American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1963)

ably accentuated by shooting original negative right on top of it. The dis¬ crepancy was not so glaring in blackand-white photography, but with the advent of color photography it became much more obvious. Numerous tests were conducted by M-G-M and other major studios and by Technicolor to establish what compensations had to be made in the background prints so they would have more of the qualities of original photography. A most important discovery was that more light was needed to expose the background image than could be pro¬ vided by a single projector. So triple¬ head projectors were designed that superimposed on the process screen three identical images precisely, one on top of the other. The former back¬ ground portion process involved two projectors projecting at right angles into mirrors, and a third machine pro¬ jecting directly toward the process screen. M-G-M subsequently developed its own method that has all three ma¬ chines projecting straight ahead. Key¬ stoning is avoided by means of a rackover system of lenses positioned so that one picture can be directly superim¬ posed over another. Recently M-G-M engineers have de¬ veloped a revolutionary advancement in rear-projection photography incor¬ porating its “Laced Process” method, details of which will be reported in a future issue of American Cinema¬ tographer. Matte Paintings comprise another major category of visual Special Effects at M-G-M that is economically very im¬ portant in film production. The tech¬ nique makes possible the filming of scenes of great apparent scope and production value by building only part of the set, the remainder being painted to match and printed-in optically later. This method is effective, for ex¬ ample, when shooting on a studio street where the aim is to make actual two story buildings appear to he several stories taller. The camera must be set up far enough back to allow room at the top of the scene frame for the extra stories that are added later by means of a matte painting. While it is usually the upper portion of such compositions that is painted in, it could conceivably he the lower area, such as in a scene where figures near the top of the frame are seen moving along the edge of a precipice that actually does not exist. In making a matte painting shot, a frame of the scene to be matched is projected onto a white card. The lines of the composition to be extended into the painted area are sketched and meticulously checked by viewing di¬ rectly through the camera lens. The painting has to match the original scene precisely in perspective, color tone, density and the direction of the light source. At M-G-M the method has been im¬ proved so that matte paintings can he panned optically, producing the effect of actual camera movement within the scene, even though the camera was stationary when the shot was made. Original photography is done on 65mm film with the lens of the optical printer moved well within the frame so that there is room to pan or tilt. This added movement lends an illusion of realism to matte painted scenes, which was not possible to achieve in the past. Sometimes a third component, such as moving clouds or birds flying, is added to give a painted sky more real¬ ity. This was done in the extremely complicated opening harbor scene of “Mutiny on the Bounty” in which the camera moves from a combination of miniature and matte painted water and ships to a full-size set on the hacklot, in a long pan and tilt down. The birds, optically superimposed from a separate negative by means of the Rotoscope process, added an extra element of visual continuity to the scene. During his long tenure at M-G-M, A. Arnold Gillespie has worked with many of the top special effects camera¬ men in the industry, including ASC members Max Fabian, Harold Marzorati, Clarence Slifer, Harold Lipstein, Mark Davis, and Harold Well¬ man, and Jack Smith and Walter Lundin. “This sort of work is never a oneman job,” Gillespie said, “It involves many specialists in the prop shop and metal shop, as well as powder men and water men — all loyal, wonderful, cap¬ able craftsmen. Without their skill and very able assistance much of our work would never be possible.” College Student-made Films Honored Four motion pictures produced by students of the Department of Theater Arts at University of California at Los Angeles have been honored at eight different international him festi¬ vals this year. During the last ten years, over thirty student-made films have won awards. H %H0FPrint Vour Titles with only $495 W rite for brochure TEL-Animaprint HOT PRESS Prints Dry & S.O.S. PHOTO-CINE OPTICS, Inc. 602 West 52nd St., New York 19 — PLaza 70440 Western Branch: 6331 Holly’d Blvd., Hollywood, Calif. II. C. HI. for MOTION PICTURE PRINTERS at UHLER CINE MACHINE CO. 15762 Wyoming Avenue, Detroit 38, Mich. Phone: UNiversity 1-4663 • Cable: UHLCIMA Automatic Daylight Processing DEVELOPING TANK • Processes up to 200 Ft. • 8mm-16mm-35mm-70mm • Movie — X-Roy — Microfilm • Motor-driven, portable • Uniform Density Assured • 400 Ft. Tank Available FILM DRYER • Motor driven — Heated • Speedy drying • Automatic shrinkage allow¬ ance • Stainless steel and aluminum construction • Easily assembled without tools • Compact, Portable Guaranteed. Write for Free Literature Micro Record Corp. AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, APRIL, 1963 245