The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

130 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN October, 1953 AS OTHERS SEE US American Cameraman Wm. N. Williams writes this account of experiences shooting 'Second Unit' in Europe, including scenes in 'fog-infested' London WHENEVER a feature production calls for substantial filming in two widely separated locations, it is common practice for the studio to split the production unit into two groups. Very often the second unit crew has the most challenging assignment, although not necessarily the most important. This is especially true where the second-unit is working away from the studio, and particularly when in some foreign country. Here the cinematographer works without the advantages of unlimited studio equipment and personnel; and when he meets with unexpected problems, as he invariably does, the success of the whole second-unit operation often calls for ingenuity and resourcefulness rarely demanded of the camera crew when shooting on the home lot. This was true of the assignment we recently completed in Europe, where I directed second-unit photography for Paramount's forthcoming Technicolor production, Knock on Wood, starring Mai Zetterling and Danny Kaye. Obliged for reasons of economy to travel light, we didn't have the booster lighting equipment nor the number of reflectors we'd normally use in Hollywood. And this proved a pretty rough situation when shooting exteriors in London, where fog and overcast is ever-present. Yet we managed to achieve good results. The sequences on our schedule were filmed in London and in Zurich, Switzerland. In London, we had just one day in which to select locations. The impending Coronation posed two major problems. First, all Technicolor cameras in the British Isles had been promised local studios for filming the Coronation. We had arranged to use one camera, but we had to finish and get it back to Technicolor in London by 26th May. The other problem was the Coronation decorations, which were everywhere. Thus we had to search for camera setups that did not include Coronation bunting and flags; and where this was not possible, we had to remove the decorations temporarily— with official permission, of course. Gathering together a crew of British film technicians, we began shooting early in May. Several men from Scotland Yard were assigned to our company to keep order and clear the way for us whenever we had to shoot on busy streets. In London we encountered rain and fog about 80 per cent of the time. Shooting scenes under such conditions was touch-and-go. But thanks to the British technicians, we soon learned to adjust our operations to those local hazards. These follows wore accustomed to shooting exteriors where little or no sunshine prevails. The method we followed consisted in preparing a set-up and rehearsing the scene just as though we were working in bright sunshine; then, when the director gave us the ready signal, we'd watch the sky and study movements of the fog and cloud masses through a filter. There were always two and three separate layers of fog, and they were constantly on the move. Occasionally the movement was such that an opening occurred and the sun broke through to shine brightly for a minute or so. It was then that we got our shots. The crew had be on its toes every minute under such conditions. It was when making dolly and travel shots that the crew was put to the real test. Because of the ever-changing light, dolly shots were made with an assistant altering the lens diaphragm to suit the changes of light. One assistant held a meter on the light and called out the changes in exposure readings as they occurred to another assistant who altered the lens stop accordingly. In this way we maintained constant exposure on every shot made under such conditions. Often we had to shoot at f/1.0 right out in broad daylight (we were shooting Technicolor 3-strip) — the stop we used when shooting inside the Waterloo rail station, where the only light came from the skylights overhead. This latter location, incidentally, was an interesting one. The interior decor is quite sombre. There are a number of small shops and station concessions which surround the broad esplanade. Here the only help we had in the way of booster light was two small and battered reflectors on stands, each fitted with a No. 4 photoflood lamp. Usually our shooting day started in the morning at seven o'clock and did not end until dusk — around 8 p.m. One of the most interesting scenes that we filmed was staged on a narrow down-town London street. The action involved a wide range of props and players : no less than 30 small British automobiles in a typical traffic jam, 14 London bobbies, and the usual assortment of pedestrians. Here, with the aid of two inspectors from Scotland Yard to keep interested bystanders in check, we filmed comedy action of Danny Kaye (actually his double, Jon Pertwee) dodging bobbies in and out of traffic in a typical " chase " scene. Elsewhere, when filming on London streets, where the public might ordinarily interfere with our operations, we adopted a sort of shelter which we used as a " blind " to conceal the camera. This was a framework, about six feet in height, having a rounded top and completely covered with dark brown canvas, except for one side. London utility workers use these to cover manhole openings when working on underground power and telephone lines. Thus, whenever we used one to conceal the camera, most passersby rarely gave it a second look, so accustomed are they to seeing the shelters on London's streets. Few really knew that a motion picture