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BALLET on BLADES
SAMUEL R. FASS, ACL
THERE is, unquestionably, a widespread fascination in filming the modern American ice show. Part sport, part circus and part nightclub show, these ballets on blades call to the amateur cameraman with an irresistible potpourri of color, motion and music. I know they do!
For I have been filming them off and on each winter since 1947, pursuing the extravaganza of my choice (Shipstad & Johnson's Ice Follies) through uncounted performances in the great arenas of Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Don't ask me why. I probably couldn't tell you — at least not coherently. But if you want to ask how such filming is carried forward, I'll be glad to tell you what I've learned.
To begin with, and contrary to general belief, no special permission is needed to make movies of an ice show. All that is needed is a bona fide amateur intent (your ACL membership card will establish that) and a normally-functioning sense of consideration for others in the audience. For example, the majority of arenas do not permit the use of tripods since, under the dim lighting, they are a hazard to those passing nearby. Therefore, my first suggestion is that you construct the simple and inexpensive unipod plotted in Sketch A. The materials might set you back all of 40 cents; and if they take you more than fifteen minutes to assemble, you should go back to manual training class. In use, this 2-foot-long camera support rests easily and unobtrusively on your own chair seat.
And now, what equipment are we going to mount on this unipod? In 16mm. terms, I have been using a Filmo 70-DA equipped with a 1 inch f/1.9 standard lens and a 2 inch //1.6 telephoto. Translated into 8mm., this would call for a two-lens turret camera with a i/2 inch f/1.9 standard objective and a 1 inch f/1.5 telephoto. Probably, for quick film changing, the magazine model has a slight edge in convenience over the roll-film camera.
The question of "Where to sit for the best angle?" is often asked me. There are two answers, depending on height above the ice floor, and they are charted in the accompanying sketches B and C. You will notice that the recommended mezzanine seat is where the arc of the arena (opposite the stage end) joins the arena's long side. Your seat on the ice-floor level, on the other hand, should be squarely in the center of this arc, af [Continued on page 248]
For color, comedy and kinetic drama, train your camera on an indoor Ice Show. An expert tells you how
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THE WHAT AND WHERE of successful ice-show filming ere graphically plotted in the three diagrams above. A is author's own design of a 2 foot unipod; B and C show you where to sit.