American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1956)

First in Los Angeles! Carter Car-top Platforms Station Wagon Car-top Platform Doubles as luggage carrier. Easy installation. Tested at speeds to 110 m.p.h. $225.00 com¬ plete. Write for Descriptive Literature. BIRNS & SAWYER PHOTO SUPPLIES 8910 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles 46, California RENTAL CAMERAS FOR MID-WESTERN PRODUCERS OVERNIGHT SERVICE VIA LOW-COST BUS EXPRESS • 35mm MITCHELL • 16mm MITCHELL • EYEMO • FILMO • AURICON • BLIMPS Victor ^buncau 4828 Oleatha • St. Louis 16, Mo. VErnon 2-2959 OPERATION “DEEPFREEZE” (Continued from Page 606) Hartigan has described “Operation Deepfreeze” as the most challenging and difficult him assignment of his career as a cameraman. On Antarctica he soon found that “being a news correspondent and cameraman doesn’t cut any ice down here. You become a worker, pull sleds, help cook, and otherwise carry your share of the work load.” And of course, Hartigan’s principal responsibil¬ ity was to bring back professional sound-films of the expedition. Using an Auricon Pro-600, Hartigan shot footage covering every phase of the adventure from the “jumping off” point in New Zealand, through the ice-break¬ ing work of the U.S.S. Glacier, a rescue of expedition members whose plane crashed, and a dramatic flight over the geographical South Pole. On the trip over the Pole, Hartigan encountered some of the worst climatic conditions ever endured by a cameraman. This frozen-white continent at the bottom of the world, with its blinding gales and sub-zero weather, presented difficult and mysterious problems to cameraman and camera alike. Here, cameras require special winterization and supplementary internal heat to prevent the bitter cold from transforming film into a substance as brittle as thin glass. It was necessary to devise a positive method of setting and changing camera controls without using the bare hands, which can result in loss of skin and flesh in 70° below zero temperatures. Camera and ampli¬ fier batteries required special protection to enable them to deliver current at a normal rate. The winterization of Hartigan’s Auri¬ con Pro-600 sound camera and the many other items of photographic equipment required an intensive and ex¬ haustive study of the effects of cold on representative cameras, camera lubri¬ cants, lenses and film. The entire field of the new silicones and low temperature lubricants was in¬ vestigated, and exhaustive tests were conducted to determine which would permit mechanical movement at 75° below zero and still provide adequate lubrication. Every effort was made to accurately duplicate conditions under which camera equipment would be op¬ erating in the polar regions. Many new winterization devices were developed in¬ cluding tiny, fingersize electrical heat¬ ers for the camera interior designed to prevent film brittleness under extreme cold conditions. Hartigan and other cameramen on “Operation Deepfreeze” heeded the warnings of polar photographers who had preceded them and who found that operation of any camera with the bare hands was dangerous and sometimes extremely painful. A unique method of changing camera settings was devised. Radial spokes attached to the lens mount enabled cameramen to set and operate their equipment without remov¬ ing their gloves. To provide greater safety for ship¬ board filming, standard gimbal-mount tripods were each equipped with an 85pound swinging weight suspended be¬ tween the tripod legs, insuring that the camera platform would remain level during the roll and pitch of a ship in heavy seas. Through all of the hazards and prob¬ lems of “Operation Deepfreeze” filming, Hartigan’s Auricon sound films for NBC were the first pictures of any kind to be flown to the waiting press and television news broadcasters. In addition to the regular film coverage on TV, some of Hartigan’s 16mm film frames were en¬ larged and used as stills for the news¬ papers and for illustrating this article. The experiences of Hartigan on this Antarctic expedition will be of tremend¬ ous value to cinematographers all over the world who may brave the sub-zero cold and hazardous conditions of polar filming in the future. In addition, the 52,000 feet of color sound-film which he shot on the frozen continent are a sig¬ nificant contribution to the public’s un¬ derstanding of the “International Geo¬ physical Year” program. THE TITLE SETS THE STAGE ( Continued from Page 614 ) background. This was tacked to the easel shown in the second photo, top row, and photographed in sunlight. Caloia finds sunlight far superior to artificial light in shooting titles. “Gives a better overall rendition,” he says. Exposure on outdoor Kodachrome at 24 fps was f/6.3. The film was wound back in the camera and made ready to record the background of moon and space ship. The background was in blue to repre¬ sent the sky. The moon was orange and the space ship grey. The camera was lined up so that the moon would appear in the upper left-hand corner of the frame. Exposure, at 24 fps, was f/8 in bright sunlight. The film was then wound back for a second time and made ready to record the series of small rotating discs or “satellites.” Prior to this, Caloia cemented a black cardboard disc over an old phonograph record and painted a series of small discs of various sizes and colors along its perimeter. This was mounted on a motor-driven record player camouflaged with soft black cloth, as shown in photo No. 4. The camera was focused on 616 American Cinematographer October, 1956