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it to myself by making and using a meter which worked that way eleven years ago, in 1928. That of course was several years before any of us in the motion picture industry became aware of the light-measuring possibilities of the photoelectric cell, so my meter did not make use of an electric eye. But it measured the light transmitted by the camera’s lens, and was an integral part of the camera. Compared to today’s meters, it was undeniably crude — but it worked with gratifying accuracy. And that, after all, is the real proof of any piece of equipment.
Solving Tropic Exposure Problems
My meter was developed to simplify a specific problem. I had been assigned to photograph Henry King’s production “Hell Harbor,” much of which was to be filmed on location in Florida. As every cinematographer knows, exposure and filtering under unfamiliar, tropical conditions can be amazingly deceptive. I had heard so many harrowing tales of cinematographers whose judgement had been fooled by tropical light conditions that I resolved to spare myself similar embarrassment if it was at all preventable.
Some means of actually measuring the light was clearly the key to the problem. I decided that if I could find some method of making a direct comparison between the illumination on my ground glass and a positive of known correct exposure and density, I ought to have a pretty accurate guide to correct exposure.
To make this possible, I began by attaching an illuminated carrier for my positive standard to my Mitchell camera. First I cut a small hole in
the top of the tube bousing the focusing microscope, directly behind the ground glass. Above this I soldered a pair of clips to hold my transparency-carrier in place.
Then I built the transparencycarrier.
From a focusing flashlight I took the globe-socket and reflector assembly, with enough of the fibre case to make my bousing. Then I built up an assembly of flat brass, crudely cut to shape, to hold an opal glass diffuser and beneath it my standard positive. This was soldered to the screw-threaded ring which had originally held the flashlight’s lens in place; it screwed onto my tiny lamphouse. and in turn slid into the clips that held the entire device on the camera. The lamp could be focused in the same way the flashlight focused — by tightening or loosening a cap which moved the lamp-bulb in or out with relation to the reflector.
Reflex Comparator
With this done, I removed the little sliding port which ordinarily gives access to a Mitchell’s focusing system. In its place I fitted a similar plate which carried a little lever, at the inner end of which was mounted a small mirror, about half the size of the frame. By moving this lever I could either drop the mirror out of the way or bring it into a position where it reflected the image of my standard positive down and backward into the camera's focusing system.
Since this mirror was only half as wide as the frame, when it was in the reflecting position one saw half the ground glass image on one side of the magnifier's field, and on the other side half of the standard positive.
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