The Cine Technician (1943 - 1945)

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September-October, 1943 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN 115 75mm, 8 inch and 13 inch lenses, plus filters and tripod. I also got a turret Eyemo with 35 mm, 50mm and 75 mm lens. By selecting two radically different cameras I made my biggest mistake because this involves carrying' around two types (can sizes) of film, with all the worry of having enough of each in case one camera breaks down. Two types of film makes tremendous difficulties in the simple matter of tying up a parcel for dispatching to the labs. Try making a parcel out of three 200ft. cans and 5 Eyemo rolls; it's not easy. When I ran out of 200ft. tins I squeezed three 200ft. rolls into a 1000ft. tin and tried to tie the Eyemo rolls on top. Finally I overcame this problem of maldng up a parcel by putting everything. Eyemo rolls and 200ft. rolls, inside the 1,000ft. tins. But it took me two years to find this out ! The objections I have to a Newman for Army newsreeling in forward areas are as follows (this is for the tropics, don't forget, where it's very hot) : (1) Its weight. (2) Having to load and unload magazines in a changing bag which may be lull of ant holes, and is a very hot job any way. (3) Difficulties of getting film in other than 1000ft. rolls, which means either carting around a rewinder to break them up into 200ft. rolls or doing it by hand. (4) Unless a turret model, which is very heavy, the danger of spare lens becoming damaged whilst in one's haversack. These objections only apply out here where so much of the war is of a pedestrian nature, because M.T. cannot drive through swamps and jungles. The Newman has definite advantages for work of a documentary nature which is normally carried out in a civilised manner. (1) Because of its reliability. (2) Length of run. (3) Ability to look through the lens, which is very comforting when doing inserts or artistic filtering of a sky. (4) The fine range of speeds. (5) Possibility of changing a magazine whenever wanted. (6) Ease with which hand tests can be made. (7) Being a studio worker I like its serious aspect, and all the gadgets. The Eyemo has the following advantages for work out here in forward areas. (1) Lightness. (2) Ability to change focus as seen through viewfinder whenever desired. As I said before, these are my personal opinions, and I know moviemen who have very decided opinions in other directions. To summarise, I think the Newman is ideal for documentary work and the Eyemo for newsreels. In case DeVry gets upset, my preference for the Eyemo is due to the fad that I can see the focus through the viewfinder. Now that I know a bit more about war cinematography my choice would be, for work in forward areas, as follows: — An Eyemo with turret, 28mm, 50mm and 80mm lens, spirit level, positive finder, range finder, screw-in filters, focusing prism for checking lens calibration, a light tripod. Also a DeVry camera for extreme portability, single lens 35mm and 6in. No tripod, as one can always use some flat object. One can also carry this camera in one's pack as it is flat. Lenses and the care of them. Only on very rare occasions in the tropics does one use lenses at an aperture greater than f/5.6. I think that a lens with a maximum aperture of f/4 must be more critical than one of f/2 type owing to the less use of glass. I should be interested to see the results from a battery of lenses having small maximum apertures. Naturally there would be one lens available at f/2 for the rare occasions on which wanted. In climates where there is great humidity a kind of fungus grows over the lens and while with care one can keep the exterior surfaces clean, there is nothing that the average technician can do about interior growth. In Singapore there was a department for cleaning the interiors of ships' optical equipment every six months with rouge, but somehow I did not fancy them playing about with my movie lenses. Even if there is no need of a filter it is a very good idea to have at least an Aero 1 before the lens, as it keeps the dust and rain off the lens, and a new filter is easier to get than a new lens. Filters. Sandwich type filters are definitely unsuitable for humid tropical weather as they soon wrinkle and distort. The only ones of any use are those made from coloured glass, like a church window, and while perhaps in the laboratory they are not so accurate in passing one particular wave band of light, they do at least keep in one piece and are unaffected by dampness. Gelatine filters are impracticable as one cannot cut them without dropping great blobs of sweat on them. Negative and its care. At first I was extremely worried whether my film would melt or not in the extreme heat, as in the majority of cases it is impossible to keep it in air conditioned rooms. Oddly enough nothing seems to happen to it except a small loss of speed, which if one draws always from the same hatch is not important. I have had super NN go and fog itself inside a tin owing to heat, but not so Plus X. Fungus which grows over still camera film does not appear to enjoy movie film, maybe because it is so tightly wound. However, it is a wise move when in a Kodak town to keep one's bulk in their air conditio ;