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Prosthetics and Make-up – from a lecture by Neville Smallwood in 1948, which includes a piece by Ernest Taylor

15 Jun

NEVILLE SMALLWOOD (1922-2004)

It has long been my contention that, when attempting a heavy character make-up, more use should be made of the materials which have been developed in the last few years – materials which are suitable for the manufacturer of false foreheads, cheeks, noses, chins and so on.  Until recently, there were no make-up laboratories in this country but, owing to chiefly to the foresight and planning of Guy Pearce, now retired (films include Clive of India, The Outsider and Hamburger Hill) and the understanding generosity of MGM, a very well stocked and equally well equipped laboratory was built in their Borehamwood Studio (aka Elstree Studios) 

 

Smallwood 1 and 2

Neville Smallwood before and after character make-up.

In order to show the value of this type of work, take the example of a comparatively young woman who, as a story unfolds, has to appear as a very much older woman.  Suppose we contrive to make this woman look old with the use of make-up only.

First of all the make-up artist needs to know the main source of light to be directed on the artiste, otherwise they cannot know whether the highlights should be above or below the shadows. This is a point all too often overlooked and I would here stress the importance of co-operation between make-up artist and cameraman, sometimes sadly lacking.

Assume then, a normal shot with main light coming from above the artiste. The make-up artist does his job accordingly and everything looks fine with the lights helping to give the required effect. Then the Director suddenly decides the next shot – to be done immediately – shall be in a dark room in front of a fire. Into the fireplace goes an enormous lamp shining up into the face of our poor artiste – lighting up the carefully placed shadows and leaving the highlights invisible. The result is that our comparatively young woman looks as she did before she was made-up!

Unaltered profile

Another snag is the ‘profile problem’ which is very difficult to overcome. Our artiste looks at herself in the mirror when she is made-up and sees herself as a much older woman, with a satisfied make-up man peering happily over her shoulder – but what has happened to her profile?  Nothing!  The heavily ridged forehead is not really ridged, the bags under the eyes are not bags, the double-chin is an illusion and, unless an artiste is given absolute preference and every consideration before the camera, sooner or later a fairly close shot of her profile will creep into the picture and the result will be unsatisfactory, even if only to the make-up artist.

I am not suggesting that all and every character make-up should be a seething mass of false features forced onto the poor artiste’s face; rather I am trying to put forward good and sound reasons why every studio should be equipped with a make-up laboratory and have capable technicians who are alive to the possibilities of prosthetics when applying a character make-up, when it is required to show a definite and unmistakeable change in a person’s face, whether for historical accuracy or for ageing – or for any other reason.

 

The Development of Materials

Various types of putty, wax cotton, wool pads and so on, have been used for years with varying degrees of success.  Latex or plastic preparations have been painted on to a face to cause wrinkles through shrinkage when drying – but to my mind, none of these things comes up to the standard required at the present time.

It was found that any non-porous material was useless. Take, for example, a false nose; nothing will stop a hot nose in the heat of intense light from perspiring – and no matter what is used as an adhesive, the perspiration will find its way between the skin and the nose and either form a bubble or blister – or give the artiste the appearance of having a permanently running nose, which is not really desirable! The stand-by man in this case has to wipe the artiste’s nose before each shot and probably has to stick it back on his face, which also damages the fine edges where it blends into the face.

The material had to be made with a skin of its own, also porous, which could be varied to suit the texture of skin to which it had to be applied and it had to be of very light weight, able to give and stretch with the movement of the face and recover its normal shape rapidly. The next problem was to find a material with all these properties which would ‘take’ make-up in the same way as the human skin, without showing differences of tone and colour where skin and false pieces met. In addition, the material had to be such that it could be made in shapes, having really extraordinarily fine thin edges tapering away practically to nothing.

A specially prepared to porous sponge rubber has been used with success, though this needs a special greasepaint, as normal make-up changes colour when applied to rubber. More useful and having similar properties, is a porous sponge plastic, which has advantages over rubber in that it is not affected by any greasepaint and does not perish or deteriorate. The only advantage that rubber has at present is that it cures at a lower temperature than the plastic and consequently, a mould will last longer when used for rubber than it will when used for plastic – a point worth bearing in mind when contemplating a long picture where an artiste may have to be made up many times, as all these things can be used only once each for screen work – although for the stage they may be used many times.

The search for a really good material from which a mould can be made easily and quickly – and which will stand repeated and prolonged periods at high temperatures and pressures – continues and is one of our main problems.

 

Neville Smallwood’s Credits: Hamburger Hill, The Bounty, Yellowbeard, The Sea Wolves, Lion of the Desert, The Dogs of War, The Lady Vanishes, The Wild Geese, Orca, Aces High, The Likely Lads, Jesus Christ Superstar, Siddhartha, Nicholas and Alexandra, Zeppelin, Unman Wittering and Zigo, Cromwell, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Casino Royale, Modesty Blaise, The Heroes of Telemark, Genghis Khan, The Long Ships, The World of Suzie Wong, The Vikings, Private’s Progress, Charley Moon, It’s a Wonderful World, They Who Dare, A Christmas Carol, The New Avengers, ITV Saturday Night Theatre, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

 

MAKE-UP IN RELATION TO PHOTOGRAPHIC EMULSION – ERNEST TAYLOR (1913-1987)

Make-up is essential to photography in motion pictures because it corrects the irregularities in pigment and texture that discolour the face and prevent it recording faithfully. In still portraiture, retouching can remedy faults but this procedure is not possible with motion film.

The face is made up of a network of tiny blood vessels and pigments which give colouring to the skin. These natural pigments and blood channels are unevenly arrayed all over the face, causing a change of colour and skin texture around the eyes, nose, cheeks and chin.

Photographed without make-up, the face records a mottled effect on the film emulsion. A balance and graded monotone of colours is produced with the use of make-up which cures over-absorption of light and allows the emulsion to reproduce the subject accurately. Its subtle use can also give character to the face.

 

Smallwood 3a Used

The changing faces of Alec Guinness in the 1949 Ealing Studios film ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’

Lighting and Emulsion Characteristics

The camera, lighting and emulsions are far more involved in use than is make-up. For the best photographic results between all factors, the lighting key should be studied carefully. Strong and hard light tends to burn the makeup off the skin, causing it to record chalkily, whilst subdued low key light tends to cause the make-up to record much darker in tone that would be expected.

First-class straight make-up photographs perfectly. With character and corrective make-up patience, practice and experience are required – both on the part of the make-up artist and the photographer. To master the technique a creative imagination, thorough understanding of light and shade and facial contours, all in relationship to photographic reproduction is necessary.

In this way make-up artists, in co-operation with the lighting men, have learned to create beauty and character with almost any subject. Foundation creams, false eyelashes, rouges, eye shading, lip colours and liners, combine to permit the stars to be photographed at their impeccable best!

After experiments with leading technicians on lighting and emulsions, Max Factor evolved panchromatic make-up for use with panchromatic emulsions. It must be applied with painstaking care and thick, crude lines have to be avoided in use with the soft high-lights and low-lights.

 

Smallwood 4a

‘Scott of the Antarctic’ showing extensive lighting used in Ealing Studios in 1949 – highlighting the need for cooperation between lighting crew and make-up artists.

Straight Make-up

Apart from providing the necessary protective colouration suitable for the various emulsions, make-up is used to give character to the face. Corrections can be made in the shape of the face and various features by careful shading and correctly placed lighting. Results have to be of a flattering nature and any subject that photographs well normally can photograph beautifully with make-up. Lifelike and natural transparency is further achieved by washing the whole of the make-up with a damp wad to eliminate a matt finish which would photograph flat.

 

Characterisation

The mere addition of beauty aids does not ensure glamour! For example, artificial eyelashes, unless tailored for the individual eye, seldom record naturally. In handling highlights and shadows, both for make-up and lighting, the intricacies of illusory relief have to be understood. The best results can only be achieved by co-operation between the lighting man and the make-up artist.

 

Colour Photography

All the spectrum of colours cannot be faithfully reproduced on colour film, which is either under or over sensitive to certain colours. The human complexion has a greater proportion of red than any other pigment tints and not only has make-up to be considered but also the surrounding colour scheme, as blues and reds are particularly absorbed and reflected. Colour make-up is at present very much a matter of blending shades to compensate for the peculiarities of the natural skin pigmentation. The aim is naturalness plus the texture to resist fading under the intense arc lighting. Make-up varies with the several colour processes which have different sensitivities to certain colours and co-operation between lighting and make-up departments is again essential. Screen make-up, as an art, is still a matter of trial and error.

 

Ernest Taylor’s Credits: Moon Zero Two, His Excellency, I Believe in You, Crash of Silence, Secret People, The Man in the White Suit, Pool of London, The Lavender Hill Mob, Cage of Gold, The Magnet, The Blue Lamp, Kind Hearts and Coronets, A Run for Your Money, Whisky Galore, Passport to Pimico, Against the Wind, Saraband, Scott of the Antarctic, It Always Rains on Sunday, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.

 

 
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Posted by on June 15, 2017 in Art Department, Cinematography, Costume Department, Feature Film Production, Hair & Makeup, Prosthetics, Wigmaking,, History of Hair & Makeup, How It All Began, How It All Began, Special Effects, Uncategorized

 

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DYNAMATION … from a lecture by Ray Harryhausen in 1984

05 May

Dynamation is a term which was coined by producer Charles Schneer when we started making black and white films together in the 1950s. We specialised in combining live actors with animated models and, since nobody knew quite what stop motion photography was, they would call it an animated film. We were trying to establish a new division between cartoon and three-dimensional animation, so we came up with the word ‘Dynamation’ for that process. As the years went by, the publicity department felt that they had to enhance the word, so we got ‘Super Dynamation’!

Georges Meliés experimented with stop motion photography in France before 1900 with his unique short film Trip to the Moon but it was Wilis O’Brien in America who first found a commercial use for stop motion. His greatest triumph was King Kong which set me off and I have never been the same since!

It left such an impression on me that I felt it was the type of career I wanted, so I made it my business to find out how it was done – hence Dynamation sprang out of the basic O’Brien technique.

The principle behind the technique is that we project a small picture of the live action. Unlike many companies who build 50ft models, we build small models and shrink the actors down to size in order to have control. The larger you go with complicated hydraulically controlled mechanisms, the less control you have – particularly in dramatic situations – so we use a small rear-projected image of the live action behind the animated model, sometimes adding matting process.

When we were presented with the story of Gulliver’s Travels’ we wanted to make it as inexpensively as possible. We had heard of the yellow backing travelling matte process used in England at that time (1959) making its own matte instantaneously using a bi-pack camera. We thought that would simplify combining big people with little people. Since we had planned 150 travelling matte shots, we came to the UK to investigate and we have been here ever since. We used the yellow backing system on three pictures, then it suddenly went out of fashion. That was the darkest day I can remember. Now, of course, we use the blue backing system.

We had just perfected the miniature projection duping process for Twenty Million Miles to Earth where you could hardly distinguish between the original negative and the Dynamation shots – and I would have liked to do the next picture that way – but Charles Spooner said you could not shoot an ‘Arabian Nights’ type picture in black and white, so we made The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad in colour. This took some experimenting as we did not have a choice of colour film which we could use for back projection plates. However, we took the plunge and it worked out quite well commercially. Not too many people found it objectionable to see rather grainy Dynamation shots intercut with the original negative. People who are technically minded are far more aware of that than the average cinema audience, although audiences today are very astute and certainly do not accept things that they would have done twenty years ago.

One of the biggest problems with colour film is contrast and change of colour and we found that the new low contrast print film, designed mainly for television, was very useful. It is much easier to control the colour balance today than it was back in 1958, when you could not leave an unfinished shot in the camera overnight. If you did, it was quite evident the next day to see a colour change jump due to the California temperature drop during the night.

Many times I set my own challenges and I find that my goal is always a little too high for the assets we have. I think that one of my greatest challenges was in Jason and the Argonauts where three men fight seven skeletons. That sequence presented a lot of problems and there were times when I averaged about thirteen frames per nine-hour day – which is less than one foot of film. The accountants got very uptight because they expected me to grind out the footage very much faster than that!

Some of the animated figures used in Jason and the Argonauts

It was necessary for me to handle all the skeletons myself as they had to be synchronised very intimately with the three miniature-projected swordsmen. The skeleton’s feet had to be fastened to the floor and, the minute they left the ground, I had to suspend them on wires for accurate control over the animation. Being keen to make the skeletons look professional, I studied fencing myself but unfortunately, I threw my hip out of joint and had to give it up!

The whole fencing sequence had to be choreographed like a ballet and broken down into numbers. We had to pre-plan the cuts ahead of time through the storyboard – and I cannot stress enough how important that it. When you get on the set you do no want to have a lot of arguments and discussions on how shots should be set up. I always make a number of pre-production drawings which aid everyone concerned in visualising just what the final effect will look like on the screen.

The famous Skeleton Fight from Jason and the Argonauts

I always prefer to animate models of animals for exotic settings and situations instead of using real animals. It is so difficult to find a talented crab who will perform just the way you want, or a baboon who can play chess! You do not want to be at the whim and mercy of a lizard, hoping he will go from point A to point B in so many seconds. I find that real lizards become lethargic under the hot studio lights and barely blink or yawn for the benefit of the camera. The animated ones will perform exactly as directed.

For the bulk of the shots in our films I prefer to use miniature rear projection instead of travelling mattes because it’s easier to execute intimate interplay between actor and model. You have the projected image right there in front of you, rather than wait for weeks to see the combined effect from an optical printer. However, we do resort to many travelling matte shots which, in themselves, are very time consuming to put together.

Dynamation is a word which really means using every trick in the trade – but there comes a point in the economics of doing stop motion animation where you cannot do as much as you would like to do in the way of retakes and careful matching. The time factor is quite considerable. The ideal situation in the future is the Chroma Key method as used in television. When this method has the same resolution as film, you will be able to make instantaneous travelling mattes. I believe that some companies are working on this at the moment.

In recent years there has been a great exposé of the ‘behind the scenes’ details of making complicated special effects. It is my belief that it rather spoils the illusion when the audience is told how it is achieved. It is like a stage magician who tells everyone how he achieves his illusions of magic – soon the audience loses interest in the show!

 

 

 
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Posted by on May 5, 2017 in Animation, Art Department, Cinematography, Feature Film Production, How It All Began, How It All Began, Post Production, Set Construction, Special Effects, Visual Effects

 

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The Army Film & Photographic Unit (1942-46) and its Association with Pinewood Studios … by Wendy Laybourn

01 Dec

Poppy Every 11th November Pinewood Studios hosts a Remembrance Service, not only in memory of the fallen in every conflict – but specifically to honour of the members of the Army Film & Photographic Unit (AFPU) which also embraces the RAF Film Production Unit (RAFFPU). This year the service was conducted by the Reverend Nick Todd CF, Chaplain to the Irish Guards and the two minutes silence at 11 o’clock was marked by Colour Sergeant Shaun Held, Senior Bugle Major, The Rifles – with the Colours presented by the Royal British Legion, Iver Heath.

Formed during WWII, the AFPU and RAFFPU had their headquarters in Pinewood Studios where a permanent reminder in the form of a Memorial Plaque, which records losses proportionately as high as any Unit in the war, is displayed in the corridor leading to the cutting rooms where so much of the film footage, which is still frequently seen on television, was edited.

The AFPU & FAFFPU Roll of Honour

The AFPU & FAFFPU Roll of Honour

Paul Clark is the person who is currently looking after the AFPU Veterans Association, and organises the attendance of the remaining members and the friends and families of those who are no longer with us – as well as the reunions over the years (which were inspired originally by Captain Alan del Strother, a one-time Adjutant at Pinewood). He took over the reins from Harry Thompson, who in turn had taken over from George Reeves. Because PR and war correspondents were attendees at the reunions they are also listed on the roll of honour – and let us not forget the darkroom technicians, camera mechanics, clerical and transport staff who all  played a vital part in running the Unit and are deserving of equal listing. As Paul mentioned in his introduction at the service, the membership is reducing each year but I think that he can rest assured that this wonderful piece of history will continue to be honoured by Pinewood Studios and the friends and families of the AFPU and RAFFPU members.

History

Before the start of the Second World War the Central Office of Information controlled publicity related to all military and civil actions with the Director of Public Relations in the War Office being responsible for the affairs of the British Armed Forces. When the War broke out in September 1939, just one Army photographer, Geoffrey Keating and one film cameraman, Harry Rignold, accompanied the British Expeditionary Force to France.

It was quickly realised that the front line would be a dangerous place for untrained photographers as well as the possibility of them endangering not only themselves but the people in the battles they would have to photograph. On 24th October 1941, the Army agreed to form a corps of trained photographers and cameramen. The unit was called the Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU) and, under the leadership of Lt. Colonel Hugh St. Claire Stewart, Pinewood Studios was selected as their headquarters – as well as the RAF Film Unit and the Crown Film Unit, who produced propaganda films for the Ministry of Information.

There were many professional film and press photographers who had already been called up for service so they were quickly located and brought together in Pinewood Studios, which served both as a headquarters and training centre for the Units. Number 1 Unit was based in Cairo, which was to come into its own when retreat changed to offensive at Alamein, opening with the launching of the barrage skilfully and uniquely filmed by Sgt Billy Jordan, MM – who continued as a cinematographer, working in news, features and shorts for Associated-British Pathé, Alfred Hitchcock and The Children’s Film Foundation.

D-Day Landings

D-Day Landings

On D-Day, 6th June 1944, ten men from the newly-formed AFPU went with the first wave of troops ashore, whilst others landed with the airborne troops – continuing to accompany the Armed Forces as they fought through Europe.

Two experienced pressmen, Ted Malindine and Len Puttnam were among the photographers called up to record the British Expeditionary force in 1939 & 1940.

They both recorded the Dunkirk evacuation and were themselves evacuated twice from the French beaches.

The AFPU was deployed in all theatres of Allied action, often alongside special forces such as the Commandos, the Chindits, the Airborne, the SAS, the Special Boat Squadron and the Long Range Desert Group. All the major  campaigns were filmed and photographed – and the footage from the Desert and North Africa Campaigns was used to produce ‘Desert Victory’ which won an Oscar for the best war documentary. In later years footage from D-Day provided background information for the opening scenes of ‘Saving Private Ryan’.

The Italian campaign and Western Europe embraced the action at Monte Casino, Arnhem, the Rhine Crossing and the relief of the Belsen Concentration Camp. The Far East campaign was covered by Number 9 Unit under the umbrella of Admiral Louis Mountbatten and footage was used to produce ‘Burma Victory’.

As an example of the breadth of work of the members of the AFPU, the following passage is part of the memories of photographer Frank Covey:

… ‘Having returned from North Africa and completed my parachute training in January 1944, we were waiting for assignment to units. There I saw a notice which read … “Volunteers needed for a course on Photography” … when we got to Pinewood we were met by a gentleman in civvies, who introduced himself as Major David MacDonald, our new CO. We were told that all regular army bullshit was out and that there would be no time for parades or suchlike – but that we should keep ourselves correctly dressed, behave and put all our efforts into the task ahead.

The commanding staff were all well known people from the film industry. The Boulting brothers with Richard Glendinning and David MacDonald formed the nucleus. There was also the Crown Film Unit at Pinewood making war films such as ‘Target Tonight’, ‘Western Approaches’ and ‘Journey Together’ with Edward G Robinson. A young actor starred in some of these films, who we got to know as Dickie Attenborough! All in all we were a mixed bunch of film, newspaper and magazine photographers from across the country … 

… ‘We broke out of Normandy and followed the German retreat, at times entering villages in forests and finding that we were the first British troops they had seen. We joined the Guards Armoured Division for their dash to Brussels. With the infantry (Welsh Guards) led by armoured cars of the Household Cavalry and Cromwell tanks – we dashed 100 miles and got to the city in the late afternoon of 3rd September 1944. It was crazy, we were covered with flowers, given bottles of Brandy etc …

… ‘We went to the concentration camps of Bergen-Belsen and Neugamme near Hamburg, where we saw the terrible carnage. At Neugamme the ovens were still there and all over the camp white discs were scattered on the ground, which we discovered later were the compressed ashes of those burned’ …

After the War

Many of the former members of the AFPU became established in the film and photographic industries after the war and several became exceptional figures in their chosen professions – here are three examples:

John Aldred

John Aldred

John Aldred joined the film industry in 1937, served with the AFPU working on ‘Desert Victory’, ‘Tunisian Victory’ and ‘Burma Victory’ with Roy Boulting.

After the war he went on to, work at Shepperton Studios as music and dubbing mixer on notable films including ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’ and ‘Laurence of Arabia’. From 1972 he was Head of Sound at Rank Film Laboratories until his retirement.

During his illustrious career he had many film credits as sound recordist and mixer, including ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ (Oscar nominated), ‘Anne of a Thousand Days’ (Oscar nominated), ‘The Italian Job’, ‘Girl on a Motorcycle’, ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’, ‘Half a Sixpence’, ‘The Quiller Memorandum’, ‘Doctor Strangelove’, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘The Guns of Navarone’ and ‘In Which We Serve’. 

Gillie Potter

Gillie Potter

   Gillie Potter joined the AFPU, already having started his career with the National Screen Service as a Title Artist, and was posted to Mountbatten’s South East Asia Command, where he stayed after the war ended to assist in setting up the Malaysian Government Film Unit. After a few years working in Malaysia he returned to the UK just in time for the start-up of ITV.

He was one of the world’s leading special effects animators and became known as the man who could ‘do the impossible’. His revolutionary work in British commercials advanced the use of specialist ‘in-camera’ effects. He elevated the boring ‘pack-shot’ to an art form and invented the device of having live action sequences taking place on a moving product pack. His work earned him more than 40 international awards including a Golden Lion at the Cannes Advertising Film Festival – and he was involved in the production of more than 2,000 advertisements. His special effects work can also be seen in feature films including ‘The Last Emperor’, ‘Superman: The Movie’ and ‘Jurassic Park’.

Harry Waxman

Harry Waxman

    Harry Waxman started with International Pictures as a camera assistant and worked in a number of studios during the 1930s, including Ealing, Welwyn and Worton Hall.

During the war he served with the RAF Film Unit making his first feature, ‘Journey Together’, directed by John Boulting in 1945. His work on that film led to a contract with Two Cities Films after the war leading to him working at Denham Studios and becoming involved with the Boulting brothers as cameraman on ‘Fame Is the Spur’ and then as cinematographer on ‘Brighton Rock’ both in 1947.

Harry Waxman was a founder-member of the BSC (British Society of Cinematographers) and served as President from 1966-69 – and in 1959 he won an award from the British Society of Cinematographers for ‘Sapphire’. He is credited with more than 60 other films included ‘Swiss Family Robinson’, ‘The Day the Earth Caught Fire’, ‘Crooks in Cloisters’, ‘The Nanny’, ‘The Anniversary’, ‘The Wicker Man’.

The dedicated and outstanding work of the members of the AFPU and the RAFFPU is carried on by the photographers and cameramen of the Royal Logistics Corps, 77th Brigade who are the current British Armed Forces members working wherever the Army, Navy and RAF are deployed. Perhaps one day we’ll see one or two of  their names credited in award-winning dramas or documentaries, like their predecessors!

 

AFPUbadge2

Pinewood copy

 
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Posted by on December 1, 2015 in Cinematography, Feature Film Production, How It All Began, How It All Began, Special Effects

 

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THE EARLY DAYS OF NEWSREELS by Kenneth Gordon – from an 1950s lecture in London.

13 Mar
Kenneth Gordon 1890-1969

Kenneth Gordon 1890-1969

Ken Gordon 1890-1969 was employed on lighting duties in 1904 by Films Limited at their show at Hengler’s Circus in London and was soon working as a projectionist both there and at the Earls Court Exhibition.

Gordon wanted to become a civil engineer and studied electrical engineering whilst working as a stills photographer with Bolak’s Press Agency. He afterwards became a press photographer on the Daily Mirror and, in 1908, covered the stadium events at the London Olympic Games.

After a number of provincial jobs returned to London in 1911 to work in the laboratories at Gaumont, making the transition from press photography to newsreel work. He was the replacement for Brooks-Carrington and his first major assignment as cameraman was at the Coronation of King George V in June 1911.

In 1944 Gordon also covered the liberation of Paris and was instrumental in organising the Association of Cine Technicians (ACT), in conjunction with George Elvin. In September 1944 the ACT reached an agreement with the Newsreel Association over staff wages and the employment of ‘learners’, for which Elvin and Gordon received the credit.

German surrender on Luneberg Heath 1945

German surrender on Luneberg Heath 1945

In May 1945 Gordon filmed the German surrender on Luneberg Heath and the first demobilization of British troops in Belgium. After the war he spent six months in Germany, filming both the occupation and the war crimes trials – including the Belsen trial in September 1945, where he worked alongside Ian Struthers of Paramount. He also provided film for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953. Gordon officially retired in 1955, but was still filming for Pathé News in 1965.

Now read on……

Gordon 2

Queen Victoria in Dublin – 1898

The filming by Robert W Paul of the Derby in 1896 may be described as the first newsreel. This was followed the next year by the record of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. The story of the late René Bull, the great war artist, building a rostrum of bamboo poles in order to film the charge of the Dervishes in the Battle of Omdurman – and the London Times’ report of filming the action in Crete in 1897 by the war correspondent, F Villiers, constitute the first coverage of war news.

The First Newsreel – The first regular news coverage was by the Biograph Company, an American firm which established laboratories in Great Windmill Street in London. Each subject was only 160ft in length and a single frame measured 2¾ins by 2ins – this will give some idea how short the subjects were.

In 1898 A J West inaugurated his combination of news and interest films of the Royal Navy which, for so many years ran in the West End of London under the title of ‘Our Navy’. Shortly afterwards came the era of Charles Urban, Will Barker and W Jeapes. Their firms – the Warwick Trading Company and later the Charles Urban Trading Company – dealt mainly in one-reel news events such as the Grand National, the Derby and the Boat Race.

A number of new firms were started to cover the great news events. Cecil Hepworth, whose pioneering work did so much for British film production, came into the picture. WS Barker founded the Autoscope Company and WC McDowell and A Bloomfield, two members of the Biograph Company, started British & Colonial Films. Each of these firms covered news as well as story pictures.

The Biograph cameramen, WKL Dickson and J Rosenthal, covered the Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War. During the Boer War the two photographers carried their very heavy camera – which perforated the stock at the same time as the film was exposed – in a bullock cart!

Newsreel Equipment – Later came the newsreels as we know them today. Pathé Gazette was at first filmed here and then processed in Paris. It has been stated that the Gaumont Graphic followed only a few days later. Shortly after came the Warwick Chronicle (founded in 1903 by Charles Urban), Topical Budget (founded by Jeapes and W Wrench, the projector engineer), the Williamson News and the Éclair Journal. All produced two issues weekly at 2½d per ft (much less than a current 1p!)

The cameras used were hand-cranked – Pathé used their French model with outside boxes, Gaumont use the Prestwich (an English model) also with outside boxes. Moys, Williamsons and Éclairs were also used. Later, Topical Budget used Debries, and Warwick started using the first automatic Proszinski Aeroscope. This was run by compressed air and the first models were fitted with a gyroscope to keep them steady when hand-held.

The Provincial Cinematograph Theatres, whose cinemas were amongst the first to be built as such in England, had darkrooms in their main theatres. Local films were taken, processed in the local cinema and shown the same night.

The Prince of Wales Carnarvon 1911

The Prince of Wales
Carnarvon 1911

Speed of Production – About this time Charles Urban introduced the Kinemacolor and William Friese-Green was experimenting with a process known as Biocolor. King Edward’s funeral and the Coronation of King George V gave a great incentive to the newsreel producers. Many production records were broken with the laboratories working day and night. One of these speed records was made by Gaumont Graphic – they filmed the Investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarvon. On the pilot engine of the Royal Train were coupled a pair of large milk vans – these were turned into travelling darkrooms. The negative was developed, dried and rough cut – and a print was made on the way to London. As we sped along, every time we crossed any points the developer, hypo and washing water would splash over and cover us. The developer was so low when we developed the print that it did not cover the frame – but the movement of the train saved the day – and the resulting film, nearly 1,000ft in length, was shown the same night at the Electric Theatre in Marble Arch. The negative was re-washed before further prints were made.

News in Colour – It was the colour version of this film, made by Charles Urban, that put newsreels in the big money class. Kinemacolor was made on a black and white print, using rotating filters both in the camera and in the projector, therefore it was able to be processed in the same manner as black and white. The colour film ran for a long while at the Scala Theatre and many other key theatres throughout the world.

Charles Urban and Biocolor had some difficulties with patents. The costs of the resulting law suits rendered them both bankrupt. Gaumont brought out Chronochrome which stopped during the First World War.

About this time I had my first assignment in Turkey. This was during the Balkan War. My apparatus was an inside-box Prestwich camera fitted with 3in and 6in lenses.

The First World War – During the First World War the newsreel firms banded together and formed the War Office Film Committee under the Chairmanship of Sir William Jury. This enabled cameramen to work to a common purpose. One of them, JB McDowell, won the MC and the OBE for his work on the battlefield.

The Government bought up Topical Budget and ran it as an Official War News. I joined them after the war and went to Russia as a war cameraman. Jeapes re-purchased Topical from the Government and attracted the attention of many newspaper owners.

After this I went to Ireland to get some shots of the internal strife prevailing. The resulting films attracted bottles of ink when shown in the cinemas – some people even used my films of the Black and Tans for target practice with revolvers!

Still from WWII footage

Still from WWII footage

Newsreel War – In England at this time a newsreel war was developing. The main cause of trouble was the granting of exclusive rights of the various sporting events –  the Grand National was an example of this. This was the end of the ‘closed season’ for unemployed cameramen – all who could stand were certain of work, either as a ‘pirate’ with all expenses paid, or in the official party. One stranger, a ‘pirate’, was looking around for a position – I carried his gear, installed him and left him quite contented – but ignorant of the fact that I had left a ‘minder’ with him to see that no film was taken!

At the last Cup Final at Stamford Bridge, the flats at one end of the pitch was the position of one Pathé camera. This had been spotted by Topical Budget, who had exclusive rights to this match, as was intended. Topical planned to fly a balloon in front of the camera with a banner hanging from it in an attempt to stop us ‘pirates’. They did as they had planned but we had another camera already in place which was put to good use, much to the consternation of Topical. This was the time the Debrie ‘Sept’ automatic camera was introduced – it would run only 15ft of film. I managed to get shots of the King inspecting the teams, a fair coverage of the game and, by good fortune, the only goal – which was a penalty. Every roll was taken back to the office by messenger as soon as it was ready.

Exclusive Rights – Then Gaumont entered the war, buying up all the rights they could, some of which they shared with Movietone. Pathé lost the rights to the Grand National by being outbid and we had to become ‘pirates’ at this fixture. Pathé used scaffold towers and fights took place around these, although they were outside the racecourse. The towers were built at the last minute – on our stand were Jock Gemmell, with his range of long focus lenses and myself, with the slow-motion camera. Then the fight was on! Our opponents got hold of the rope which we used to lift our gear and started to pull the tower over. Just as this 60ft tower was about to topple over someone cut the rope and we just managed to get our cameras lined up – the race had started – then we were attacked for a second time. Fireworks were fired in front of the cameras, which frightened the horses causing the favourite, Golden Miller, to fall in front of our slow-motion camera.

That season’s cricket test matches brought out balloons, heavy netting and many other tricks to stop filming. The balloons were punctured by airgun fire and the pictures stolen!

Later the Newsreel Association was formed and agreement reached on the conditions of exclusive rights. By competitive bidding the price demanded for the exclusive film rights had risen out of all proportion to the earning capacity of newsreels.

Footnote – An unnamed radio & television presenter, in his thanks to the lecturer said ‘….there is still a tremendous vigour and enthusiasm in the newsreel business and, wherever and however the film industry develops, the newsreel men will be right out there in front. Newsreels were there to see the twentieth century in and will still be in the picture when we see the century out….’ 

 
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Posted by on March 13, 2013 in Cinematography, How It All Began

 

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Motion Picture Photography

03 May

Motion Picture Photography, from a lecture in 1949 by Freddie Young OBE BSC

You have to consider the relation of the cameraman to the director. Some directors are technically wise and help the cameraman sympathetically with his difficulties by arranging action so that it was possible to light speedily, or possibly arranging for a cut in order to avoid an otherwise complicated lighting problem. Nevertheless, the director must have the final decision, since the ultimate responsibility for success or failure of the film rested with him and all the technicians – even the stars – must bow to his judgement.

An experienced lighting cameraman will have learned ways of saving time and will not be experimenting in the same way as a beginner – but he must be careful to avoid turning out stereotyped photography, without artistry or meaning.

Not every picture gives the cameraman the opportunity to show artistic ability. Often he is put on his mettle to demonstrate his speed of working and yet is still required to produce a photographically acceptable picture.

Natural Lighting

Some cameramen strive for naturalistic lighting, the light appearing always to come from a correct source. Others seem to ignore this requirement and allow the light to fall from any direction, providing only that the general effect is satisfactory. I prefer natural lighting so that, when shots are edited, there is a feeling of smoothness and correctness over the entire sequence.

However, this requirement introduces a number of problems. A star often looks better with the key light directly in front and not at all satisfactory with cross-lighting – compromises are often necessary. Front key lighting is flattering to most faces but it can be uninteresting to see an entire picture with the principal characters lit from the direct front, regardless of where the scene is located or the time of day. Some producers maintain that it is necessary only that the stars should look attractive but good lighting is noticed, even if only subconsciously, by the audience.

Questions of mood and atmosphere must not be ignored. Such factors help to make a scene convincing and to maintain a sense of reality with which no film can be considered an artistic success.

Black and White vs Colour

In lighting for black-and-white photography one seeks to obtain a stereoscopic effect by a separation of the planes of the subject, so giving an impression of depth and roundness. A frequent method of producing this illusion is by the use of back-lighting. However, it is not always correct to have light emanating from the back of the set and the use of back-lighting has, in the past, been overdone.

There is an infinite variety of methods of securing contrast in light and shade. A patch of light on a wall will throw into sharp relief a dark mass of furniture standing in front of it. A cunningly placed shadow makes the perfect background for a light object. The cooperation of the art director is valuable in the careful selection of colours and in avoiding placing dark objects one in front of another.

Colour photography is, in some respects, less exacting as colours will separate from each other naturally – one would obviously avoid having a navy-blue dress in front of navy-blue drapes. All such factors will be appreciated by a trained artist and it would be an excellent thing if every cameraman had some art training in order that he might appreciate the laws of perspective and of light and shade.

Light Sources

Just as it is necessary for an artist to have a variety of paints and brushes of all sizes, so must a cameraman have lights of all shapes and sizes. Powerful lights for the broad strokes and smaller lights for the fine detail. Every light has to be controlled and spill or leak light must be kept from illuminating the shadows. All the units must have their barndoors, diffusers or ‘goboes’

Lighting in a low key, such as moonlight or firelight, calls for great skill and judgement. It is easy to under-expose and so lose contrasts. It is desirable to have somewhere in the picture one highlighted point – moonlight, a street lamp, firelight or even a streak of light under a door. Reflectors must be used to give a soft radiance without any definite light source – but as a general rule there should be one highlight in the picture and one area of deep black.

The Light Meter

A light meter is used to obtain a consistent density throughout the film. The negative is developed by sensitometric control and only a small latitude is allowable for incorrect exposure. If the laboratory were to be able to work to a constant gamma and obtain a fixed density throughout the entire negative, the cameraman is compelled to use a light meter.

It would be foolish to try to judge by eye a quantity that could be indisputably measured by means of a light meter. On the other hand, the cameraman must never allow the meter to become his master but must use it as a servant to assist him technically to accomplish the final artistic achievement.

For interiors I prefer to work at low light levels and a wide lens aperture, which more closely approximates the characteristics of the human eye. This also lends reality to practical lights used on the set, such as candlelight, oil lamps or electric lamps of low wattage which, if a high key lighting were used, would be unnaturally dimmed.

Problems of Movement

In cinematography, an entirely different set of problems is presented from those of still photography. The motion picture cameraman has to allow for the movement of his characters. If, for instance, an actor moves towards the key light, the brilliance might increase from perhaps 100 footcandles and serious over-exposure would result. Dimmers must be provided to control the intensity of light throughout the scene. The dimmer controls must be checked by the cameraman with the aid of a light meter.

Shooting in the artificial rain on ‘So Well Remembered’ – 1947 in Denham Studios starring Sir John Mills and directed by Edward Dymytryk.

Examples of quite different looks were screened for the audience. In ‘Goodbye Mr Chips’ made in 1938, there is a mellow atmosphere associated with a traditional English school. In contrast, the ’49th Parallel’ made in 1941, has an atmosphere almost documentary in style. It was photographed during the early stages of the War, most of the exteriors being taken in Canada – these exteriors set the key which had to be matched in the shots taken in a British studio.  The 1947 film ‘So Well Remembered’ was set in a town in the North of England and, to create the atmosphere of squalor, artificial rain was freely used.

 

Some of the comments from the Q&A session following the lecture:

Q: What do you think of the use of the t-scale compared with the old f-value?

A: f-calibration is not definite enough and great errors have been found between different lenses whose f value marking is the same. The new method of calibrating lenses by transmission values will, I’m sure, be welcomed by all cameramen. Difference in aperture can still be due to play in the iris of the diaphragm.

Q: Can you expound on a simple formula for high-key and low-key lighting in footcandles?

A: If the director wants great depth I might set my lens stop at f5.6 and use 300 footcandles, whereas in the low-key set I would work at f2.8 with 80 footcandles, depending on the colour of the set – that’s a most important factor. For a high key of light, the ordinary fair face with normal makeup would demand 100 footcandles at f3. If you wanted the face in a dingy light you could work down to 50 or 60 footcandles at f3. 

Freddie Young (1902-1998)

Building a set at the Shepherd’s Bush Studios. At the Debrie camera are Freddie Young (left) and St. Aubyn Brown

 

Freddie Young entered the film industry in the silent era and, in 1917 he started working at Shepherd’s Bush, gaining his first credit as assistant cameraman on ‘Rob Roy’ directed by  W.P. Kellino in 1922.  By 1928 he was chief cameraman and, in 1929 Herbert Wilcox, largely ignorant of the technical aspects of film craft, placed Freddie under contract to his company British and Dominions, leading to his first solo credit in 1930. Any visual flair in Wilcox’s films of the 1930’s was allegedly due to Young’s inventiveness and technical skill. his first use of Technicolor was in one reel of Wilcox’s ‘Victoria the Great’ in 1937.

He worked from 1922 to 1985 on more than 130 feature films and several television productions. His many awards include an OBE in 1970 and Oscars for ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ – 1963, ‘Doctor Zhivago’ – 1966 and ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ – 1971, as well as the ASC International Award, a BAFTA Academy Fellowship, four BSC Best Cinematography Awards and a Golden Globe in 1963. 

He invented  the process of pre-exposing colour film (pre-fogging) to mute the colours, giving the ability to alter the look of colour photography to suit the subject. This was first used on ‘The Deadly Affair’ directed by Sydney Lumet in 1966 and was the first British cinematographer to film in Cinemascope.

 
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Posted by on May 3, 2012 in How It All Began

 

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