The general introduction of mirror-shutter and other reflex cameras after World War II went hand-in-hand with the development of the zoom lens. The original Cooke/B&H Varo lens of 1932 gained little acceptance, and only a few were ever sold, but in the 1950s, Som Berthiot of France developed a zoom lens with its own reflex viewfinder. Angenieux of France developed a zoom lens with an unheard-of 10:1 zoom ratio, with or without reflex viewfinding facilities. From then on, acceptance of the zoom was complete and non-reflex cameras became obsolete.
In the days of photographic and sprocketed magnetic sound recording, the film camera and the sound-recording machine motors had to be interlocked by a suitably synchronous electrical supply in order to maintain sync. Camera power cables and "turnover" were normally the responsibility of the sound department. The running of machines on location usually was done remotely from the sound truck.
When 1/4" magnetic sound recording came in, it was vastly more portable. With sync-pulse generators attached to the cameras, it was only necessary to have a lightweight cable between the camera and the sound recorder. Heavy rotary converters and heavy-duty truck batteries became things of the past. In the studio or on location, where main power was available, the pilot cable could be eliminated and the frequency of the AC supplying the camera could be recorded on the tape and used for sync reference during transfer.
Crystal-controlled camera motors and the crystal-controlled sync generators in 1/4" recorders eliminated the last slender pulse cable.
Along with the introduction of lightweight electric camera motors came portable lead-acid batteries. The introduction of nickel-cadmium and sealed lead-acid batteries in the early 1970s may not have had much influence on what could be put on the screen, but it did reduce the number of acid burns on cameramen's clothing.
The quietening of motion-picture cameras so that they could be used while sound was being recorded took a surprisingly long time. First there was the soundproof booth, then the soundproof blimp, and then the blimped camera. It was not until the 1960s that Eclair produced the NPR, a 16mm camera that was "quiet because it made no noise," and it was not until the 1970s that Arriflex and Panavision developed quiet, handheld, 35mm cameras with internal electric motors.
Camera supports have changed vastly over the years and have been subject to much innovation. The tripod itself dates back to the "BC" (Before Cinema) years, as do the first primitive friction and geared pan-and-tilt heads.
Friction heads were much improved by exchanging their oil-based grease for silicone (O'Connor), which eliminated "stiction" at the beginning of a pan or tilt movement, and by the introduction of variable resistance that could be selected to suit the required maximum pan-and-tilt speeds and give the operator something to push against (RonFord).
Geared heads, as we know them today, are directly descended from the crank heads of the very early silent days. Electronic geared heads — which emulate the fine movements of geared heads — combined with the modular camera crane and the lightweight, through-the-lens video assist, have made a major impact on the way a script can be interpreted.
The hydraulic crab dolly also freed up filmmakers considerably. It can be steered by the front, rear, or all four wheels, tracked forward, sideways or anything in between, and elevate a camera noiselessly from a lens height of about 2' off the ground to the eye level of a tall standing person at any speed. This device is relatively new (having been introduced in the early 1960s), and it is said that the inspiration for the first (Macallister, followed shortly thereafter by Moviola) came from a wartime trolley used for loading bombs into aircraft.
[ continued on page 4 ] © 1999 ASC