April 1999

ARRI pr of i l es
4 Richard Greatrex BSC Shakespeare in Love
8 Christopher Doyle Romantic poet like the wind
10 Douglas Koch CSC Last Night
12 Lighting the Rear Window
14 Eduardo Serra storytelling tools
ARRI ar ound t he gl obe
17 TechnoVision founder celebrates 80 years
17 Farewell to cinema legends
18 Magellan global voyage
21 Taj Mahal secrets revealed
22 New studios for Tele MonteCarlo
23 ARRI Austria camera development
23 Norway a new distributor
24 Cond Nast CSC to the rescue
24 Beijing lighting the Forbidden City
25 Late Show a review
Commer ci al s
26 Marlboro adventure team
27 Blink on the future of commercials
Technol ogy updat e
29 ARRILASER
30 Ballasts
33 Timecode update error-free negative cutting
Awar ds
34 Oscars recognising ARRI technology
36 Camerimage 98
Out and about wi t h ARRI
37 The ARRI team skiing
38 ARRI in production
39 Cal endar of event s
3
C O N T E N T S
4
a p r o f i
What attracted you to the film industry in
the first place?
I started by being involved in some work
called community video I worked with a
bunch of Americans in South Wales,
recording the daily lives of people in a
mining community. We shot everything on
12 reel to reel video. Then, after doing
the same in Tennessee in the US for a
while, using terrible machinery that I had
to try and repair all the time, one of us
decided we needed to learn about films,
and so I was the volunteer.
I went to the National Film School from
76 to 79 and this opened up a whole
new world for me. Attending the NFS was
an absolutely fabulous time for me. Back in
the 70s it was very free range, with
budgets to shoot stuff and budgets to
employ people, so I had cameramen
come in and help me shoot. You could go
straight into the business then, there were
great opportunities.
Give me a brief outline of your career?
My career started with promos, then
Channel 4 was started and the directors
Andy Johnson and myself made a
programme that was broadcast on the first
night. I worked on the Comic Strip series
and started to do stuff for Channel 4
Wales, probably because I am Welsh. I
then moved into commercials.
I soon realised that I wasnt going to
spend many years doing this, because of
the lack of the story telling in commercials
although it is a great area for gaining
experience. So I concentrated more and
more on the drama side of the business,
and have done a lot of TV and features
since. Ive really enjoyed my work since
that break from commercials. For me the
script must fit within the margins of being
moral and in line with my world views and
without too much violence.
I have found it more and more important to
have satisfaction in my work and this
results from being with the directors that
you really like and admire. You have a
certain kind of security with them because
you know where they are coming from.
That is why I try to hang on to people like
John Madden, I think Shakespeare in Love
was probably our fourth film together.
My work is a terrifically rewarding thing to
do and Im lucky because it also combines
some of my interests.
If Shakespeare in Love is a success it
means that other things will start to be
offered. I feel as though I am moving onto
another step of this escalator that I was
never aware that I was stepping onto.
5
After the success of Shakespeare in Love, Richard Greatrex BSC talks to
ARRI MEDIA about his career, Shakespeare and getting fit for Bosnia.
l e o n R i c h a r d G r e a t r e x B S C
will never work or just end up as
prototypes, but it is the collaborative effort
of the rental house staff that has made all
the difference.
Is there anything that ARRI Media can do
better to make your life easier?
Yes dont grow too big! When I first go
and see a company with a possible film in
mind, the first thing I do is tell them what
the film is about so at least they can get a
feel for the kind of film we are making and
what the demands will be. I always try
and give a brief outline of the film and
then tell them what the director is asking of
me. This gives you a feel for the
visualisation and vision the director has.
And then of course you tell them what
money you havent got. If there are things
that ARRI Media could be doing better,
those problems will naturally come out in
the course of our relationship.
How did you get involved with
Shakespeare in Love?
I got involved purely because of John
Madden. It feels like years ago now, it
must have been two years ago when we
first knew the inklings of it. John and I
worked on Mrs. Brown together, which
eventually got picked up by Miramax and
did very well for them. So he was the
obvious choice for them again and I like
working with him.
Casting for Shakespeare in Love took time,
but in the end it was a nice compromise,
in that it was an American girl and a
British guy. Although it was jointly
financed by Miramax and Universal
and one hundred percent American
money, it remains a wholly British
made film, with a nearly all
British cast and crew.
Were there any specific challenges in it
for you?
I think more than most I felt the weight of
the money on my shoulders, as I had never
worked on a film so big. In contrast John
Madden seemed totally unfazed by it.
With all that money I felt you just could not
make mistakes. You just have to get it right.
It was shot in 2:35 and I had never done
anything like that before so that was a
whole new learning process for me, trying
to find out about the different technology
and requirements. I talked to a lot of
different cameramen about what you must
and must not do and they were
exceedingly helpful, especially Dick Pope
and Oliver Stapleton.
I tried to keep in mind one thing about the
lighting that John had constantly said to
me. He said that he wanted this to be
gentler than anything we had done in the
past, because some scenes we have done
have been rather dark at times. Both dark
in their content and dark in their look. He
said that he wanted Shakespeare in Love
to look like real life because we were
taking great liberties with the script.
Liberties with who Shakespeare was and
who he was in love with. And we took
liberties with rebuilding a whole Rose
Theatre and part of Elizabethan London.
For instance the big Rose Theatre interior
set on K stage at Shepperton, I went
through a few possible ways to rig that,
how to light it to make it feel like it really
was open to the daylight and not
artificially lit. Also I had to work hard on
making sure that stars like Gwyneth
Paltrow looked as beautiful as I could
make them. It was the first time I had to
have so much rapport with the make-up
artists.
The stage sets were wonderful. Martin the
designer was working in line with Johns
wishes so the set was built out of real oak,
all the uprights could not be just
scaffolding clad. John worries about detail
and so these uprights were made of 6 x
6 and 9 x 9 green oak, exactly as they
would have been in the Elizabethan days,
and they really looked the part. I think this
helped everybody because we all felt we
were taking part in a really important
From a camera point of view is there a
particular piece of equipment that you
prefer or insist on using?
Despite a technical background, I am not
actually interested in technology in that
way. I want camera equipment that will
get on and do its work in the ways that I
want it to. If I know that this piece of
equipment will continually do what I ask of
it then I am happy. When you are
shooting for television, because so much
can be done in post-production the choice
of lenses is nowhere near as critical as for
feature films. The ARRI SR3 has a good
view finder system and so I will always try
to use an SR3 camera if I can. Cameras
and other pieces of equipment are the
tools to do things with. What is more
important to me is who supplies those
cameras, what your relationship is with
them and ensuring they will look after you.
What contribution can a camera rental
company make?
A camera rental facility has to be
somewhere to feel at home. A place
where you can ask silly questions, or go
into a corner and try things out, where the
engineers will then try and build these
things for you. They might be ideas that
6
Its an old clich really but you have to see
the actors if you are filming a comedy and
so I kept that in my mind all the time and
made sure no one disappeared. I wanted
to be able to see their faces especially
when you know there is a glint in their eye.
And so what next for Richard Greatrex?
My next project is called Peacekeeper,
a film about British soldiers in Bosnia.
Fortunately l was able to choose to do
something totally different to Shakespeare
in Love. I now get the chance to do
something more documentary-like, a kind
of mayhem of running around, with a very
brutal, hard and tearful script. If I have any
real career aspirations, it is the ability to
control what you can do in some ways.
If somebody asked me to photograph a
Hollywood type film and I felt that the
script was bearable and within my own
parameters, then of course I would love to
do it. I would love to give it a go,
especially with John Madden, because I
know that he will only do a script that has
the same kind of feeling for the world as I
have. He is not going to agree to
something just for the sake of violence or
another action movie.
If you can move people, if you can make
them laugh or cry, that is great.
Shakespeare in Love makes people both
laugh and cry which I find amazing,
based on something that you know is
supposed to be an arcane playwright from
400 years ago. Even my daughter cannot
get enough of Shakespeare at the moment.
I never concentrated on Shakespeare so
much in all my life.
You obviously still have a passion for the
industry and are not bored with what you
do. Why?
I enjoy my work more and more. Ive now
got this personal trainer as I need to get fit
for all this running around in the Czech
Republic. Its another side to film making
you dont think about. All these
documentary film makers have such
amazing stamina levels and strengths
without thinking about it. Peacekeeper is
99% hand-held work following a lot of
guys running around dodging bullets and
so the director wants me to run around
and dodge bullets with them! Ill let you
know if I survive!
ARRI congratulates Shakespeare in Love for
seven Oscar wins.
event, because we had actually recreated
the Rose Theatre.
We used six different locations including
an original Elizabethan manor house
called Broughton Castle near Banbury in
Oxfordshire. We used the Thames at
Barnes and clad Barnes Railway Bridge to
look like London Bridge. And we also had
K Stage for the major Rose Theatre
interior, A stage for smaller interiors and
the back-lot for most of the exterior scenes.
One particular challenge for me was the
boat scene on the Thames at night. We
ended up shooting the scene on a green
screen. We worked with the Magic
Camera Company in Shepperton who
were very helpful in teaching me some of
things that you could and could not do. I
was exceedingly pleased with that scene
down the Thames. I think it works
terrifically because I absolutely believe
theres a boat there on the river.
It was Philip Sindall, the camera operator,
who persuaded us to go the green screen
route, but John fought us, fortunately for all
of us he conceded in the end. This is a
great example of how this business really
is both a collaborative art and often a
collaborative struggle.
How long did the whole project take?
We filmed for fifteen weeks. Even in
fifteen weeks you just dont know where
the time goes, you have a different take on
the time and level of perfection that you
are after. With Shakespeare in Love there
were an awful lot of shots with a lot of
people in, who take an awful lot of
rounding up and dressing up.
Is this the film you are most proud of?
Definitely, a low flinch factor. It is how
many times you say Oh no during the
film. But Shakespeare in Love only ended
up with a couple of flinches.
Congratulations on your Golden Globe,
ASC, Oscar and BAFTA nominations.
Did you ever think it would be that good?
No, actually I am quite amazed.
However it is consistent, I worked out a
look with John that I had in my head and
tried to stick to it. I did what I always do
with a few extra things thrown in.
7
8
music and theatre and dance and we
formed theatre groups together. One thing
led to another and we said why dont we
make a film about what we are doing?
Christopher now lives in Hong Kong in an
apartment on a street aptly called
Hollywood Road, where he has shot two
films and fifteen music videos. I think my
apartment has become a Japanese tourist
attraction, he said with a tone of
amusement.
So how does an Aussie end up
enchanted with the Chinese culture and
work at producing more than 12 films in
Chinese? Well there had to be a
romantic interlude with the language. The
name Du Ke Feng means romantic poet
like the wind. In the time of the Ting
Dynasty, a gentleman was described as
being like the wind, notably malleable,
sometimes strong, sometimes weak,
sometimes assertive, sometimes just in
abeyance. Christopher feels 90% of the
reason that he has been accepted into the
Chinese film world is because they think he
has some aristocratic Ting Dynasty
heritage, he jokes, By the time they
realised who I really was it was too late.
In China today, the movie industry is a
state industry and is static. I think the
Chinese film industry is where a lot of non-
Asians imagine that it has something to do
with the political hand-over, but I think it is
much more an economic and a cultural
transitional period. Supported by a solid
foundation laid in history, China, like
Russia has based its film industry on
literature and has grown out of forty years
of ineptitude. The noticeable decline over
the past two years is largely due first of all
to Karaoke, the Internet, pirated videos
and DVD. All have a very strong incursion
on the leisure activities of most people.
These things have compounded the fact
that the audience has gradually been
disappearing but at a quicker pace for the
last couple of years, in all areas of China.
I think, first of all, it serves us right, says
Christopher sadly. Of course, it serves us
right because the Chinese government
does not protect the international property
rights, but also we were being a little bit
haphazard.
Born in Sydney, Christopher started his film
career, by accident, I grew up in Australia
and left when I was 18, he explains
having left his native country to discover
life during several years as a merchant
marine. My travels made me realise how
important language is to communication.
You imagine everyone speaks English but
after travelling around the world for 10
years not knowing any other language, I
decided to learn one, the language
spoken by most people in the world,
Chinese. Film making is a visual form of
communication so learning Chinese was
the start of his film career.
I studied Chinese in Hong Kong but the
school was too expensive and at that time
China was not too hospitable to non-
Chinese. I went to study Chinese in
Taiwan where I met people involved in
Du Ke Feng is recognised world wide for his talents
as a cinematographer but is probably better known
internationally as Christopher Doyle.
a r o ma n t i c p o e t
l i k e t h e wi n d
had and what if, and I think for
someone like me and some of the people I
work with we couldnt ever re-make any of
my films.
The vivacious cinematographer has some
experience on the other side of the camera
in films like Tianmimi (Almost a Love Story)
where he played an English teacher and
says, Its horrible, being an actor is all
about waiting and for some reason I dont
have the energy that I seek as a
cinematographer.
With a plethora of choice for lighting and
cameras how does he decide what to
use? The interesting thing about cameras,
he says is that the machine is not the
really important factor in filming but rather
the people behind the camera.
Christopher has experience with many
different camera and lighting companies
but says China is definitely an ARRI world
and I probably work with ARRI 80% of my
time with a BL4 or the 535 for hand-held.
Christopher explained, A 535 is very
heavy and a 435 is obviously much lighter
because people wanted it slightly lighter
but I think the ergonomics of the camera
and superb balance are key. I can go
round all day with a 535. With other
cameras the balance is just wrong.
Furthermore, the rental houses here have
done their training in Germany so the ARRI
service is great. He noted that in China
crews throw kit around a lot and use it
beyond its recommended service date.
ARRI kit just keeps on working.
ARRI lighting products are growing in
popularity in the Far East. There seems to
be more and more ARRI lamps in our
world than years ago. Take the Pocket Par
its a big hit here. Usually, whatever we
have is being used 24 hours a day, so it
has to be reliable. I guess ARRI lights have
proven themselves. They may be more
expensive but they never let you down.
The name ARRI sounds good in most Asian
languages. Thats part of ARRIs success.
Diana was the first film followed by
Avalone then Tin Men. Doyles most recent
film is Liberty Heights, likely to be released
as Jews, Gentiles and Black People. Set in
the 50s in Baltimore, he worked handheld
for much of the shoot. It is in homage to
his city and it is very much about cross-
over of cultures and races and also his
movies feature early blues music
specifically James Brown music in the white
consciousness that developed in the 50s.
He, John Waters, Frank Zappa and Nina
Simone all came from Baltimore. It was
very different from shooting Psycho. We
used the 535 because of the adjustable
shutter.
Christopher has just started working on his
seventh collaboration with Director Won
Karwai, who won best director at Cannes
for Happy Together in 1997.
Does he have a favourite film? Yes, the
next one, he replied. All I want is to be
able to look back on the honest
collaboration and where that took me in
terms of my own creative energies.
I feel the trend towards moving around
and working with mixed nationalities is a
positive force. Christopher believes that
for China to recover, the cinema must have
a return for the money invested. I think we
have lost an audience so therefore the
people who continue making films here are
getting fewer but probably have more
determination than the last generation. I
feel very much part of this trend towards a
more cosmopolitan situation. People like
Jackie Chan and myself are now working
in the States. Christopher expects the
result will be a better structure and a
reorganisation of the film industry.
China has gone through 40 years of
communism which means that there is a lot
ineptitude and condolence, all for
ideological reasons. Places like Shanghai
which are very dynamic, definitely want to
be what they used to be in the 30s.
Shanghai is pushing very, very hard
towards it and I think they will succeed.
In the 70s and 80s both in Taiwan and
Hong Kong, the film-makers reacted so
strongly against what they regarded as a
kind of decaying tradition that they threw
the bath water out with the baby. It
appears now that they are restructuring
because of economic necessity.
The Doyle signature can be classified as
a naivety. In my films I am intuitive. Im
not afraid to show technical innocence.
Even when I work without a script, I react
to what is passing before my eyes. When
an actor/actress is in front of the lens there
is an energy that develops, its unique and
like a dance.
Christopher thinks that the energy you have
to put into a film means, its totally valid
for your talents, your operation and your
ability at that particular period of time, but
it may be totally invalid the next day. He
admitted, The day after the wrap party
hang-over you obviously say, if only I
9
10
For DoP Douglas Koch CSC, the challenge
was to create a suggestion of inexorable
fate while keeping the wry and whimsical
story centre stage.
Koch, who shot Last Night in Toronto in 26
days in 1997, said he was happy with
the ultimate look of the film because,
particularly in certain scenes, it looks quite
extreme, very stark and austere.
We wanted to create right away this
concept of relying on the look of the film to
try to put you in a special time, like
something weird is going on. I was curious
how long it would take people to realise
that theres this very obvious time clock,
where its going 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. and
9 p.m., and its not getting darker, its just
blazing daylight all the time.
Koch did his own operating on a 35mm
ARRI BL4, the real workhorse of
independent features. His film stock was
Kodak Vision 250D (5246) 98 per cent of
the time, with a tiny bit of 50D 5245 in
a couple of shots that were in the title
sequence to keep the grain from building
up.
He said McKellar wanted to evoke movies
from the late 60s and 70s, movies like
The Omega Man (1971) that have a
certain kind of starkness to them.
A lot of the look in the film is a sort of a
bleach bypass, a sort of silver retention
process. We experimented with
techniques, and ended up settling on
doing it in the interpositive stage. This had
the effect of lowering colour saturation and
increasing contrast simultaneously.
The way in which you print will control
how extreme the effect is going to be
through the stages, but its a tricky thing
because you cant actually see the end
result until you actually go interpositive,
dupe neg, check print. You have to follow
Toronto is deserted, stores are empty and
streetcars have stopped, and packs of
punks and party animals roam the streets.
A wife tries vainly to spend the evening
with her husband, with whom she has
made a suicide pact. A womaniser
decides to put a few more notches on his
belt, including his former French teacher
and a middle-aged virgin. Its summer, but
a suburban family decides to watch old
home movies and celebrate Christmas one
last time.
Its the turn of the century, but the new
millennium will never dawn because the
world is coming to an end at midnight.
With its tongue planted firmly in its cheek,
the low budget Canadian feature Last
Night, by first time director Don McKellar,
sticks to the dryly humorous drama of how
its characters prepare to meet their
impending doom.
McKellar, who also wrote Last Night plays
the architect, Patrick. His movie is perhaps
the Canadian archetype of Armageddon
a resigned farewell with a beer and a
shrug, rather than big-bang chaos.
The biggest challenge for me, the spookiest thing, was the fact
that the story all takes place in six hours, and youre shooting this
thing spread out over days and weeks. On a film like that, it comes
down to, unless its raining, weve got to film.
L a s t Ni g h t
a n i n t e r v i e w wi t h D o P D o u g l a s K o c h C S C
time to shoot when the direct sun was not
going to be an issue. Its almost the
opposite of what I would normally do,
when I would be trying to get the light
behind the actor for texture and depth. We
managed to plan that wed be at the west
of a building in the morning and have until
10 or 11 until the sun came around, and
you could keep yourself working in open
shade.
Koch said he shot mainly from dollies and
a couple of cranes, with few handheld
shots and no Steadicam. Interiors were all
on location, there was no studio work.
Some of the interior lighting he described
as part dramatic licence and part
necessity.
One of our toughest locations was a little
penthouse apartment, and there was
nowhere to put any light outside except for
this one balcony. The idea came to the
DoP and director that since the end-of-the-
world light outside was not changing, they
would have a continuous bright light
streaming in from the balcony. This was
the only way to light this place from the
outside, to get any hard lighting in there at
all. Koch used Xenon and HMI lights on
the film because of the daylight thing,
adding there was little if any tungsten
lighting.
Koch, who called Last Night different from
anything Ive ever done, was nominated
for a best cinematography Genie,
Canadas equivalent of the Oscar, by the
Academy of Canadian Cinema and
Television. The film, which premiered at
the 1998 Toronto International Film
Festival, received 12 Genie nominations
and won three, for best actress, supporting
actor, and first-time director.
The DoP, whose made in Canada credits
include Patricia Rozemas Ive Heard the
Mermaids Singing (1987), said it was
really very simple why he chose the ARRI
BL4 for Last Night.
If somebody asked what I thought was the
most reliable camera, I would say that the
BL4 is like a BMW. Its really solidly built,
its really simple. I can load and put this
camera together myself. In a very low-
budget film, this was the natural camera to
use. Any low-budget independent film will
probably be shooting with a BL4.
Koch uses ARRI 435 and 535 cameras for
most of his work.
The 435 is a big favourite for
commercials. With the electronic shutter,
we can change the shutter angle without
having to pull the lens off the front. Its a
great camera. We use the 435 and the
535 all the time. One of my favourite
things about the 535 is that you can
actually run it up to 60 frames per second,
which is conveniently a flicker-free HMI
rate, so if youre in a situation where youre
doing sync-sound and you need a little bit
of slow motion, you can just use the one
camera. You save the expense of a second
camera, plus the time to mount it and load
it and put all the accessories on it.
He said the 535 comes very close to a
do-everything camera. As long as you dont
have to go above 60 frames a second,
you can do electronic shutter, angle
changes to compensate for exposure all
sorts of neat stuff.
all the generations through to see the
actual effect, which made it rather
challenging.
In a lot of the serious scenes, where the
lighting was softer, we found we could push
harder to get an effect that was heavier
than the other scenes that were interior and
already a bit moody.
Koch noted that late in the movie, McKellars
character, Patrick, says, There are times like
this when I miss the night, and things
appear really faded and people were sort of
overly tired, almost bleached out.
We didnt like how healthy everything
looked. So when we were looking into
processes, we wanted to suck the life out
of the greens and trees so it didnt look like
everything was really healthy, but rather
faded or dried up and kind of goofy 70s
colours in the art direction.
Last Night was obviously supposed to be
Toronto, it was fun to stay away from the
more stereotypical images of the city, said
Koch, you get the sensation that youre in
this little town and it did have a lot of the
old brick.
He describes a long scene in which
actress Sandra Oh tries to board an
abandoned streetcar, and then leaves on
foot, walking hastily up a virtually deserted
downtown street. One of the biggest
challenges when youre in these downtown
locations is reflections. Whats difficult to
understand is that you see reflections off
the store fronts. Its late summer and you
suddenly realise that through the reflections
youre actually seeing around corners.
The biggest challenge for me, the
spookiest thing, said Koch,was the fact
that the story all takes place in six hours,
and youre shooting this thing spread out
over days and weeks. On a film like that,
it comes down to unless its raining, weve
got to film.
Shooting with a process where the contrast
is extremely high, is a lot less forgiving
than when youre shooting normal
negatives, so we attempted a lot of the
11
12
A R R I HMI s L i g h t t h e R e a r Wi n d o w
In his first major role since his riding accident
in 1995, Christopher Reeve recently starred in the
remake of Alfred Hitchcocks classic suspense
thriller Rear Window.
Jimmy Stewart, who created the role of
L.B. Jefferies, played a photographer
confined to a wheelchair because of a
broken leg. Reeve, who also acted as
Executive Producer, portrays his L.B.
Jefferies as an architect. To overcome the
boredom and to expand his new limited
boundaries, Jefferies becomes an
unrepentant voyeur spying on his
neighbours, who are remarkable in their
unwillingness to mask any of their activities
except with the most transparent of curtains
in their downtown lofts. Before long he
comes to believe that one of his
neighbours has committed a murder. While
he never actually witnesses the crime due
to his disability, he feels that the
circumstances undeniably affirm that a
murder has taken place. His co-star, Daryl
Hannah, soon becomes a willing
accomplice in his single-minded devotion
to exposing the criminal. Robert Forster, the
third major player in the drama, is a
reluctant, initially sceptic, but infinitely
patient police detective drawn into the
tangled web of intrigue surrounding the
events.
Directed by multiple Emmy Award winner
Jeff Bleckner, this ABC flagship TV rendition
of Hitchcocks murder mystery was
photographed by Director of Photography
Ken Kelsch, A.S.C.
Ken gave us some insights into working on
a project of this nature.
Chris was absolutely terrific to work with.
Although he mentally refused to succumb to
any of the apparent limitations of his injury,
his physical condition did present certain
liabilities. The 27 day production schedule
put a lot of stress on cast and crew. We
worked within his doctor-dictated
availability, which immediately disallowed
the original 3 weeks of night shooting in
favour of a split schedule. The daily day-to-
night time switchover added hours to what
were already long days. When Chris left
(we shot all his material, including clean
singles first), we would use a photo double
for overs and the other actors reaction
shots. An average day was 15 hours long,
not including the commute to Yonkers
(about 45 minutes north of New York City.)
Chris always had the best attitude of
anyone on the set and seemed tireless
despite his infirmities.
The real challenges lay in overcoming the
time constraints, due to the elaborate
layout of the two separate buildings which
included 8 to 10 sets at a time. With the
majority of shooting being done in a multi-
layer set environment, precise coordination
of all crew members became critical
because each department became
interdependent upon one another, i.e., art
department, electric, grip and sound.
Whether we were shooting on the second
or third floor of the main building, there
was always action taking place in the
other 8 rooms, which acted as secondary
sets across the 44 foot gap between the
buildings. Only some of the sets were
working during the day shooting schedule,
but nearly all nights involved action in most
or all of the interiors. Communication was
difficult at best, and always too slow. The
elevators in the old buildings rarely
worked, so heavy lighting and grip were
ferried up to the floors through the
windows with a condor usually reserved
for lighting. Because of communication
problems, tweaking sometimes seemed to
take forever. Due to common TV budgetary
constraints, crew man-days were limited.
The small crew worked long and hard,
and at great speed to finish the job within
the allotted days. The grips usually had an
earlier call to fly the three 40x40
reflection corresponded. Optical and anti-
reflective glass was ruled out as too
expensive. Luckily, after we shot tests, I
realised that the small screen would never
pick up the image deterioration. That just
left the reflections. We solved this by
precise light placement and copious
amounts of flagging. The big problem was
that in order to make Chris and Daryl look
good, we couldnt light from our grid. They
would have been much too sockety.
There was a lot of camera movement from
the jig arm, dolly and steadicam,
combined with Chris steadily moving
wheelchair. We were doing a film noir
look, so we had to avoid blasting the
talent with front light. No setup was easy;
the electricians and grips worked quickly in
what turned out to be an empirical and
reactive exercise in light placement. Not
only did we have to find the right spot for
the light to work on the subject, but we
had to avoid areas that the talent or the
camera support would cruise through and
circumvent the reflection problem. Lighting
turned out to be a painstaking chore.
Kens company, Stampede Film & Video,
provided lighting and grip equipment for
this production. Founded in 1977,
Stampede has been a long-time supporter
and purchaser of ARRI lighting. His
inventory includes HMI Fresnels (575W-
12kW), HMI Pars (200W-6kW) and
Tungsten Fresnels (300W-24kW). Every
light from Stampedes considerable
inventory was used, along with most of his
extensive grip package.
All HMIs were operated with magnetic
ballasts, which was not critical since no
speed ramps or off speed shooting was
involved. The working stop of the movie
was usually in the T4.0 range.
Ken told us he prefers to use ARRI lighting
because, ...they are the best overall
designed lights and they are outstanding in
optical performance from spot to flood. On
all the Fresnels, the flood is very smooth
while the spot is incredibly concentrated.
The condensers are all very hot which, of
course, provides more output per watt.
Kens next project is just around the corner.
Hell be working on a feature titled With
A Bullet, that begins shooting in Los
Angeles this spring.
gridcloths over the gap between the two
buildings to diffuse some of the contrast on
sunny days. ARRI 1K and 2K Fresnels were
hung for sun-sourced backlight, but open-
faced 2Ks with soft boxes with various
grids did most of the key lighting from the
floor. Small 12 volt ACLs rigged in series
on dimmer panels were used for wall
slashes on objets dart and other effect
lighting. ARRISUN 12Ks on condors were
used for the most part to provide the
sunlight that poured through Reeves loft
windows. ARRISUN 6K Pars with the
narrowest lenses punched into apartments
across the way. Day interiors in the second
set were lit by a full complement of ARRI
Pars from bounced 4Ks and 2.5Ks to
direct diffused lighting from 12 Pluses,
575 Pars, 200 Single Ended Pars and a
couple of the new Pocket Pars. (The two
latter units were great to hide behind
structural opportunities.) The night time
tungsten ran the full complement of
standard units with a lot of china balls on
dimmers for the ability to change levels
relative to story-line time. Usually, the lens
stop was around F4 to F5.6 due to the
focus requirements with the long lenses at
the late hours (assistant busting 400mm
to 600mm zooms); these were used to
peek into the action across the way.
The more emotionally rendering the shot,
the tighter the framing became. We used
a photo double to do 75mm to 100mm
over-the-shoulder framings to set up clean
POVs.
The two layers of glass presented other
problems. First, there was the possible
deterioration of the image. Second, there
were the points-of-reflection problems.
Every light would kick back into the lens if
the angle of incidence and angle of
13
14
Lighting in a normal drama should not really
interfere with the action but rather simply
enable the audience to see it. Interesting
dramas are when you can use the light to be
a part of the action.
S t o r y t e l l i n g t o o l s
Eduardo Serra was born in Lisbon,
Portugal and was raised there until he was
nineteen when he left to go and live in
France. Having started his studies as an
engineer, his creative side led him to study
at the Ecole du Cinema along with other
well known cinema characters such as
Phillippe Rousseleau and Noel Boisson.
He continued his studies in Archaeology at
La Sorbonne. After thirty features working
as a focus-puller, he found some producers
started to believe in him and gave him the
break he desperately needed.
Unlike many cinematographers, Eduardo
has never worked with video or pop
promos, and has probably only made
fifteen commercials during his film career.
The message is what sells the commercial
not the imagery. I have more creative
scope with a feature film than in just
making the images work to transport a
commercial message.
Eduardo Serra has worked with all the
tools of the film trade and has a clear
vision as to what works best with what
type of production.
Lenses are vitally important, he says,
in fact, more important than the camera
body. If Im going to shoot anamorphic
The Swindle) directed by Claude Chabrol,
What Dreams May Come, directed by
Vincent Ward and starring Robin Williams
and most recently Berliner.
No guns no stunts no sequels thats the
basic criteria for whether Eduardo Serra
agrees to photograph a film or not. Being
a calm gentle person Eduardo hates
explosives.
So what makes a Serra look?
I dont know why sometimes I do
something and it works like in The Wings
of The Dove, he said intrigued at what
causes critics to flower acclaim and
punters to fill cinema seats. I guess I just
try to do just what is appropriate for the
scene or the film rather than what might
seem the most logical. He described with
fascination his filming of artists. I believe
that there is an infinite number of ways one
can light and photograph a face.
I always make sure that the lights I use
dont conflict with the natural scene and
any effects or props also dont conflict.
This goes from lighting through windows to
lighting with fire bars when actors carry
torches as well as to ban the use of rim
light for separation.
Eduardo shares his anecdote on the
development of new lighting. I have
been a long time fan of fluorescent light.
Back in 1982, there were no fluorescent
tubes available from the rental houses and
I wanted fluorescents to light several
scenes set in a locker room at a football
stadium. I found the only ones acceptable
were the Chroma 50 available only in the
US and I had them shipped. One year
later I was able to buy fluorescents at the
hardware store which I used without
correction including those for beauty close-
ups. In 1989, I used 400 tubes instead of
space lights for the main Hairdressers
Husband (Le Mari de la Coiffeuse) set.
But surely things are different now? Its
funny, the technology of fluorescents has
been developing in the consumer
hardware stores at equally the same rate,
if not better, than the production lighting
manufacturers. Recently, I found to my
amazement that some lamps from the local
stores had better colour temperature control
than some of the professional HMIs.
Eduardo photographed the scenes of The
Wings of The Dove to demonstrate the
contrast between London and Venice. The
story was shifted a few years forward to
1910 which allowed Eduardo to create a
more modern look with electric lights than
it would have been had it been set in the
early 1900s. London at the time was
very technological and I felt the best way
to portray this was to make it slightly cold
and blue metallic looking. This was
achieved by carefully combining the colour
blue into the set and costumes and using
an 81EF filter.
The contrast he achieved at the carnival
scene in Venice was to light the scene with
torches, fire bars and Kino Flos and for
interiors he used a few tungsten 1.5m
helium balloons. At that time, Venice was
a gateway to the Orient, there were many
then its Panavision but if I want to shoot a
dramatic police drama in low light or a
dark street lit with candles then it would
have to be Zeiss, particularly if the scene
was to look a little contrasty. The Zeiss
lenses are a little hard but extremely
precise.
When it comes to lights Eduardo has his
favourites. He complimented ARRI on the
range of lights offered. I could go
elsewhere, I expect there are some good
products but I find that with ARRI having
such a complete range I dont need to.
But what about the cameras? The ARRI
cameras are formidable, says Eduardo,
they have an engineering complexity that
is incredible. The 535 is able to achieve a
good balance of sophisticated engineering
and handiness. The 535B has great
performance with reasonable weight and I
prefer it unless I really need those extras.
Eduardo Serra worked with ARRI MEDIA
for The Wings of The Dove for which he
received not only an American Academy
Award nomination as DoP but also won
the Best Cinematography BAFTA Award.
Eduardo Serra is just one of a current trend
of French Cinematographers who are
finding the UK an exciting place to work
with British directors and crews. What
does he look for in a rental house? Well
good equipment kept in good condition
and with a staff who are friendly and
open-minded. I like them to have
equipment that is modern and not always
conventional. Often the way in which a
company maintains equipment is a
reflection of how easily it will break down.
But if it does then I want reliable back-up.
Since The Wings of The Dove, Eduardo
has filmed Rien Ne Va Plus (also known as
15

n o g u n s , n o s t u n t s , n o s e q u e l s
gypsies and artists in the city. We wanted
to convey that atmosphere so I chose to
use coral filters which provided a golden
glow and then further enhanced it in the
lab using a silver retention process in the
negative. Eduardo worked closely with
John Beard the production designer and
incorporated most of the lights into the set
design and added a few Kino Flos for
close-ups.
So where does a Director of Photography
with over twenty years of feature
productions like Jude, The Wings Of The
Dove, Le Mari de la Coiffeuse (his
favourite) get his ideas? I look around me
and I absorb a lot, from films, photos to
paintings. These help me define the axes
on which to work and give me direction.
Any particular painter I asked? No its
interesting, he answered, I can look at a
painter or a photographer for a specific
project or a specific scene and it will not
always be a famous artist. Painting is a
world of ideas from which we can choose
and adapt to our needs. But dont forget
we can get our inspiration from something
else as well. And once he has an idea,
I want to use light, filters and processing
to be my storytelling tools.
The success of any production is really
down to the planning that has to take
place. I carefully go through every scene
and although there might be changes I
know in advance exactly what my basic
lighting and filtering set-up will be for each
scene. Its organising the types of lights, the
colour, the dcor, the costumes and the
parts of the scene that will look contrasty
and the parts that will look cold. Its
deciding how much light to shine on an
artist and where that light should come
from. Does this apply to all films?
Its a sad thing to say but a normal drama
doesnt give you a lot of opportunity to
stretch yourself, Eduardo replied. Lighting
in a normal drama should not really
interfere with the action but rather simply
enable the audience to see it. Interesting
dramas are when you can use the light to
be a part of the action.
What attracts this BAFTA winner to a new
project? Firstly, the confidence I get to
work with an ardent director, the
photographic possibilities and the
challenge for something new. Shooting a
comedy that requires all the characters to
be lit equally does not provide the same
satisfaction that a one-off challenge can
offer. I would rather work with a director
with an enthusiastic personality and just the
outline of a script than on a sophisticated
drama with a director with no personality.
Eduardo has gained the reputation of
filming something cultural and something or
someone beautiful. It might be good to do
a film one day where there is very little
light, he pondered, where the budget is
really low and you have to overcome the
challenge to make it work. It is a way of
putting ones knowledge at risk.
Off the set, Eduardo relaxes by going for
walks alone, Ill walk miles, he says, to
get some periodicals to keep up with my
craft, review technology and keep a
handle on life.
16
After lending his early lenses to friends and
colleagues, Chroscicki moved into
equipment rental, and founded
TechnoVision, now one of todays leading
European rental companies that services
films world wide.
TechnoVision has enjoyed a long
established relationship with ARRI and
offers the complete range of Arriflex
cameras.
Happy birthday Henryk and heres wishing
you many more years of continued
success.
ARRI wish a Happy 80th Birthday to
Henryk Chroscicki, founder of one of the
leading camera rental companies,
TechnoVision.
Born in Poland and raised in Australia,
Chroscicki moved to Italy after the war
where he trained as a film director at the
prestigious Centro Sperimentale in Rome.
He had a particular interest in the
anamorphic lens system from early
meetings with the Frenchman Chretienne,
culminating in the TechnoVision system
launched in the early 70s.
The TechnoVision system went on to be
used on over 1000 feature films including
Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor,
Out of Africa and Little Buddha.
17
Te c h n o V i s i o n f o u n d e r c e l e b r a t e s 80 y e a r s
F a r e we l l t o c i n e ma l e g e n d s
Stanley Kubrick 1928-1999
Having completed one of the longest
shoots on record, Stanley Kubrick has left
the film industry on the edge of its seats
awaiting his final film Eyes Wide Shut.
Kubricks reputation and his extraordinary
films will grace our screens for many years
to come.
Born in the Bronx, New York, Kubrick
started his career as a stills photographer.
After making his first film at twenty three,
Kubrick went on to shoot screen greats
including A Clockwork Orange which
Freddie Young OBE BSC GBCT
1902-1998
The worlds greatest cameraman by
general consent, and the winner of three
Academy Awards , Freddie Young
enjoyed a glorious career in the film
industry.
Virtually every British DoP today will at
some time in their early careers have
worked with or have been inspired by
received three Oscar nominations for
Kubrick, Spartacus, Lolita, The Shining
and Full Metal Jacket.
Kubrick was passionate about film making,
and in 1990 joined forces with other
directors to form the Film Foundation, an
organisation whose goal is to promote the
restoration and preservation of films.
Arriflex cameras have partnered Kubrick on
several films, so sadly ARRI bids farewell to
a cinematographer who was as great as
he was enigmatic.
Freddie. He was the undisputed master of
film technicians.
With over 120 credits to his name, his
best remembered include: Lawrence of
Arabia, Dr. Zhivago and Ryans
Daughter.
ARRI says goodbye to a legend.
environments the electronics are always the
first to go. Our ARRI SRII had no trouble, it
was on the job day in and day out without
hiccups.
Next stop Easter Island, the most isolated
island on earth. Shooting in such a dry,
dusty and barren place was challenging to
the crew.
Acclimatising to very hot weather was
harder on us humans than any piece of
equipment. We had to shoot carrying gear
around in extremely dry and hot weather.
After being in extremely cold conditions for
8 months it wasnt an easy transition.
Easter Island is still a mystery and the
various theories all clash with each other,
in the end you have to make up your own
theory depending on your beliefs.
The crew were guided by native Victor Ika,
to some of the most secret and taboo
locations around the island.
One morning Victor told us he was about
to take us to the centre of the earth and
instructed us to bring compasses. On a
After leaving the South American coast on
their way across the Pacific Ocean on
Aysso, their 55 foot sailing yacht, the
Schurmanns sailed to Juan Fernandez
Island 500 miles from the coast. The
Island is known as Robinson Crusoe Island.
David explains, Even though the novel
Robinson Crusoe is part fiction, most of it
was based on the life of Alexander Selkirk,
a sailor who was banished from his ship
and was forced to live there for 4 years
alone. David continues, We decided to
search for the remains of his caves and
after long walks and boat trips we arrived
at the place Alexander called his summer
house, a small cave by the sea. Imagine
filming in Crusoes summer house!
I started to get worried about the humidity
and dampness on this island, and a little
concerned about the equipment. We took
the normal precautions by adding silica
gels in little removable pouches to our
Pelican cases and storing all Kodak films in
specially adapted freezers we had
installed in Chile. I was extremely happy to
have chosen a camera with very little
electronics because in these damp
Ma g e l l a n g l o b a l a d v e n t u r e PA RT I I
On November 23rd 1998, David Schurmann and the family crew
of the MAGELLAN GLOBAL ADVENTURE celebrated their first year
of the voyage that so far has taken them to the extreme south of the
South American continent, through the Argentinean Patagonia and
Chiles Tierra Del Fuego. We meet the crew on their next extreme
challenge: the tropical South Pacific...
18
small grass patch by the shore was a large
rock with four smaller stones, all placed
exactly on the North, South, East, and
West cardinal points. Victor demonstrated
the way his ancestors came to meditate
and find wisdom from the rock. After
placing our compasses on the rock, to our
amazement the needles on the three
compasses went totally crazy.
Filming in Rapanui, the MOAIS (giant
statues) and volcano craters with its
religious villages is a truly astonishing
and humbling experience.
After being amazed for 15 days, the
Magellan Global Adventure headed
on to Pitcairn Island, famous for the
mutineers of the Bounty.
The island and its people were
extremely welcoming. With a new
$10,000 film fee and terrible
weather the crew was forced to
move on after only two days, the
disappointment was especially high
since it has taken two months
braving the seas to get to Pitcairn.
After reaching the famous South
Pacific Island of French Polynesia,
they passed through Mangareva
in the Gambia Archipelago and
filmed numerous pearl farms and
the churches built in 1834 by
the officially insane missionary,
Louis Laval.
The main church was built for 1200
people, more than twice the island
population and was entirely built out of
the lagoons and corals and decorated
in black pearls and shells. It still looks
mild next to the Nuclear bomb shelters
that are scattered around the Island.
The expedition moved on to Tahiti.
Filming in these islands is almost like
cheating, no matter where you point the
camera you get something magical
happening.
Filming sharks outside the protected
coral lagoons turned out to be a little
tense at first but exhilarating later as the
sharks repeatedly tested our fear levels.
Our custom built housing for the SRII
from AQUAVIDEO was a perfect tool, its
simplicity guaranteed easy access to
magazines and fast switch between in
and out of the water mode.
19
Left to right:
Nigel le Breton, Metro films NZ
David Schurmann
Andy Roelants, Metro Films NZ
20
One year into production, David decided
to take the camera for maintenance.
We have rolled over 100,000 feet of
film through the camera and being close to
New Zealand, I decided to check the
lenses and camera body, this was purely
preventive as we had absolutely no
problems with the equipment. The ARRI
support team at METRO FILMS in Auckland
were Andy Roelants, managing director
and Nigel Le Breton service manager.
Nigel checked everything and did not
find one major thing wrong. Even METRO
FILMS were impressed that after 1 year of
high production the camera was in perfect
shape! Good equipment and crew were
the key for this.
The Schurmanns are now on their way to
Kiribati Island Micronesia then the
Philippines.
Magellan didnt visit all these places,
David explains we took some creative
freedom to visit the islands he missed, but
now were back on his track, ...by the
way he really did miss a lot.
It was in Tahiti that the Schurmanns
received their new ARRI lights.
The Pocket Pars came in at the right time,
with the bright sunny skies of the tropics
we could put them to use straight away as
fill lights on many interviews and local
dance demonstrations. At night with the
fast Kodak stocks, the lights have the
power to kick in and light just about any
confined situation.
I compared different light systems and
looked closely for a kit that would be
flexible enough to work anywhere. Some
of the other kits were close but after talking
to many technicians and looking at the
durability and light output, I decided that
they were not right for this production.
When Charlie Davidson from ARRI Lighting
USA showed me the Pocket Par, I knew I
found the tool we needed. From our tests
on the last three months, we can see that
this light was tough and its flexible enough
with its size and AC and DC ballasts to be
used in just about any situation. Charlie
Davidson was extremely helpful, getting the
lights to us right away. David also
explains that he has asked for an
underwater housing to be built for the ARRI
Pocket Pars, which he will be testing in the
next few months.
Email David Schurmann at:
david@schurmann.com.br
Follow their voyage on the Internet at:
www.schurmann.com.br
seven hours which was great. The lights
are also really versatile with different
effects available from the heads.
Considering we were a quarter of a mile
from any power source this was excellent
for us.
Graham continues, The best thing is, you
can turn up anywhere in the world and
find you are without power. But if youre
lucky enough to spot a car, you could
extract a car battery and run the ARRI
Pocket Pars straight from it. In my opinion,
if you need a light for several hours and
theres no power, the Pocket Par is the only
solution on the market.
Graham finished the series with a
documentary on Labyrinths and Mazes,
adding more incredibly interesting
locations to his now privileged collection.
Months of negotiation between producers
and the Indian Government finally paid off
to give Graham this fantastic opportunity.
I still feel extremely privileged to have
been the only person allowed to film inside
the Taj Mahal, recalls Graham. There
are not many places left which have never
been filmed in one way or another. But
before the trip I was quite nervous about
how we could actually make the
production with the many restrictions and
limitations we faced.
No mains power or generators could be
operated within one mile of the Taj Mahal.
No equipment, stands, or items were to be
placed on any floor surface, a challenging
task for sure. However, utmost respect must
be paid to this sacred shrine which is one
of the most visited places on earth.
Knowing he faced these restrictions before
he left, Graham searched to find the
perfect solution for the shoot before he left
for India.
I looked through many brochures, and I
saw the 12 volt to 30 volt converter in the
ARRI brochure, so found out I could run a
Pocket Par from a car battery. We could
not find a supplier of 30 volt batteries in
India, so this seemed the answer. On
shooting inside the Taj Mahal, Graham
found his solution worked successfully
without any problems.
Three of my assistants held ARRI Pocket
Pars infront of me around the Taj Mahal.
We doubled up the seven metre head
leads to give each a fourteen metre lead
length. The extendable leads are really
light and flexible. This allowed us to locate
the batteries in a safe area out of the way
and just walk around hand holding the
very light heads. As no stands were
allowed and the heads had to be held for
six to eight hours, size and weight was
very important. One car battery lasted for
21
Graham Veevers is a very privileged man. He is the first
person ever to have been allowed to film inside the Taj
Mahal. The documentary on the history of the Taj Mahal is
one of twelve programmes made for the Ancient Voices
series, produced by the BBC TV and the Learning Channel
in association with TimeLife Inc.
S e c r e t s o f t h e Ta j Ma h a l r e v e a l e d
22
Ne w s t u d i o s f o r Te l e Mo n t e C a r l o i n R o me
ARRI Italia designed and implemented the
entire lighting system for the impessive new
television studios of Tele Montecarlo in
Rome. This included supplying projectors,
the hoist and suspension system.
Alfredo Innocenti, Works Director for Tele
MonteCarlo explains, Television activity at
Via Novaro has made a significant step
forward, demonstrating the desire to
centralise all resources which are currently
operating throughout Italy and abroad,
and to make a serious investment in new
technology. It demonstrates our strong
desire for growth and to keep pace with
the most advanced technology.
The studios were already there, he
explained, noting the design of these
studios involved removing the previous
fixed lighting bridges and opting for the
use of motorised hoists fitted on tracks to
obtain vertical as well as partial horizontal
movement. There were two parallel pipe
units, one on top of another, 450 square
metres below, 350 square metres above,
all completely bare just waiting for the
installations and acoustics and technical
structures to make them into an operational
studio.
The decision to remove the bridges and
replace them with motorised hoists has
clear pros and cons, continues Innocenti,
the fixed lighting bridge system certainly
had economic advantages, but the present
hoist system guarantees extreme flexibility.
The large initial investment will guarantee a
notable reduction in management costs.
From an economic standpoint we have
succeeded in optimising the project, and
obtaining favourable responses from all
suppliers, without going too much over
budget. Being able to move the motorised
hoist on a horizontal plane approximately
three metres compared with the central
position makes it uniquely flexible,
especially in the management of set
design. The time for our first transmission
was so tight that we had to prepare the
lights on the day before our choice
made this possible.
The studios have been set up with full
digital cabling for video, benefiting quality
from every angle. From the standpoint of
audio recording, the choice was for a
console with a high number of channels,
because we plan to use these studios for
music television programmes or talk
shows.
ARRI Italia was entrusted with setting-up
these new studios despite very strong
competition. ARRI products enjoy world-
wide confidence. They are reliable, well-
built functional products. We wanted the
backing of an organisation capable of
responding quickly to our requirements with
utmost flexibility and quality.
ARRI Austria was formed in Vienna in
1986 to be a research and development
centre for Arnold & Richter Munich, initially
for the development of the Arriflex 765.
Today, the team of fourteen highly qualified
engineers is continually developing new
cameras and camera accessories to
expand and complement the existing
Arriflex range. This dedicated team consists
of eight mechanical engineers and six
electronic engineers. Occasionally they are
joined by up to ten technical freelancers.
ARRI Austria houses the latest CAD
(computer aided design) and simulation
software on state of the art computers to
produce initial concepts through to the final
design. A team of four is responsible for
the assembly of these products. Various
mechanical, electronic and optical testing
equipment is used to achieve the high
quality standards that are expected from
ARRI products.
Klemens Kehrer, design engineer at ARRI
Austria comments Due to the small size of
ARRI Austria we can react quickly to
changes and we have a set of highly
specialised sub-suppliers who can provide
us with parts for prototypes for field testing
very quickly.
We have an excellent team spirit and we
are very motivated, everybody can bring
in their ideas which often leads to
surprising solutions, continues Kehrer.
For example, the Integrated Capping
Shutter for the Arriflex 435. The advantage
for the customer is that often the same team
who developed the cameras also develop
a wide variety of accessories. This results
in a highly compatible range of
accessories which all work together, with
each other and the cameras. So
compatibility issues are minimal for the
customer.
New products are planned in close
collaboration with the sales department in
ARRI Munich, the ARRI subsidiaries and
ARRI rental companies and our customers.
24/25 images per second are captured
in an Arriflex camera with precision and
accuracy. However, research,
development, design and technical
innovations take a lot longer to make this
possible. ARRIs research centre in Austria
is the home of some exciting camera
product development
23
C a me r a d e v e l o p me n t a t A R R I A US T R I A
A n e w A R R I d i s t r i b u t o r f o r No r wa y
years. Jan Myhre, general manager at LFS
is confident that Norway is set for
significant growth in the film and television
industry in 1999, and looks forward to
becoming a part of the motivated ARRI
worldwide distributor network.
LFS went on to exhibit the full range of
ARRI lights and camera products at
Norways annual leading industry event
LLB. Two ARRI 6Ks also lit up the area
outside the halls to show the delegates the
real power of the lights.
ARRI is pleased to announce the
appointment of its new distributor for
Norway.
LFS (Lys & Film Support AS) will distribute
both camera and lighting products to the
Norwegian market. To mark this event, LFS
officially opened its new offices in Oslo,
inviting over thirty major customers to join
the celebration.
LFS is no stranger to ARRI products, its
parent company SFL in Sweden has been
a successful distributor for ARRI for many Left to right:
Stig Sward, Johan Sward (SFL),
Jan Myhre (LFS)
Nick Shapley (ARRI GB)
Horst Bergmann (ARRI Munich)
Arriflex 435
C S C t o t h e r e s c u e
The ensuing demolition effort forced the
Department of Emergency Management to
close Times Square for nearly two weeks,
displacing more than 600 people, and
threatening the livelihood of hundreds of
businesses.
In the middle of all this doom and gloom
appeared a light. From the night of the
disaster and all during the crisis, Camera
Service Center (CSC) was there to lend a
hand. CSC provided huge movie lights
while crews performed emergency repairs.
New York Citys film commissioner, Patricia
Reed Scott, said, Arriflex and CSC went
above and beyond the call of duty to help
in the disaster. It was extraordinary.
Within five minutes of my call to get a
generator, CSC provided two 7k Xenon
On the evening of July 21st, a construction elevator scaffolding collapsed on
Cond Nasts Times Square building, shutting down several city blocks around
Manhattans Times Square for more than a week.
an extraordinarily
dangerous undertaking
Mayor Giuliani
New York
24
orchestras and soloists for this $15 million
event which took five years in the making.
With such excellent performances from the
cast, even the ARRI lights used couldnt
outshine such talent. ARRI lights used on
these performances included the Studio 5K
and T12 loaned by lighting rental house
CINERENT Beijing.
ARRI Lights were supplied to the
performance by ARRI (GB)s lighting
distributor Jebsen & Co Ltd Hong Kong,
who have established nine liason offices in
the major cities of China, and strengthened
their ARRI sales and technical team to meet
the new challenges in the market.
The Forbidden City of Beijing provided an
authentic and spectacular venue for both
audiences of the live performances and
television viewers world-wide. The
performances took place on the square in
front of the palace which is today called
the Peoples Cultural Palace. This palatial
compound is surrounded by gardens and
used to be a meeting place of noblemen
and an imperial audience venue for the
Emperor in past times.
One of Chinas foremost film directors
Zhang Yimou joined forces with the
renowned conductor Zubin Mehta to lead
over one thousand people including
production crews, technical staff,
L i g h t i n g t h e F o r b i d d e n C i t y o f B e i j i n g
A dream came true last September when the lights went up in
Beijing, China, for the first of nine performances of Puccinis opera
Turandot, staged as never before in the exact setting imagined by
Puccini and his librettists.
lights and a 1400 AMP generator which
permitted emergency crews to work
throughout the night. The Department of
Emergency Management described the
lights as, crucial to their efforts.
CSC applauds its Lighting Department
Manager, Glenn Vanderlinden, for getting
the equipment to the emergency site
quickly and on such short notice.
Moreover, CSC thanks
Commissioner Scott for this
opportunity to assist the City
of New York.
Says Vanderlinden of the
commissioner, Pat really
came through for the city
by knowing how to get
the proper equipment
there.
L a t e S h o w
The German cinema community always waits excitedly for the
new Dietl production. After Schtonk and Rossini, the man who is
probably the most successful German author and film-maker, has
again chosen a subject from the media sector. This time it is about
late shows and all the intrigues and jealousies which surround it.
25
than on the smartness of Hannes Engel.
The film owes some of its most beautiful
scenes to moments in which humanity
defeats cynicism. For example, when the
fantastic Dieter Pfaff as Mick Meyer bursts
out suddenly in despair, you give
yourself a real headache every day with
goats, poodles, whores and queers. I just
dont know what people still expect to see.
It is not individuals who worry in despair
about their careers who make our
television so bad. Dietl does not make it so
easy for himself. Right at the end, Conny
Scheffer (Harald Schmidt) discovers that he
is intended to ruin the decrepit station
TELE-C so that his all-powerful boss, Beer
(Otto Schenk) can buy the missing shares
for the symbolic Mark. So its all about
money. The irritation does not last long, we
are of course in show business. The play
soon goes on as if nothing had happened.
Jasmin Tabatabai plays Scheffers girlfriend
and Veronica Ferres Frau Engels. The minor
roles are excellently and prominently cast
with Olli Dietrich, Jurgen Tarrach, Karl
Marcovics and Andrea Sawatzki. Sabine
Orlans is also to be found in the touching
role of the fan desperately in love with
Hannes Engel and Martin Armknecht, well
known from his role in A death for
Quandt, in a furioso appearance as a
heckler on the Hannes Engel show.
Dietl has hired the two best known
German chat show hosts for the main
roles. Harald Schmidt is Conrad Scheffer,
the ruthless programme director of the
commercial station TELE-C. On the look out
for better ratings he discovers Hannes
Engel, a well-loved radio presenter, for his
struggling late show. Thomas Gottschalk
plays Hannes Engel, a role that is partly
true to life with a few autobiographical
elements, for example, the story of the
nymphomaniac, Rose.
However, Late Show is not intended to be
sensationalism, as Helmut Dietl never tires
of protesting. He is aware of the ambiguity
of his casting and plays with the irritation
which arises from it. But Dietl, who also
wrote the screenplay with Christoph
Mueller, wants to do more than simply
reflect reality. He wants to discover why
our television functions in the way it does
now and he uses the means of which he
has the greatest mastery, satire.
So the film handles ratings pressure, sex as
a career, intrigue and ruthlessness. Conny
Scheffer drives his secretary to suicide in
the film, Mick Meyer suffers a nervous
breakdown and has to be pushed through
the scenery in a wheelchair for the rest of
the film. And, of course, the question arises
as to whether it would not be better to
concentrate on the Schuble effect rather
26
convinced art director Rolf Greulich that he
should continue using the high quality
procedure. It was clearly visible on the
cinema screen that the fascination of the
broad landscape, typical of Marlboro,
simply gets lost without the high 2k cinema
standard.
The results are now showing in practically
every German cinema. After all, 3,880
copies were allocated to the German
market alone. Amended versions of the
spot will run world wide.
The ARRI Digital Film team in Munich have
been reworking these spots for a number
of years. The extra filming undertaken in
the USA for the German market has been
digitised in high resolution with cinema
quality, colour corrected on Cineon, and
put through the final production process.
This time the clients, Michael Conrad &
Leo Burnett of Frankfurt, actually wanted to
take a different route and FAZ it (retransfer
to film) direct from the American video
master, a procedure which is quite usual in
the industry. However, a cinema test then
Most of us are familiar with the beautiful images of the countryside in the
American West which are used for advertising the participation of the:
Ma r l b o r o A d v e n t u r e Te a m
After ROSSINI, Gernot Roll
photographed a Helmut Dietl film. He
relied on the proven ARRI 535 B and only
used the lighter Moviecam SL for a few
SteadiCam sequences. He was not
concerned with striking crane runs or other
technical challenges. He based everything
on carefully built moods using lighting. In
their entirely intentional artificiality they
contribute to the unreal, illusory atmosphere
of the television world, which is almost
always seen at night.
The music for Late Show was composed
by Stephan Zacharias. After some
television work, this is his second film
music score after Frau Rettich, the Czerni
and I. Inez Regnier, who has been
working with Helmut Dietl for 25 years,
was responsible for the cutting work.
The film was produced by Diana-Film in
collaboration with WDR. Helmut Dietl has
worked for television again for the first time
for a long time, since Kir Royal. In fact,
Late Show is his first major TV film. But of
course it would not be possible to keep a
Dietl film out of the cinema and therefore
the Constantin film Late Show began
showing in cinemas throughout Germany
in February 1999.
However, she was entering new territory
this time because she was cutting on the
AVID for the first time.
Late Show was filmed during 50 days
between May and July 1998 in Cologne
and the surrounding area. More than half
was shot at night. The former Capital
Cinema, well known from the Harald
Schmidt show, served as the backdrop for
the Mick Meyer and Hannes Engel show
in the film. The entire final processing of
the film was undertaken by the ARRI Lab in
Munich. For the first time with a German
film, the final copies were put on the new
Kodak Vision Premier stock. With its
increased density and steeper contrast
range, the new material permits even
deeper blacks and has a generally sharper
and brighter effect.
27
Success at Blink has inevitably led to
expansion and the company now enjoys
success in other areas of production. Blink
formed an associated company which is
responsible for producing music video
promos and work from outside the UK.
Aptly named Stink, this company acts as
an international vehicle for the directors at
Blink. Stink developed as an
amalgamation of Still King in Prague and
Blink in the UK. It was originally based
within the Blink offices, but happily Stink
has now outgrown its conception location
and has expanded to its own offices.
With all this success, expansion, and the
collection of awards to consider, Blink still
perfects all details of production planning
from location booking, casting and
equipment hire which can make or break
a tightly planned shooting schedule. One
such commerial was for the launch of Sky
Digital TV
B l i n k P r o d u c t i o n s
k e e p i n g b o t h e y e s o p e n f o r t h e f u t u r e o f c o mme r c i a l s
With a host of production companies
springing up to bid for the tide of
commercial productions available, one
established company is already leading
the way with its artistic perfection and
boundless creativity from its award winning
directors. One of the top five production
companies in the UK, Blink Productions has
produced countless commercials over the
years. Working with clients such as Volvo,
Daewoo, Whiskas, Midland Bank,
Guinness, Sky and Cellnet, Blink has won
many prestigious awards including
Campaigns Production Company of the
Year in 1997.
Blink Productions was set up in 1986 by
Bob Lawrie who was then animation
director, who was joined a year later by
managing director James Studholme. In
1993 Blink Productions changed from
purely an animation company to solely live
action and now has a roster of eight
directors.
The directors at Blink work with an
assortment of agencies including BMP
DDB, Abbott Mead Vickers, Lowe Howard
Spink and M & C Saatchi.
For commercials, comments Rebecca
Brierley, producer with Blink, sometimes
its very obvious as to what format is best
suited to the script. For example, if youre
presented with a script that follows the
path of someones life from a child through
to adult, it helps to tell the story by starting
off using super 8, then 16mm and then
35mm.
28
The launch commercial for Sky Digital
was Blinks largest project last year within
the UK, explains Rebecca. With only
three weeks to prepare, complex special
effects in every shot, explosions,
helicopters, cranes, 3D animation and
working on every kind of stock
imaginable, it was a godsend that there
were no artists, just hundreds of TVs.
The commercial was shot both in-studio
and on location using the steep cliffs of
Seven Sisters near Beachy Head, in and
around London, and Burnham Beeches,
Berkshire. The filming required a large
crew particularly on the explosion day
when we used the most amount of
cameras Ive ever used eight! We used
Arriflex 435s and Arriflex IIIs, cranes,
hotheads etc, all supplied by ARRI Media.
Challenges of the commercial
We were under an enormous pressure
from a timing point of view. We had
scheduled it perfectly to shoot over three
weeks and were delayed over the first few
days when it rained. The helicopter shots
were delayed and the shoot was re-
scheduled using every spare day within the
three weeks including the weekends.
Morale was so low by the end of the
second day. Everyone had spent so much
time and energy making sure it would run
smoothly what an absolute relief to have
pure sunshine on the third day.
We filmed on the beach using a Giraffe
crane. To achieve a certain shot it was
necessary to erect a platform in the sea for
the crane. Our director of photography
Simon Richards was fantastic. At the end
of the second day he travelled to the
beach location and in pitch darkness,
assisted by the location manager and the
art director, staked out the exact
positioning for the platform using his
knowledge of the tides. Simon is incredibly
enthusiastic and very hands-on, I couldnt
have asked for anyone better.
The beach day also proved difficult as the
director wanted to see a TV fall off a
200ft cliff directly towards the camera.
We positioned the camera on the beach
facing up the cliff and built a protective
casing for the camera. I was extremely
concerned about everyones safety so I
employed a professional climber. He was
tied to a Land Rover on the cliff top and
hurled the TV off the cliff. Everyone below
was standing a safe distance away whilst
shooting. Only the necessary crew were
allowed near the camera, of course
wearing hard hats at all times. It was very
scary but at the same time really exciting!
Rebecca adds its not only vitally
important for us to have the back-up and
support of ARRI Media, whether its an
engineer, driver or someone in the camera
rental department, but also to know that
we are getting the most up to date and
reliable equipment.
Post production for the commercial took
two weeks including the 3D animation and
the commercial was aired for three weeks
in October 1998.
S k y d i g i t a l c o mme r c i a l
The ARRILASER is the first product in the
new Digital Systems range from ARRI, and
is evidently set to become an industry
standard for facilities worldwide.
29
and the ARRILASER concurrently, and had
a chance to make direct comparisons. We
found no glitches in either the movement or
the exposure. Image sharpness and colour
balance was far superior in the ARRILASER
images. The output quality of the new
ARRILASER recorder is just what we
expected from an ARRI product.
Working with the ARRI team from product
conception, Digital Domains Scan Record
Supervisor Christopher Holsey says his
experience with the ARRILASER has been
great: The ARRI people kept insisting that
they would have the ARRILASER up and
working in about 90 minutes. Having been
involved in numerous installations of
complex equipment, we were sceptical.
So, when it came time for the installation
of the beta unit, we had someone time us.
The ARRI team was extremely professional,
and we were actually up and shooting
images in just 87 minutes. Nobody
building this kind of laser recording system
has had this kind of plug and play
success. To deliver a real product of this
level of technology to a facility and be
able to shoot images in under 90 minutes
is unprecedented in the industry.
Comparing the ARRILASER with similar
equipment used previously, Holsey is
adamant: The image quality is as good
as or better than anything we have seen in
real images from any other laser system,
but when you look at the test targets and
analyse them, you can see the real
difference. This is why we decided to get
involved with the ARRILASER beta rather
than anything else out there. The density
output from film shot on the ARRILASER
plots much more linear than samples from
competing systems particularly around the
top of the density range.
ARRIs new digital film recorder, the
ARRILASER, was launched in September
1998 at IBC in Amsterdam. Large crowds
gathered at the ARRI booth to see the sleek
design comprising the latest innovation in
digital film recording technology that has
proved a major breakthrough for the digital
film industry.
In December 98 ARRI installed the first
ARRILASER as a beta unit at Digital
Domain Inc., in Venice, California. Digital
Domain was chosen for its reputation for
quality work and the availability of
excellent engineering resources to help
ARRI technicians through any technical
issues for final phase modifications. Digital
Domain has successfully established a
world class reputation for innovation and
artistry, and won an Academy Award
for best visual effects on James Camerons
Titanic and a British Academy Award
for best visual effects on Luc Bessons The
Fifth Element. Digital Domain has recently
received its fourth Academy Award
nomination for best visual effects on What
Dreams May Come.
Having tested the ARRILASER for the past
few months, Digital Domain remains
positive about the benefits the ARRILASER
will provide.
Mark Stetson, Digital Domains Visual
Effects Supervisor, comments, ARRIs
reputation for rigid quality standards has
been proven once again, with the new
ARRILASER recorder. Working with a beta
unit, the ARRILASER has been virtually a
plug and play experience at Digital
Domain. Weve given the new recorder a
rigorous trial. We output many long-
running shots on an existing laser recorder
T h e ARRI L AS E R
p r o v e s i t s p r e d i c t i o n s a c c u r a t e , p r e c i s e a n d f a s t
The ARRILASER will be at NAB 1999,
Las Vegas Convention Centre,
Stand no. L 23473.
For further details on the ARRILASER
contact Kristian Willand.
Telephone: +49 8938 09 1038
Email: kwilland@arri.de or visit the
ARRI website: www.arri.com
Jeff Kalmus,
Colour Grading Supervisor at Digital Domain
Historical perspectives
The Arc Lamp
The electric arc was one of the first means
of producing light. Lightning had always
been a symbol of the power of the gods,
so the attempt to tame it was symbolic of
mans power over nature. A popular
theatrical lightning effect involved
connecting a metal file and a carbon rod
to an electrical supply, then running the
carbon rod down the file. This hazardous
procedure could produce a bright flash
and an impressive shower of sparks.
Producing light continuously was more
difficult, although in1808 the British
scientist Humphrey Davy succeeded in
building the first arc lamp.
Air is normally an effective insulator but the
early electricians discovered they could
form an arc by first touching two
conductors together then moving them
apart. The high temperature where the
conductors (or electrodes) touched caused
the air to break down into positive and
negatively charged components. Once this
breakdown started, more current flowed,
heating the air even more. If the gap is not
increased, the arc acts like a short circuit,
more and more current flows until the fuses
blew! To prevent this, the operator must
increase the gap to make it harder for the
electricity to cross.
In this century, the arc lamp was taken up
by the film industry. For more than sixty
years, lamp operators and projectionists
struck arcs much as Davy did. Once lit,
they had to adjust the gap between the
carbon electrodes as they burned away.
Although mechanical systems were devised
to do this, manual intervention was often
required. There were other difficulties. The
light included dangerous ultra-violet
radiation. Toxic gasses were produced so
cinema projection rooms required an
extraction system. Despite these difficulties,
the unique quality of the light was enough
to encourage the use of arc lights until a
better alternative could be found.
HMI The Next Generation
In the late 1960s ARRI and Osram
collaborated to produce the first luminaires
for location use using a new arc lamp,
which would become the HMI or
Mercury (Hg) Metal Iodide lamp. The two
electrodes were sealed into a quartz glass
globe allowing exact control of the gas
mixture. This eliminated poisonous fumes
and reduced UV to the point where the
glass lens absorbed it. Greater control of
the colour and quality of light could be
maintained so a true daylight equivalent
could be produced and more importantly,
accurately reproduced by every light
source without relying on the constant
attention of skilled operators. Xenon lamps
were becoming established for cinema
projection, but they operate at extremely
high pressures. The reduced risk of
explosion made HMI more suitable for
portable lampheads and it was first used
to spectacular success at the Munich
Olympics of 1972.
Because the arc was sealed into a glass
envelope, it was no longer possible to
adjust the gap. The new lamps required a
different way of forming the arc and some
means to control it once formed. The first is
achieved by an igniter in the lamphead.
This generates up to 65,000V for
approximately one second enough to
form an arc inside the lamp, allowing
current to flow. The problem then becomes
one of limiting the flow the function of
the ballast.
B a l l a s t s
30
31
The Ideal Solution
Theoretically, by switching the flow of
current instantly from one direction to the
other, the camera would see a constant
light source. At any film speed, each frame
would be exposed equally and there
would be no flicker. This was impossible
with a choke ballast. A solution using
electronics was needed.
The basic design involves three stages. The
first converts AC mains to DC, the second
stabilises the DC current and regulates the
flow of energy to the lamp. The third
repeatedly switches the direction of the
current to supply the lamp. The direction
changes about eighty times each second,
but each change takes only a few tens of
millionths of a second the light is
effectively constant even when filming to
10,000fps.
Initially electronic ballasts were seen as a
specialist product, only for special effects
and scientific photography. But filmmakers
were keen to be able to change the speed
of the camera without limitations. Having
flicker-free ballasts on the set at all times
provided that freedom.
More Advantages
Electronic ballasts needed to produce
flicker-free light but offer many more
advantages. Because a choke has no
intelligence, it cannot compensate for
changes in lamp performance and supply
voltage. To overcome this, ARRI chose an
electronic ballast with full power control.
By monitoring lamp current and voltage,
the ballast operates the lamp at its
optimum for as much of its life as possible,
compensating for any variations so correct
light colour, quantity and quality are
maintained for longer. Also, by controlling
the current through the lamp during
ignition, damage to the electrodes is
minimised. Together these result in a 20%
increase in useful lamp life.
Control of lamp power allows the
possibility to reduce it, so ARRI ballasts
allow dimming of the lamp to 50% power.
Besides giving flicker-free operation,
switching the lamp current quickly
increases light output by 5% because the
light does not dim and brighten with each
reversal of the supply current.
The design of a choke has little scope for
size and weight reduction. Even early
electronic ballasts were smaller and lighter
than choke equivalents and the reductions
continue. The latest 6/12kW is less than
40% of the weight of a 12kW choke
ballast.
The first ballast was simply a coil of wire
on an iron core. When current begins to
flow through the coil it sets up a magnetic
field which opposes the flow. If the current
increases, the magnetic field also increases
to oppose it. It is simple, effective,
comparatively cheap and much smaller
than the rectifier sets Xenon lamps require.
However, it is less than ideal for film use.
The Flicker Effect
HMI and their successors, MSR lamps,
require alternating current supplies. In an
arc lamp supplied with direct current,
always flowing in the same direction, one
electrode tends to burn away. By switching
the direction of the current, burning of the
electrodes is minimised. This is easy when
the supply is from the mains, which is an
AC source. But because the light source is
a gas, which cools quickly, the light dims
and brightens as the supply reduces before
increasing in the opposite direction. This
happens 100 times a second so is
invisible to the eye, but can affect the
movie camera because each frame of film
is exposed only for a short time.
If the supply is exactly 50Hz, the light dims
one hundred times each second. A camera
filming at exactly 25fps exposes each
frame for 1/50th second. Two pulses of
light fall on each frame so each will be
exposed equally. But any change of the
generator or camera speed produces the
notorious flicker effect light falls more
on some frames than others.
To combat this, the camera was
synchronised to the mains or generator.
This required connecting cables not ideal
on location. Later, electronic control
systems ensured that camera and
generator maintained correct speeds. But
this only solves the problem some of the
time. When the lights are effectively
flashing one hundred times per second, the
cameraman can shoot at speeds such as
25 or 50fps with each frame exposed
equally with two or one pulses of light. But
at say, 35fps, frames are exposed at
different parts of the cycle. Again, some
will be over and some under exposed.
32
free or a low-noise, but non flicker-free
mode. Recent models offer two low noise
modes allowing safe, quiet operation at
24/25 or 30fps which is ideal for US
cameramen shooting for TV and working in
countries with 50Hz mains.
Over-Voltage Protection
Experience on location showed that
extreme high voltage spikes could be
caused by disconnecting supply cables
under load. Additionally, there is the risk of
connecting the supply incorrectly. Because
of this, ARRI ballasts were fitted with
protection against both spikes and
continuous high voltages.
Soft Starting
The choke ballasts surges of power during
ignition, besides damaging the lamp
electrodes, can cause problems to the
supply. With a small generator, or a long
mains cable, the supply may not be able
to meet this sudden demand and the lamp
cannot strike. ARRIs electronic ballasts
control this surge and prevent it from
affecting the supply.
Output Protection
Analysis of faults on the first generation of
electronic ballasts showed that trouble
often originated not in the ballast but the
lamphead. The design of an igniter is
intended to keep high voltages safely
confined in the lamphead without them
affecting the ballast. But in old lampheads,
component failure or damaged insulation
can reduce the effectiveness of the
designers precautions without the user
being aware of it. To combat this, a new
protection system was developed and,
after approval from the German standards
authority, was fitted to all ballasts. No
system can protect against every possible
fault but this has made a substantial
improvement to reliability.
The Flicker Meter
Checking that light is truly flicker-free can
be useful in situations where a variety of
light sources are used together, or where
flicker problems have been seen on rushes,
since flicker on film can also be caused by
camera, stock or processing problems.
ARRI supplies the Flicker Meter, which
gives a percentage readout of flicker less
than 3% variation is safe, flicker-free light.
The same meter can also be used to
measure light frequency for synchronisation
to light sources or monitors.
Boost Ballasts
Arri boost ballasts virtually double the
output of a standard lamphead for up to
twenty seconds. This is used for high-speed
photography such as car crash testing in
laboratories around the world. Using
discharge lighting in this way provides
extreme light levels without correspondingly
high heat affecting sensitive measuring
equipment.
Extreme Climates
As well as the extreme cold of Lillehammer,
ARRI ballasts are chosen for the 50C
desert conditions of South Africa and
Spain where no other manufacturers
electronic ballasts can operate.
The Olympics a vital role
ARRI ballasts have played a part in lighting
the Olympic Games for many years. They
performed well in both the heat of
Barcelona and Atlanta and in the cold of
Lillehammer and Nagano.
The Future is Bright
Electronic ballasts have come a long way
in fifteen years but there are more exciting
and innovative changes to come for new
features, improved reliability and
serviceability. Full details can be obtained
from your local ARRI distributor.
Power Factor Correction The ALF
Power factor is a measure of how much
generator capacity a ballast requires. A
ballast with power factor 0.5 uses twice
the capacity of a ballast with power factor
1 for the same work. Electronic ballasts
with power factors less than 1 can also
cause overheating of cables so optimising
power factor is important. Even the first
ARRI ballasts from 4kW used a
sophisticated electronic circuit the Active
Line Filter. This allows power factor
correction without a big increase in the
size of the ballast.
More recently, the ALF is the key to
meeting the demands of the European CE
standards by minimising the disturbance
caused to the mains supply.
Dual Voltage Switching
ARRI offered 110 and 230V operation
selected automatically first on 575 and
1.2kW models. The latest range offers
dual voltage options from 125W to 6kW.
The Low Noise Switch
The electronic ballast was first seen as only
for shooting at high and low speeds where
sync sound was not required, but quickly
became the standard on every film shoot.
One limitation was the noise produced by
lamp and ignitor due to the fast switching
of the supply current but ARRI did not wish
to restrict users to using soundproofed
lampheads. The answer was a low-noise
switch giving the choice between flicker-
A R R I b a l l a s t
i n n o v a t i o n
33
for a final grade. There is very little
difference in costs between the two routes,
but the final grade from a negative is more
satisfactory.
The film negative is sent to the lab and the
rushes are transferred on Mike Frasers
telecine, which incorporates an ARRI time-
code reader, to Digital Betacam or Beta
SP. Syncing in telecine is expensive and
fraught with problems, so the information
of both the ARRI timecode and the picture
timecode is compiled automatically to disc.
The DAT timecode and the telecine
information are then combined using the
Mike Fraser Triple A software. It syncs up
the sound with the picture, takes out every
wild track, run ups , run ons etc, lists them
separately and adds them to the end of
the Beta or on to a separate Beta tape.
All of this in the blink of an eye, leaving
time for Fraser to check and resync where
necessary any problems that may have
occurred in the field.
The editor is therefore able to get all the
information on the Betacam SP tapes
exactly where he/she wants it. A digitising
disc for the online is created with the in
and out times noted together with the
name of every take. All the rushes are
therefore in sync.
Recent productions using the system
include Harbour Lights the new Nick
Berry ten one hour series for Valentine
Productions, The Passion a three one
hour drama series shot in Devon by First
Choice Films and the currently being shot
six one hour drama The Gatekeeper for
BBC Cardiff.
The Computer takes the pressure off. It
also helps me work quicker and if I am
tired there are no mistakes, so says
Katrina Ford, negative cutter at Mike Fraser
of their new CAN (Computer Aided Neg-
cut) software.
In a normal week a negative cutter can
make up to 1000 splices, each time
carefully reading the KEY KODE against a
print out. But anyone can make a mistake,
particularly at the end of the day when
tired eyes can mistake a 6 for a 9.
So Rod Wheeler, operations director and
technical whizz kid, sat down and wrote a
programme combining the power of the
Osc/r computer translations and the
experience of individual negative cutters.
Now, instead of the negative cutter having
to judge whether the number is a 6 or a 9
(this can be very difficult when the film
edge is fogged or covered in encryptions)
the software does it for them. As the
chosen edit point is approached, a bar on
the monitor turns yellow as a warning and
then red when the actual frame is reached
accompanied by an audible warning. A
quick human eye check and then cutting
takes place, safely.
So what do these two new pieces of
software offer producers?
Firstly, stress and error free negative
cutting. Secondly, the reduction in stock
and the lack of awkward waits for the
actors when using the new sync system.
Thirdly, the knowledge that the rushes will
be in sync.
For more information on the system contact
Mike Fraser at mike@mfraser.demon.co.uk
Mike Fraser Limited has perfected and
patented a software package for transfer
and syncing film pictures and sound at an
astounding speed with guaranteed
accuracy. The process maintains a
comprehensive listing and placement of all
trims and wildtracks automatically, and
allows a10% film stock saving as run-ups
are eliminated.
The use of film time code for syncing
purposes has been a mixed blessing in
recent years. The linking of the camera
and the sound recording accurately should
mean that while sound is being recorded,
its time of day time-code is automatically
printed and encrypted onto the side of the
film. Theoretically it should be very easy
and automatic to sync the sound and the
picture rushes.
However this doesnt always work in
practice and many productions have
tended to avoid what in effect are
excellent syncing tools.
In the past camera manufacturers time
code systems have had problems. Also,
the philosophy of syncing rushes has
changed from being sound-led to non-
linear editing which is picture-led.
A lot of programmes today are shot on film
and either telecine transferred to Digital
Betacam to stay in the digital domain, or
to Beta SP with a return to the cut negative
T i me c o d e u p d a t e
er r or - f r ee negat i ve cut t i ng
This years award moves ARRI into the
exclusive club of technological companies
which have received the most awards from
Hollywood.
This years prize winners were shown for
the first time as prototypes at ShowBiz in
1994 and were very soon a success in
the marketplace. Approximately 150
ARRIFLEX 435s are manufactured and sold
each year. The 435 replaces the popular
ARRIFLEX 35 III.
The 435 runs at 1-150 frames per second
forwards and reverse with quartz
stabilisation and offers extreme precision
with the best possible centering, all
robustly and very compactly packed into
6.5 kg (not including the cassette.) These
features are combined with an ergononic
design and a viewfinder that can swivel
on to the other side of the camera.
A mirror aperture which can be adjusted
electronically while the camera is running
has opened up new creative possibilities
which have become very popular e.g. so-
called ramping, which can add further
drama to action scenes, or invisible
compensation for differences in exposure
when changing from outdoor to indoor
filming in one take. Modular accessories
round off the equipment. These include
high quality video pictures which can be
used later in the offline, together with a
convenient single frame switch for
time-lapse recording and the serial
interface which enables remote
control of the camera.
The 435 provides the camera
operator with the widest feature and
performance capability of any MOS
camera in use today.
A multiplicity of features and
benefits. The classic application
is in commercials and as the
second unit camera in action scenes where
versatility and maximum precision are
demanded. Moreover, the more film
material is reworked digitally, the higher
the demands on the camera.
The fact that second unit means anything
but second choice where a film is being
made is demonstrated by one of the first
great applications of the ARRIFLEX 435 in
a feature film at the Cinecitta Studios in
Rome. The action thriller DAYLIGHT was
filmed there with Sylvester Stallone in
1996. The 435 had particularly hard use
being close to explosions and water, but
also the noise barrier. Cameraman David
Eggby often preferred using the 435
instead of the ARRIFLEX 535 with its
soundproof housing which is designed to
be silent in the studio. We often worked
without a special underwater housing or
even spray protection. My team consider
the camera to be watertight anyway, he
explained.
It is no surprise that the 435 is also
extremely popular in quite different
situations, e.g. when filming a
documentary which has previously usually
been done on 16mm material because the
budget is quite different, as are the filming
conditions. However, anyone who takes
pride in his work and thinks about the
worldwide distribution has to work with
35mm format. Several documentary
projects are currently underway at the
same time using the ARRIFLEX 435:
MYSTERY OF NATURE, the continuation of
the very successful FASZINATION NATUR
by Gogol Lobmayr and the BBC series
WALKING WITH DINOSAURS by John
Howarth.
Os c a r s
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34
On 27th February 1999,
ARRI was awarded two
technical Oscars at the
Regent Beverly Wiltshire
Hotel in Hollywood: for the
ARRIFLEX 435 and for the
Variable Prime Lenses
developed with Carl Zeiss.
r e c o g n i s i n g A R R I t e c h n o l o g y
35
The use of the Variable Primes is similarly
widespread one set with three lenses,
which cover a range from 16 to 105 mm
(T2.2) focal length without leaving any
gaps and therefore replace eight
conventional fixed focal lengths and more.
Variable Primes means variable fixed focal
lengths and represent a quantum leap in
modern lens design.
The philosophy behind the new concept
was simple and logical but technically
expensive to implement. In the past, there
were high quality fixed focal lengths and
also zoom lenses, which often required
significant compromises insofar as image
quality and lens speed were concerned.
The requirement was to produce lenses
with a variable focal length which offered
the optical quality of a fixed focal length. International productions using
the ARRIFLEX 435:
FIFTH ELEMENT
STARWARS sequels
AIR FORCE ONE
VIRUS
GLORIA
DEEP IMPACT
ICE STORM
KUNDUN
DAYLIGHT
WING COMMANDER
KULL THE CONQUEROR
SUBSTITUTE
TARZAN & JANE
DER SCHNSTE BERUF DER WELT
ASTEROID
BANDITS
BIN ICH SCHN
FEUERREITER
FETTE WELT
BEOWULF
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS
MYSTERY OF NATURE
CASCADEUR
Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences for ARRI development
1966 For the design and development of the ARRIFLEX 35
1974 For the design and development of the ARRIFLEX 35 BL
1982 For the concept and development of the first industrially manufactured
professional 35mm film single lens reflex camera
1989 For the concept and development of the ARRIFLEX 35 III
1991 For the constant further development of the ARRIFLEX BL camera systems
1993 For the design and development of the ARRIFLEX 765 camera systems
1996 For the development of the ARRIFLEX 535 camera series
1999 For the design and development of the ARRIFLEX 435
1999 For the concept and the optical design of the Carl Zeiss/ARRIFLEX
Variable Primes
The result means fewer lens changes on
the set and a saving in production time.
An additional bonus is the ability to set
intermediate focal lengths which would
otherwise be impossible. The optical
quality exceeds that of the fixed focal
lengths to a significant degree in some
areas.
The Variable Prime Lens System includes
the focal lengths:
16-30 mm VP 1
29-60 mm VP 2
55-105 mm VP 3
Michael Ballhaus has used them for filming
AIR FORCE ONE together with Stanley
Kubrick, for his new work EYES WIDE
SHUT, and Vilmos Zsigmond in his
FANTASY FOR A NEW AGE commercial,
or DoP Richard Greatrex who used the
Variable Primes in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
which has won seven Oscars. Other
productions include THE PEACEMAKER,
MYSTERY OF NATURE, VENUS BEAUTE,
DER SCHNSTE BERUF DER WELT (Le
plus bon metier du monde).
This series of variable prime lenses open
many creative possibilities, since any focal
length can be continuously selected
throughout the entire range. They offer
sharp, high-contrast, high-resolution images
with minimized vignetting, superior to
many prime lenses.
36
For the last five years, ARRI has been one
of the principal sponsors. Giuseppe
Tucconi, representing ARRI Munich, was
presented with a sponsors award for many
years of support.
Several workshops were run by well-known
cameramen during the festival. ARRI
showed the ARRIFLEX 535B, the Variable
Prime set of lenses and the latest daylight
and tungsten lights.
A series of seminars were held, including
one with cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs
(Easy Rider). Kovacs, whose works formed
a central feature of the festival, was given
the Lifetime Achievement Award for his
work. In addition, Robby Mller (Breaking
the Waves) and Arthur Reinhart (Nothing)
gave the students an insight into their
creative inspiration in the workshop tent.
A total of more than 60 films were shown
in the week from 28th November to 6th
December. Germany was represented by
Cascadeur, Sin Querer, Die Giraffe, Bin
ich schn?, and Lola rennt.
The Golden Frog was awarded to the
Brazilian, Walter Carvalho for Central
Station. The Silver Frog was awarded to
the Japanese cameraman Hideo
Yamamoto for Hana Bi and the Bronze
Frog was awarded to the Swede Jens
Fischer for Beneath the Surface. The
Additional Award was given to Vittorio
Storaro for the film, Tango. An Honorary
Award for the best director/cameraman
duo went to Ingmar Bergmann and Sven
Nykvist, which Sven Nykvist accepted in
person.
The positive trend of the last few years in
the Polish film industry is continuing. With
35 films and more than 480 commercials
being shot in 1998. This trend has also
increased the demand for technical
equipment into the Polish market.
C a me r i ma g e98
The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography
Camerimage, took place for the sixth time in Torun (Poland).
With over 40,000 visitors, its popularity is evidently increasing.
Like previous years, it is an important international festival at which
the cameraman and his work are the main focus of the event.
Set in the picturesque town of Lenggries surrounded by stunning
scenery and slopes, and with more snow than usual, the scene
was set for an intense activity filled weekend.
The more strenuous activities included ski and snow board lessons
for first timers, a ski race between the ARRI countries for the more
advanced, Bavarian dancing and plenty of Arrioke singing.
The highlight for most during the weekend, was a mountain climb
to a traditional Bavarian chalet, where supper was followed by
Robert Arnold sharing some heart warming schnapps and furious
sledge rides back down the mountain to the hotel.
Feeling fit and refreshed from the mountain air, all who took part
arrived home safely with memories of a thoroughly fun
packed and enjoyable weekend which
strengthened the working and informal
relationships between the international
ARRI colleagues.
T h e A R R I Te a m s k i i n g
Adventurous staff from ARRI offices in Munich,
Austria, Italy, England, Wales and Stephanskirchen,
gathered for a long weekend in Bavaria in late
January to enjoy the first international ARRI ski meet,
supported by Dr.Walter Stahl and Robert Arnold.
37
38
ARRI Medi a LONDON
A s e l e c t i o n o f r e c e n t l y s e r v i c e d P r o d u c t i o n s
Title Production Co Director DoP Type
THE WRONG BLONDE Path Productions Michel Blanc Barry Ackroyd BSC 35mm Feature
BEST Best Films Ltd Mary McGuckian Witold Stok BSC 35mm Feature
THE BEACH Beach Productions Danny Boyle Darius Khondji 35mm Feature
RKO 281 Labrador Films Benjamin Ross Mike Southon BSC 35mm Feature
COMPLICITY Talisman Films Ltd Gavin Millar David Odd 35mm Feature
ARABIAN KNIGHTS Thistle Management Ltd Steve Barron Remi Adefarasin BSC 35mm TV Series
TUBE TALES Horsepower Films Ltd Various Brian Tufano BSC/ 35mm TV Series
David Johnson
ST SAVIOURS Granada TV Simon Meyers Shelley Hirst 16mm TV Drama
SECOND SIGHT Twenty Twenty Television Charles Beeson Rex Maidment BSC 16mm TV Drama
TRIAL BY FIRE Arrowhead Productions Ltd Patrick Lau Simon Kossoff BSC 16mm TV Drama
IN THE NAME OF LOVE Meridian Broadcasting Ltd Ferdinand Fairfax Chris Seager BSC 16mm TV Drama
HOPE & GLORY BBC Television Juliet May Alan Trow BSC Digi TV Series
MAISIE RAINE II Fair Game Films Ltd Various Colin Munn Digi TV Series
JAILBIRDS Shed Productions Mike Adams/ Chris Cheshire Digi TV Series
Lawrence Moody/
Jim OHanlon
Title Production Co DOP/L.D Type Equipment
50 VIOLINS 50 Fiddles Jonathan Lumley Film Lighting/grip
PIZZA HUT 40 Acres & A. Mule Antonio Tatum TV Lighting/grip
PIZZA HUT Coppos Films John Deblau TV Lighting/grip
BOILER ROOM Boiler Room Inc. Joe Quirk Film Lighting/grip
BUD LIGHT 40 Acres & A Mule Andrew Day TV Lighting/grip
BOBBY SHORT Cornerstone Pictures Inc. John Deblau TV Lighting/grip
BRITISH AIRWAYS Ritts/Hayden Mo Flam TV Lighting/grip
JERSEY GUYS Jersey Guys LLC Scott Levy Film Lighting/grip/535B
ARMOR ALL Shooting Stars Prod. John Cardoni TV Lighting/grip
BOILER ROOM Boiler Room Inc Joe Quirk Film Lighting
SWEET & LOW MJZ Inc. J.P. Dolan TV Lighting
KIL KENNY MJZ Inc John Deblau TV Lighting
JESUSS SON Jesuss Son Prod. Adam Kimmel Film 2 535Bs
THE CITIZEN Citizen LLC Oliver Bokelberg Film 2 Moviecams
LEGACY Deseret Media T.C. Christianson Film 2 765s
BIG MONEY HUSTLAS Non-Homogenized Prod James Carman Film 535B
BELLVUE Hostage Prod Ron Fortunato Film 2 16SR 3s Advance
O O LLC Russel Fine Film 2 535Bs
CSC NEW YORK
39
ARRI Li ght i ng Rent al UK
Title Production Co Director DoP Type
SECOND SIGHT Twenty Twenty Television Charles Beeson Rex Maidment BSC 16mm drama
THE WRONG BLONDE Path Productions Michel Blanc Barry Ackroyd BSC 35mm feature film
BEST Best Films Ltd Mary Mc Guckian Witold Stok BSC 35mm feature film
JAILBIRDS Shed Productions Mike Adams Chris Cheshire TV drama
MAISIE RAINE II Fair Game Films Bob Mahoney/ Colin Munn TV drama
Claire Winyard/Rob Evans
ST SAVIOURS Granada Television Simon Meyers Shelley Hirst 16mm drama
ARABIAN NIGHTS Hallmark Productions Steve Baron Remi Adefarasin BSC 35mm feature
IN THE COMPANY OF HTV Drama Endaf Emlyn Peter Morgan TV drama
STRANGERS
HOPE AND GLORY BBC Drama Juliet May/Peter Lyden Alan Trow BSC TV drama
TRIAL BY FIRE Arrowhead Productions Ltd Patrick Lau Simon Kossoff BSC 16mm drama
EUREKA STREET Euphoria Films Adrian Shergold Daf Hobson BSC 16mm drama
WIVES AND DAUGHTERS BBC Drama Nick Renton Fred Tammes 16mm drama
DOCKERS Parallax Pictures Bill Anderson Cinders Forshaw 16mm drama
ARRI Rent al and Faci l i t i es MUNI CH
Title Production Co Type Equipment
MARLBORO TEAM M. Conrad & L. Burnett Commercial Cineon
PUNKTCHEN & ANTON Caroline Link Lunaris Film Munich Feature film Cineon/Flame
WER LIEBT DEM WACHSEN FLUGEL Tele Munich 35mm film Cineon/Flame
DER GOLDENE SCHUB d.i.e. Film Munich Film Avid
23 Claussen & Woebke Filmproduktion Feature film Cineon/Flame
LATE SHOW Diana Film, Munich TV Feature Cineon,Avid, ARRI Sound,
ARRI Lab, ARRI Rental
EXPO 2000 SHOWSIMULATION Kuk Filmproduktion Munich Film Alias Wavefront
PRO7 NACHRICHTEN Velvet Munich TV Softimage
UND WETTER-TRAILER
FORTRESS 11 Codeca Luxemburg Feature film Lighting/Camera Rental
SUNSHINE Kinowelt Filmproduktion Feature film Lighting/Camera Rental,
ARRI Post production, ARRI Lab
ST PAULI NACHT Hager Moss Film KG Super 35mm Avid
SCHLARAFFENLAND Hager Moss Film KG Super 35mm Lighting /Camera Rental
SUDSEE EIGENE INSEL Indigo Filmproduktion GmbH 35mm film Lighting/Camera Rental
BRUBE AUS DER GRUNEN WUSTE Trebitsch Produktion Super 35mm Lighting/Camera Rental/Avid
FANDANGO Calypso Film Produktion Super 35mm ARRI Lab
DER GROSSE BAGAROZY Constantin Film Produktion Super 35mm Lighting/Camera Rental/Post Production
JETS Frankfurter Film Produktion 16mm film Lighting/Camera Rental
BLUMEN VOM EX Visuelle Koln 16mm film Lighting/Camera Rental
HAUPTER MEINER LIEBEN Reischel & Ziegler Munich 35mm film Lighting/Camera Rental
SIDOL E & P Munich 35mm film Lighting/Camera Rental/Studio
MCDONALDS E & P Munich 35mm film Lighting/Camera Rental/Studio
DRAGONHEART 11 PILOTFILM Draco Films Ltd U.K. 35mm film Lighting/Camera Rental
TRILLENIUM Tellux 35mm film Camera Rental
JOURNEY OF MAN Ufa International 3-D IMAX Lighting Rental
DR STEFAN FRANK Phoenix TV Drama Lighting Rental
SPACE ZOO T4 Film Sponsored short Lighting Rental
co-production
DIE KRAUSES Constantin Film TV Comedy Lighting Rental
URBAN TRILOGY Wildside TV Commercial Lighting Rental
Key Contacts
ARNOLD & RICHTER CINE TECHNIK,
Turkenstr. 89
D-80799 Mnchen, Germany
Tel (+49) 89 3809 0
Fax (+49) 89 3809 1244
E-mail webmaster@arri.de
Support Camera Tel (+49) 89 3809 1209
Camera Rental Tel (+49) 89 3809 1325
Lighting Rental Tel (+49) 89 3809 1345
ARRI TV Tel (+49) 89 3809 1512
ARRI Digitalfilm Tel (+49) 89 3809 1574
ARRI Sound Tel (+49) 89 3809 1628
Laboratory Tel (+49) 89 3809 1339
ARRI Contrast GMBH Berlin
Laboratoty, Sound, Videopostproduction
Tel (+49) 30 3000 9111
ARRI (GB) LIMITED
1-3 Airlinks , Spitfire Way
Heston, Middlesex
TW5 9NR, England
Tel (+44) 181 213 5200
Fax (+44) 181 561 1312
E-mail sales@arri-gb.com
ARRI Media
Tel (+44) 181 573 2255
Fax (+44) 181 756 0592
E-mail info@arrimedia.com
ARRI Lighting Rental
Tel (+44) 181 561 6700
Fax (+44) 181 569 2539
E-mail tross@arrirental.com
ARRI USA (East Coast)
617, Route 303
Blauvelt, New York 10913, USA
Tel (+1) 914 353 1400
Fax (+1) 914 425 1250
E-mail arriflex@arri.com
(West Coast)
600 N Victory Blvd
CA91502-1639, USA
Tel (+1) 818 841 7070
Fax (+1) 818 848 4028
E-mail arriflex@arri.com
CSC
619 West 54th Street
New York
NY10019
Tel (+1) 212 757 0906
Fax (+1) 212 713 0075
ARRI ITALIA SRL
Viale Edison 318
20099 Sesto San Giovanni
Milan, Italy
Tel (+39) 02 262 27175
Fax (+39) 02 242 1692
E-mail arri@endoxa.it
ARRI CANADA LTD
415 Horner Avenue
Unit 11
Etobicoke
Ontario
M8W 4W3
Tel (+1) 416 255 3335
Fax (+1) 416 255 3399
E-mail email@arrican.com
www.arri.com
Expo Calendar 1999
17th -22nd April NAB Las Vegas Cameras & lighting
21st-22nd April ABTT London
12th-23rd May Cannes Film Festival Cannes
25th-27th June Showbiz Los Angeles Cameras & Lighting
8th-10th July PALA-Pro Audio Singapore Lighting & Light ASIA
30th -1st August Audio, Video, India Lighting
Broadcast, Cinema,
Imaging Chennai
5th-8th September PLASA London Lighting
9th-10th September High Speed Oxford UK Cameras & Lighting
Photographers
Conference
10th-14th September IBC Amsterdam Cameras & Lighting
14th-16th September Showbiz New York Cameras & Lighting
19th-22nd October SATIS Paris Lighting
19th-21st November LDI Orlando Lighting
Published by: ARRI (GB) Ltd
Editorial Office: Janet West (Executive Editor), Elizabeth Ballantyne
Texts by: Janet West, Elizabeth Ballantyne, Jochen Thieser,
Amanda Collett, Franz Wieser, Massimo Lobefaro, Don Angus,
Wolfgang Hrmann, Regina Mehler, Tim Ross
Designed by: MCA Group plc, Kingston upon Thames, UK
04/99
09.3025