The American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1963)

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CINEMATOGRAPHER Marvin Farkas (left) and as¬ sistant setting up Arriflex 16 camera for a high shot during filming of "Bozo's Adventures In Asia" for WHDH-TV. 'T'he decision of TV station WHDH of Boston, Mass., to send its local clown “Bozo” on a goodwill tour of Asia in coopera¬ tion with UNICEF, provided Marvin Farkas, Hong Kong-based cinematographer, with a hectic filming assignment that took him to six countries. In the course of the two-month odyssey, the TV film unit shot enough footage for ten half-hour shows for WHDH’s series entitled “Bozo’s Adventures in Asia,” plus a series of personality interviews. Farkas, his assistant, Y. B. Tang, Frank Avruch (who plays Bozo in the local Boston area) and Vir¬ ginia Bartlett, producer and direc¬ tor, not only visited many major Far East cities, but also traveled extensively in the rural areas where UNICEF does much of its work. To film the “Bozo” segments Farkas used a 16mm Arriflex and a Bell & Howell Filmo. For the sound interviews an Auricon cam¬ era converted to accommodate a 400-ft. magazine and equipped with a zoom lens was used. Farkas and his crew filmed in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Tai¬ wan, Thailand, Burma, India and Pakistan. Much of the shooting was done outdoors to take advan¬ tage of local scenic values of the Filming In Asia For American TV New adventures of Bozo the clown filmed in 16mm color in Far East locales. By CLIFFORD V. HARRINGTON UNICEF photos by J. Ling SUBJECT OF the TV film series — Bozo t elephant in India. Meantime the camera Filming was in 16mm color. countries and to avoid the neces¬ sity for extensive indoor lighting. Also, sequences were planned with a bit of plot whenever possible to provide more interest and tighter continuity. One such vignette shot in the exotic Gardens of Shalimar, in La¬ hore, Pakistan, shows a little boy, sad and alone. Then Bozo in his incongruous costume appears and cheers him up. Other children gather to watch. For the final cut Bozo raises his hands and by prior arrangement the beautiful foun¬ tains in the background spout up. The photography kept camera¬ man Farkas on his toes. The UNICEF organization had planned ie Clown — played by Frank Avruch, mounts an recorded antics for the American TV film series. a crowded schedule for the crew, so Farkas had to draw heavily on his newsreel experience in setting up and photographing quickly. One of the important tasks was to get unobtrusive shots of the youngsters reacting to the Ameri¬ can clown, Bozo. But in one case the crew got tears of fright in¬ stead of howls of laughter. When Bozo was announced and came bounding into the room, the native children were thunderstruck by his red wig and shiny red nose. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined such a character. “Even we were surprised,” Far¬ kas said. “Bozo approached one child, who seemed not as frightened 26 AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, JANUARY, 1963