American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1963)

SHOOTING UNDER COVER effective. So at this point, Andre went into action with his portable tape re¬ corder. Sound recorded from this point was dubbed in later on the film. Hance and his crew had covered 17 “runs” made by the police squad. How¬ ever, only four were successfully re¬ corded on film due to such factors as the truck being out-of-position for the “hit,” sudden steaming-up of truck windows, or impossible lighting con¬ ditions encountered. In all, the WGNTV staff worked on the project two months, five nights a week, from 8 P.M. to 4 A.M. One helpful factor was that most of the alleys in Chicago have fluorescent lights situated at the entrance, and these served to silhouette figures roam¬ ing in the darkened areas. Tri-X film proved particularly sensitive to the blue lights of the fluorescents. Another “plus” factor was that Hance was actually able to direct the "pigeon ’ by means of the police fre¬ quency system and get him into favor¬ able positions for filming, just as he did in the “drunk run previously de¬ scribed. Natural Sound Used Natural sound was used throughout the production. Scripted action was held to a minimum and was used pri¬ marily to brief the audience in TUF squad techniques. Each night, the squad, which is ac¬ tually one of three 1 0-men groups in the Tactical Undercover Function, meets in an empty lot in an area that is to be covered. Previously, the squad assembled at headquarters where an area was selected based on police sta¬ tistics indicating where strongarm rob¬ beries and slugging have been taking place. One man is designated as the “pigeon.” Other members of the squad become “covermen.” They are dressed drably to blend in with the surround¬ ings. They proceed cautiously down the street, a man in front and in hack, and across the street from the “pigeon.” After a “pigeon" gets “eyes,” the “run” proceeds as previously described. Three runs were shown in the tele¬ vised production. The first involved a “lady of the night' who attempted to lure a "pigeon” to her apartment. The second followed through a complete “run,” including the “hit” and book PRECISION* FILM EDITING EQUIPMENT Model S616-3 Three sprocket 16mm SynchroSprocket Assemblies n i z e r with 16 or 35mm $32.50 ea. Spacer and Mag¬ netic head. $217.75 Precision Unitized Film Synchronizer Model S635-1 Pat. No. 3,053,426 Single Sprocket 35mm Synchronizer $95.00 Single Sprocket 16mm Synchronizer $95.00 (not shown) optical magnetic sound readers Model 800 $259.50 Model 800 RL $269.50 optical sound readers Model 600 RL $195.00 f.OB magnetic film and tape sound reader Model 700 $198.00 Send For Free Literature IB PRECISION LABORATORIES DIVISION OF PRECISION CINE EQUIPMENT CORPORATION 928-930 EAST 51s» ST. BROOKLYN 3, N. Y. REPRINTS of the 6-page, illustrated article SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC EFFECTS IN MOTION PICTURES 25c Per Copy AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER 1782 No. Orange Dr., Hollywood 28, Calif. DUAL POWER VIEWER for BOLEX REFLEX From an original 6X to an 8X full field and 16X critical focus LARGER IMAGES — BETTER SHARPNESS CONTROL WITH ANY LENS Easy to Operate — Guaranteed for Life — More Information Available — When Viewer only is sent $54.00 — When sent with Camera $60.00. PELLEGRINI-PIEK MOVIE CAMERA ACCESSORIES 7 COLEMAN PLACE, MENLO PARK, CALIF. Makers of Variable Shutter Units for all Bo lex H Cameras. AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, AUGUST, 1963 487