Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1953)

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268 The London Times — World Copyright reserved by Himalayan Committee Sixteen sees EVEREST FILMING the 1953 expedition to Mount Everest was by far the most difficult job I have ever attempted. Work in the Antarctic, in comparison, was a "piece of cake." The completed film, which will run to feature length, will be a 35mm. Technicolor "blow-up." All the original material, however, was shot on 16mm. Kodachrome at sound speed. We took six 16mm. cameras: two Bell & Howell 70DLs and four magazine-loading Auto Loads made by G. B. Equipments (i.e., Gaumont-British, Bell & Howell licensee in the United Kingdom, is a member company of the J. Arthur Rank Organization — The Editor). All my filming was done on one of the 70-DLs, but it seemed advisable to take a spare because on a previous expedition I had dropped one over a 150 foot cliff. The smaller magazine cameras were handed out to other members of the party and on later stages of the climb proved invaluable. In the Himalayas, film equipment is subjected to considerable heat, cold and rain and there may be a range of temperature change of 100° C. Before we left England, all the cine cameras were lubricated with special greases and then tested at — 45° C. (the lowest temperature possible on Everest) in a cold chamber at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough. Frostbite is not a serious danger for most of the time on Everest. But as a precaution the metal parts of the cameras had been covered with cloth and special trigger releases had been fitted so that we could start and stop the mechanisms with our gloves on. I did most of my filming wearing thin silk gloves. Keeping the weight down, of course, was of prime importance; even with a special tripod I was still carrying 30 pounds of film equipment. And it goes without saying that the cameras had to be robust. They had to stand being carried 200 miles there and 200 miles back by Sherpa porters who are more concerned with getting to a place than with handling their loads carefully. But all the 16mm. cameras behaved well; only once on the expedition did something seem wrong. The official cine-cameraman of the victorious attack on Mount Everest describes the trials of his great adventure THOMAS STOBART, F.R.G.S. CAMERAS IN BED During the climb, I carried the 70-DL on my back in a rucksack. To prevent condensation forming on the lenses when I set the camera up in the cold air, I kept it in a plastic bag from which the air was squeezed out. At the beginning of the journey I used to have the cameras with me in my sleeping bag to keep them warm at night, but this proved too cold and uncomfortable. Because of the altitude, I had ultraviolet filters on the lenses. Whenever there was time, I used a Norwood exposure meter or the S.E.I, photometer. Despite the brilliance of the snow, it was rare that the camera had to be stopped down below //ll at 24 frames per second. THE AUTHOR, a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, focuses his Filmo 70-DL on a distant Himalayan peak. B&H cameras provided the entire cine coverage of Everest expedition. HUNTING HUMAN INTEREST Our first base was the monastery at Thyangboche, a wonderful situation. Since the film is intended to be something more than a record of the expedition, human interest was most important. While some members of the expedition were acclimatizing themselves, therefore, I went down to one of the Sherpa villages to get pictures of the local life. Filming the Sherpas was not easy. When I said "Don't look at the cameras," they took me too seriously and turned their backs. Tensing, of course, was an exception. He has a most wonderful presence and his famous smile was always there. On the first day of the approach to Everest one of the main snags of being an official cameraman showed itself. After unloading my gear, getting into position, filming and packing up my equipment again, I was so far behind the party that for the rest of the day I was trying to catch them up. The march was heavy going. Often I would be longing for a cup of tea at the next stopping place, only to find when I got there that I had to spend my own time filming the rest of the party enjoying their drinks. On the ice fall leading into the Western Cwm, I found my energy becoming less as the height increased. Soon I was only taking about 100 feet of colour film in a day — perhaps enough to make a minute's running time in the final film. Filming made me rather unpopular on the ice fall; for it was dangerous there and everyone wanted to move on as quickly as possible. At Camp 3, just inside the Cwm at the top of the fall, I filmed a snowstorm which should look quite effective on the screen. I think it gives a wrong impression of what happens on a mountain if all the weather sequences are the same. The advance base inside the [Continued on page 277]