International photographer (Jan-Dec 1941)

"up high tf By Glenn R. Kershner Leaning over the hand railing of a parallel on a sound stage, I looked down at the floor, watching the actors and what seemed a lot of confusion. A light was pushed here, another raised, diffusion dropped in one and some taken off another while the actors walked through their lines. The director must have been satisfied, for he nodded his head and turning to the cameraman said, "Let's make it." "Hit 'em all," shouted the gaffer. Small remote switches clicked, larger ones in remote boards higher up clanked and the big set became all aglow in the soft light of the Inkies. The command "Hit your arcs" made me automatically flip the switch on my No. 170 High Intensity Arc. The carbons spat for a moment, then a bright shaft of light flooded a section of a great ballroom. Keeping my eye on the gaffer I the chief electrician ) , I watched him go to the center of the beam and measure the light with a meter. It was too bright. He had me flood the arc two turns and drop on a double net diffusion. In a few minutes he tried several more arcs, seniors and juniors, in the same way. The key light and filling lights received the same attention before the cameras were started — all necessary in studio photography of today so that the laboratory with their developing machines running so many feet a minute can give the cameraman the effect for which he has been striving. The working of that little light meter, the present lighting, and the many new lamps with their queer names, all so essential, is why I'm up here shirtless on this parallel with my gloves on. running these two big arcs that are as hot as boilers in an atmosphere that reads 103 degrees on my little thermometer. Sometimes I won der why the roof doesn't catch fire. There are eighty-six men operating these arcs beside myself, and then there are all kinds of big incandescent lamps filling every little nook and corner. They tell me there is almost enough electricity being used to light a city of 10,000 people at dinner time, with their radios running. To me this is all a thrill as I stand on this narrow parallel swung on chains from the top of the stage and with little more than hand-rails to hold to. I look at the various parallels of lamps, just like floors in a building, half naked men operating them, some sitting on chairs, others on diffusion boxes, while others are resting on spiders where the cables are coupled together and thousands of amperes passing within a few inches. Then I look down on the action on the floor where it is cool. Beautifully gowned girls, flowers, playful fountains of water, clinking glasses and laughter. While doing this work I've met a great brotherhood of men, the electricians, who have been trained to this profession by years of hard work; to sweat, carry heavy loads and to work on narrow cat-walks where a misstep might spell disaster. They go quietly on their way and never are mentioned in the headlines, but without them and their efficient department heads the great industry of movie-land would be greatly handicapped. To look up from the floor at the lamps and cables is one thing, but to be up high and look at the maze of cables of all sizes running in all directions over the parallels and beams, to know where they are going and how to put them there is another thing. I have always had great curiosity to know something first-handed about this, and dur Landers Camera Rentals CAMERA RENTALS SERVICE Blimps, Dollies, all Accessories * DAY PHONES NIGHT Hillside 6373 De Longpre Ave. HEmpstead 8333 Near I var Street 1311 HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA ing these two months when I have not been running an arc, I have been on the rigging crew, better known around the studio as the "iron gang" — and iron it is, no word better could fit it. It's WORK this getting a set ready to shoot. When the carpenters, painters and paper hangers have finished, truck loads of cable and lamps are unloaded on the floor and men skin up into that maze of rafters and parallels like so many monkeys. Hand lines are dropped from the various stages of heights, blocks and tackle are pulled up and in no time at all several crews of men are pulling lamps weighing as much as five hundred pounds and more up high, where they are pulled in and fastened securely. Cables of all sizes are being dropped from the main switches high on the cat-walks directly under the roof. These reach down to the big switchboards that have just been pulled up. From these, cables run like spaghetti along the walks to spiders, where the lugs are clamped on. Cables with plugging boxes on the ends are clamped on and pulled to places of advantage for plugging in the various lamps. More cables are dropped to the floor for the floor crew to plug in the lamps working below . . . but while all this has been going on, the boss rigger, having a prepared chart of where the cameraman wants the lights, has directed the stringing of the cables, placing the lamps and switchboards so that various groups of lamps will work at the same time from the remote boards so effects can be made instantly without changing the lamps or wiring. He also has worked out the vast load so it will always be equally distributed on the generators. It would be impossible in the space allotted to tell what the juicer does, how he climbs dark ladders, pulls heavy hand lines, lugs loads, peeks through little dark glass windows at sputtering arcs to see that they are at the right angle so they will not whistle or howl and spoil the recording, or to stand on some parallel in the biting wind with only the heat of the lamp to warm him. It's a rough and rugged life and the electrician plays his part in making the production a success. One thing I shall never forget is the time they took to show me all the things I wanted to know. The gaffers in every studio went out of their way to give me meter readings and the queer names of present lamps and equipment. I have written books, drawn sets and built them, directed and photographed them, but never have I seen so much of real picture making as I have while watching it all go on from the high perch on a parallel. 20 International Photographer ]ot November, 1941