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AERIAL CINEMATOGRAPHY
Elmer G. Dyer, A.S.C.
7TS THE motion picture business has developed into a huge inAA dustry, it has demanded more and more specialization of its ■*• •*• workers. This is particularly true of cinematography, for where, a few years ago, a cameraman had to be merely a good, allaround cinematographer, today the cameraman must be a specialist in some particular branch of the work. First cinematographers may specialize in dramatic or comedy photography exclusively; others specialize in process photography, or in miniatures; others in naturalcolor processes; and so on. But undoubtedly the most highly-specialized field of all is that of aerial cinematography. It is certainly a most exacting branch of our art, for, in addition to unusually stringent requirements in the way of purely photographic knowledge and ability, it demands unusual qualifications along physical, mental, and psychological lines as well.
The successful aerial cinematographer must, first of all, be an expert cinematographer. He must know photography in both theory and practice so perfectly that it is second nature to him: things happen so suddenly in the air that every fraction of a second counts: there can be no pauses for debating (mentally or otherwise) how to solve the particular problem in hand. Secondly, and of equal importance, the aerial cameraman must be physically, mentally, and psychologically fit. He must have the basic qualities of a first class stunt aviator: he must be physically fit, mentally alert, and equipped with unshakable nerves. He must have good eyesight, perfect equilibrium, and supernormal judgment of distance. Thirdly, he must know aviation. He must know airplanes, how each is constructed, and how each will perform. He must know pilots, and their capabilities. But more than anything else, he must know aerial photography, which is entirely different from earth-bound photography. He must know the results of every conceivable atmospheric condition upon his camera itself, as well as upon his picture — and how to so expose and filter as to master every one of them. Above all else, he must have an inborn talent for aerial photography — an indescribable knack of doing the right thing at the right time; not merely at the right minute, but at the right fraction of the right second.
The mechanical details of aero camerawork are relatively simple. The most important of them is the mounting of the camera. This varies, not only with the type of plane used, but with the type of scene being photographed. In any kind of cinematography, it is essential that the camera be so mounted as to be free from vibration: in aerial cinematography, this is doublv vital. The chief source of vibration, naturally, is the engine, although under some aerobatic conditions — such as steep power dives — other structural parts of the plane may likewise contribute some small amount of vibration. As engines go, aero engines are relatively low-speed affairs; they seldom
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