back into the club to a table where some gangsters are finishing up after a party, follows one of them to a phone booth and moves past him up a corridor toward the back as a figure sneaks in. The camera then angles around in a manner I’ve never been able to figure out, to view a wall on which the figure’s shadow is seen. The shadow shoots the gangster in the phone booth and Touch of Evil (Universal 1931) starring Orson Welles (left) and Charlton Heston (far right), is famous for its exits whistling an operatic 31⁄2 minute continuous take opening shot. It was aria as the janitor enters, filmed by Philip Lathrop asc, who was awarded a looks at the body, quickly posthumous Cammy for Historical Shot at the 1999 takes off his apron and runs SOC Lifetime Achievement Awards. out. It may not seem like

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Rick Mitchell

Frankenstein (Universal 1931)

much today, but if you know anything about the equipment of the time, it’s quite amazing. Similar shots would occasionally be found in other films as the decade advanced. Frank Capra, Michael Curtiz, James Whale, and Busby Berkeley were among the directors of the 1930s noted for having complex camera moves in their films. Orson Welles requested more extreme camera moves on The Magnificent Ambersons (RKO 1942) than on Citizen Kane (RKO 1941). His cinematographer on that film was Stanley Cortez asc, with operators Warren Lynch and Roy Clark. Welles would carry this even further with the rarely shown The Stranger (International/RKO 1946), photographed by Russell Metty asc, and other films on which he had access to studio resources. This penchant for dramatic shots led to the famous opening of Touch of Evil (Universal 1958), photographed by Metty and operated by Philip Lathrop. Lathrop was the recipient of an SOC award for his skillful work on this film. Complex continuous take moving shots were characteristic of a number of “stylish” directors in the ’40s and early ’50s. They were part of the style that became common in most American, British and French films of the period. The best known example, of course, is Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (Warners 1948), photographed in ten minute takes with a

Rope (Warners 1948): Director Alfred Hitchcock rehearses his cast as various technicians look on at the confrontation between Jimmy Stewart and Farley Granger. That’s a blimped three-strip Technicolor camera; William V Skall asc served as the Technicolor cameraman.

unnerved Ingrid Bergman with walls and tables flying in and out during a take. If you look closely at Rope, you can see actors keeping an eye out for the camera, their marks, and set pieces being moved around off-camera.

blimped three-strip Technicolor camera by Joseph Valentine asc. William V Skall asc was the Technicolor cameraman. In his interviews with François Truffaut, Hitchcock claims he had a falling out early on with Valentine, with whom he’d previously worked on Saboteur (Universal 1942) and Shadow of a Doubt (Universal 1943). The issue was over how color should be handled and so he finished the picture with Skall and the camera crew of Edward Fitzgerald, Paul G Hill, Richard Emmons and Morris Rosen. Hitchcock also recounts how his occasional use of the technique in his next film, Under Capricorn (Warners 1949)

The most extreme example of complex camera movements from this period is Lady in the Lake (MGM 1946), directed by Robert Montgomery, photographed by Paul C Vogel asc, and operated by Jimmy Harper. This is the only mainstream feature film to date to be photographed entirely from the point-of-view of the main character. It had been done in brief sequences, such as the opening of Rouben Mamoulian’s version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Paramount 1932) photographed by Karl Struss asc with second cameramen George Clemens and Harry Hallenberger. In Dark Passage (1947), Delmer Daves and Sid Hickox asc used

POV Main Character

the newly imported Arriflex along with the standard BNC to tell an escaped convict’s story from his POV until plastic surgery turns him into Humphrey Bogart. Given the introduction of the Steadicam and lipstick video cameras that can be mounted anywhere on someone’s body, it’s surprising that no one has tried this since, though the problems it caused for The Lady in the Lake may explain some filmmakers’ reluctance. The film was photographed primarily with a BNC on a dolly, as the crab dolly had not yet been invented. MGM camera department head John Arnold devised a shoulder mount that employed an Eyemo for some shots from angles where the larger camera could not be placed. Careful set design and choreography allowed walls to be moved aside permitting the camera to pass or to allow Montgomery, playing the lead, to be reflected in mirrors. Due to certain compromises the POV perspectives

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Rick Mitchell

Frankenstein (Universal 1931)

POV Main Character

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Rick Mitchell

Two Tickets to Broadway (RKO 1951). Ann Miller is the central dancer, with Janet Leigh to her right.

were often odd, as when Audrey Totter has to kiss the camera…

Audacious Shots Montgomery was still under the influence of extreme camera moves in his next film, Ride the Pink Horse (Universal 1947), photographed by Russell Metty asc, which has a few complicated shots, the most complex of which occurs early in the film. It starts with a wide shot of a bus pulling up to a station, an exterior/ interior set built on Universal’s back lot. The camera, using a wide angle lens, moves in on Montgomery as he talks to someone at the entrance, then follows him into and all the way to the back of the station where he sits on the last bench. The camera does a 180 degree move around Montgomery while he writes a note and stuffs it into an envelope, then precedes him as he gets up and puts the envelope into a locker, makes a 45 degree move around him as he attaches the key to the back of a wall map with chewing gum, then a further 45 degree move to precede him out of the station, all in one continuous take. John Farrow (father of Mia) was also a big fan of complex moving shots in his Paramount days of the ’40s. China (1943) photographed by Leo Tover asc with

Ernest Laszlo on 2nd camera opens with a complicated crane shot following William Bendix around a backlot Chinese village being bombed by the Japanese. The middle of the shot has him going into and out of an interior via rotoscoped matte wipes. The Big Clock

The concerto sequence in ‘Hangover Square’ carries this photographic approach to a further extreme. (1947) photographed by John Seitz asc with Otto Pierce as operator, has a number of long complicated moving shots. The most audacious shots are in Two Years Before the Mast (1946) photographed by Ernest Laszlo asc with William Ran as 2nd cameraman. The third shot in the film dissolves in on a horseman riding up a soundstage street, moves in on a window in which two characters are standing, moves through the window as they move, first into the room, then down to a lower story office. This scene then dissolves into another continuous take moving shot in a mid19th century stock exchange, and then to a soundstage wharf toward which a full size sailing vessel is being moored. The camera moves from the wharf closer to the ship, along which it dollies picking up the mooring activities, then pulls back

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Rick Mitchell

again as the gangplank is lowered from the now secured ship to reveal characters on the wharf and follow them as they board the ship. I really would have loved to see the shots being made! If there is a single film of the ’40s other than Lady in the Lake that stands out as an example of complex operation, it’s Hangover Square (20th Century-Fox 1945) directed by John Brahm and photo-graphed by Joseph La Shelle asc. A followup to Brahm’s The Lodger (20th Century-Fox 1944) photographed by Lucien Ballard asc, the film is perhaps the most extreme example of the baroque style of the time. A totally visual as well as musical treat, this is the film for which Bernard Herrmann wrote a concerto. The concerto sequence itself carries this photographic approach to a further extreme. Though Jean Negulesco had had a lot of stylistic shots and moves in the musical shorts he did at Warner Brothers in the late ’30s and early ’40s, not even Busby Berkeley’s musical numbers went to the extreme of Hangover Square’s concert sequence. As the sequence begins, the camera pulls back from Laird Cregar at the piano to swoop smoothly around the audience and back to the orchestra. As the music brings out the madness in Cregar’s Jekyll and Hyde personality, the shots and moves become wilder, the angles odder. I’ve seen no description of the making of this sequence, so I don’t know if some of the more extreme shots from unusual positions were made with standard production cameras or Eyemos. This is another sequence that is better appreciated when one knows the limitations of the equipment of the time.

three-color Technicolor cameras ruled out their use in most dramatic scenes filmed in that process. They can, however, be found in musical numbers which, because they were usually filmed to playbacks, were done with lighter and more mobile non-blimped three strip cameras. Busby Berkeley took advantage of this in the musical numbers in his first threestrip color film The Gang’s All Here (20th Century-Fox 1944), photographed by Edward Cronjager asc, especially in the famous “The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” number. Gene Kelly’s “Nina” number in The Pirate (MGM 1948) is the continuous take color musical equivalent of the

The Trouble With Color

Finding Eyemo

Prior to the introduction of multilayer color reversal and negative/positive stocks, camera movements of the complexity described above were rare in color films. Most of the black & white films were shot primarily with 25–30mm lenses stopped down as far as ƒ/11 in the deep focus style popularized by Citizen Kane, all assets to accomplishing those moves with BNCs or Fox’s own designed camera. I haven’t been able to view any of the two strip CineColor or TruColor films of the ’40s to see if they had any complicated shots. The size and weight of blimped

The Eyemo camera was introduced by Bell & Howell in 1928. Although Brownlow’s The Parade’s Gone By has a production still of director Sidney Franklin hand-holding an Eyemo while lining up a shot for a silent film, there is no verification of a hand-held shot in the film itself. The unsteadiness that resulted from handholding was considered unprofessional until World War II. Perhaps because they were non-reflex cameras, Eyemos seem to have been used exclusively in locked off situations where it was impossible to use a BNC or too dangerous

The unsteadiness caused by handholding was considered unprofessional until World War II. Montgomery and Farrow shots described earlier. Harry Stradling asc was DP with Sam Leavitt as operator. A continuous take shot similar to the one described from Ride the Pink Horse was done in three strip Technicolor for Two Tickets to Broadway (RKO 1951) photographed by Edward Cronjager asc and Harry J Wild asc. The shot follows some characters getting off a bus to the front of a backlot house, but then goes into a musical number which ultimately ends with the characters getting back on the bus. Busby Berkeley directed the musical numbers on this film. I don’t know if this was his idea or that of credited director James V Kern.

Two Tickets to Broadway (RKO 1951). Ann Miller is the central dancer, with Janet Leigh to her right.

were often odd, as when Audrey Totter has to kiss the camera…

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Rick Mitchell

The Trouble With Color

Finding Eyemo

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sequence from which separations and dupe negatives were made for intercutting with the originals. Andre de Toth had Edwin DuPar asc’s operator shoot a hero vs villain chase around some steep rocks handheld with an Arriflex for the all Eastman Color (WarnerColor) Springfield Rifle (Warners 1952). After he became a director in 1949, feisty Samuel Fuller often enhanced his trademark moments of violence with equally violent camera movements. A shot of Richard Kiley as he knocks Jean

Park Row (United Artists 1952)

Peters around an apartment in Pickup on South Street (20th Century-Fox 1953) has greater impact because it was done in one fast moving camera take. The camera was mounted on a boom by Joe MacDonald asc, DP. The Naked Kiss (Allied Artists 1965) opens with a continuous handheld shot of prostitute Constance Towers beating up her pimp; it was shot by Stanley Cortez asc. Fuller asked Joseph Biroc asc and his crew to do a rather audacious shot for his Cinemascope film Forty Guns (20th Century-Fox 1957). Biroc’s camera picks up a couple of characters in a second story hotel room and follows them out down a flight of stairs and up several blocks of the Fox western street which was on a fairly steep hill. Fuller was proud of the shot but he doesn’t record what the crew thought. The innovation of reflex viewing of production cameras in the ’60s ended the kind of shots described above as it was easier to move the lens than the camera.

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for an operated camera. One unacknowledged exception is found toward the end of High Sierra (Warners 1941), a shot from the top of a mountain of a sharpshooter climbing above, then taking aim at a gangster who has sought refuge from police on a ledge slightly below. Until World War II, almost all newsreel and documentary footage had been shot from cameras on tripods, even in dangerous situations. While the only battle footage from World War I was shot with long lenses from cameras on tripods at a

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distance from the action, Eyemos and 16mm cameras made it possible for cameramen to be in the thick of the action. Some filmmakers found such shots to be more “realistic” than traditional shots from stabilized cameras and they began to find their way into fight and action sequences in dramatic films. James Wong Howe asc used handheld Eyemos for boxing scenes in Body and Soul (United Artists 1947) and bullfighting scenes in The Brave Bulls (Columbia 1951).

Going Handheld and Zoom The Arriflex handheld camera was used for fistfight sequences in On Dangerous Ground (RKO 1951) and The Narrow Margin (RKO 1952), both photographed by George E Diskant asc. For the otherwise three strip Technicolor shot Rancho Notorious (RKO 1952) director Fritz Lang had Hal Mohr use Eastman Color negative in an Arriflex for close-ups in a fight

There is a dynamism, a sense of being involved in the action that comes with moving the camera rather than using the zoom effect. The zoom lens simply brings the subject closer to the viewer by magnification, separating the subject from the background as the depth of field is reduced.

Final Thoughts Cinematographers did develop interesting shots by combining zooms and dolly shots that were beautifully and skillfully operated. New technology (and I don’t mean CGI enhancement) has allowed for shots that would have been impossible forty years ago. Yet there is something about those “primitively” achieved shots that make them stand out, especially when they enhance the drama of the film. Another example from the films of Samuel Fuller sums this up for me. Fuller was equally proud of a shot in one of his most personal films Park Row (United Artists 1952), his paean to the New York City circulation wars of the late 19th Century. It starts on a medium shot of Gene Evans in a bar. He hears his newsboys being beaten up on the street outside and rushes out to attack the attackers. The camera precedes him and pulls all the way back to a slightly unsteady wide shot of all the action. In his recent posthumously published memoir The Third Face, Fuller said the shot was accomplished by mounting the BNC on a reinforced sheet of plywood that was carried by four grips. This is the kind of dynamic punctuation of a highly dramatic moment through camera movement that enhances so many films but all too often goes unrecognized by critics. Unless, of course, the shot is so contrived that it removes the audience from the drama of the story. In any case the camera crews can always hold their heads high. They got the shot.

Rick Mitchell is a film editor and film historian. He is a prolific contributor to Operating Cameraman magazine and other journals. His articles are always well written and interesting, and the SOC appreciates his long term contributions.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Rick Mitchell

Park Row (United Artists 1952)

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THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Rick Mitchell

By Michael Frediani, SOC

Reviewing past editions of our magazine is a way to relive the history of the Society

he SOC has come a long way since its inception in 1979, and so too has the Operating Cameraman magazine that you hold in your hands, which came into being as not much more than an informative 12-page newsletter in 1991.

How the Magazine Began Before commencing here with a retrospective of 13 years of past articles it is important to spotlight some of the people who have made these pages come alive. It all started with editor and then-SOC President Randall Robinson whose unbridled vision and dedication spearheaded the magazine from newsletter to glossy semi-annual periodical. Doug Knapp began as associate editor, then moved to post-production manager in 1991. Doug’s keen eye for detail has resulted in an impeccable publication enjoyed by our thousands of readers. To complete this trifecta Bill Hines, one of the SOC’s founders, was sales and advertising guru, frequent contributor to this magazine and others, and book author. Bill’s service to the Society went beyond his many hours of editing and proofreading. His undaunted dedication to the magazine and the Society warranted him the cover of the July/December 2000 issue in memoriam. More on Bill later in this article.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Vol 1, No 1 – 1991 – 12 pages

Douglas Knapp Reflects In 1991, our SOC President Randall Robinson and I started the magazine. It was Randy’s idea, met with opposition from some members of the BOG who were worried about cost. Randall wrote the entire first edition on his very small 9˝ Macintosh desktop computer. The master copy was printed on my Panasonic 300dpi Postscript laser printer. This issue was 12 pages (81⁄2 x11, printed 2-sides, 2-up per page on 11x17 paper). The finished copies were B&W offset printed on ordinary Xerox paper by Miracle Press in North Hollywood (Magnolia near Lankershim). It was folded and mailed out in white envelopes to just the SOC membership. In retrospect, the magazine had the look of a corporate newsletter. The second issue was also done on Randy’s computer, output on my laser printer and taken to Miracle Press for offset printing. The cover was a semi-gloss sepia toned landscape. It was originally a wonderful color photo from John Ford’s Cheyenne Autumn. We were both very proud of this major step taken by our publication. Our third edition took us to Lynda Modaff, a layout person in Westchester. She designed the next three magazines, and we started introducing color photos on selected groups of pages. Our printer was Gemini Graphics, headed by Katie O’Harra. Her insight brought our magazine to a new level. Bill Hines then introduced us to Lynn Lanning, who has been producing our excellent magazine since 1995. She continues to refine the magazine to its present state, with the aid of the Ingle Group for our pre-press, printing and advertising sales. Randall Robinson, founder of The Operating Cameraman, was striving to make the SOC the best it could be. He keeps a low profile, but is aware of the SOC and its many activities. We owe Randall Robinson a large debt of gratitude and acknowledge him, his vision and his publication.

Revealed in our first ‘magazine’ was that in 1983 Mary Marta (then-wife of Bob Marta, SOC president) conveyed to the Society the details of a child in Tijuana who was afflicted with a serious eye ailment. The SOC contacted Dr Lynn Murphree of the Ophthalmology Department at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Dr Murphree operated, saving the child’s eye. A charity was born! Furthermore the SOC presented a plaque to Childrens Hospital in memory of Katie Sleeman who was stricken with cancer of one eye when she was 7 weeks old, and in her other eye when she was 21⁄2 years old. Her mother, upon learning of this devastating news, broke down and started to cry. Little Katie comforted her by saying “Don’t cry mama, I can see with my mind.” Katie succumbed to cancer at 41⁄2 years young.

The President Speaks of Past Presidents In Randall Robinson’s introductory letter he praised the efforts of past president Bob Marta who “championed our goals in the formative years. He helped set the foundation that lives on today.” Randy then expressed kind words for two-time president Bill Clark, mentioning that he not only started the film screening series but also was someone “who lives and breathes the SOC.”

Cover of Spr/Sum ’96 issue: Stan McClain soc filming from helicopter. Photo by Michael Frediani soc

We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby

Former president Mike Benson was able to acquire Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autographed jacket from Terminator 2 for our fundraiser. (See photo page 1.) The Society was able to donate $10,000 to the Louis B Mayer Theater at the Motion Picture Home for a Dolby Sound System. $14,000 was raised from commemorative pin sales for the Eye Care Clinic. (Not incidentally, in 1990 Joe Blaisdell sold 140 pins single-handedly!)

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THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Cover of summer ’94 issue: illustration by lYnda modaff from a gene stein photograph of a favilli sculpture

Operating Cameraman Magazine: Highlights of the Past 13 Years

Eye Care Clinic

Fund Raising

The

By Michael Frediani, SOC

Reviewing past editions of our magazine is a way to relive the history of the Society

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Vol 1, No 1 – 1991 – 12 pages

Cover of Spr/Sum ’96 issue: Stan McClain soc filming from helicopter. Photo by Michael Frediani soc

We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby

Measuring Distance Just Became Easier

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THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Cover of summer ’94 issue: illustration by lYnda modaff from a gene stein photograph of a favilli sculpture

Operating Cameraman Magazine: Highlights of the Past 13 Years

Eye Care Clinic

Fund Raising

The

Akeley 35mm Camera Wes Lambert gave us insight into the Akeley 35mm camera developed around 1910 by Carl Akeley, museum curator and taxidermist—he invented his camera to film African gorillas in their natural habitat. A precursor of modern systems, his camera boasted among other innovations, a single combination supply and take-up film magazine that incorporated a single metering sprocket for supply and take-up. A predetermined loop of film from this displacement film magazine resulted in the ability to reload the camera in 10 seconds!

Thanks, Advertisers

A Single Camera…

We now had full-page advertisements from esteemed vendors Panavision, Eastman Kodak, ARRI, CFI, Otto Nemenz, Clairmont Camera (a two page spread), Chapman/Leonard, Fuji, Tyler and GamColor. Most of those advertisers have faithfully remained with us to this day.

In an article by Joe Epperson SOC entitled “Some Thoughts on the Future of our Craft,” Joe stated evocatively years ago, “I think the question of film sitcoms going to a single operator system is a matter of simple economics…it will impact a lot of careers.” How right Joe was, with the advent of the Ped-Cam and the loss of the camera assistant and dolly grip on the majority of multi-camera shows. Epperson at the end of his article concluded, “There is an opportunity for the SOC to take the lead in organizing a buddy system of cross-training for operators to learn the single-operator system.” He was right, and as that ship sailed many of us waved from the dock. Joe also said, “The industry will change. If we work together, we can be ready.”

Woodstock Woes Vol 2, No 1 – 1992 – 44 pages

A Reel Cover Our second issue Summer 1992 was now bound in a glossy sepia toned cover with an image from John Ford’s Cheyenne Autumn (1964) filmed in Monument Valley.

Birth of our logo Paul Basta soc related how our distinctive logo was born through the efforts of member David Irete’s friend Karen Slaton, a graphic artist. Her basic design went to illustrator Dale W King who worked with Basta to refine Karen’s idea. It was presented to the Board and approved on July 25, 1981.

Corporates In June 1991 the Board created a Corporate Affiliate membership status through the spearheading efforts of Bill Hines who served as our first corporate liaison. Former president Georgia Packard is now filling that role and has added more affiliates— we currently boast 28 members who serve as an invaluable asset to the Society.

Historical Marker Project In 1992 the Society in association with Hollywood Heritage, Inc donated two plaques commemorating The General starring Buster Keaton (1926) and The Music Box (1932) starring Laurel & Hardy. The General, filmed in Cottage Grove, Oregon and The Music Box, lensed near Sunset Blvd in the Silverlake district were Academy Award winning short films. These plaques were groundbreaking efforts by the SOC. Sadly, the Historical Marker Project has not been continued. Perhaps with the dedication and involvement of SOC members we can resurrect them. Any volunteers?

Garrett Brown’s Invention Does anybody remember The Brown Stabilizer? No such thing actually, but here’s the opening paragraph in our Summer 1992 issue with a byline by Steadicam™ inventor Garrett Brown: “That’s what I wanted to call it. It wasn’t just ego (that came later!). I thought it needed a simple, honest, ’70s kind of name; a pure name not a stupid, gimmicky name like Steadicam—that was Ed DiGiulio’s suggestion which I hated immediately.” Brown went on to explain exactly why he came up with the concept and how the actual prototype stages progressed, regressed and progressed again. Brown told of working on his first features Bound for Glory and Rocky. If you can find a rare copy of the Summer 1992 issue of The Operating Cameraman, snatch it up and read this fascinating history of his Steadicam.

“Sweetheart of the SOC” Stephanie Benson served as SOC secretary for eight years, but decided to pursue other activities. “She will always be in our hearts” and was made an honorary member. She passed away in 1998.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

You’ve heard the saying that “if you remember the ’60s you weren’t there”? Associate member David Myers does and he was there—at Woodstock grinding countless frames of film through his NPR camera. What is little-known is that he was dragged into court when Warner Bros was sued by the wife of the Port-a-San cleaner who Myers interviewed; it’s one of the classic non-music scenes in the documentary. Seems they lived under false middle-class pretensions in New Jersey, with the wife telling friends that her husband was a sanitary design engineer. She was devastated watching her husband on the screen cleaning outhouses!

Product Demos In 1992 Joe Epperson soc worked on our Standards Committee to suggest modifications, evaluations and testing of equipment, some of it still in the pipeline, for the betterment of camera operators worldwide. This led to our current product demonstrations at SOC breakfast meetings sponsored by various vendors who give of their time to keep us up to date and ahead of the curve. (Perhaps it is time to resurrect this committee so that the membership can once again be invited into the process?)

Vol 3, No 1 – 1993 – 56 pages

M-I-C, K-E-Y… Wesley R Lambert wrote of the Bell & Howell camera designated Model 2709 believed to suggest that it was their 27th design of 1909. You’ll recognize it by the magazine design—its double rounded magazine nicknamed “Mickey Mouse Ears.”

The Real Purpose of the 2nd Cameraman “The Second Cameraman—An Historical Prospective” was authored by Bill Hines who wrote, “In the USA two cameras were used during production—the principal, or first camera operated by the principal or first cameraman was placed in the optimal position with respect to the blocked action and was used to expose the more important domestic release negative. Next to it with the same focal length lens and similar coverage was placed the second camera, operated by the second cameraman which was used for the foreign release negative. Hence the origin of the designations ‘first cameraman’ and ‘second cameraman.’” Hines also describes a camera operator’s duties in the early days: “The cameraman functioned as director, director of photography, camera operator, focus puller, loader, lighting director, electrician, grip, lab technician, optical technician, (later) film editor and projectionist—a veritable one-man band. The cameraman was expected to provide his personal camera equipment and the overall technical direction of the recording process. He would set up his camera, load film into it, set the exposure, frame the action, crank film through the camera at a given rate, set fades and dissolves (whew!), unload the film, develop the film and print it. By 1899, story-telling techniques developed. Scenarios were written. Film presentations were one reel (1000´) in length, approximately seventeen minutes at 16 fps. At 8 frames per turn, the cameraman/operator would crank film through the camera at the rate of two turns per second in order to maintain that 16 fps rate.” (More about hand-cranking later.)

Man vs Volcano Former SOC president Mike Benson crashed into Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii while filming scenes from a helicopter for the movie Sliver. Benson endured over 60 hours inside the active volcano battling arduous conditions that included rain, 50° temperatures and noxious fumes, wondering if he would live through this ordeal. He tells a fascinating tale of terror and intrigue about his survival within the mouth of Kilauea, not knowing at the time that he was virtually written off as dead by an official from the National Parks Department. Benson recounts an otherworldly experience during one of the days that he clung to life inside the fiery pit. His twin brother in California who knew nothing of the event “had a strange feeling. ‘My body was always cold, I couldn’t get warm.’ He felt there was something wrong with me but couldn’t really put it in perspective…he knew something was happening, but that I was safe.” Although the story ended happily, the events leading up to Benson’s rescue are perhaps more compelling than the movie itself.

I, Robot Allan Lum Li described “The Robotic Camera System” which was employed by CNN and NBC News in Burbank more than a decade ago. Allan explained in detail the history and technique of the then-newly created system which has migrated to most news studios in the major markets. Jump to 2004 where not only have those high-end systems found their way onto the newsroom floor (where they work well with interviews, talk shows and news format) but with competition and better price points there are newer systems available. Lum Li refers to ParkerVision (www.parkervision. com) who offers a 3-chip camera, The CameraMan® which is a component of their robotic system that starts at $10,000. Where once there was an operator for each camera, emerging technologies now make it possible for one person using Shot Director™ to communicate with up to 16 cameras on a single, daisy-chained 4conductor cable utilizing RS-485 serial communication. Their patented autoTRACK technology “allows one camera to follow the talent, while you operate the others manually,” states their press release. Lum Li concludes, “Without a cross-pollination of knowledge and information between video and film camera operators, the industry will continue to eliminate jobs, keeping camera operators on the defense.”

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Thanks, Advertisers

A Single Camera…

Woodstock Woes Vol 2, No 1 – 1992 – 44 pages

A Reel Cover Our second issue Summer 1992 was now bound in a glossy sepia toned cover with an image from John Ford’s Cheyenne Autumn (1964) filmed in Monument Valley.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Vol 3, No 1 – 1993 – 56 pages

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Cinemascope

Vol 3, No 2 – 1993 – 56 pages

Tube Job On the cover of the Winter 1993 issue is the image of a camera operator circa 1965 that leads readers to an article by Joe Epperson entitled “From Then to Now: The Image Orthicon Tube.” Joe walks the reader through the beginnings of commercial TV in the late 1940s to the Sony Betacam 400 system.

Rick Mitchell submitted “The Widescreen Revolution—Cinemascope” in his long series of articles written especially for The Operating Cameraman. He wrote, “The basic standards of motion picture photography and presentation were set 100 years ago and have only been altered significantly twice: With the advent of sound in the late ’20s and of wide screen in the early ’50s.” Rick’s expertise in the historical aspects of filmmaking has been invaluable and appreciated. His articles earned him an honorary membership in the SOC.

Tyler & Chapman Nelson Tyler enlightened us with his detailed article of his life in the air behind the lens, as did Leonard Chapman who told of the genesis of Chapman Studio Equipment in 1947.

Aspect Ratio 1

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One for Members; one for Associate Members.

Raise the Titanic! DP Robert Steadman asc wrote of his underwater photography as 2nd unit DP for the movie Raise the Titanic on the island of Malta. The shoot was not without incident as Steadman toiled in the huge tank that contained the 55´ Titanic model at 1 ⁄16t© scale weighing in at 8 tons! Proving as un-seaworthy as its fated namesake, the unwieldy replica toppled over within the tank and needed to be hoisted out with a large crane— which was not large enough. The Titanic pulled the crane into the tank! It got worse—then it got better and Steadman and his crew were able to catch some truly magnificent imagery.

In the Summer 1994 issue I was asked to offer my experiences while operating on the last season of LA Law using a ground glass etched with both 1.33:1 and 1.78.1 aspect ratio lines. I stated then that the majority of the show worked well in the wider format but in instances where we had two actors sitting ‘side by side’ at the conference room table we were met with problems when shooting coverage. I was able to compose a nice two shot with the A camera but the B camera was compromised in trying to attain a ‘single’ of one of the actors in the wide format. The B operator could not get the single without including an unflattering piece of the other actor, and could not separate them, as that would compromise the A camera’s shot. Needless to say there were many compromised frames that season and very few of those shows could be shown in 1.78:1 aspect ratio on today’s crop of widescreen TVs because ‘production’ did not want to take the time during filming to shoot one camera at a time; or in another case add a large courtroom wall that was ‘missing’ in wide master shots outside of the 1:33.1 etchings. Today production companies have become more earnest about protecting the frame. Ten years ago I wrote, “It’s too bad not to have done an entire show for broadcast in 1.78:1, but I’m sure it will be done by a brave network someday.” Alas that ‘day’ came along a few years ago with shows such as ER, The West Wing and many others joining in.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Hi-Def Begins

Operator—now DP—Ray Stella spoke of his collaboration with Dean Cundey asc that commenced in 1972 when Ray assisted and Dean operated. Later working with John Carpenter on numerous films and doing a series of movies with Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, Stella has accumulated some impressive credits including Halloween, The Fog, and the Back to the Future trilogy. Stella enlightened readers with anecdotes describing his work on everything from Jurassic Park to Schindler’s List.

Aspect Ratio 2

David Richards wrote an article entitled “A Common Frame for Film and Video” based upon a paper by Edmund DiGiulio at the 135th SMPTE Technical Conference in Los Angeles (1993). The article was extremely well researched concerning aspect ratios of the past and what would most likely be adopted for all future productions. Warner Bros Technical Operations decreed that “starting with the Fall 1993 TV season all filmed shows would use a 1.78:1 frame so as to be compatible with widescreen TV.” Here we are some 11 years later and although we are basically composing for that framing we are still battling two aspect ratios in many cases; although growing annually, only a small percentage of American households own widescreen displays.

SOC Pins

Focus on Ray Stella

Vol 4, No 1 – 1994 – 72 pages

The Operating Cameraman was at the forefront reporting on Hi-Def Video back in 1994 when we profiled John Alonzo asc and his use of the Sony HDC500 System on the production WWII—When Lions Roared, a four-hour event for NBC. Ten years ago Alonzo prophesied, “I have a theory. I don’t really think that the worlds of film and high definition are going to conflict for a long time, if ever. I don’t think one replaces the other. They each have their purpose for specific types of stories.”

Focus on Anette Haellmigk Anette Haellmigk SOC was profiled regarding her operating experiences in Europe and the US as well as her position as a cinematographer that continues today. Anette spoke of the role of women behind the camera which was rare in 1994 compared to 2004 where it’s not unusual to see more than one woman as part of the camera crew. “I think everyone has things in their own personality on the set and how they deal with things,” Haellmigk stated. “But how I experience them doesn’t mean that another woman experiences them the same way. I think we bring in a lot of our own personality wherever we go in life and on the set as well but it’s still up to the individual man or woman as how they choose to perform… we’re all so individual.”

Aspect Ratio 3 Doug Knapp SOC offered, “Base the 4x3 frame for US television on the full Super 35 frame. Set a common top line for both 4x3 and 16x9 and use common sidelines as well. The only change required for the difference in aspect ratio is the bottom frame line. In 4x3 television, the full frame is transferred, resulting in better resolution than we now enjoy. For HDTV, the negative area is the same as we now use, but framing is much more compatible with production requirements of today (1994). This transitional framing standard gets the best of both formats, without the production and postproduction headaches of the current dual standard.”

Set Etiquette Cinematographer Ron Dexter’s article “Set Etiquette” was right on the money as he laid out common sense rules such as politeness and courtesy while working on the set. Regarding working relationships and advice he wrote, “Offering advice can be tricky, especially if you are new on the set. Humbly offer your advice to your immediate superior and let him offer it to the group. It will more likely be heeded. If he gives you credit, good. If he takes the credit he will remember that you made him look good.”

Pathé Camera Wes Lambert contributed another of his informative articles about ‘antique’ cameras. This time it was about The Pathé introduced in 1905, accompanied by gorgeous photographs of this workhorse camera which was used well into the 1920s because, as legendary cameraman Billy Bitzer said, “It will do anything I want.”

Aspect Ratio 4 At a breakfast meeting at The Sportsmen’s Lodge which was reported in our Spring 1995 issue, Vilmos Zsigmond asc weighed-in suggesting that the future format should be 2:1. His reasoning? “Inside the 2:1 format screen you can present all kinds of formats. The old movies, 1.33:1 would fit in the middle. The 1.85:1 would fit almost into the whole area. The only problem we have is with the anamorphic format…we can reduce them with letterboxing or lose a little from the sides.” Zsigmond added, “If the 2:1 format will be adopted I would propose that we shoot our anamorphic pictures in the new 2:1 ratio. All we would have to do is change the anamorphizer in our camera lenses and in the projection equipment.”

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Cinemascope

Vol 3, No 2 – 1993 – 56 pages

Tyler & Chapman Nelson Tyler enlightened us with his detailed article of his life in the air behind the lens, as did Leonard Chapman who told of the genesis of Chapman Studio Equipment in 1947.

Aspect Ratio 1

david frederick soc

One for Members; one for Associate Members.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Hi-Def Begins

Aspect Ratio 2

SOC Pins

Focus on Ray Stella

Vol 4, No 1 – 1994 – 72 pages

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

DP/Op Relations 1

Vol 5, No 1 – 1995 – 64 pages

Cover Boy Who is that on the cover above? Why, it is a very young Steven Spielberg, who received the SOC Governors Award in 1994. The banquet write-up was in this issue.

Responding to a question posed to him about the role of the operator, Vilmos Zsigmond asc spoke of the vital importance of having a camera operator, even though years ago he’d done most of his own operating as a cinematographer. When Vilmos’ assistant at the time, Nick McLean asked to move up to operate he stated, “I will only be your operator if you let me operate all of the shots.” Zsigmond took that to heart and came to the realization that “you can be a better cinematographer if you have an operator beside you who not only can do your shots as well as you do, but also gives you more time to do other things. Working with Nick, I had more time to think about the lighting, more time to think about the next set up and to prepare the next shot.”

Joining the World Wide Web 1995 was the year the SOC went worldwide— we’ve had members internationally since the 1980s, but in June ’95 we launched a website on the world wide web under the URL www.soc.org. As your then-president I saw the need to move our organization into the stratosphere. Even though at that time I was a novice with computers it was evident that we needed to broaden our horizons and allow people from every nation to learn who we are by simply referring them to our website. Through the dedication of our Northern California member Art Adams soc we were able to secure our address, server and most importantly the content that was the origin of what you see online today. Chauncey Chapman and then Chuck Barbee were webmasters when Art got too busy. Mark Leins (more on Mark on pages 55 and 61) has been our webmaster for many years now and has done an amazing job month-in and month-out. Not only has Mark been a solid fixture behind the screen, he has been responsible for our magazine cover designs since 1998. Mark is truly a valued member of the SOC who can be counted on when last-minute deadlines must be met—and let’s face it, they’re always last minute!

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THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

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DP/Op Relations 1

Vol 5, No 1 – 1995 – 64 pages

Cover Boy Who is that on the cover above? Why, it is a very young Steven Spielberg, who received the SOC Governors Award in 1994. The banquet write-up was in this issue.

Redefining Remote Heads An integrated camera system offering versatile solutions to your creative demands.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

1500 W. Verdugo Ave. Burbank CA 91506 818.845.8470 818.845.8477 fax www.doggicam.com

Vol 5, No 2 – 1995 – 72 pages

Combat Philippines

Physical health of the camera crew was covered in this edition (F/W ’95/’96) with an article written by chiropractor Ronald Saltman DC who illustrated in “Prevention of Spinal Injuries & Maintenance Care” what happens as he observed an operator performing a typical shot: “When you’re using either the fixed eyepiece of an ARRI II-C or a Panaflex-X on a dolly you must lean forward (forward flexion muscle group) which puts prolonged strain on the lower neck muscles. There will also be prolonged strain on the upper thigh (quadriceps) due to your semi-squatting position during many shots. Even during ‘normal’ shots you might find yourself in the position of bending to the left while thrusting your hip laterally,” observed Saltman. “This jams the lower lumbar vertebral joints on your left side and strains the right lateral hip musculature (gluteus medius and tensor fascialata.)” Whew, and we thought we were just shooting a simple master! In the Saltman article he provided detailed stretching illustrations to facilitate a healthier body thus preventing unnecessary injuries on the set. To be included in Dr Saltman’s informative email bulletins, visit him at: www.saltmanonline.com.

Steadicam Stress 1

soc archives

Father and son chiropractors Carl Howard Jr and Carl Howard III performed extensive muscle testing using a dynamic Surface Electro Myograph (SEMG) which measured the increase in muscle activity while operators Liz Ziegler SOC and Glenn DiVincenzo SOC wore their 70 pound Steadicam camera rigs. Dr Howard noted an interesting discovery. “The female operator of the subject group used the muscles in her low back 3 times more than the muscles in her neck, whereas the male used the two muscle groups virtually the same amount. I postulate that these results were obtained because females are proportionally stronger in the lower half of their bodies, and males are more proportionally equal from upper body to lower body.” Bill Hines and Jacques Cousteau

Lest we think that lifting camera equipment as assistants and performing physically demanding shots as operators is as difficult as it gets, we should step into the boots of combat camera operators. In “War Stories from the Nightly News” (F/W ’95/’96) authors Stan Wedeking and Jeffrey Alan Goldenberg detailed the travails of news operator Bill Purdy SOC on duty in the Philippines in 1986 “covering the aftermath of Marcos’ electoral victory over Corazon Aquino. Angered Aquino supporters openly protested outside the palace gates, accusing Marcos’ party of widespread cheating and corruption.” Purdy, camera in hand, with his sound technician Peter Yu were there as “an American helicopter whisked Marcos away from the palace and the protesters crashed the gates,” carrying Purdy and Yu in their wake. Inside the palace anarchy reigned. Purdy rolled his camera on people smashing windows, trashing paintings and setting fire to curtains. ‘We were caught in the throng. There was nowhere to go but forward.” It didn’t end there however. Suddenly shots rang in Purdy’s ears. Yu who was tethered to him by a video cable (in those days the sound technician recorded both audio and video on a 3⁄4˝ tape deck) yanked Purdy off his ladder perch to safety. When the shooting ceased “it was eerily silent…all around us were bodies laid waste by the palace guard. A mind numbing carnage unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, even during my three ninety-day tours of duty in Vietnam,” Purdy recalled.

Court Cam POV

Multimedia Woes

Associate member Jeffrey Goldenberg currently on Everybody Loves Raymond, served as an associate attorney during the OJ Simpson trial, and wrote a compelling commentary called “Courtroom Cameras.” Here is one small excerpt regarding the implementation of a single camera in court: “…although prosecutors and the defendant are shown from the same angle, the type of shots used differ greatly, creating inequities. For example, during the Simpson trial the prosecutors always were seen in a high wide angle shot showing a paper-strewn desk in front of them while the faces of the defendant and his team of lawyers (across the room) always filled the screen in a long shot, the long focal length of the lens compressing their faces together. Simply put, the shots did not match. At times, from the nature of the shots the prosecutors looked disorganized and harried while the defense looked focused and concerned.”

Art Adams wrote some very telling words in his article “We’re Not There…Yet. Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Deal with Cinematography for Multimedia.” In the article Adams gives the reader a stepby-step primer on shooting for CD-ROM industrials—the good, bad and ugly of it all. Adams wrote, “Multimedia is currently overrated. For now you can watch video recorded on a CD-ROM but the image appears in a small window in the center of your computer screen and it plays back at 15 fps, if you’re lucky. The technology is still fascinating and when you consider that just a couple of years ago video on CD-ROM was naught but a hallucinogenic cloud in a demented programmer’s mind…” That’s true Art, and how far we’ve come in just a few years where now we can burn not only CDs but also DVDs at home. Here’s more of what Art wrote back in 1995 [my note bracketed]: “Some day you’ll be able to request movies on demand through the Internet, talk to your friends on a full color videophone [iChat] or tap into a live concert…” Just another example of an SOC member who had his sights set firmly towards the future. Art, got any Super Lotto numbers in mind?

Combat Jonestown

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THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Remember the Jonestown massacre? Steve Sung was a sound technician accompanying cameraman Bob Brown and correspondent Don Harris that fateful day on the Guyana jungle airstrip where violence exploded unexpectedly from followers of Jim Jones’s People’s Temple. Congressman Leo Ryan of San Francisco went to Guyana to investigate charges that some of Jones’ Video Assist disciples were being held against their will while others were reportedly tortured. Cult members who wanted “We work in a strange industo go back to the US approached Ryan. Jones, discovtry when an innovation of this ering this ‘mutiny of sorts,’ ordered Ryan and the crew kind has been kicked under the out of the country. A Jones follower stabbed Ryan. rug for almost 40 years. They Sung narrates: “As we began to board the plane we (the film community) haven’t saw a truck speeding toward us…Bob Brown and I appreciated the work of an moved to the tail of the plane to get a wide shot as five innovator because he’s a pratfall or six temple members jumped out (of the truck)… comic, so I won’t dignify them The next thing I remember was people picking up with any further comment about guns from the truck and shooting at us. That’s the my device. It’s not worth it to me footage the world saw.” That now famous shot came at anymore.” —Jerry Lewis a great cost. Brown took a bullet in the thigh, Sung, one (To read the entire article onin the arm. Seconds later a gunman shot cameraman line go to: http://soc.org/opcam Brown at point-blank range to make sure he was dead. /07_fw9596/mg07_vidassist.html)

soc archives

Oh My Aching Back

Bill Molina and Gary Baum, the SOC’s most recent Treasurers.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Vol 5, No 2 – 1995 – 72 pages

Combat Philippines

Steadicam Stress 1

soc archives

Court Cam POV

Multimedia Woes

Combat Jonestown

Equipment that works, even if your scene doesn’t.

Minneapolis 800.809.9080

Des Moines 888.809.9080

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

soc archives

Oh My Aching Back

Bill Molina and Gary Baum, the SOC’s most recent Treasurers.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Moving Images

Vol 6, No 1 – 1996 – 72 pages

Grant Loucks discovered the history of Hollywood preserved in an unlikely building under Waterloo Bridge in London. His article “The Museum of the Moving Image” and the gorgeous photographs he provided tell the spectacular history of cinema internationally from the Zogroscope to the Mutoscope—from Eastman and Edison to Lumière and Mitchell. Sadly the Museum wasn’t there in summer 2004.

Movie Memorabilia 1 Harvey Rubin SOC while working in Midland, North Carolina came across a man named Martin Hill who has one of the most interesting collections of motion picture equipment outside of any museum in the world. Hill possesses Technicolor’s three-strip camera #7 which was one of seven cameras used while shooting the burning of Atlanta sequence in Gone With the Wind, the RKO studio crane used on Citizen Kane, and much more memorabilia that boggles the mind because these items are not in a museum.

Crane Seminars Begin In 1996 we introduced our first annual Crane & Remote Head Seminar. It was a spectacular success. Creating this event was no small feat and I could not have launched it without the tremendous dedication of SOC members Terry Harkin, Tom Fraser and Bill Waldman along with Ed Clare of PERA. Our goal was to allow all of our members and others to train hands-on with equipment they might not otherwise have access to, so they would not have unfamiliar equipment thrust upon them on the set with the pressure of a tough shot and time constraints looming. This event gave everybody the opportunity to learn from the experts so that we would feel comfortable and competent when an ‘exotic’ piece of equipment was presented to us down the line. The key word of the day was SAFETY, and each crane was overseen by experienced grips. Bob Primes asc one of our instructors said of the event, “This is an opportunity to learn more about cranes than you could possibly learn in any other way, and is the greatest event in the history of the SOC.” Our long-time supporter Andy Romanoff of Panavision called it a “first class event.” Our groundbreaking efforts of hands-on training and cuttingedge technological developments have been melded into what has now become CineGear—the best of what our business has to offer industry.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

They Said It! 1 When I was researching an article entitled “The Collaborators” which had as its genesis a seminar at the DGA entitled “POV: Directors & Cinematographers; Discussions for Creative Collaborations” I was able to pull some very good quotes from the participants. Director Alex Singer said, “If you calculated the number of elements in a fairly complex shot that a camera operator has to evaluate, well there’s no combination of supercomputers around that can do that.” Bill Fraker asc said, “When someone on the set asks me a question and I don’t know the answer, I say ‘I don’t know.’ There is nothing wrong with that because none of us knows it all. So as soon as you say you don’t know you put yourself in the position whereby everybody can help.” And now for my favorite quote that I used in the article, which was once said by Ingmar Bergman: “In my country we make a film with 30 friends and in your country you make a film with 60 enemies.” Ouch!

Movie Memorabilia 2 The studios’ lack of initiative in preserving their own historical property is deplorable. Without the likes of people like Debbie Reynolds and a handful of others much would have been lost to the attics of the public or to municipal dumps when they lose interest in their ‘Hollywood novelties.’ In a recent Army Archerd column in Daily Variety Reynolds lamented that she has been trying “for over seven years to convince The Motion Picture Academy to house” her extensive collection of memorabilia which includes sets, props and over 4,000 costumes from hundreds of movies. Reynolds said, “I asked to at least be on a committee to research a museum. The only thing I care about is preservation of these parts of movie history.” She spent over $500,000 in planning a museum within the confines of the Hollywood & Highland Complex but her passion was not realized there. As we go to press Reynolds is considering an offer from Dolly Parton’s hometown of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to create a world-class museum for her collection. No matter where her collection is housed there must be a central location for the public to view Hollywood’s unique material history. But Tennessee? Wouldn’t that be akin to housing the George Eastman House museum in Tokyo instead of Rochester, NY or the Georgia O’Keefe museum in Reno, Nevada instead of Santa Fe, New Mexico? Hollywood, wake up and smell the Starbucks!

Crank It Right L Sprague Anderson from San Francisco wrote an article about the history of hand-cranking as well as proper technique when operating those cameras. “Hold the shoulder still, keep the forearm nearly motionless and rotate the crank by turning the hand round the wrist, rather than the forearm round the elbow.” So keep that in mind on your next off-beat music video or Robert Richardson/Oliver Stone film which sometimes employ those rare cameras.

A Series of One The article that I wrote revealing the step-by-step manufacturing process of the Panaflex Platinum camera was a joy to research. This was the first in a series of—one! I hope that someone will carry on the idea of showing us how the equipment we use on the set is designed and built—perhaps the series will continue in future issues.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Moving Images

Vol 6, No 1 – 1996 – 72 pages

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Raising the Bell

Vol 6, No 2 – 1996 – 72 pages

POV Japan We will go to the ends of the earth—Japan in this case, to solicit membership participation. Member Seigo Sakamoto wrote an article about the hierarchy of the Asian film crews. He noted that the lighting director, not the cinematographer is in charge of lighting the set. Seigo wrote, “Once the frame is set by the cameraman, the lighting director takes over and functions as the creator of the overall lighting structure, its look, its design and the equipment to be used.” Sakamoto offered a detailed overview of filmmaking and camera operating in Asia that proved revealing to our readers.

The cover article of the Fall/ Winter 1996/97 edition written by Jeffrey Cree told of his photographic documentation of team leader Emory Kristof of the National Geographic Society and the effort to recover the ship’s bell from the sunken Edmund Fitzgerald 500´ below the surface of Lake Superior. Documenting the recovery of the bell would employ Sony’s HDVS equipment and HMI lights provided by DeepSea Power & Light, The National Geographic Society and director James Cameron. The Canadian Navy’s 245-foot HMCS Cormorant was employed along with its two submersibles. Deep sea diver Bruce Fuoco worked within the confines of the newsuit, which was necessary to maneuver him within range of the bell. Cree wrote of the technical challenges recording images from inside the submersible SDL-1 during this 1995 adventure. “With outside water temperature about 30° F the temperature inside dropped considerably as the dive progressed…it was critical that we keep the tape machine running at all times to prevent condensation from developing on the drum and destroying the tape,” cautioned Cree.

Two books by William E Hines, soc: OPERATING CINEMATOGRAPHY for FILM & VIDEO — “...includes a wide

diversity of essential information ... on-set protocol, working with other crafts, and shot management.” —Dean Cundey, ASC JOB DESCRIPTIONS for FILM, VIDEO & CGI, 5th ed. — The original and authoritative

source for the responsibilities and duties of more than 250 film, video & computer graphics craft classifications. Both books are available at cinema and video booksellers or order direct from ED-VENTURE FILMS/BOOKS, P O Box 93841, Pasadena, CA 91109-3841 phone (818) 242-2189; fax (818) 242-8442

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Time Lapse = ‘Power Shot’ “Time Lapse Primer” was written by Wayne Goldwyn soc who provided the thematic shots for Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers and Nixon which effectively used accelerated time passage in a symbolic rather than a literal use of imagery of universality to the surreal. Goldwyn wrote a compelling piece about the nuts and bolts creativity needed to achieve Stone’s vision which he described as “a contrast of sanity and madness.” One needs only to view the DVD of Nixon to see the so-called ‘power shot’ of the US Capitol as it looms over the city like “the nucleus of an atom surrounded by randomly careening electrons which were the rapidly moving vehicles at dusk, creating a stars and stripes effect to the shot. That symbolic image of the Capitol as the power center of the nation remaining stoic above the chaos that was Watergate” was achieved in Goldwyn’s amazing shot. Even if you missed reading this article back in 1996 it is posted on the SOC website: http://SOC .org/opcam/09_fw9697/mg09_timelps.html

Moy Aerial Camera 1908 When was the first handheld camera invented and what kind of camera was it? David Samuelson contributed a great article about the invention of the Moy Aerial Camera patented in England in 1908. Why was a handheld camera invented and patented? It seems that in the early 1900s the Admirals of His Majesty’s Royal Navy decided to send a camera up in a hydrogen-filled gas balloon to take pictures of the German fleet. As Samuelson wrote, “The early results were not entirely successful. In the first place the balloon basket chose its own direction in which to face depending upon which way the wind was blowing, making it difficult to keep the hand-cranked camera, which was attached firmly to a stand, pointing constantly at the ships.” Furthermore, in the balloon it took two cameramen to operate. “One to hold and aim the camera and the other to crank it via a flexible drive shaft at the required steady rate of 16 frames per second,” Samuelson related. But Moy and Bastie didn’t stop there. In order to facilitate quick magazine reloads (about 10 seconds) they invented an interchangeable, internal displacement type film magazine with a preformed loop, the precursor to what is widely used in certain cameras today.

Star Wars Sharpie

Vol 7, No 1 – 1997 – 80 pages

New Prez ’97 1997 was the year Stan McClain took over the reins of the SOC. Stan and Bill Hines coedited the July/December edition of the magazine. Stan edited the four ensuing issues.

Indy Woes Director/cinematographer Bill Molina soc (our longtime treasurer) wrote of his triumphs and travails during the filming of his low budget movie Where Truth Lies starring John Savage, Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City) and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange). Molina takes the reader through a labyrinth of compromise, payroll delays (the crew walked that day), illness and scheduling problems that forced actors to film key scenes at 5 a.m. “That turn-around altered the performance of the actors and the performance of the crew too,” sighed Molina. Bill’s piece detailing the experience of working on an independent is truly insightful if not disconcerting. He wrote, “The original script was titled Hysteria, which production embraced as an omen!”

In a galaxy a long long time ago…well in 1976, Star Wars was in production with much of its work completed in a black-draped warehouse in Van Nuys, California by special effects technicians Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and John Dykstra of ILM. David Robman, former SOC president told his tale of an errant Sharpie that almost ruined a $5,000 matte painting of the planet Tatooine and how his job was saved by storyboard artist Joe Johnston, who later went on to direct Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Jumanji.

Leonard’s Mitchell L Sprague Anderson delved into the history of one of the most famous cameras on earth— The Leonard! Never heard of it? Anderson explains, “On September 13, 1917 John Leonard walked through the doors of the Static Club (soon to be the ASC), shook hands with president Charles Rosher, stepped in front of the membership and demonstrated the prototype of this soon to be famous 35mm camera.” Then what happened to it? Two years later Leonard sold his designs to Henry Boger and George Mitchell who used Leonard’s work as the heart of their new machine—The Mitchell Standard.

The Sins of the Father… An article by Owen Marsh soc titled “Show Business is My Life” concerned among other things his difficulties getting into the camera union after a stint in the Korean War. Many people were denied access into the most difficult union in the business but Marsh’s account was unique. Seems that his father was part of the American Society of Cinematographers in 1932, when a seminal decision was made to cross the strike line of the IATSE, bringing an end to a bitter studio strike. As head of Local 659 Herb Aller was in the powerful position to veto new members. Mr Aller, meeting a young Owen Marsh at union headquarters said, “You’re Ollie Marsh’s boy, aren’t you? I’ll tell you something kid, as long as I run this union you will never have a job in any camera department west of the Mississippi.” And that was just the beginning of Marsh’s adventures in Hollywood which he delineates with great humor and aplomb in his entertaining book Parking Lots I’ve Eaten In, from which by the way, he bestows all profits on the SOC’s adopted charity, The Eye Care Clinic at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. The book is required reading for anyone interested in anecdotal Hollywood and available by writing to Owen at 235 Munsel Creek Loop, Florence, Oregon 97439. (By the way, Owen was finally admitted into Local #659 and had a very long and distinguished career.)

Inimitable Ernie Ernie Reed soc, currently 2nd vice president, told of his experiences in underwater filming around Catalina Island where he grew up, in the article “An Islander’s Odyssey.” Ernie is one of the most affable guys you’d ever want to know and a great storyteller as well. By the way, those great photo banners that showcase SOC members at our various events are the result of Ernie’s efforts.

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THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Raising the Bell

Vol 6, No 2 – 1996 – 72 pages

Two books by William E Hines, soc: OPERATING CINEMATOGRAPHY for FILM & VIDEO — “...includes a wide

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Star Wars Sharpie

Vol 7, No 1 – 1997 – 80 pages

New Prez ’97 1997 was the year Stan McClain took over the reins of the SOC. Stan and Bill Hines coedited the July/December edition of the magazine. Stan edited the four ensuing issues.

Ferra Flex Mini Cam System ®

35mm film reflex movie cameras with crystal 3-60 fps video or optical

For more Bike mount 14mm information go to ferraflexminicam.com or email Mike at ferraflex@aol.com

FX-201 200 ft. (7”x 8” x 18”) PV 35mm anamorphic

Surf Housing Crash Housing (8”x 9” x 12”)

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THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Dive Into This Our cover article “Skydiving Cinematography” by Tom Sanders soc catapulted the reader into the air to explain the intricacies and difficulties of filming sequences such as those for the James Bond epic The Living Daylights (remember that great pre-credits mid air fight with Richard “Jaws” Kiel vs Roger Moore?) as well as Point Break with Patrick Swayze and more. Sanders explains that the very first skydiver was Frenchman André-Jacques Garnerin in 1797—when his hot air balloon caught fire 700 meters in the air he used his homemade parachute thus saving his life.

More Highlights

Scaling Everest with imax

Tyler Camera hosted an aerial cinematography workshop for the SOC. Longtime camera rental house Clairmont Camera was profiled in an informative article. Rick Mitchell wrote “VistaVision and Technirama,” Part V in his Widescreen Revolution series.

Vol 7, No 2 – 1998 – 88 pages

Vol 7, No 3 – 1998 – 80 pages

Contact: Ralston

Steadicam Stress 2

In our January/June 1998 issue Stan McClain conducted an informative Q&A with four-time Academy Award winner Ken Ralston whose visual effects work on such films as Return of the Jedi, Cocoon, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Forrest Gump revolutionized cinematic imagery. Ralston explained in detail the mechanics and artistry achieved in filming the incredible scene in Contact where Jody Foster runs up the stairs, turns a corner, goes into the bathroom and when she reaches to open the mirrored door of the medicine cabinet we realize that the entire scene has taken place within the mirror’s reflection!

Contact: Stump In an accompanying article David Stump soc explained his involvement in creating the model work/effects photography of Contact’s Pod Catch miniature using sophisticated motion control and VistaVision cameras. “The voodoo involved in synchronizing cameras with three different shutter angles, three different capping shutters, and three different exposure times was awesome,” Stump said.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Included in this issue was “The Steadicam and its Forces on the Human Body Part II” by C Curtis Howard III, DC who again wired our two Steadicam operators. He found many interesting results such as: twisting while wearing the Steadicam increased muscle activity in the lower back by over 275%; moving the camera to arm’s length increased muscle activity in the lower back by over 900% vs the camera held at the operator’s side! A 70 lb camera held close to the operator’s body recorded 90 microvolts. The same camera at arm’s length uses approximately 900mv which is equal to 700 lbs thereby creating significant muscle strain. Dr Howard then explains, as did Dr Saltman in an earlier article, the proper techniques for avoiding back injury while operating cameras.

The July/December 1998 issue, edited by Stan McClain and featuring the first of 12 covers designed by Mark Leins, offered a fascinating four-part article detailing the imax filming of the ascent of Mt Everest in 1996. They used the largest film format on earth—imax—to capture the world’s tallest mountain—29,028 feet above sea level. The film was produced and directed by Greg MacGillivray, with David Breashears as operator/mountaineer. As you can imagine the logistics were nearly insurmountable, as it required 80 cases of camera equipment, yet this courageous troupe of adventurers was able to not only successfully climb to the summit but also record Everest for the world’s eyes to behold. Here’s one short excerpt from the series: “To lighten the IMAX Mark II camera more than 20 pounds from its original 75 pounds required the replacement of the aluminum outside panels with magnesium. Many of the big pieces in the camera such as the motor, circuit boards, digital display and flywheel were replaced with smaller and lighter components. A major change was omitting the 5-lb flywheel, replaced by electronic circuits (Pulse-WidthModulation) to steady vibrations and to regulate ramp-up and deceleration. Mechanism tolerances needed to be ‘loosened up’ because at –40°F the movement would freeze up. Additionally, Kodak’s Estar-based film stocks were used to guarantee there would be no film breaks due to the bitter-cold conditions.”

We Did It First This magazine has always covered our Annual Lifetime Achievement Awards Banquet in great detail. Our 10th Annual event was highlighted in this edition with 36 photographs and 8 pages of text. Incidentally, it is interesting to note that the SOC’s awards banquet preceded that of the ASC by five years!

Going Under Peter Bonilla soc contributed an article about the Society’s first ever Underwater Workshop sponsored by HydroFlex with the participation of Photo-Sonics.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

More Highlights

Scaling Everest with imax

Vol 7, No 2 – 1998 – 88 pages

Vol 7, No 3 – 1998 – 80 pages

Contact: Ralston

Steadicam Stress 2

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Going Under Peter Bonilla soc contributed an article about the Society’s first ever Underwater Workshop sponsored by HydroFlex with the participation of Photo-Sonics.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Vol 8, No 1 – 1999 – 72 pages

CGI Times In our issue January/June 1999 Bill Hines picked up on the CGI theme with “From Concept to Composite—Planning and Applying Computer Graphics,” which offered readers an insider’s perspective of the Visual Effects Supervisor.

See the complete line of jackets, shirts, hats, belt buckle, soft briefcase and the new Hawaiian shirt (pictured) (not all items available in all sizes)

Write to: Society of CameraOperators, P.O.Box 2006, Toluca Lake, CA 91610 or order online: www.filmtools.com

Gyro Time Stan McClain wrote about various aerial camera platforms with special attention paid to the Wescam he used on the features Wind, Flatliners, and Firebirds with Nicolas Cage. Stan blends the technical with the creative aspects of aerial filmmaking. Here’s a slice of the technical: “All of the existing 35mm gyrostabilized ‘Ball Mounts’ (Wescam, Gyrosphere and Spacecam) work on the same basic principals that involve gyros which spin at a high speed to control the roll, pitch and yaw axes,” wrote McClain. “A fourth gyro relates to the vertical axis and helps further stabilize the camera platform when acceleration, deceleration and G forces from banking and turning an aircraft, boat or high speed insert car are applied to the overall mount…the big difference in operating a gyro-stabilized camera and a conventional camera is that the gyro-stabilized camera remains aimed to a point in infinity when the camera platform is moved.” Further technical explanations are detailed by McClain as well as operating tips citing examples when using this specialized equipment.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Wayne’s Washington Monument Wayne Goldwyn (www.mrtimelapse.com) was offered an incredible opportunity to photograph the structural restoration of the nation’s iconic tribute to the first president of the US for the documentary The Washington Monument: It Stands for All, which can be seen on The Discovery Channel. Wayne’s article is so chock-full of logistical and arcane technicalities that it boggles the minds of neophyte filmmakers. Wayne asked all the right questions during pre-production which was necessary given that there are no reshoots in time-lapse. He had to determine not only camera positions but also housing and protection considerations of the cameras during this two-year shoot. Using his trusty Mitchell cameras and the invaluable Norris LPC (Light Priority Control) device Goldwyn firmly mounted his cameras at optimum positions bearing in mind hours of direct sunlight from the camera’s point of view (west-facing), composition, optical glass windows New Prez ’99a installed in the ‘camera rooms,’ frame rate intervals, David Robman soc in office. and so many more logistical strategies. Regarding Vol 8, No 2 – 1998 – 84 pages the LPC and its pivotal role in Goldwyn’s projects he writes, “This device does not adjust the lens iris, it adjusts the motor speed per frame, or what we call The Greatest Name in Color the camera’s shutter speed. It does this rotation speed correction in 1/1000th-of-a-second increments, incorKim Sherwood explained Technicolor and the history of dye transfer technology in an article written for us in 1999 which traced the roots of porating and communicating with a modified spot the company from its first feature The Gulf Between (1917) that utilized meter which is aimed at an illumination reference a camera capable of exposing two frames of film at the same time via a target of choice—in this case the Monument itself.” prism divider. The black and white negatives, one sensitive to red and Wayne’s two-year effort, basically amounting to one to green were converted to black & white positives and run on a one second of footage per day, yielded the 6 minutes special projector with two apertures and two lenses, equipped with red of footage seen within the documentary. and green filters. That was called Process #1. Cut to 1936 where The Hollywood Reporter listed 45 productions by the major studios, yet only one was shooting in color. Dr Herbert Other Highlights Kalmus founder of Technicolor remained undaunted, moving forward with Process #4 and the famous three-strip camera, working in earnest StarrBike 3 is unveiled as a versatile and very to make a name for Technicolor. mobile camera platform. Rick Mitchell’s Widescreen Sherwood wrote, “Technicolor cameramen were teamed with studio series detailed “Some Technical Problems Presented cameramen to operate the 3-strip cameras more efficiently. The laboraby the Introduction of Widescreen Processes.” tory provided color consulting for set, wardrobe and makeup. New developments resulted in improved lighting. Research and development resulted in a faster film with better color rendition, less graininess and sharper definition. All of this news had an immediate impact on color cinematography.” The results a few years later were Academy Award nominations for The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind. Also in 1939 Technicolor received an Oscar statuette “for its contributions in successfully bringing three-color feature production to the screen.” Technicolor soon became known as The Greatest Name in Color. Below: SOC pins used for fund-raising; sales benefit

Panavision which celebrates its 50th year of filmmaking this year, was showcased by Rick Mitchell in an article entitled “Panavision and the Return of Wide Film” and accompanied by gorgeous production stills. Mitchell wrote, “In the Fall of 1954 MGM and Panavision entered into a joint venture to develop not only a new 65mm filming process that would yield higher quality 35mm release prints, but also improved anamorphic lenses for 35mm cinematography. In 1958, Panavision announced the availability of a new non-anamorphic 65/70mm system it had developed. “First to use it was producer Rowland V Lee for his intended road show production entitled The Big Fisherman (1959) photographed by Lee Garmes asc, where in some scenes he used as much as 10,000 foot-candles of light to get extreme depth; others have called it one of the most beautiful color films they have ever seen,” reported Mitchell. Disney archivist Scott McQueen is currently restoring it.

DP/Op Relations 2 January/June 1999 edition debuted a continuing series of articles showcasing the Camera Operator/ Director of Photography relationship which to date have included SOC operators & DPs: Ray Stella & Dean Cundey asc; Doug Knapp & Marvin Rush asc (Jan/Jun ’99); George LaFountaine asc (Jul/ Dec ’99); Stephen Campanelli & Jack N Green asc (Jan/Jun ’00); Anne Misawa & Georgia Packard; Dan Kneece & Ueli Steiger (Jul/Dec ’00); Ross Judd & Stephen Lighthill asc (Spr/Sum ’01); DP Larry Blumenthal & various camera operators (F/W ’01); Vincent F Contarino (Fear Factor), Andrew Rowlands & Michael Ballhaus asc, Don Morgan asc, Bruno Delbonnel (Amélie) (Spr/Sum ’02); Charles Papert & John Inwood; Ron Vargas asc; Denis Lenoir asc, aFc (Boomtown pilot) & various operators (F/W ’02); Gary Baum & Tony Askins asc (Spr/Sum ’03). These accounts of collaboration conceived by Sean Fairburn soc and continued by Georgia Packard soc offers a glimpse into how our communication and artistic skills serve to keep us working as successful camera operators.

the Eye Care Clinic of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Bob Feller, Howard Block, Betty White at SOC Awards.

1984

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1989

1991

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1996

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

2000

david frederick soc

Australian Chris Moon soc who has served as president of the southern branch of the Australian Cinematographers Society brought our readership up-to-date regarding the state of filmmaking in Australia (it’s much busier down-under now) and his role in the creation of a comprehensive set of safety guidelines, which shouldn’t be ignored no matter where crews shoot around the world.

Panavision Leads the Way

soc archives

Man From Oz

Vol 8, No 1 – 1999 – 72 pages

See the complete line of jackets, shirts, hats, belt buckle, soft briefcase and the new Hawaiian shirt (pictured) (not all items available in all sizes)

Write to: Society of CameraOperators, P.O.Box 2006, Toluca Lake, CA 91610 or order online: www.filmtools.com

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

the Eye Care Clinic of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Bob Feller, Howard Block, Betty White at SOC Awards.

1984

1986

1987

1989

1991

1993

1996

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

2000

david frederick soc

Panavision Leads the Way

soc archives

Man From Oz

All the News…

Vol 9, No 1 – 2000 – 64 pages

New Prez ’99b Georgia Packard soc in office.

“Life on the Streets” written by John Orland soc chronicles his foray into a ‘film at eleven’ career behind the news camera in Los Angeles upon arriving in 1960. Orland’s career path gives hope to readers who wish to work behind the camera, explaining how he started, knowing nothing of camerawork, having come from the prestigious Goodman Theater School in Chicago. Once Orland was able to get his feet wet he went on to film such hallmark events as The Beatles’ arrival in Los Angeles, Robert Kennedy’s assassination and much more.

Farewell, Bill

Vol 9, No 2 – 2000 – 64 pages

Member Profiles SOC Treasurer Bill Molina & Bonnie Blake soc were profiled.

With solemnity we published our July/December 2000 edition. Our cover paid homage to our most dedicated member —Bill Hines, one of our founding fathers and the spine of the organization, who passed away January 10, 2000. A longtime volunteer and member of NABET and IATSE, Bill was cinematographer, teacher, benefactor and accomplished author. I could go on and on with regard to how special Bill was to us and the Society at large, but suffice it to say that having known Bill for less than a decade, his passing left a hole in my heart. Bill also left a legacy of accomplishment that has helped to make the Society what it is today.

Cream Always Rises The Operating Cameraman has always showcased new and innovative equipment utilized by our members and readers. One such device, Hot Gears was showcased in our January/June 2000 issue. Mehran Salamati’s operator-friendly ‘smart remote system’ takes camera operating technique to new heights, from its innovative motion control software to its ‘soft limits’ function for precise pan & tilt stops. Salamati earned the SOC’s highest honor in 2001—The Technical Achievement Award.

Italian POV Italian operator Massimiliano Trevis explained to readers the contrast between operating in Italy and other regions in Europe. Trevis has worked on everything from Italian TV series’ to Julie Taymor’s Titus.

SOC member Sal Iridi wrote a primer on “Large Format Cinematography” that spanned a century of filmmaking. Beginning with the 51mm Latham Edioloscope, up to and including the more recent IMAX (image maximum) Island of the Sharks and the first fully digital 3D, 15/70 Iwerks/nWave Pictures film Encounter in the Third Dimension. Aridi presented his view that “Cinematographers instinctively recognize the importance of composition and accord the utmost care. Composition for ‘large format’ cinematography requires a different set of parameters than standard 35mm widescreen. For example, in conventional theatrical or television production the audience is not required to utilize a great deal of head movement to view the entire screen. Not the case with ‘large format’ where a good deal of head movement, up/down and side-to-side is required to take in the complete spectacle. Therefore careful placement of key images in the composition is paramount for optimum viewing impact.”

Past president Stan McClain soc wrote an article, “Aerial Cinematography at Night” where he told of his experience shooting Drop Zone (1994) starring Wesley Snipes. “When shooting aircraft (from aircraft) at night it’s important to use as little light as possible…many airliners are painted with a high gloss Emeron finish, the most common color being white. With the fuselage being tubular, the single source back light creates a natural rim light along the entire length of the roof. This can create an unwanted miniature effect which in essence draws attention to the artificial light source; but that can be reduced by tacking the plane’s paint finish with a very thin coat of washable flat gray with a neutral density of a .15 or less,” wrote McClain. “This subtle technique will help keep the plane from reflecting too much light and replicate a more natural moonlight effect.”   THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

“Life on Mars, a Distant Location” in our Spring/ Summer 2001 edition was a ‘Martian chronicles’ of sorts. The story chronicled the shooting of John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars. It was shot 3 years before this year’s landings of the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity whose cameras whirred while focused on soil and rock—not quite as interesting as Carpenter’s images of Natasha Henstridge and Ice Cube, human colonists on Mars who must be rescued after becoming possessed by vengeful Martian ghosts. This bizarre world was viewed through the lens of operator George B Stephenson soc.

Vol 10, No 1 – 2001 – 64 pages

Director’s Cut Robby Benson’s POV.

It’s Not Just Larger

Sky at Night Poses New Problems for Cinematographers

Mars Rover on Earth

Issue Highlights The new Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland; an update from Allan Lum Li on robotic cameras; how to plan in advance for celestial light sources.

G Forces 2: Talking Turkey

Vol 10, No 2 – 2001 – 64 pages

New Technology This issue spotlighted innovative designs and new equipment from Innovision and Rollvision, Hot Gears, SuperTechnocrane, The Slider and AquaCam. Several workshops allowed SOC members to get hands-on. An article about VidSchtik explains how it gives a wireless preview of a shot, which can be of enormous use to the director and crew.

Dynamic photography accompanied compelling text by Director of Photography Laurie Gilbert whose narrative piece “Turkish Stars: Supersonic Heroes” brought the reader into the cockpit of F5a & F5b aircraft pulling up to 6Gs at times during this 45-day shoot. Documenting the 6-plane formation’s aerobatic maneuvers in celebration of the 90th anniversary in 1991 of the Turkish Air Force, Gilbert explained the training needed to allow him into the cockpit with his handheld camera as well as various camera mounts. The film took top honors for cinematography at the Asian Technical & Creative Awards in Singapore that attracted 1000 entries from 13 countries!

They Said It! 2 A panel of SOC members hosted a conference program at ShowBiz Expo. The topic was “Camera Operating and the Vision of New Technology.” Michael Chambliss said, “Focus pulling is a Zen art of anticipation and reaction… The best operators will pull off a shot no matter how awry things actually go when ‘Action!’ is called.” Guy Bee declared that “communications skills learned as an operator help me now as a director.” Denny Hall reminded everyone not to play politics, which might jeopardize the welfare of the crew.”

Film Schools A College of Santa Fe film school for high school girls was showcased in this issue. The North Carolina School of the Arts was featured in the Jan/ June 2000 issue; the article was by David E Elkins, soc. Dave writes, “The School of Filmmaking stresses the collaborative nature of filmmaking and the necessity of working as team member.” In the July/Dec ’99 issue, Bill Hines wrote about Dov Simens and the Hollywood Film Institute. Bill was planning a series about film schools, but only had time to write the first one before he passed away.

Childrens Hospital The opening celebration of the new Gateway entrance for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and their Eye Care Clinic marked the 100 year anniversary of the hospital. The Society of Operating Cameramen is listed on the benefactor plaque, in honor of all the contributions we’ve made over the years. Vision, the essential ingredient that we as camera operators use in our work, intrinsically bonds us to children with vision problems. Our organization contributes its full support to the Eye Care Clinic of Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. Often the children we help come to our holiday events and meet Santa and Mrs Santa. Several of the children have been featured in the magazine and had photos in the banquet books at the Awards Banquets. One of the children, now a young adult appeared at one of our Banquets to express her appreciation to Society members in person.

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

All the News…

Vol 9, No 1 – 2000 – 64 pages

New Prez ’99b Georgia Packard soc in office.

Farewell, Bill

Vol 9, No 2 – 2000 – 64 pages

Member Profiles SOC Treasurer Bill Molina & Bonnie Blake soc were profiled.

Vol 10, No 1 – 2001 – 64 pages

Director’s Cut Robby Benson’s POV.

It’s Not Just Larger

Sky at Night Poses New Problems for Cinematographers

Mars Rover on Earth

Issue Highlights The new Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland; an update from Allan Lum Li on robotic cameras; how to plan in advance for celestial light sources.

G Forces 2: Talking Turkey

Vol 10, No 2 – 2001 – 64 pages

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Vol 11, No 1 – 2002 – 64 pages

The cover of our Spring/ Summer 2002 edition featured a production still from Gangs of New York that served to profile Steadicam operator Andrew Rowlands soc and director of photography Michael Ballhaus asc which continued our series showcasing the camera operator/director of photography relationship. Donald A Morgan asc was also profiled with his camera crew from My Wife & Kids.

French POV Bruno Delbonnel cinematographer of Amélie spoke of his experiences on that film and his photographic techniques and his insistence on operating the camera himself stating, “In France nobody wants to pay two people to do one job.” Perhaps he can save the producers even more money by marking the actors’ feet as the director places them during blocking, and loading film as his gaffer lights the set?

From SOC Archives

Lance Fisher, soc

Vol 12, No 1 – 2003 – 64 pages Tracy Langan

Amazing Race

Vol 11, No 2 – 2002 – 64 pages

Editor George B Stephenson worked on the CBS reality series The Amazing Race II which involved “not only 16 camera crews, half a dozen lipstick cameras, half a dozen Sony Eluras, scores of support personnel in a dozen countries, but 16 destinations on four continents in 26 days!” Stephenson added, “About the only time the camera crews got to sleep in duration was on long-distance flights. Sleep deprivation weighed heavily on the physical and mental capacities of the race teams and camera crews alike. There were times when a crew would check into a luxury hotel only to be told they had to film an incoming team or teams and never make it back to the hotel until the next day at check out time. Beds never slept in, showers never taken, bags never unpacked!” Crews were never in one place more than 36 hours. And we think that we move fast on our sets!

Peter Bonilla, soc

Owen Marsh, soc

Safety Issues and Your Health Fall/Winter 2002 marked the first installment in a series of articles covering ‘chemicals and dusts’ on sets authored by Carol A Wetovich. Who among us hasn’t been exposed to high levels of smoke, dust, fog, fuller’s earth or other airborne elements introduced on the set to create an atmosphere that aims to create an artistic photographic effect? Wetovich as a camera operator paid a heavy price 8 years ago when her health was compromised on the set of Spin City while filming a sequence that relied on airborne materials—the consequential effect was permanent lung damage. She writes from the heart in her series of articles which outline specific substances that kill upwards of 25,000 Americans annually. Included in this informative article is a list of often-used chemicals on film sets, their toxicity levels, and very importantly, protection devices that can be worn to protect us from harm. Closing this article Wetovich said, “In order to prevent illnesses stemming from workplace hazards it is the right of every employee and union representative to demand a copy of the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) on special effects products.” This article and her companion articles entitled “Artificial Smoke, Fog and Haze” (Spring/Summer 2003) and “Pyrotechnic Special Effects” (Fall/Winter 2003) are must-reading for everybody on the set—they should be required reading for all production companies as well.

Stephanie Benson

Douglas Knapp, soc

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Here Come the Puphedz!

Why Operate? Veteran SOC member Paul Babin wrote an insightful commentary regarding the role of the camera operator on the set. Here’s one of the many discerning items that Paul shared: “I’ve maintained for a longtime that the position of camera operator is one of the best for learning how to direct a movie. We are always in earshot of vital decision making. We must execute the wishes of the director of photography and the director in a manner that leaves both happy. We have to interact with the actors, persuade, honor and encourage them without interfering with the relationship they have with the director.” Paul’s overall viewpoint is not to place the camera operator on a pedestal or simply spotlight our role on the set, but strive to teach tolerance towards those on the set who perhaps don’t belong there (ever heard of the Peter Principle?), or address the hubris of those both above- and below-the-line. The job can be exasperating at times but Paul gets through his day by ascribing to the wisdom of St Francis of Assisi. It’s a very positive and witty article.

The PUPHEDZ—What, you say, is that? Well, it’s a zany troupe of wooden puppet performers who travel the countryside in their theatre-on-wheels cart pulled along by Pjörn (actor Clayton Martinez), the only live-action character in the film; directed by Jürgen Heimann and meticulously photographed by SOC member Mark Leins utilizing Canon’s XL-1. Each episode (available at www.puphedz. com) involves the puppets performing an extremely skewed, darkly humored adaptation of a classic horror story like Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart” which the moviemakers entitled The TattleTale Heart. PUPHEDZ are students of the Grand Guignol school of theatre—a healthy amount of sappy puppet blood drips between the laughter. Check it out online or in our Spring/Summer 2003 edition where you will also learn how Mark not only filled many roles in the production of the movie but also created the DVD packaging and the onscreen menus, with a little help from his friend, Michael Chambliss soc. PUPHEDZ has been making the rounds of the festival circuit and was honored for Best Animation at Screamfest LA and the Cine Golden Eagle award for Best Non-Broadcast.

Get Telecine Right Keeping abreast of technical innovations has always been important to our readers, so George Stephenson interviewed DP James Bartle regarding his invention the Picscan Film Leader System™ which “allows an exact footprint from your film negative to telecine tape transfer permitting telecine to read base plus fog density… a key element in the conversion of the negative’s density to RGB of the digital imaging system, and ensures no excessive ‘lift’ or compression which may lose delicate diffusion or on-set smoke atmospheres.” Bartle continues, “Telecine systems have no set calibrations like film lab timers have with their timing lights. With this system you can use telecine gamma as a virtual printer light and at any exposure index you prefer.” It’s a real-world tool that you can learn more about at www.PicscanFLS.com.

Oh, My Aching Neck Spring/Summer 2003 included an article entitled “Focus On…Pain Relief” by Darcia Dexter (Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner), a continuation in our series of health-related articles by medical professionals. “In 2001 first assistant Dave Negrin finally yielded to double fusion neck surgery after years of chronic pain…he experienced great relief after the surgery and through recovery; but once he was back on the set he found the same aches and pains he had before surgery creeping up on him by the end of the day,” said Dexter. “At the recommendation of another assistant he sought lessons with a Feldenkrais practitioner who helped him become aware of the ‘movement habits’ that perhaps led him into trouble in the first place.” Additionally it was Negrin’s suggestion that led to introductory Feldenkrais classes being offered by the Motion Picture Wellness Program on a quarterly basis. This article, once again ‘members helping members’ outlines various techniques and exercises to prevent and alleviate pain from work-related injury. Dexter offers simple techniques and photos that illustrate exercises to either prevent or eliminate physical discomfort from pain and injury.

They Said It! 3 Georgia Packard’s “Operators on Operating” compiled some of the best quotes about operating and cinematography from highly regarded operators and DPs, including Fraker, Kovacs, Daviau, Zsigmond, Chapman, Burum and Wexler. One partial quote regarding DPs who wish to also operate on a show comes from John John Bailey asc Bailey asc. “The degree to which a cinematographer or a director becomes a camera operator is exactly the degree to which he or she is reduced as an effective artist.” Well said, John! courtesy of John Bailey asc

DP/Op Relations 3

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Vol 11, No 1 – 2002 – 64 pages

From SOC Archives

Lance Fisher, soc

Vol 12, No 1 – 2003 – 64 pages Tracy Langan

Amazing Race

Vol 11, No 2 – 2002 – 64 pages

Peter Bonilla, soc

Owen Marsh, soc

Stephanie Benson

Douglas Knapp, soc

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Here Come the Puphedz!

DP/Op Relations 3

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

New Prez ’03 David Diano soc our new president opened with “A Letter From the President” introducing himself to the SOC membership and to the readers of the magazine. He also sent the standard request for volunteers—once. By the way, the magazine may now be purchased at major film studios and is distributed at many newsstands and bookstores nationwide.

Advertisers’ Index Arri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 BandPro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Buffalo Den . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Century Optics. . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Chapman-Leonard. . . . . . . . . . . 19 Cindy Macho & Assoc. . . . . . . 22 Cinebags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Cinegear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Cinematography Electronics. . . . 41 Cinequipt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 CineVideoTech. . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Clairmont Camera . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Doggicam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Eastman Kodak. . . . . . . back cover Ed-Venture Films/Books. . . . . . . 52 Ferra Flex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Film & Video Equipment . . . . . . 27 Fisher, JL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Fuji Film. . . . . . . inside front cover

Fujinon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Glidecam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Hot Gears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 HydroFlex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Isaia & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Microdolly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Nettmann. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 OConnor Engineering. . . . . . . . . 3 Oppenheimer Camera. . . . . . . . 45 Oppenheimer Cine Rental. . . . . 55 Otto Nemenz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Pace Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Panavision. . . . . inside back cover Premier Funding. . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Schneider Optics . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Schumacher Camera. . . . . . . . . 37 SOCWear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Technicolor / CFI. . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Widescreen Festival . . . . . . . . . . 6

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

What We Print

“Life, Death and Moksha” tells the story of filmmaker Gayle Ferraro’s vision of documenting all the historical and religious aspects of life, death and moksha (enlightenment) in Kashi, a city in India. Kashi, also known as Benares or Varanasi, is described by those of the Hindu faith as the ‘most sacred spot on earth’ because it is very close to where Buddha preached his first sermon. This ‘City of Light’ is where death is a very big business—“on an average day more than 200 bodies are transported on litters through the narrow winding streets to the cremation centers of the legendary Burning Ghats,” writes Laurie Gilbert soc. The article is fascinating reading and has some of the most compelling photographs ever to grace the pages of The Operating Cameraman.

3-D or Not 3-D… Rick Mitchell provided yet another informative article, this one titled “A Brief History of 3-D” which told of the first ‘anaglyph’ glasses (left eye red, right eye blue) in 1915! “Five years after the 1839 invention of photography, stereoscopic photographs and methods of viewing them were introduced and became the rage during the rest of the century via the use of handheld viewers. These were the forerunners of the Tru-View and View-Master 3-D viewers that became popular in the ’50s,” wrote Mitchell. “At the turn of the 20th century Kodak among others introduced a simple 3-D camera for amateur use. In ensuing years such notables as Winston Churchill and Harold Lloyd were enthusiastic stereo still photographers.” Mitchell’s comprehensive 13-page article, accompanied by 12 vintage photographs, courses through the decades of the successful processes as well as the ill fated. Not content to regale the reader with the complete history of 3-D photography and exhibition Mitchell added a sidebar article entitled “Film Processes for 3-D” that included information about laboratories CFI and Technicolor, film manufacturers Eastman Kodak and Agfa, as well as detailed information on the movies The Stranger Wore a Gun and This is Cinerama.

Heritage of cinema has been and remains the c ornerstone of the magazine with numerous articles by Wesley R Lambert and Rick Mitchell keeping cinema history alive for our readers. Our series of insightful articles over the years revealed the genesis of the equipment that has evolved to capture images on both celluloid and magnetic media. This magazine serves the membership not only by showcasing activities, but also by profiling our outstanding members and introducing the latest equipment available to the industry at large. It also reminds us of how far we’ve come, by looking at equipment of the past. Our membership is truly global in scope yet close-knit with the sharing of knowledge. Articles ‘below the byline’ are written from the heart as nobody is paid for their efforts.

Your Name in Print As with the articles by SOC members Seigo Sakamoto, Rick Garbutt and Chris Moon, the editors enjoy receiving articles penned by various operators from countries outside the USA. Why not take the time to offer an article about your experiences on the set for our readers worldwide? The editors would also be delighted with articles written locally. You don’t have to leave the country to be able to contribute the tale of your experiences to the magazine.

From Depths to Heights From airborne articles by Laurie Gilbert and Stan McClain to underwater articles by Pete Romano and Jeff Cree The Operating Cameraman has camera operating, cinematography, historical equipment and events covered top to bottom. Because of our diverse and experienced membership there is no doubt that the Society of CameraOperators stands as one of the most prestigious industry-related organizations in the world.

Diversity Brings Enjoyment The diverse background and experience of our membership is such that a satisfying experience is sure to be had at membership meetings and events aside from reading about them on these pages.

They Make It Happen

I was the editor for three issues while SOC President. Lynn Lanning came aboard with me as our Design & Production guru and remains with us to this day. Her longtime dedication has resulted in a first-class publication that the entire SOC can be proud of. We’d be remiss here if we didn’t mention those individuals who’ve helped make this magazine what it is in 2004: Starting with our first editor and former president Randall Robinson, Advertising/Sales Director Bill Hines, Managing Editor Doug Knapp, Production Designer Lynda Modaff, Design & Production staff Mary Ann Glicksman, Hal Glicksman, Ken Jewett, Katy Colleen O’Harra; Electronic Imaging by Lightning Process, Digital Imaging by John R Clemons, Production Coordinator The Ingle Group, Administrative Assistant Diane Penilla, Stan McClain who edited it after I did, current editor George Stephenson, Assistant Editor Georgia Packard, Advertising Director Dan Dodd, All of our treasurers who’ve had to deal with invoices, payments and cost analysis of each and every project., And last but not least, all of the contributors and photographers who selflessly provide content to The Operating Cameraman. They say it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a village to produce a magazine, and this  is our village. You are part of it.

That’s All (for now), Folks! Our now bi-annual publication commenced in 1991. This Spring/Summer 2004 anthology edition which you hold in your hands is intended to encapsulate to the best of my ability a detailed overview of articles within every edition of our journal. If you’ve missed any of our 22 magazines in the past you can rest assured that this article touches on many of the highlights. If certain articles sparked your interest to learn more, back editions are available by contacting the SOC at (818) 382-7070 or email: opcam@soc.org I hope that you’ve taken pleasure in reading this special article covering our entire collection of issues to date. We look forward to the next 25 years of knowledge, camaraderie and artistry which will be chronicled in future publications. —Michael Frediani, soc

Photo of bob campi; courtesy of bob campi

Vol 12, No 2 – 2003 – 64 pages

Photojournalist Bob Campi wrote “Witness to War,” which detailed his coverage of world conflicts from Kosovo to Somalia and in 2003 the Persian Gulf. ‘War is hell’—a sentiment that Campi felt wherever his lenses faced strife-torn regions throughout the world. Campi wrote, “Over the years I have captured images that have brought forth an awareness of the horrors of war. For the people involved in these images, many with whom I personally shared their grief, it was my hope that through my photography the message gave them a conduit to the outside world.” Campi quotes photojournalist James Nachtwey: “The act of being an outsider aiming a camera can be a violation of humanity. The only way I can justify my role is to have respect for the other person’s predicament. The extent to which I do that is the extent that I become accepted by the other, and to that extent I can accept myself.”

Death and the Documentary

War is Hell

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

What We Print

They Make It Happen

Photo of bob campi; courtesy of bob campi

Vol 12, No 2 – 2003 – 64 pages

Death and the Documentary

War is Hell

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: Magazine Retrospective

Roster of the Society of CameraOperators Tom O Sanders Michael Santy Richard J Schaefer Gregory J Schmidt Chuck Schuman Philip Schwartz Bob Scott Alicia Craft Sehring Brad Shield Floris Sijbesma Osvaldo Silvera Jr Jamie Silverstein Philip Sindall Guy Skinner John Sosenko Mike Spodnik Sandy Spooner Edward B Springer Stephen St John Greg St Johns George B Stephenson David Stump Michael Stumpf Brian Sweeney James H Sweeney Bill Swinghamer Gene Talvin Stephen Tate David James Thompson Richard Tiedemann John Toll, ASC Tsuneyuki Tometaka John Trapman Massimiliano Trevis Jeffery J Tufano Chris Tufty Pernell Tyus Robert Ulland Joseph Urbanczyk Richard C van Nijnatten, MBKS Paul D Varrieur Bill Waldman Michael J Walker William Webb Aiken Weiss Kit Whitmore, CSC Brian Keith Wilcox Bill Williams Chad Wilson RL Wise Ian D Woolston-Smith Noel Adrian Wyatt Warren Yeager Elizabeth Ziegler

George Spiro Dibie, ASC Kevin Downey Paul A Duclos Bert Dunk, ASC John C Flinn III, ASC Mark Forman Peter F Frintrup Richard Garbutt James Garvey Harvey Genkins Wayne Goldwyn Al Gonzalez Phil Gries Wynn Hammer James W Hart Robert Hayes Anthony Hettinger John Hill Ken Hilmer Chris Hood Kent Hughes Jim Hunter Carrie Imai Gregory Irwin Chris Ishii John Chancellor Jennings Frank E Johnson, ASC Broderick Jones Douglas Kirkland Michael Klimchak Robert La Bonge George La Fountaine, ASC Thomas Lappin Stevan Larner, ASC Lee David Laska-Abbott Mark R Leins Alan J Levi Mark Levin Ilya Jo Lie-Nielsen Stephen Lighthill, ASC Jong Lin Roland J Luna David Mahlmann Duane C Manwiller Richard Marks Jim Matlosz Dr Ellen Matsumoto Ray McCort Nick McLean, Sr John McPherson, ASC Charles Minsky K Adriana Modlin Richard Mosier Joshua S Narins John Newby Nicholas Nizich Andrew Parke Randy Peck Matthew A Petrosky Ted Polmanski Serge Poupis Andrea Quaglio Udo Ravenstein Richard Rawlings Jr, ASC Marcia Reed Bill Reiter Brian D Reynolds David Rosner Marvin Rush, ASC Mehran Salamati Carl Martin Schumacher, Sr Robert Seaman Jan Sluchak Don Spiro

Owen Stephens Tara Summers Lieven Van Hulle Craig W Walsh Brian Watkins Haskell Wexler, ASC Shaun Wheeler Tony Yarlett Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC

Lou Schwartz Hal Shiffman Phil Stern Sven Walnum Ben Wolf

Associate David S Adelstein Samuel Ameen Gary Armstrong Peter Bonilla David Boyd Maja Broz Douglas Busby David S Campbell Bruce Cardozo Kirk Chiswell Stephen Mark Ciappetta Ed Clare Greg Collier Robert E Collins Richard P Crudo, ASC Christopher Dawson Ronald Deveaux David Dibble

OPE

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: SOC Roster

Honorary John Bailey, ASC James Burrows Dean Cundey, ASC Bruce Doering William A Fraker, ASC Jack N Green Ron Howard Ron Kelley Kathleen Kennedy-Marshall Jerry Lewis Rick Mitchell A Linn Murphree MD David Myers Jay Roth Steven Spielberg Robert A Torres George Toscas Roy Wagner, ASC Robert Wise Lifetime William E Hines

Retired Eugene Ashbrook Lou Barlia Rupert Benson Jr Bob Berry Al Bettcher James Blanford Howard Block Vee Bodrero Don Burch Phil Caplan Bruce Catlin Cliff Concialdi Jim Connell James A Dennett Sam Drummy Robert Feller Mike Ferra Gerald Perry Finnerman, ASC Jerry Fuller Gil Haimson Lutz Hapke Bob Keys Joseph Longo Steve Lydecker Owen Marsh Bob Marta Michael McClary Ron McManus Mike Meinardus Emmanuel Metaxas Ed Morey Sol Negrin, ASC King Nicholson John G Nogle Robert H Peebles Arnold Rich Sam Rosen Frank Ruttencutter Richard Salvatore

corporate Aerocrane Michael Sorensen ARRI Bill Russell Bexel Corporation John Keesee Birns & Sawyer, Inc Bill Meuer Century Precision Optics/ SCHNEIDER OPTICS, INC Bill Turner CFI Robert Dennis CHAPMAN & LEONARD STUDIOS Leonard T Chapman Christine J Huenergardt CLAIRMONT CAMERA Denny Clairmont DELUXE LABORATORIES Steve De Anda Doggicam Gary Thieltges EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY Curtis E Jones FilmTools Stan McClain FOTO-KEM Patti White FUJI photo FILM usa Andy Coradeschi FUJINON,INC Chuck Lee GEO FILM GROUP George Nolan HYDROFLEX, INC Scott Greene ISAIA & CO Roy Isaia JL FISHER COMPANY Jimmy Fisher Frank Kay OCONNOR ENGINEERING LABS Bob Low OTTO NEMENZ INTERNATIONAL, INC Rick Mervis PANAVISION Suzanne Le Zotte PHOTO-SONICS, INC Conrad Kiel Schneider optics: see CENTURY SONY ELECTRONICS, INC Dhanendra Patel TECHNICOLOR, INC Brent Alum Adam Chuck VINTEN, INC Peter Harman Joanna Snider william f white ltd William F White

John H Joyce David Judy Mark D Karen Michael Karp Wayne L Kelley Glenn M Kirkpatrick Douglas H Knapp Dan Kneece Rory Robert Knepp Robert Kositchek Kris Krosskove Erwin Landau George F Lang Robin Lawless Joshua Lesser Michael Levine Ken Libby Hugh C Litfin Michael Little Lynn Lockwood Thomas Loizeaux George Loomis Allan Lum Li Kenji Luster Vincent C Mack Heather MacKenzie Paul S Magee James Mann Donald M McCuaig Michael McGowan Maurice K McGuire Martin McInally Robert L Mehnert Anastas N Michos Andrew Mitchell William Molina Lawrence P Moody Robert Moore Denis Moran Don Muirhead Marty F Mullin Scott Mumford Sean Murray Jon Myers Thomas W Myrdahl Julye Newlin William R Nielsen, Jr Randy Nolen Tamas P Nyerges William O’Drobinak Russell Ofria Andrew William Oliver Lucio Olivieri John Orland Rafael Ortiz-Guzman Georgia Packard Charles Papert David Parrish Philip Pastuhov Aaron Pazanti Mike Pierce Joseph Piscitelli Robert Presley Kevin Riley Randall Robinson Rick Robinson David Robman Andy Romanoff Abraham Romero Peter Rosenfeld Andrea Vittorio Rossotto Michael S Roth Andrew Rowlands Tony Salgado

T E Y I O C F O S

Active Bernie Abramson Art Adams Steven A Adelson Bret Allen Derek M Allen Lee Allison Miguel Aponte-Rios Sal I Aridi Ted Ashton Jr Bill Asman Dan Auerbach Daniel Ayers Paul Babin Randall B Baer Christopher J Baffa Lonn Bailey Vincent Baldino Gerard Banales Jeff Barklage Tom Barron Gary H Baum Guy Norman Bee Tim Bellen Richard Benda Jeb Bergh Marc Andre Berthiaume Bonnie Blake Jason Blount Bob C Boccaccio Richard Bolter Denise Brassard Scott M Browner Michael K Bucher Robin Buerki Gary Bush Stephen S Campanelli Susan A Campbell Capt Jose A Cardenas Michael W Chambliss Louis Chanatry Joe Chess Jr Julian Chojnacki Joseph V Cicio Gregory Paul Collier Michael Condon John A Connell Tom Connole Ivan Craig Rod Crombie Caleb Crosby

Richard A Cullis Michael L Culp Joseph C D’Alessandro Richard W Davis Ray de la Motte Kris Andrew Denton David Diano Troy Dick Jerry Dugan Keith J Duggan Simon Duggan, ACS Louis R Duskin David E Elkins David Emmerichs Kevin J Emmons Steve Essig James Etheridge Brant S Fagan Tom Faigh Benjamin Sean Fairburn David B Fang Yuen Diane L Farrell Randal Feemster Michael Ferris Kenneth Ferro Dick Fisher Lance Fisher Craig Fiske Aaron Fitzgerald Houman Forough Ian Foster Thomas Fraser David J Frederick Michael Frediani Mike Freeman Buddy Fries Michael Richard Frift Jack Garrett David Gasperik Rusty Geller Michael Genne Wayne Getchell Vito Giambalvo William Gierhart Laurie K Gilbert Kristin Glover Allen Gonzales Lee Grover John Gunselman Anette Haellmigk Dennis Hall Anthony Hardwick Chris Hayes David Haylock Steven F Heuer Sean Higgins Ronald High Charles M Hill, Jr Joachim Hoffmann Abe Holtz Robert Chapman Horne Casey Hotchkiss Gary Huddleston Jeffrey G Hunt Philip Hurn David Insley Levie C Isaacks Eugene W Jackson III Michael Jarocki Simon Jayes Tom Jensen Michael A Johnson Steven Jones Jacques Jouffret

A R

Active Charter Parker Bartlett Paul Basta Michael Benson Jerry Callaway Joseph Calloway Joe Epperson Bill Gahret Peter Hapke Norm Langley Lee Nakahara Jay Nefcy Leigh Nicholson Dan Norris David Nowell Wayne Orr Ernie Reed Michael Scott Michael St Hilaire Ray Stella Joseph F Valentine Ron Vidor

Roster Current as of 6/16/04

w h y l i m i t y o u rs e l f ? Woodland Hills Hollywood Orlando Dallas New York Montreal Toronto Vancouver London Dublin Paris Marseille Rome Madrid Germany Poland Prague Denmark Sweden Johannesburg Tokyo Beijing Hong Kong Malaysia Philippines Thailand Indonesia Mexico Brazil Australia New Zealand

We have the latest in film cameras, 24P high definition cameras, film and digital optics, and remote gear.

With Panavision, the choice is yours.

Owen Stephens Tara Summers Lieven Van Hulle Craig W Walsh Brian Watkins Haskell Wexler, ASC Shaun Wheeler Tony Yarlett Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC

Lou Schwartz Hal Shiffman Phil Stern Sven Walnum Ben Wolf

OPE

THE OPERATING CAMERAMAN: SOC Roster

T E Y I O C F O S

A R

Roster Current as of 6/16/04

We have the latest in film cameras, 24P high definition cameras, film and digital optics, and remote gear.

With Panavision, the choice is yours.

WIDE OPEN.

www.soc.org

THE FUTURE IS

KODAK VISION2 Motion Picture Films. What’s next. VISION2 100T 5212/7212

VISION2 200T 5217/7217

VISION2 Expression 500T 5229/7229

VISION2 500T 5218/7218

Display until Dec. 2004