American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1961)

watered down and the fences sprayed with oil so they would produce high¬ lights and show separation instead of going black. Because a large area was needed to stage the action, the sequence show¬ ing the dispersion of the gangs follow¬ ing the “rumble” was filmed under a trestle in the skidrow area of down¬ town Los Angeles. The complexity and scope of the sequence required four nights of shooting under a widely de¬ ployed battery of arc lights. Its most effective scene shows one of the gang members crossing the street just as a police car arrives. He runs all the way up the street toward the camera, sil¬ houetted against the glare of the car’s headlights. The headlights, the only source of illumination in the scene, were built up to a higher than normal level of intensity. For all the night sequences — those shot on the stage as well as on location — Fapp used a light fog filter over the’ lens to lend a realistic night feeling to the scenes and at the same tims* soften colors so they would not appear too harsh. The use of colored light in “West Side Story” is sparing, but keyed for definite effects. Aside from obvious uses (the glow from a sunset, etc.) it serves to inject important mood over¬ tones into several sequences. For ex¬ ample, in the “Tonight” number, just after Tony has found Maria (and love) at the gymnasium dance, he walks through the streets of Manhattan as if floating on Cloud Nine. Large panels of frosted lucite were erected as part of the set and illuminated from behind by multiple shimmering colored lights of all hues. As Tony moves in front’ of the panels, he seems to enter another world of sparkling beauty, symbolizing his starry-eyed exuberance. Colored light is used to advantage in another sequence enacted in a bed¬ room that is dark except for light shining through the vari-colored glass panels of French doors separating the area from an adjacent lighted room. Having worked out this detail of the set in advance with the Art Director, and having established the multi¬ colored doors as a logical light and color source, Fapp was able to most effectively use squares of variously colored light as the sole illumination for the bedroom and the players in it. Another interesting lighting effect appears in the sequence following the “rumble” when police appear on the scene. New York police cars have Hashing red lights revolving on top. To simulate the effect of this inter¬ mittent red light falling on the players, a whirligig device was constructed on which were mounted two 10 kilowatt lamps with red filters in front of them. The police car was first established ap¬ proaching at a distance. As it drew nearer, the lights on the whirling de¬ vice (its rate of movement closely synchronized to that of the police car lamp) were stepped up in intensity to illuminate the scene, enhancing the overall dramatic effect. Unlike some directors who feel that a wide-screen format calls for long master scenes with few cuts and fewer closeups (as exemplified by Otto Prem¬ inger’s approach to “Porgyand Bess”), Director Robert Wise utilized many striking extreme closeups and a variety of camera angles to afford staccato in¬ tercutting in the film’s more dramatic’ sequences. In several sequences, such as the “rumble” and the gymnasium dance, several cameras were set up to provide a selection of flash cuts care¬ fully matched for action. Panavision-70 Process “West Side Story” was photographed in the Panavision-70 process, which employs 65mm film for photography and 70mm film for release prints to accommodate the multiple sound tracks of the system. It was the second pro¬ duction (“Exodus” was the first) to employ the newly designed Panavision cameras (both standard and hand-held models) which are distinguished by a 200° shutter and a unique rock-steady movement which stops the film com¬ pletely before the registration pins enter the sprockets, insuring a picture free from jiggle and blur even on the largest screen. Panavision personnel worked very closely with Director of Photography Fapp during filming of this picture in order to adapt lenses and cameras' to his requirements. For example, Fapp suggested that some of the New York’ tenement location scenes would be more dramatic if, in the photography, the skyscrapers in the background could be brought up closer and “packed” together so they would seem to loom dominantly in the background above the dancers. To achieve this, Pana¬ vision engineers designed and con¬ structed an extreme (450mm) tele¬ photo lens. This lens has a unique and extremely elaborate baffling system which eliminates stray light bouncing between the lens elements, thus doing away with the characteristic flat, hazy “telephoto” effect. Dramatic scenes filmed with this lens have the same high contrast as those shot with stan¬ dard lenses, permitting smooth inter¬ cutting. Panavision also created for this pro¬ duction the first zoom lens ever designed to cover a 65mm film frame. Called the PanaZoom, the lens ranges in focal length from 95mm to 250mm. Its smooth movement is driven by an electric motor, governed by both a rheostat and a gear shift, thus insuring perfect electrical as well as mechanical control. The PanaZoom was used to advantage in several sequences of the film. In the prologue it provided a smooth and effective fluid camera bridge between the helicopter shots and the scenes photographed on the ground. It was also used dramatically for “shock” closeups — as in the “rum¬ ble” sequence when a switchblade sud¬ denly appears in the hands of a supposedly unarmed Shark. Panavision engineers, one of whom was always present on the set through¬ out the entire shooting of the picture, provided other equipment innovations —including a special type matte-box’ for the camera mounted beneath the helicopter for shooting the prologue scenes. The hand-held Panavision cam¬ era was also used with good effect to get intimate flash shots during the fights and choreographic numbers. Not for a long time has Hollywood produced a picture that depended so much on the photography and the photographer for its impact. In the' very beginning of its conception, the whole art of cinematography was care¬ fully investigated, reviewed and ana¬ lyzed for the contributions it could make directly in enhancing the visual aspects of “West Side Story.” Unlike many screen stories, this one was “writ¬ ten for the camera,” and in it, the imaginative Daniel Fapp found un¬ bounded opportunity to create and contribute a photographic achievement long to be remembered. ■ FOR MORE INFORMATION I on the products or services ad■ vertised in this issue, use the j postage-free coupon on “The i Last Page’’ of this issue. P 756 AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, DECEMBER, 1961