American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1963)

thread was relieved, it would release and not he seen attached to the train as it fell in front of the camera. A fog maker was concealed under the hillside on the right of the set. Its nozzle faced a funnel arrangement which terminated at a concealed hole in the ground, where the derailed train was expected to land. On impact a hurst of fog simulating the steam from a ruptured locomotive boiler would issue forth. \X hen everything was ready for the take, the train was backed off on its approach ramp and its trailing wire booked onto the battery charger which acted as its power supply, energizing the fan inside the locomotive, the smoke maker in the stack, and the train lights. When the smoke was streaming out of the stack adequately, the signal to “roll ’em!” was given and the Mitchell 16 was brought up to maximum high speed, 128 frames per second. An assistant at the oppo¬ site end of the trestle then began pull¬ ing the train steadily by its thread, and brought it on the trestle at the desired rate of speed. When the train reached a spot a few inches away from the beginning of the breakaway area, another technician threw a switch which ignited the explosives and blew up the bridge. fSee photos.) To build up the suspense that was needed to make the trestle explosion exciting, the train was established com¬ ing down the right-of-way at top speed as it approached the trestle. For full effectiveness, it was done as a trucking shot. This required construction of a miniature dolly — a high hat on a metal frame which rolled on rubber casters in a channel-iron track. The train track was mounted on a plank laid on top of stage risers. Unusual Iilms — the Division of Cinema of Bob Jones University, Green¬ ville, S.C. — has gained international fame in recent years for its outstand¬ ing productions. Among the unusual aspects of Unusual Films, not the least unusual is the director. The fact that she is a woman is unusual enough in a field monopolized by men. Katherine Stenholm, a petite brunette and as attractive as a screen heroine herself, has been a member of the Bob Jones University family for over twenty years. When the University decided to institute the Division of Cinema, Mrs. Stenholm was chosen to establish and administer the new enter¬ prise. I pon the opening of the studios in 1950. she found herself at the head of one of the best-equipped motion-picture production units between New York and Hollywood. The large, air-condioned sound stage is furnished with the latest in cameras, lights, sound equipment, cranes, booms, dollies, etc. Although they work several thousand miles from the film center of America, there is nothing provincial about Katherine Stenholm and her staff. She studied at the University of Southern California. Periodic visits to New \ ork and the West Coast (where she is well-known and respected by outstanding film directors, designers, and technicians) keep her up-to-date on the latest technical developments. As a matter of fact, some things about Unusual Films are ahead of time. The Bob Jones University studio was the first in the country to use magnetic sound in all of the production and editing processes up to the final printing stage. When no satisfactory splicer for sound tape was found on the market, members of the Unusual F ilms staff developed their own. During the time that Mrs. Stenholm has administered the University’s motion picture enterprise, she has twice been named “Director of the Year” by the National Evangelical Film Foundation, and films which she has directed have won numerous awards for excellence, including the Silver Medallion of the Screen Producers Guild. The University’s Division of Cinema is considered one of America’s foremost college film departments. The Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers has rated the cinema education program of Bob Jones University as one of the “top three in the nation.” A survey printed in the Journal of the University Film Producers Asso¬ ciation lists Bob Jones University as one of the “nine institutions in the world which provide considerably broader programs of insturction than the other schools in this field.” Mrs. Stenholm and her staff look upon their work as a ministry and not a profession. Of “Red Runs the River,” she says, “This story afforded Unusual Films with an excellent opportunity to present the message of the Gospel. By showing the conflict within the life of General Ewell, we have sought to make everyone who sees the film aware of his own spiritual need.” 480 AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, AUGUST, 1963