American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1963)

CAMERA MART FILM EDITING Workshop Seminar OCTOBER 7-11, 1963 Over 50 Scheduled Speakers A comprehensive seminar on all aspects of film editing of interest to film editors in industry, gov¬ ernment and schools. No charge for attendance. If you are interested in attending, write Mr. Charles Lipow, of the Camera Mart for an application. CAMERA MART .»«. 1845 Broadway, New York, N. Y. PLaza 7-6977 SQUEEGEE TROUBLES? Want a sure cure? Nylon Squeegee with¬ out mounting bracket $48.00 With mounting bracket and rollers . $63.00 CHEMICAL PUMPS All sizes y4 h.p. pump with motor $63.00 PROFESSIONAL FILM PROCESSORS with ihe famous Micro-Tension Drive METAL MASTERS 5599 University Ave., San Diego 5, Calif. FMS FM aMPMV 424 LI PO CHUN BUILDING HONG KONG COMPLETE 16/MM & 35/MM PRODUCTION FACILITIES sync signal and monitor it through the meters or actually listen to it as he would the subject matter itself. Because the speed of the recorder transport is governed to an accuracy of 0.1% the deflection of the fre¬ quency meter provides a reliable indi¬ cation of any speed variations in the camera drive. The sync level meter, by failing to register, would indicate any drop-out of the sound caused by faulty tape or the pile-up of dirt on the sync head. This procedure re¬ quires only a minute or two for the average scene and can be accom¬ plished in the period between takes. Of primary importance is the fact that the sync impulse derives directly from a strobe pattern affixed to the drive shaft of the camera mechanism, so that the speed at which the sound is reproduced at the studio conforms precisely to the speed at which the film is being drawn through the cam¬ era. Thus, even if the camera motor has a clutch that slips there will be no loss of sync. The great advantage of the system is that a positive check can be affected so quickly and easily in the field by the operator. The meters on the recorder assure him that he is picking up the signal prop¬ erly even as he is recording it. Were this verification less simple the pres¬ sure of events might lead him to neg¬ lect or bypass this procedure. Robert C. Maitland, Project Engi¬ neer of Magnetic Recorders Company in Hollywood, developed the special Stroboscopic/Photo-diode Sync Gen¬ erators for the Mitchell 35mm BNC, NC, Standard and 16mm cameras driven by wild or sync motors, the 35mm Arriflex driven by sync or variable speed motors, and the Bell & Howell Eyemo camera (sometimes pressed into service in the forward combat areas). The housings weigh very little and the five different types needed to adapt the various cameras fit neatly into one small kit. They can be applied to their respective cameras in a matter of minutes with the aid of a single tool and without drilling any holes in the camera housing. The sync generator locations do not con¬ flict in any way with the space re¬ quired for camera accessory equip¬ ment, such as blimps, teleprompter, matte box, etc. The highly portable, battery-oper¬ ated Nagra Model IIIB recorder was selected as primary equipment for the new system. The recorder is supplied with a Rangertone type sync head, and is designed to record a signal that will conform to the Ranger standard so that the tape can be resolved on any Rangertone resolving equipment. The entire recording system (re¬ corder, sync generator, microphones, power supply, headphones, spare tape, etc.) is of compact size, design and weight and can be set up, operated and maintained by one man. Silence of operation permits the equipment to be operated in close proximity to the microphone on a typical studio set. A small sound powered microphone cart¬ ridge is mounted on the control panel assembly to provide for slating and/or talkback to the boom operator. The output from this microphone con¬ nects to the record amplifier at a point where sufficient level is developed to identify the recording and permit com¬ munication with boom operator. The “B” voltage required to feed the microphone pre-amplifier is sup¬ plied by a 67% volt battery. All other power required to drive the recorder motor and amplifier circuits is sup¬ plied by 12 standard flashlight “D” type 1.5 volt batteries. Provision is also made for an external power sup¬ ply connector adapting the recorder to commercial power sources. Magnetic Recorders, in Holly¬ wood, California, manufactured the equipment according to specifications supplied by the Air Force, and deliv¬ ery of the first five completed units was made recently. The equipment is now availaible commercially to non¬ military film producers and should prove a boon to all film makers con¬ cerned with more efficiently solving location lip-sync sound recording prob¬ lems. u INDUSTRY NEWS Continued from Page 438 NEW ASC MEMBERS Four Hollywood directors of photog¬ raphy have recently been elected to membership in the American Society of Cinematographers. They are Ted Voightlander, Meredith Nicholson, Harry Wolf and E. Charles Straumer. Voightlander photographs the “Ben Casey” TV film series at Desilu Gower studios. Nicholson’s most recent assign¬ ment was photographing “Man In The Water” for Key West Films. Harry Wolf is with King Production Service, Hollywood, and has photographed the “Hennessy” and “Don’t Call Me Char 492 AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, AUGUST, 1963