American cinematographer (Sept 1935)

378 American Cinematographer • September 1935 L. Wm. O’Connell, A.S.C. A Disciple of Elimindtion— L. Wm. O Connell/ A.S.C. by Harry Burdick T APPEARS to be the fortune of L. William O'Connell, in conduct of his cinematographic career, to participate in incidents fraught with more than a modicum of in- formative interest to his contemporaries. Of timely import ore his current experiences with the new Eastman Pola-screen, which device for the ready con- trol of polarized light for photographic purposes is de- scribed in the preceeding number of this journal. Immediately the screen was announced and its lab- oratory claims set forth. Fox studios procured the device and turned it over to O'Connell for use under definite controls, that its value under prevailing production prob- lems might be established. Already an engrossed student of the topic, O'Connell found occasion for immediate practical demonstration of the device in his "Ball of Fire," then in process of lensing. In three days he found four applications for it during course of his scheduled routine. The first instance was an exterior scene at a laundry building with all-glass walls. It was specified that the shot was to be made through the glass revealing action within the building. Naturally, it was desired the glass reflect no images of the street, nearby buildings or the camera company at work. The customary expedient of erecting a frame carrying black cloth encircling the set is, of course, known. This involves time, labor, expense. O'Connell brought into use his Pola-screen instead. Re- sults were perfect. Later that day, the location called for use of a sta- tionary street car. When O'Connell arranged his reflectors to light the action, he encountered serious reflection from the polished windows and the flat varnished surface of the car side. With the Pola-screen in proper position he was able to eliminate oblique reflections from glass and var- nish, at the same time preserving a wanted high-lighting in the windows. The following day, under intense reflected sunlight, an automobie of impeccable polish wos to be filmed. By means of the Pola-screen, O'Connell obtained a clean, sharp image with no distracting highlights. The third day found him at the shore. Apparent colar of the sea is, of course, a reflection of sky tone. The Pola- screen, O'Connell found, enabled him to capture the nat- ural color of the water irrespective of color of the sky. During the morning it was hazy and overcast. The Pola- screen established a definite horizon. Later in the day, under bright clear sky, it provided the same desired separa- tion. On all of these scenes, O'Connell made protection shots —in the customary fashion without the screen. Not one of them found its way out of the cutting room, so superior were the Pola-screened takes. Their superiority in every respect, reports O'Connell, was so marked as to offer no grounds for comparison. In fact, he states, fully to ap- preciate the screen, one should view a series of scenes taken with and without it—a sort of before-and-after contrast. The device is easy and simple to use. Much better effects are had with less effort and expense. Just a bit of excess exposure is needed. O'Connell enthusiastically concludes from his practical tests of the Pola-screen, "It it the greatest individual tool the cinematographer has been given." Possibly one reason the Pola-screen so forcibly ap- pealed to him from his first heoring of it is the fact that the device is fundamentaly an eliminator. For O'Connell, in his scheme of cinematographic philosophy, might well be termed "the greot eliminator." To him, the art of imprisoning images of visual actuality on celluloiod for the purpose of later audience approbation, resolves itself to a series of eliminations of always-existant imperfections, in the set or the character. The cinematographically perfect set has yet to be built; the perfect face yet to be born. Nature, herself, is replete with imperfections glaringly apparent ta lens and negative. So, whether with set or character, O'Connell method- ically erases with his lights the objectionable features his camera picks up. One by one he blankets them from view until only the good and desirable qualities remain. These he photographs. He is not a subscriber to lighting gymnastics. Rather, he is a sane and thoughtful craftsman of scenes cinemat- (Continued on Page 386)