the back of beyond 1952 ross wood shoots … back...congratulations to the american society of...

Quar ter ly Journal o f the Aust ra l ian Cinematographers SocietyRRP $8 .00 inc GST Issue 23

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a u s t r a l i a n c i n e m a t o g r a p h e r

THE BACK OF BEYOND 1952Ross Wood shoots Tom Kruse

s y d n e y • m e l b o u r n e • g o l d c o a s t • a u c k l a n d n z

w w w . a t l a b . c o m . a u

t h e l a b

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4 - i s s u e 2 3 a u s t r a l i a n c i n e m a t o g r a p h e r

F E D E R A L E X E C U T I V E

President: Ted Rayment ACS

Vice Presidents: Milton Ingerson ACS

Ron Johanson ACS

Secretary: Bruce Hillyard ACS

Assist Secretary: Velinda WardellTreasurer: VacantAssist Treasurer: Craig PickersgillHistorian: John Leake ACS

NSW President: David Wakeley ACS

VIC President: Bruce Phillips ACS

QLD President: Nino Martinetti ACS

SA President: Ernie Clark ACS

WA President: Ian Pugsley ACS

Tas President: Peter Donnelly ACS

ACT President: Robb Shaw-VelzenWebsite: Craig Pickersgill

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B R A N C H A D D R E S S E S

By definitionof the Australian Cinematographers Society’s Articles of Association "a cinematographer is a person with technical expertise who manipulates light to transfer visual information by

the use of a camera into aesthetic moving images on motion picture film or electronic recording systems."

All expressions of opinion are published on the basis that they are notrepresenting the official opinion of the Australian CinematographersSociety, unless expressly stated. Australian Cinematographers Societyaccepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any opinions, advice,

representations or information contained in this publication.Australian Cinematographer is copyright, no part of it can be reproducedwithout prior written permission from the Society. All reproductions in thismagazine have been done so with permission and credited accordingly.

lettersto the editor

© Austcine Publishing and The AustralianCinematographers Society [2004]

Dear Associate EditorJohn Leake ACS,

Please forgive the massive timedelay in my saying a very sincerethanks for your very kind assis-tance in enabling me to attendthe National Awards at SurfersParadise in May.I have to say that I was surprisedand delighted to receive such anhonour as Hall of Fame from theACS and it was wonderful toshare time briefly with so manygreat guys and gals; it was afantastic evening,Very best wishes to all

Rob Copping ACS

N.S.W.Giovanni Albanese0418 624 [email protected]

VICDavid Muir ACS, [email protected]

QLDTony Luu0417 609 [email protected]

ACTRoger Price0417 844 [email protected]

W.A.Nick Higgins0417 963 [email protected]

S.A.Chris Moon [email protected]

TASPeter Donnelly [email protected]

MAGAZINE LIAISON CONTACTS

The Editor would like tomention the people atFilm Australia, Sydneywho kindly provided thestill pictures of The Backo f B e y o n d . T h e s ep i c t u r e s m a d e M a xLemon’s story come tolife. Things were differ-ent in 1952, especiallylocation catering.

Thank you, Film Australia.

a u s t r a l i a n c i n e m a t o g r a p h e r i s s u e 2 3 – 5

Australian Cinematographer is published quarterly for members andassociates of the Australian Cinematographers Society.

ISSUE 23PRINTED

SEPTEMBER 2004

F e a t u r e sT h e B a c k o f B e y o n d 8T h e P r e c i s i o n D o l l y T r a c k S t o r y 1 4M i c h a e l D i l l o n A M 1 9P r o f i l e P a t r i c i a W a l t e r 2 0D . I . C o s t s a n d S a v i n g s 2 1S h o o t o u t 2 3N e w s 2 4I n M e m o r i a m 2 6

D e p a r t m e n t sE d i t o r i a l 6S h o r t E n d s 1 6F i l m R e v i e w 2 7T h e B i g P i c t u r e 2 8N e w G e a r 3 5 B o o k R e v i e w 3 6F l a s h b a c k T e d T a y l o r A C S 3 7

[email protected]

EDITOR:

Butch Calderwood ACS

ASSOCIATE EDITOR:

Velinda Wardell

John Leake ACS

ART DIRECTION:

Glenn Cogan and Greg Judd

BUSINESS MANAGER:

Craig Pickersgill

CHAIRMAN:

Ted Rayment ACS

MAGAZINE LIAISON:

Giovanni Albanese

HISTORIAN:

John Leake ACS

PROOF READER:

Marion Leake

David Wakeley ACS

NEW GEAR:

Nicola Daley

PRODUCTION:

Jamieson Publishing

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF

AUSTRALIA: ISSN 1440-978X

PRINT POST APPROVED:

PP255003/03506

PUBLISHERS:

AustCine Publishing,

PO Box 207,

Cammeray NSW 2062

8

19

27

28Cover Picture by

c John Heyer Family Trust

Congratulations to the AmericanSociety of Cinematographers onreaching 85 years and 84 years ofAmerican Cinematographer. ACS isalmost 50 and I look forward to thatanniversary. This issue of AC hasseveral important Australian storiesfrom 85 and 50 years ago.The show business gossip writerscontinue to astound. Recently therewas a small item about a campaignattacking cannabis's image; 'the adswill also be displayed in cinema bath-rooms, bus shelters and on buses'.Cinemas with bathrooms must be arecent development.More disturbing were the credits ona recent ABC TV production. After thecinematographer's name were theletters ACS in brackets. There is anestablished protocol for the use ofACS which should be observed.

Butch Calderwood ACS OAM

EDITOR’S VIEWBUTCH CALDERWOOD ACS

By the time this issue reaches your mailbox all the State branches will have heldtheir annual general meetings and elected their office bearers and committeesfor the ensuing year. To all those newly elected, welcome and thank you forsupporting and giving your time to the ACS. To all members I re-iterate that theSociety belongs to you. We, as office bearers, are just the caretakers of yourSociety, responsible for looking after your interests.

The National Executive is looking at ways to raise the Society's profile nation-ally and internationally. We currently have two proposals being considered thatI believe will help to do this. The first one is that we open up the Awards to allAustralian cinematographers, not just members of the Society. Non memberswould have to pay a substantially different entry fee, but this would make ourAwards truly representative of the best Australian cinematographers have to offer.I believe it would also add value to the individual Awards by increasing the poolof entries. Hopefully any non-members who win an award would be encouragedto join the society.

The second proposal is that we introduce an international category where allmembers of the Society are asked to nominate their choice for an Internationalcinematographer of the year. The cinematographer may be of any nationality. Inthis way we, as a Society, can show our recognition for excellence on the worldstage. Entries in this category would only be member nominated. Individuals wouldnot be able to enter themselves.

The finer points of both these proposals are still being considered and I wouldwelcome any members comments or suggestions.

Ted Rayment ACS

Federal President


From the President.

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When asked if I could recalla few details of “The Backof Beyond” location trip it

all seemed a part of the “too longago” file.

After 50 years, the day to daygraft, the heat and the flies are all ahazy memory. But as I think aboutit more, certain incidents come tomind quite clearly, as if they happenedmore recently. Because they set them-selves apart from the daily routine atthe time I can recall them with acertain amount of clarity.

The Venice Film Festival Award to

“The Back of Beyond” was in 1954,so the location trip must have beenabout 1952. This would have mademe 17 years of age.

Tom Kruse, the “mailman”, livedin Marree, South Australia at thebottom of the “Birdsville Track” andit was here that the crew assembled.John and Janet Heyer drove to Marreesome weeks ahead of the crew arrivalto enable them to do another survey.

Keith Loone (Camera Assistant)John Heath, (Sound) and myself flewto Adelaide, stayed overnight, thentravelled by train for almost 24 hours

to arrive in Marree early in themorning. George Hughes,(Grip) musthave travelled up with the Shell Co.truck, driven by Jack Dudgeon. Thiscarried a generator, a portable towerand the bulk of the equipment whichincluded Supreme’s “Velocilator”dolly which weighed “a ton”. RossWood (D.O.P) was working on anAmerican Feature film in Fiji and waslate returning to Australia. He andWarren Mearns (Gaffer) would fly toMarree with the last of the cameraequipment and what must have beenthe original 17.5mm magnetic

T H E B A C K O F B E Y O N Dby Max Lemon

ABOVE:The RoyalMail readyto roll

c JohnHeyerFamilyTrust


a u s t r a l i a n c i n e m a t o g r a p h e r i s s u e 2 3 – 9

recorder which Merv Murphy andArthur Smith completed the nightbefore departure.

The “Dragon Rapide” which wasto fly them to Marree was so ladenwith equipment that it took twoattempts to gain enough height to getover the Blue Mountains, and thenonly by jettisoning some of the 12

Volt batteries which were the powersupply for the camera and magneticrecorder.

Those of us in Marree awaited thearrival of the aircraft with someconcern. If it arrived after dark therewere no lights on what was called“the strip”- an area of Sturt’s StonyDesert where the larger rocks andstones had been removed. As duskfell, we heard the drone of theapproaching aircraft. John Heyerjumped into his car and hurtled offtowards the strip, which was a shortdistance out of town. When he gotthere he had no idea which way topark his car to mark the direction that“the strip” took, so he parked it atone end with his headlights facingdown the strip. Fortunately this wascorrect and the plane, made a safelanding in the dark

Asked how he managed to navi-

gate from Sydney to Marree the pilot,Warren Penny, remarked that he justfollowed the railway line West fromSydney, past Broken Hill, until hepicked up the line going Northtowards Alice Springs, passing theairport at Leigh Creek and ontowards Marree.

The next morning, after unload-ing the gear from the plane, WarrenPenny took off and headed south toLeigh Creek. We heard later that hehad come in unannounced at LeighCreek and forced a DC 3 off therunway. His licence was suspendedafter that little episode.

We were now all in Marree andaccommodated at “the hotel”.Keith Loone spent the day andevening checking and cleaning allthe camera gear ready for the nextday. He had acquired anotherbedroom where he could keep the

The “Dragon Rapide”which was to fly themto Marree was so ladenwith equipment that ittook two attempts togain enough height toget over the BlueMountains 10

BELOW:Along theBirdsvilleTrack -MaxLemonstandingon left


1 0 - i s s u e 2 3 a u s t r a l i a n c i n e m a t o g r a p h e r

equipment. The next morning , to hisdespair, he found all the gear coveredin sand and dust. It was then discov-ered that the only window did nothave any glass in it and the windduring the night had wreaked havocon his precious equipment.

After a few days shooting aroundMarree, we headed off up the“Birdsville Track”. We were nowaccompanied by Tom Kruse and hisaboriginal off- sider Henry Butler

Our convoy consisted of :1) Tom Kruse’s Leyland truck,

suitably laden with a range of arti-cles which could most likely be foundaboard on a typical run up the“track”.

2) An ex army “blitz-wagon”,which carried a 100 gallon water

tank for drinking purposes andsundry equipment we may need alongthe way- shovels, coir matting andsteel plates to assist the vehicles overthe sand, and some of our campingequipment. This truck would alsobecome the vehicle on the other sideof Coopers Creek onto which every-thing from Tom’s truck was trans-ferred for the rest of the “film trip”from Coopers Creek to Birdsville.

3) The Shell Co. truck with thegenerator, fuel and film equipment.

4) John Heyer’s Shell Film Unitcar, a 1948 Chevrolet which carried,among other things, our RadioTransceiver for communication withthe homesteads along “the track”and with the Flying Doctor Network.

The Birdsville Track was, at best,a series of wheel ruts which disap-peared when you encountered a sanddune and which may, or may notreappear on the other side. So navi-gation was largely a matter of“instinct” until wheel ruts were foundagain heading in roughly the rightdirection. Or so it appeared to us“city slickers”. To Tom Kruse it wasdifferent. In the absence of any land-marks and with sand dunes thatchanged shape and position everyfew hours, Tom Kruse seemed toknow exactly where he was at alltimes.

A day or two up the “track” wecame to Etadunna homestead. It hadbeen arranged for us to use thedrovers quarters as accommodationwhile we shot in the vicinity for a fewdays.

One day while at Etadunna, therest went off shooting and I was leftbehind to do some chores aroundour quarters. During the afternoonI noticed a black cloud- a very blackcloud, approaching from the West. Itlooked, at least, like a very severestorm. I decided it would be wise tostock up on logs for the fuel stovefrom the woodpile about 30 yardsbehind the building. I was abouthalf way back to our quarters withan armload of logs when the wind hit.It did not build up from 10 mph, to40 to 60 to 80 mph it just hit at about100 mph. Logs and I went in alldirections. It was impossible to walkagainst it. The sand carried by thewind hit the skin like a thousandneedles. I took shelter behind some-thing I don’t remember what, until thewind abated enough for me to makea dash for the door of our quarters.The wind was now accompanied byrain. I was frantically trying to rescuesleeping bags and mattresses fromthe exposed veranda, where most ofus had been sleeping, and cram them

into the adjacent rooms. Almost assuddenly as it had arrived, the windand rain departed leaving a scene ofsome minor devastation.

A large barn type building whichhoused equipment, and served as agarage for some of their vehicles, wasvirtually non-existent. A tall metalpole, which was the homestead aerialfor their two-way radio contact withthe outside, was largely unsupportedas most of the guy wires had beentorn loose and a large section of thecorrugated iron roof of the homesteadwas missing.

As some members of the familyemerged from the homestead tosurvey the damage, I could make outa faint cry of “help…..”. The outsidetoilet was a telephone box sized struc-ture, a plank with a large hole in itfor a seat. This was situated over ahole in the ground. Unfortunately ithad been occupied when the wind hitand it came to rest some distancefrom its original position, lying on itsdoor, so that the occupant couldn’tget out.

The next day we all mucked in totry and restore things to somenormality. We found a long lengthof ridge capping from the roof, witha dozen sheets of corrugated ironstill attached to it, about a mile anda half away over the sand dunes.

Shortly after this we all leftEtadunna to make our way to thelake at Kopperamanna, the site of theold Lutheran mission.

With Tom Kruse leading, weheaded off over the sand dunes, alongsandy ridges, over and around dunes,stopping more than occasionally todig out one of the trucks boggeddown in the sand. Dig away thesand from in front of and behind thewheels, back it up a little if possible,lay the matting, or large steel platesin front of the wheels, push, shove,sweat, swear, as the vehicle progressed

T H E B A C K O F B E Y O N D9 continued

After many dunes, largeand small, and manychanges of directionwe were starting towonder if Tom was notlost.

10 or 15 feet. Repeat the process,over and over, until the truck reachesthe top of the dune and its momen-tum carries it down the other side.

After many dunes, large andsmall, and many changes of directionwe were starting to wonder if Tom

was not lost. John Heyer approachedhim to ask this very question. Tomlooked around and remarked casu-ally “if we go to the top of that nextsand hill you will see the lake”. Withsome misgivings we clambered upthe shifting sands. On reaching the

top, what did we see? You guessedit …..the lake!. Tom’s unerringability to find his way amongfeatureless surroundings, devoid oflandmarks, never ceased to amazeus.

It had taken all day to reach the12

LEFT:The CamelDriver andTheDirector


a u s t r a l i a n c i n e m a t o g r a p h e r i s s u e 2 3 – 1 1


lake and as we pitched our tents Tomfound two old fish traps. They werein need of much repair. I guessed thata fish would find its way out easierthan find its way in. However, Tomlowered them into the lake. The nextmorning we retrieved the trapsabsolutely crammed with fish, a freshwater Perch- like species. That nightwe agreed that they were a bit oilyand tasted rather bland but were awelcome change to the tinned foodwe had been living on for weeks.

It was while we were at the lakethat Ross tackled John Heyer aboutsome time off. We had not had a dayoff since leaving Marree and it wasagreed that the next day, Sunday, wewould not start until midday. This

would give us an opportunity to dosome washing. However, everyonewas so tired we all slept until about11am and then there was a mad dashto the lake to do some washing andhang our clothes over the spinifexbushes that grew in the sand.

One day when shooting on theedge of the lake, and quite a distancefrom our camp, a severe sandstormhit. Caught out in the open in shorts,boots and possibly a “T”-shirt is apainful experience in these condi-tions. We were quite exposed and asmuch as we tried to protect theequipment, it was a losing battle. Allthe gear had to be dismantled, cleanedand reassembled. The sand andtalcum like dusk got into everything.

When it was time to move onfurther up the track, we vacated ourcamp knowing that henceforth therewould be no refreshing dip in the lakeat the end of the day. Our one littleluxury would no longer be available.The flat featureless gibber plains ofSturt’s Stony Desert are amazing tosee. At times you can stop and lookaround 360 degrees and nothing tallerthan a rock will break the horizon.At one spot we stopped and lookingaround the 360 degrees the only thingthat broke the horizon was a spindly,seemingly dead, tree about 15 feethigh with a trunk about 8 inches indiameter. At the base of the tree, asa possible example of “sod’s law”,was the rusted wreck of an old car

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which appeared to have crashed intothe only thing within 50 miles thatstood more than 6 inches off theground. I don’t believe it was an acci-dent but, more likely, an example ofthe sense of humour of some local.

On our way to Clifton Hills wecame to an area of the Birdsville

Track known as “Goyders Lagoon”.It was an area where during the dryseason you could drive straightacross, a “thimble full” of rain neededa 20 mile detour and anything morethan a cup full required a 40 miledetour into Sturt’s Stony Desert. Itwas night when we arrived and Tomsaid we would have to detour a

considerable way around it. So our little convey headed off

into the night, pitch black, nothingbut stony ground, the occasionaldried out creek bed and on into thedarkness. Again, no such thing as alandmark, or anything to give you anidea of where you might be.

Tom had proven to us in the pasthis ability to find his way but as thehours went by, with a total absenceof wheel tracks or any sign of human-ity, doubts crept in. Once again JohnHeyer caught up to Tom’s leadingtruck to ask “do you know where youare?” Tom replied “within the next30 minutes the lights of Clifton Hillshomestead will come up dead ahead”.As promised, in about 30 minutes thelights appeared-not 5 or 10 degreesto the left or right but dead ahead,as he predicted.

A few nights later we werecamped beside the track eagerlylooking forward to getting toBirdsville the next day. The campingout, the tinned food and the mug ofhot Coopers Beer would give way to

a bed in the hotel, fresh vegetablesand, most of all, a cold beer. A pairof headlights approached headingSouth. It stopped by our campsiteand the driver got out. It was thepublican from Birdsville. His fridgehad broken down and he was on hisway to Marree to pick up somereplacement parts being sent up fromAdelaide. It would be 3 or 4 daysbefore he would be back so until hisreturn –“hot beer I’m afraid! At 17,I was not much of a drinker anyway,but I could feel an air of despondencydescend over the others as the publi-can drove off into the night towardsMarree.

Birdsville was possibly the mostremote town in Australia at the time.I can’t say that I remember muchabout the town at all. The hotel, afew houses, a hospital, a few morehouses. The publican arrived backfrom Marree with the spare partsand the fridge was duly repaired,much to everyone’s delight. A cleanbed, fresh vegetables and a cold beer– what else could one want?

22

A clean bed, freshvegetables and a coldbeer – what else couldone want?

ABOVE:LocationCatering


The track of choice for Matrix, PrecisionDolly Track was used for dolly, crane andmotion control. As the inventor/designer,this is a gratifying pinnacle for PDT.PDT began 20 years ago.

I was frustrated with a synchronizedcar shot, a simple parallel tow rig. PeterMcDonald planned to shoot a 10 x 8 stillusing around a 5 second exposure at ƒtiny pinhole, for the technical amongyou. Or about 120 feet of track for therest of us. The first plate returned fromthe Lab, there was 'fanning' on both endsof the car as if the car was porpoiseing,rocking lengthwise. We checked and re-measured everything, and found onlysome small deviations in the Panther'strack wheels. On the second day of the'one-day' shoot, having re-built thebogies overnight, the first plate showedus just exactly how sharp 'fanning' canbe in a large format transparency. Theproblem boiled down to the weight ofa basically naked dolly flexing the pipe

track. The next time we ran into this'problem', it was obvious the art hadsurpassed the equipment.

Over the next months I designed thefirst extruded dolly track, 10 times stifferthan the best existing track, overkillperhaps. I had no real idea where itwould all lead, judging by the way it wasreceived by the rental companies,nowhere much.

The prototype track made its début,in the hands of Grip, Graham Litchfield,on Frog Dreaming. Greg Molineauxsuggested it fold like Matthews track, Ifigured he meant scissoring. Roy Micothought telescoping would be handy.Someone had the 'not 45( curve' idea,which led to those folding as well. Grip,Ray Brown took on the role of advocatelargely because during Crocodile Dundeehe 'spent all night straightening pipetrack on top of a New York building,'not quite in those words.

The 'Big Break' in the US was

The Precision DollyTrack Story By Peter McKie,

edited by David Wakeley ACS

Peter McKie has been a film

industry identity for many years,

in several forms including

special effects, standby every-

thing, and, most notably to me,

an underwater set building/lone

underwater standby/production

saving expert. He moved on to

changing the Grip world by

designing the Precision Dolly

Track (PDT), which has become

a major international standard.

Following, some of it necessarily

technical, is his story.


Dracula and the track started to gain U.S.acceptance.

Jim Kwaitkowski asked me to designa solution for Steven Spielberg, to enable'a 90( crab move' on I-Beam (as PDT hadbecome known in the USA). The benefitsin terms of shooting and construction wereput to the test on Private Ryan. Accordingto Jim, my prototype was used to greateffect. On that note, we parted ways. It didserve to focus me on the way people areblinded to market reality by shiny objects.I began to take a good hard look at the trackdesign in the new context of film.

Industry expectations built on I-Beam

performance have found I-Beam limits.Joint maintenance became a big issue, goneis TLC by the single owner. Speeds imprac-tical to shoot at before PDTs arrival are nowcommonplace and rising. A 'joint separa-tion' issue emerged with dollies using brakesto stop from high speed. This tends to'walk the track' and upset wedging, there-fore everyone.

I began the process of re-design. Lesterand Adrian Kortus, agents for the productand active participants in the industry, hada very clear idea of the accumulatedcomplaints about the entire track system.It was clearly time for a whole systemapproach. Most complaints encompass;joints, turnbuckles, pitch restrictions andcurves. At some point the track became'perpetual' therefore maintenance free, to

some. The joint was never up to this atti-tude.

As every track had become 'precision',it was also time for renaming. McKie I-Beam track was chosen. The new joint isnow truly solid in shear and virtually inde-pendent of wear. It adjusts, free, snug orto the point of locking a run solid. The 'free'fit on assembly means laying and wrappingare faster, hopefully less damage. The muchrequested over center latch, replaces turn-buckles. It detaches to eliminate damage inracks and its tension is hand set in theaction of placement. It aligns the trackaccurately making locking of the joints an

option, not a necessityThe new telescopic tie allows a grip to

find an exact match for any dolly 620 Europitch through all pitches to 1 metre, andduplicate the pitch for the entire run.Leonard Chapman took a personal inter-est in my research and the gathering of data.I have encoded 13 common pitches thatcover leg configurations of Hybrid, HyHyand any model Peewee dollies, which

further simplifies the matching processthroughout a build.

Curves: I patented a new bogey concept,which is currently being assessed, whichsolves the problems in curves. The tech-nology improves all track performance andraises the specter of 'dolly at the run'around a circle.

Circles: Seem to be another randomevent, so I decided to create a system. It is5 concentric circles, 5 ft inside diameter to21 ft outside diameter, in 621 mm steps, ina kit. A Hybrid dolly will go around a 5 ftcircle. Gone is the folding curve idea withits essentially fixed ties. These ties provided

most of the conflict in laying/levelling. Inplace is 'loose assembly'. Building is nowsimilar in time to straight track. The newover center latch, aids levelling and progres-sive pulling of curves together. Locking thejoint eliminates 'kinking', and enables high'g' forces to be withstood with-out sepa-ration. Because it's a kit, it is far more versa-tile. Spirals, rectangles, triangles are prac-tical.

Peter McKie trained in industrial design andengineering, entered the industry in around1978, 'pretty much by accident'. Time on-set in special effects, lead to the under-standing of camera rigs and general Gripsneeds and how far each 'next idea' pushedequipment.

The big break in theU.S. was DRACULA andthe track started togain U.S. acceptance


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SHORT ENDS

On the regional Prime TV News on Tuesday May 11th an excellent coverage was givento two brothers who have built a stadium-style cinema in part of an old convent in theCentral Western NSW town of Parkes. No commercial cinema has existed in the townfor some years and this enterprising duo spent a great deal of effort and money to bringmovies back to the town only to be knocked back by Parkes Shire Council on the basisof complaints from neighbours. Although the old convent is in spacious grounds andnot backing immediately onto adjoining houses, the pathetic residents raised issues ofnoise and traffic congestion among other things. One would assume that residents andCouncil would welcome the cinema with open arms, but then there always has to bekilljoys in a community. The cinema can seat 110 people and is fitted with rich red fabric-covered seats and raked in stadium style. Projection is 35mm. It would now appear thatthe brothers can only use the cinema for their personal use with perhaps a few friends.Hopefully DRESS CIRCLE readers might spend 10 minutes writing a letter to Parkes ShireCouncil, 2 Cecile Street, Parkes, NSW 2870 expressing their feelings about the issue.

From DRESS CIRCLE MOVIE ENTHUSIASTS MAGAZINE, MAY 2004.

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Michael Dillon AMMICHAEL DILLON AM became aMember in the General Division ofthe Order of Australia in 2004. Thecitation reads ‘For service to theAustralian Film Industry as a pioneerin adventure and mountain film cine-matography, and to the communitythrough support for internationalhumanitarian work.’

His Documentary “Everest, Sea toSummit” which he conceived,produced, directed and filmed is themost internationally awardedAdventure documentary of all timewinning nine Grand Prizes atIn te rnat iona l Mounta in andExploration Film Festivals world-wide. Filming this documentary,during a 4 month period in 1990involved walking for 700 kilometerscarrying a heavy camera.

He has made 5 AdventureDocumentaries with Sir EdmundHillary including the Grand PrizeWinning “From the Ocean to theSky” about a 4 month jetboat journeyalong India’s River Ganges, and theNational Geographic Special “Returnto Everest”. His latest film “BeyondEverest”, about Sir Edmund Hillary’songoing work with the Sherpa peopleof Everest, has won 5 InternationalAwards.

Other expedi-tions and adventureshe has filmed includethe first AustralianAscent of Everest in1984, two EverestB a l l o o n i n gExpeditions, a basejumping expeditionin the Karakoram,f o u r A n t a r c t i cExpeditions, twoEngl ish ChannelSwims , other expe-ditions in Siberia,Irian Jaya, Africa andthe Andes, and a journey by LondonTaxi from London to Sydney.

Michael has received two USPrimetime Emmy nominations forCinematography, for his cameraworkon “Survivor- the Austral ianOutback” and the Nat iona lGeographic Television Special “ThoseWonderful Dogs” Natural HistoryDocumentary Credits include “TheBig Wet”, “Living Edens- Tasmania”and “State of the Planet” with DavidAttenborough”.

Michael won Australia’s topa w a r d f o r D o c u m e n t a r yCinematography, the ACS GoldenTripod Award in 1985 and 1986, for

a film about the Bicentennial camelrace and an expedition with SirEdmund Hillary in India.

He is also a founding Director oft h e A u s t r a l i a n H i m a l a y a nFoundation and is a Fellow of theRoyal Geographic Society and wasawarded the inaugural AustralianGeographic Silver Medallion forExcellence in 1986.and was the firstAustralian to win the Duke ofEdinburgh’s Gold Award.

Now in his fifties Michael Dillonis actively involved in the industry andis currently filming a documentaryabout the cataclysmic eruption ofPapua New Guinea ’s MountLamington in 1951.

Michael Dillon, AM


Patricia Walters

Patricia Walter was honouredwith Life Membership of theAustralian CinematographersSociety in October 1993 - thefirst female to achieve thatdistinction.

Patricia's cinematographiccareer began on a whim tochase a fire truck near herhome in Adelaide in 1964.That footage of a fire in thickscrub at Eden Hills, shot witha Bell and Howell camera, wasshown on ABC TV News thatnight and so began her 22 yearcareer. A second assignmentfollowed - a light aircraft crashin the Adelaide Hills and thatled to a position as a stringerwith the ABC.

As a female TV cine-matographer, Patricia sufferedthe taunts, teasing, sexist andchauvinistic comments andactions of colleagues and othersin the business.

However, one can’t helpwondering if this wasn’t partlydue to jealousy especially onceshe started to make her markwith exclusive pictures in trickysituations. One particularexample was a shooting in amajor department store inAdelaide where by using her initiativeand finding a side door, she gained exclu-sive footage shown nationally on ABC TVNews that night.

Patricia didn't shy away from the hardstories covering plane crashes, the after-math of Cyclone Tracy and the AshWednesday fires. She worked as a stringerprimarily for the ABC in Adelaide but alsodid freelance filming and work for theother commercial networks in SouthAustralia. Patricia had two full time stintswith the ABC filling in behind peoplewho had temporarily moved on but unfor-

tunately for her, returned. Like most TVNews cinematographers, she didn't knowwhat the assignment sheet would showfrom one day to the next and hers hadeverything from political events, cere-monies, royal visitors and celebrities tosieges, fires, floods, dog shows, demon-strations, rock music festivals, rodeos, amouse plague and even a runawayelephant. Not only was there the usualrange of news (and not so newsy stories)but she was chased by horses and bees,attended cow races and filmed aerial acro-batics. Some of the programs she filmedfor the ABC included: This Day Tonight,

C o u n t r y w i d e ,Countdown and Man onthe Land for Channel 10.Channel 10 News inAdelaide also had thebenefit of Patricia's cine-matographic skills for twoyears from 1965. FilmingChannel 9's HumphreyBear prov ided morecreative opportunities,although her first lovewould always be the fastpace of TV news.

Patricia always had aninterest in photographyusing a box browniecamera when her childrenwere born - she raisedthree children on her ownw h e n h e r h u s b a n dMervyn was killed in amotorbike accident afteronly 8 years of marriage.

Patricia started late asa cinematographer, firsttraining as a psychiatricnurse a f te r in i t ia l lyworking as a cleaner andcompleting a businesscollege course.

Some of the equip-ment Pat used through-out her career included a

fair array of film cameras in use inAustralia from the mid-1960's until themid-1980's: Arriflex, PRO 600, AuriconFrezzalini Mitchell Conversion, Bell andHowell and CP16. Needless to say, shewas familiar with all their foibles.

Patricia retired in Adelaide, becominginvolved with the ACS, continuing herpublic speaking, and participating inmedia forums. She has also found time towrite her story which was published thisyear, "Coralie's Girl". The book can bepurchased from Maria Armstrong onemail to: [email protected]

by Robyn Turner

Andrew Lesnie ACS writes -Here is a Digital Intermediate costing created last year. I found the only way to initiate a conver-sation with producers about this process was to discuss its cost. Some of the figures will be obso-lete, but it's a talking point, considering so many people are offering the service for feature filmsand yet so few have actually done a D.I. of that length.COSTS and SAVINGS TO PRODUCE A DIGITAL ANAMORPHIC INTERMEDIATE and HDMASTER OF A 100 MINUTE SUPER35 FEATURE FILM.

COSTS for 100 minute Super35 feature film.

Digital PostNeg logging and extraction $ 10,000.00Scanning of select camera rolls (I/O) $ 75,000.00Digital Grade (in a two week period) $ 80,000.00(This is also when the opticals are created, FX, Titles head/tail including roller, Cleaning, Anamorphic blow-up, render, etc, therefore I would allow 8/10 weeks for the finished product)Grading tests through Lab during Grading process, I/O, $ 5,000.00processing Printing, stockRecord-Out (I/O) 1 reel to D>I>Process Neg, Answer Print 1ReelDigital grade Adjustments (1 day)Record-out (I/O) 5 reels to D.I. Per reelProcess Neg, Answer Print 5 reels $ 90,000.00Lab Posta) Contact I.P.off D.I $ 65,000.00Contact I.N.Release Printb) Release Print straight off D.I. $ 2,000.00

(better quality than the I.N.)Convert Digital files to HD Master $ 25,000.00 ?

Total $352,000.00 Or less

SAVINGS for 100 minute Super 35 feature film

All Neg Cutting $ 10,000.00"Whilst you are saving from not Fine Cutting the neg you willstill need a neg cutter to log and extract the selected takes etc".All Opticals $ 40,000.00All Titles $ 20,000.00Allowance for I/O for proposed VFX shots, title sequences $ 20,000.00Lab Optical Squeeze process to I.P Lab I.N.All Telecine Costs to achieve HD Master $ 25,000.00

Approximate saving $135,000.00

D.I. Costs and Savings


The good times couldn’t last……it was time to head back down thetrack to Marree.

On the way , we detoured to thelake at Kopperamanna for a few pick-ups. In the three weeks since we hadbeen there the level of the lake haddropped about ten feet.

Once back in Marree, it was packeverything up. I don’t rememberwho left first or how they travelledback. I do remember that I was thelast one out having to pack the lastitems and see them onto the train asfreight to Sydney. When it was allfinished I hitched a ride down toLeigh Creek, caught a plane toAdelaide and then to Sydney.

I had been away for three monthsand the relationships formed duringthis trip were to stand the test oftime. Although our paths did not

cross all that frequently in the yearsthat followed, we all remained verygood friends, with a respect born ofhaving come through some arduousexperiences with a smile and goodnatured banter. It saddens me to findthat I am the last remaining memberof that crew. With the passing ofthese friends we have lost some greatcraftsmen, men who were the back-bone of an industry finding its wayto the recognition it enjoys today.

MAX LEMON’s film careerstarted well before The Back ofBeyond. As a child actor heplayed the part of Terry inCharles Chauvel’s Sons ofMatthew in 1946. In later yearshe became a well respected

editor and director in Australiaand overseas. In early times hewould often mark up the opti-cals in a film, then make up thenegative ready for printing, thengo the Special Effects Dept. andprint his opticals on the OxberryOptical Printer. He has spenthis lifetime as a film maker. Maxis now living in London.

July 25th 2004. About 1000people gathered in Marree for the50th anniversary of the first Outbackscreening of the film. Tom Kruse, 89and his wife Valma were the guestsof honour.

All photographs supplied courtesyFilm Australia.



BELOW:Readywhen youare MrHeyer


Having lived in Newcastle all of my life, and being an avidfan of all things filmmaking, you would think that I wouldbe a veteran of The Shootout 24hour Film Festival. However,this year was the first time I entered. Once more I was goingto let the opportunity pass, but two weeks before the festi-val commenced, my friends, Rohan Everingham, CatherineDubos, and I, decided to give it a go

Our late entry was our first major problem – we onlyhad two weeks of pre-production. Rohan wrote a script andafter a few drafts our film, Cut This, was as tight as it wasgoing to get given the time frame. The story is about fourfilm censors debating whether to ban a film when an aveng-ing alien appears on screen seeking retribution on the worstoffender. Quirky scripts are generally successful in theShootout.

A number of hastily organised production meetings anda location recce ensued before we gathered at Shootout head-quarters located at Wheeler Place, Hunter Street for thefestival opening on Friday night, July 9th. Hundredsof participants waited. Excitement was building. Mynervous apprehension dissipated and I couldn’t wait toget started.

Just before 9 p.m. festival organisers announced the15 required items and locations – 5 of which had toappear in the finished film. The town hall clock struck9 and everyone rushed for their cars. After deciding whatitems and locations best fitted into our script we headedoff to shoot our first scenes. That night and followingday exist in my memory as a blur. We were well organ-ised but the pace was still hectic. We wrapped early onSaturday afternoon because some of our actors had toleave for work. Our rushed production had to suffice.The most disappointing aspect of the whole experiencecame when we had difficulty dubbing our finished filmonto VHS. After the problem was solved our film washanded in late which meant disqualification. We werecrushed.

I shot Cut This on a Canon XM2. It is one of thebest Mini DV cameras around in my opinion. Theextremely tight shooting schedule is not helpful to cine-matographers, but the Shootout is a lot of fun. I enjoyedthe experience and am already planning for next year.The spirit of the festival is that anyone – professionalor amateur alike – can have a go.

The Shoot Out is a 24 hour film making festival inNewcastle NSW. Anyone can enter; all you need is a

camera and some creativity. The idea of the film and itsexecution rather than the technology used to make it slickis the important thing. Films must not be longer than 7minutes including titles, must be shot in sequence with noediting apart from in camera. Films must contain a selec-tion of 5 items from a supplied list and made within the 24hour period, 9pm Friday to 9pm Saturday. Dubbing ofvoice over or music is allowed. What are you waiting for?Please visit www.theshootout.com.au


SHOOTOUT 2004by Nathan Wilson

CAMERA THEFT IN SYDNEYThe Production Kit Company has had the following gear stolen by a person purporting to hire the equipment.

Sony HDW-750, 25p/50i HDCAM Camera (s/n 40182

Canon HJ21 x 7.8mm IRSD HDTV lens with 2x extender (s/n 910021)

Chrosziel Production Matte Box

In custom built camera case

4 x Sony BP-L75 li-ion batteries & charger (s/n 411002)

Yellow Pelican 1525 case

Sachtler Video 20P 2 stage carbon fibre heavy duty tripod & fluid head (s/n 20P2606)

Portabrace 33B shell pack tripod transit case

The equipment was hired to a person claiming to be Alex Bergman from Bergmans Pty Ltd. The police andinsurance company are investigating. If you have any information regarding the stolen gear, or you havebeen contacted by someone using the name Alex Bergman, we would be grateful if you would call Jo on0419 599 944 or Judith on 0412 898 657.

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NEWS

Australian short film forced tobe withdrawn from local filmevent by US DistributorDirector of Fitzroy Shorts, Thomas Baricevic was disappointed to learn that oneof the Australian shorts which was proposed to screen at Fitzroy Shorts trav-elling show Satellite Shorts, at Mt Buller was forced to withdraw from theprogram because the US distributor wanted to explore all opportunities andwas sorry for the inconvenience!

I think that it is disgraceful that a:US company could prevent an Australian shortfilm from screening in its own country on such grounds. It brings home the real-ities of the free trade agreement and what that might mean for Australian culture.I caution any short filmmaker who is asked to sign up a worldwide exclusivedistribution deal by a US distributor to really look at what they are signing away,and what they are getting out of it, particularly when they are prevented fromentering their film into a local festival. Everyone knows the difficulties in makingmoney from a short film alone, so being supported in festival environments iscrucial to exposure. It can also be lucrative when there are awards to be wonat such festivals. - Thomas Baricevic

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a u s t r a l i a n c i n e m a t o g r a p h e r i s s u e 2 3 - 2 5

MOTION PICTURE MUSIC CLIP COURSEAT FOX OCT 11-13 2004A dozen directors and DOPs are being offered the chance to getto grips with motion picture technology in a special three-daycourse at Fox Studios.

Called Making Music Clips on Motion Picture Film, the October11-13 course involves the shooting of a music clip using Kodakfilm and Panavision equipment, with Atlab doing the processing.

“We’re using both 16mm and 35mm equipment and there are threehalf-day shoots in different lighting conditions in between expert

briefings,” says organizer Anthony Maguire, who is running thecourse as an offshoot of his BelowGround Music Video Fest.

The course is being led by veteran music video director AnthonyRose of One Trick Pony Film Co and other key names in it are US-based Kodak staff cinematographer Bart Durkin and coloristWarren Lynch. Cost is $600, with a 10 per cent discount on thatprice for ACS members. More information: Anthony Maguire0402 388742, [email protected]


FILM REVIEW

Hailed as a masterpiece of its time Raymond Longford's film The Sentimental Bloke is the mostwidely celebrated classic of Australia's silent cinema, and its restoration by ScreenSoundAustralia, The National Screen and Sound Archive, represents an important landmark for ourheritage.

The restoration of the film was a combined effort with the Australian Film Commission; TheNational Film and Sound Archive; George Eastman House, Rochester, N.Y; Kodak(Australasia)and Atlab Australia.

Raymond Longford is regarded as one of Australia's leading silent film directors. Tragically, ofhis 30 features most are lost, only a handful remaining in shortened or incomplete versions. Afire in Melbourne in 1953 destroyed a number of early Australian feature films. One of thesewas The Sentimental Bloke. ScreenSound records that of 259 feature films produced between1906 and 1931 only 67 were known to have survived.

When first released in Melbourne Town Hall in 1919 many proclaimed the film to be the great-est picture ever produced. It is reported to have broken all box office records at the time inAustralia, New Zealand and England. It did not have the same success in America. The filmwas re-edited and new titles were drawn to reflect a story that would be understood by Americanaudiences but to no avail.. It was this later version of the film that when located in 1973 gaveaccess to to-day's film.

The story of the restoration is told by Dominic Case in The Big Picture. I am quite sure that theresulting film that was premiered at the Sydney Film Festival on Tuesday June 15th 2004 wouldhave made cinematographer Arthur Higgins ACS delighted with the quality of the restorationof his beautiful images. The added bonus at that screening was a live orchestra on stage accom-panying the film. Jen Anderson who had composed music specially for the film performed withher band The Larrikins using piano, guitar, mandolin, violin and tin whistle.

Great credit should be given to those technicians under the guidance of Steve Clark whowith their determination and skill were able to bring this beautiful motion picture of last centuryinto to-day.

"The Sentimental Bloke"

CinematographerArthur Higginsand Bell Cameraon set

by JOHN LEAKE ACS, HISTORIAN

a u s t r a l i a n c i n e m a t o g r a p h e r i s s u e 2 3 - 2 7

ABOVE: Invitation to attend the Sydney Film Festival Screening


THE BIG PICTUREby Dominic Case

Times change, andpeople with them.The film archivist'sj o b m a y s e e m

simple - to preserve the rollsof film exactly as they werewhen the film was made. Butwhen it comes to restoring afilm and releasing it to a newpublic, eighty five years later,it's a far more complicatedtask.

The Sentimental Bloke wasa popular hit in 1918-19 whenRaymond Longford directedthe screen version of CJD e n n i s ' " S o n g s o f aSentimental Bloke", a book

of verses published four yearspreviously. But like manyarchival treasures, its survivaltoday was never to be takenfor granted. Longford and hisfilm were all but forgotten in1955 when the sole survivingnitrate print was rescued aftera fire in the CommonwealthGovernment's News andIn format ion Bureau inMelbourne. The print wasduplicated and 16mm printsw e r e c i r c u l a t e d .Unfortunately, there was no35mm duplicate made, andall but one reel of the originalprint have now disappeared.

So, the much later 35mmpreservation copy that washeld by the National Film &Sound Archive was madefrom the 16mm copy, and wastherefore of disappointinglypoor quality.

When the then deputyd i rec tor o f NFSA, RayEdmondson, discovered canslabelled "The SentimentalBlonde" at George EastmanHouse in Rochester, NewYork, it seemed to good to betrue. But, inside was the misla-belled original negative of thefilm. The archive was, in duecourse, persuaded to lend a

fine grain preservation copy tothe NFSA, (by then it wasScreensound Australia), andthe plan was to produce a firstclass duplicate negative andprint for Australian use.

But there was one snag.The negative was the "inter-national version" cut from 8reels down to 5 for theAmerican release: and to addinsult to injury, the original CJ

Dennis intertitles had beenreplaced with Americanvernacular. When the Blokegets carried away at thetheatre, shouting "'Put in theboot'' I sez, 'Put in the boot!'",the US version had "'Theslats', I 'ollers, 'Kick 'im in theslats.'"

And so the task changedfrom one of duplication toone of reconstruction, using asmuch of the US version as waspossible, together with theoriginal intertitles, and replac-ing the missing scenes ands h o t s w i t h t h e p o o r e rAustralian dupe.

This led us to confrontseveral fundamental questionsof restoration. How could webe most faithful to the origi-

Keeping the bloke fair dinkum

The first issuewas one ofrunning speed.The Bloke wasshot at 16 framesper second

A frame of Arthur Higgins’ work


nal intentions of the filmmaker? Howcould we reproduce what audienceshad experienced in 1919? How couldwe make the best possible experi-ence for modern audiences?

The first issue was one of runningspeed. The Bloke was shot at 16frames per second. The strictestarchival practice would insist thatthe restored version should not bealtered, and that projection speedshould be varied accordingly formodern screenings. More pragmati-cally, Screensound Australia chose

to stretch print the old material on aNeilsen-Hordell optical printer,repeating every alternate frame twiceto bring it up to 24 fps for the recon-structed version. The action seemsperfectly natural and correct at thatspeed, although the pace of theediting seems langorous, and theintertitles are on the screen for along time. Here's the dilemma: in thesilent era, films were invariablyprojected faster than the cameraspeed, at anything between 18 and 22fps. This reduced screen flicker, and

got through the program quicker,and was an almost universal practice.At that speed, the length of the inter-titles seems more reasonable, as if theeditor had allowed for the fasterprojection speed. Should we screenthe restored film at its originalcamera speed, or at the speed it wasprobably projected at in 1919? Whatspeed did Longford expect? Whatspeed did he intend? The philo-sophical question runs even deeper:if we projected the film, today, atexactly the same speed as it was

Raymond Longford directing The Sentimental Bloke

Me ideel tart!... An', bli'me, look at me!

Jist take a squiz at this, an' tell me can

Some square an' honist tom take this to be

'Er own true man?

The Sentimental Bloke - Reconstructed Male, or Sensitive New Age Guy?

30


Keeping the bloke fair dinkum29 continued

projected at in 1919, wouldmodern audiences read it thesame way? Or would theyread an unwanted comic effectinto the slight speed-up?

The next question is amore practical one: which isthe "correct" editorial version- t h e o r i g i n a l , l o n g e rAustralian version, or the re-cut US (or "international"version)? George EastmanHouse holds the internationalversion, so it was always theplan for the Australian archiveto reproduce the original cut.

But this too produced adilemma. The Americanversion was much betterquality, having come directlyfrom the original negative: butthere were shots and evencomplete scenes missing, whilein other cases the editing hadbeen significantly altered. Inmost cases, scenes had beentightened up -usually concen-trating on the action andcutting out the sometimeslengthy shots that dealt morewith character and expressionthan with progressing thestory forward. Maybe thisbrought the film more intoline with supposed US audi-ence expectations: certainly itput more "zip" into the film,but at the expense of a lot ofits finer touches. Lottie Lyell(Doreen in the film) is creditedas editor: it's not clear if shealso had a hand in the recut.The change in style may havebeen necessary to achieve theshorter length. But in attempt-

ing to match the US materialto the existing (but poorquality) Australian version,there was always a temptationto "improve" the edit formodern audiences. Whatwould the original editor havedone today, with another 80years of film experience todraw on? A hypothetical ques-tion of course, but today'saudience comes to the cinemawith that experience, and withcertain expectations.

Ult imately, whereverpossible, the reconstructedversion follows the originalcut, even where we had to usethe poorer Australian footage.In a couple of instances werecreated missing intertitles,checking the text against theCJ Dennis verses, and using adigital "cut and paste" tech-nique to replicate the originalfont by cutting each letter outfrom other titles: a bit like theclassic ransom note made ofpasted-up letters from news-

paper headlines.Now, a word about the

colours. The tinting andtoning is a recreation of thelook of prints that werescreened in 1919. The origi-nals were chemically dyed togive a grey and black image ona coloured film base (tinting),or reprocessed to convert theneutral silver image to brownor sepia (toning). In the silentdays, sections were printedseparately and dyed to therequired colour, then eachrelease print was assembledfrom the various colouredsections. Unfortunately, oneside effect of this treatmentwas to accelerate the decay ofthe prints, so the single reel ofnitrate and a few frame clipsthat that have survived wereof little use as a guide. Anotherproblem was that replacementsections in the surviving reel- repairs to damaged lengths- do not seem to have beenreliably printed in the samecolours. With some films the"colour script" has survived inthe form of notes for the print-ing lab - but not in the case ofThe Bloke. All that was possi-ble was to follow the clues ofthe surviving frames, the hintsin the intertitles, and theconventions of the technique:blue for night exteriors, sepiafor interiors, amber for sunnydays help to define the loca-tion and time, while pink forromance and mauve fordreams or visions help to setthe mood. The print was madeon colour print stock, usingsimple grading of the blackand white image to create asepia tone where required, anda flashing technique (a secondrun through the printerwithout the negative) to

Now, a word aboutthe colours. Thetinting and toningis a recreation ofthe look of printsthat werescreened in 1919

Steve Clark gets Sentimental at ScreenSound Australia


impart the tints to the whites.Different scenes "take" the colour bydifferent amounts, making this aharder process than it might seem, butstill more practical (and long-lasting)than using chemical dyes.

Today it's especially significantto see this film from a young Australiaof 85 years ago: its story is univer-sal, but it is told in a characteristicAustralian way - not just usingAustralian vernacular text, but usingAustralian actors with expressive -rather than Hollywood's glamorous- faces. (One US reviewer, excusingthe film's poor showing there,referred to "the Australian ugliness".)Perhaps if the film had been left alone

it would have played better. Not onlyAustralian but also British audiencesare reported to have loved the orig-inal Australian cut. Most of the film'splayers - as well as Longford himselfand cinematographer Arthur Higgins- stayed in Australia: but the indus-try had peaked and would begin along decline: there weren't manymore roles for them. But, albeitfiction, poetry or just whimsy, TheSentimental Bloke is an authenticimpression of its place and time, andsuch films still deserve to be made -and seen - and preserved.

Dominic CaseJuly 2004

The Bloke leaves after meetingDoreen's "Mar".

frames from the surviving tinted nitratereel: sepia toning, and yellow tinting.


in Memoriam

Derr ick was born County

Durham in August, 1921.He was

the middle child of a happy

family.

He joined the Territorial Army

aged 17 after an apprenticeship

in a Sainsburys delicatessen, -

this was to stand him in good

stead in later years. During the

war he served in the Royal

Horse Artillery, on the East

Coast of England and Gibraltar

where he organised a camp for

R & R personnel, returning to

England before the war finished

He always said he'd be a good

soldier until the war was over.

We met on a bus in London on

V.E. Day when the crowds

viewing the King blocked the

traffic and Derrick decided we'd

be married then and we married

in 1946. He was demobbed in

May 1946 so the hunt for work

was on. He had run a projector

on the Isle of Wight and decided that films

were for him. He joined the ACT (union) getting

work as a film editor with Paramount News

where he learnt so much. Then more editing at

Pathe.

Our daughter, Lesley was born in 1947 and

following the offer of sponsorship from friends

who had migrated to Australia we decided to

move to a warmer place.

The film industry was in a slump when we

arrived in January 1951 and Derrick searched

the Sydney studios for work but to no avail. We

caught the train to Kempsey and he worked in

a butter factory in Toorooka. Another string to

his bow. After four months we moved to

Brisbane where Derrick worked in a deli-

catessen, so the Sainsbury experience helped

him there. Following this was a job with Long

Range Weapons in Salisbury S. A. making films

about rockets in the early 50's

Our son, Tony was born in 1953 and Derrick was

elected councillor for Salisbury North.

Television was starting in Sydney and off again

we went for Derrick to work with the ABC as

a film editor. Some of his earliest work was on

Weekend Magazine and I remember him

cutting news footage of the Melbourne Cup in

the back of a processing truck on the way from

Mascot to Gore Hill. He was appointed Senior

News Editor and later Senior Films Officer with

a national staff of 500.

The ABC Film Department under Derrick's lead-

ership set most of the trends and techniques

for the future film industry in Australia. In fact

all equipment purchased by

the ABC became the industry

standard and the staff house-

hold names throughout the

country. He was always

proud of his "boys", never

more so than when a number

of them would earn the

highest awards in the film

world.

Derrick started mucking

around in boats, building a

few including his pride and

joy, "'Tricia" (named for me)

and then on to the classy

"Pankina". We moored her at

the Royal Motor Yacht Club,

Broken Bay which was to be

our family's weekend base.

Our daughter, Lesley became

a n e g a t i v e m a t c h e r i n

Sydney, then moving on to

take a posit ion at ABC,

Melbourne as a film editor

before returning to Sydney at

Channel 10 where she met Warwick Finlay, a

film sound recordist. Their youngest son, Paul

is also a sound recordist making him the third

generation in the film industry....A very proud

Grandad. In his retirement Derrick carried on

with his hobby of building furniture for the

family. Some of his best times were with our

family of two children, a son and daughter-in-

law, six grandchildren and one great-grandson

Macular degeneration and emphysema got the

better of him, which was very sad to happen

to such a vital person. He slipped away one day

short of our 58th wedding anniversary and one

week after his 83rd. birthday.

by Pat Timmins.

Derrick Edmund Timmins. 1921-2004


Bolex H-16

CLASSIC CAMERASby JOHN LEAKE ACS

Paillard S.A. of Switzerland introduced the first Bolex H-16type camera in the early 1930s as a compact versatile highquality motion picture camera. The parent company statethat the basic features of the original H-16 were so wellselected or designed that they withstood the test of timeand all of these features are present without significantchange on the most modern Bolex spring driven camerasof today.

The features on the H-16 are extensive and indeed it wasa much more versatile camera than many 35mm motionpicture cameras. The inclusion of the reflex viewfindermade this camera useful. This optical system is describedas being flickerless as it was achieved by inserting a prismbetween the taking lens and the film plane and directingapproximately 25% of the light to the viewfinder. It wasnecessary to consider this when calculating exposure. Thisviewfinder system made composition simple and accurate.An additional parallax correcting viewfinder was alsoincluded with the camera but was perhaps unnecessary.

The camera is equipped with a turret accommodatingthree lenses. The back pressure plate is removable makinggate cleaning simple and the self automatic threading ofthe 16mm film accurately formed top and bottom loops andwas a delight to use.

On the outside of the camera the features are numerous.The footage counter allows the leader to be run throughthe camera until zero appears in the window. There is aprecise frame counter showing the exact frame count, verynecessary for fades, lap dissolves and single frame shoot-ing.

The camera has a speed control knob with settings from8fps to 64 fps and a slide release on the side allows foreither continuous running or single frame. A delight is theRX fader. This device attaches to the camera allowingaccurate 40 frame fades by closing the variable shutter andstopping the camera allowing the film to be rewound 40frames by viewing the frame counter and when restarting the camerathe RX fader opens and a beautiful dissolve occurs. Many a grey hairwould have been saved by early cinematographers if a similar devicehad been fitted to their Mitchell and Bell cameras.

It, of course, can be adapted with accessories for many complex cine-matography projects, micro and macro for scientific work or the otherextreme, mounted in a special housing for underwater cinematog-raphy.

The H-16 is really a dream to use - so small and light weight, a realbeauty.

EDITOR'S NOTE. The H-16 remains a powerful cinematographic toolin the 21st Century. In July 2004, on eBay.com.au there was forauction a 'Bolex Super16 Film Camera with 4 Switar Lenses in orig-inal travel case. New viewfinder mirror and C-Mount to Nikonadaptor'. The starting bid was $3,800.00 Australian Dollars.


NEW GEARby NICOLA DALEY

In addition to the 300 times zoomratio (from 7mm to 2100mm), thePanavision 300x HD Lens withCompound Zoom™ technologyoffers a very wide field of viewat the short focal length, as wellas other value-added perform-ance features prev ious lyunavailable, including continu-ous zoom (without the use ofimage degrading drop-in exten-ders); continuous focusingthrough zoom; instantaneousoptical breathing control at shortfocal lengths; and low distortionover virtually all of the zoom andfocus rangers. The 300x HDZoom Lens with Compound

Zoom™ technology provideshigh image quality in a widevariety of shooting scenarios bymaximizing contrast at high defi-nition resolution. Very lowveiling glare and ghosting attrib-utes, exhibited by Panavision’sestablished Primo cine lenstechnology, are also incorpo-rated. Other features includeboresight stability through zoom,and an active, closed loop inter-nal optical stabilization systemto reduce vibration-inducedimage shake. For more informa-tion please call Panavision on 029436 1844 or your local office formore details.

Panavision 300x HD Lens

PANAVISION INTRODUCE NEW 300X HD LENS FORTHE BROADCAST INDUSTRY

Target Resolution ChartsStraight from CanadaRichard Stringer CSC, producer of the Target ResolutionCharts, has designed a unique product for recording accu-rately and easily, format frames for film or video.

The Target Multi Format Framing Chart is laminated on thinmetal, measures 12” x 20” and uses movable magneticpanels. There are two large panels to line up with six indi-cated aspect ratio formats (1.33, 1.55 or 14x9, 1.66 for Super16mm, 1.78 or 16x9. and 1.85), as well as 2.35 and 2.40 anamor-phic (but they can adjust to any position). There are also 8smaller markers to define TV safe or secondary formats. Thismakes adjusting to your format choices quick and easy.

Some other features include: incremental edge lines forjudging frame edge errors, space for production logo andslating (post it notes or wet erase), and a star target to aidin eye focus with a square box graphic (which can be usedas a squeeze indicator).

For more information go to www.stringercam.com/target.htmlor email

Richard Stringer CSC at [email protected]

Sony Launch XDCAM ProductsSony is proud to announce the arrival of the new XDCAM profes-sional disc system. The system is fully integrated from captureto delivery. Broadcasters, professional camera operators andeditors can now shoot and deliver their images using the ruggednew optical disc-based format, without waiting to digitise shotsfor editing. Production time is greatly reduced so time-sensitiveoperations including news gathering, sports and professionalevents coverage are now able to turnaround shots with a minimumof delay. The XDCAM system also makes extensive use ofMetadata, or additional data associated with the video and audio,in order to further streamline any kind of production environment.Scripting, logging information and even final EDL’s can be storedon the disc, along with the source video and audio data. Asdigital files, images and audio, together with their metadata, canbe distributed or transmitted almost anywhere through broadcastTV, the Internet and mobile applications. This, combined with costeffective media makes XDCAM suitable for all aspects of produc-tion, from acquisition right through to archive.

F o r m o r e d e t a i l e d p r o d u c t i n f o r m a t i o n , p l e a s e v i s i twww.sony.com.au. To find the nearest Sony authorised dealer orservice location, please call 1800 017 669.


"It was never really intended as a place forpeople. All that is Australia begins not withman but with the land itself." "In the face ofman's small victories the land itself continuedto impose the limitations." so wrote GeorgeJohnston in his book "The Australians" 1966.

It was on this land that Tom Kruse choseto live his life. A dedicated life of deliveringthe mail by truck from Marree to Birdsvilleweek after week, winter, summer, drought andflood.

The story of Tom Kruse is a story about agreat Australian, a man of the bush, a cleverbush mechanic and a great story teller.Kirsten Weidenbach's book tracks the life ofTom Kruse and his wife Valma and manyfriends and characters. Kristin writes in thepreface "for a storyteller in his 80s nothingbeats whiling away the hours with yarns of thebush and reminiscences of the outback"

Tom Kruse was the star of John Heyer'sfilm The Back of Beyond 50 years ago. Thebook journeys through Tom's life explainingwhat he did before the film and details manyof the days of filming, then takes us to recenttimes when his beloved Leyland Badger Truckwas restored to its original condition byKristin's father Neil. Before Federation theBirdsville Track was known as the QueenslandRoad, a cattle route where taxes were chargedper head of cattle, making Birdsville a thriv-ing community.

The arrival of the motor vehicle brought about the end of thecamel train where camels were connected with a light rope froma wooden nose peg to the tail of the animal in front. Led by anAfghan cameleer who would walk off into the desert taking 24 daysto do the trip The story of the Marree to Birdsville mail run is fasci-nating as it winds the reader through the outback......DiamantinaRiver, Coopers Creek, Mungerannie Gap, Goyder Lagoon, PandiePandie Station, Gilpininna Dam and the infamous OoroowillanieSandhill.

In those earlier years the Birdsville Track was just that, a track.Two tyre tracks wandering kilometre after kilometre and thenvanishing when a dust storm covered them. The track at timeswould pass around the base of a sandhill and at other timesbecause of the unpassable terrain it would necessitate drivingstraight to the top of a sandhill, over and down the other side,needing plates and mats to be laid to prevent the tyres sinking inthe sand. If the truck bogged it necessitated many hours ofdigging.

It was in the days of the great depression that Tom's first job

BOOK REVIEWTHE MAILMAN OF THE BIRDSVILLE TRACK by Kristin Weidenbach

was in a blacksmith's shop, giving him a valuable education in bushrepairs and mechanical improvisations. Tom is not his real name buta nickname carried from younger days. His proper name was onlyused by his mother and I suggest that those interested should readthe book to find out why.

Kristin writes "the Birdsville Track was a dry lonely cattle trackin the centre of Australia, a meandering path of hoof trails and camelpads. It was 500kms of harsh sunlight, glaring off the orange gibberstones, 500kms of flies, choking dust storms and sand that would suffo-cate mouths and clog up a vehicle's air filter, 500kms of searing heatwhere walking away from a disabled vehicle could mean your death,500kms of mind numbing monotony and mind shattering isolationwhere a person might not meet another living soul from one end tothe other."

That was the Birdsville Track. The track that Tom Kruse reclaimed.

Kristin Weidenbach has captured all of this in her book. It is agreat story about a real fair dinkum Aussie and the outback.Published by Headline Australia Pty. Limited 2003

by JOHN LEAKE ACS


TED TAYLOR ACS

FLASHBACK

Ted Taylor ACS was born inVictoria in 1918 and he notesthat my "early childhood recol-lections were of our house atLong Street, Blackrock in the1920s very much in the countrya n d a l s o a v e r y p l e a s a n tseaside area. There was amass of ti-tree which becamea blaze of white in flower andthere was a carpet of red andwhite when the heath was inb l o o m . T h e s u r r o u n d i n gpaddocks were home to bandi-coot and my short walk toA r k a r i n g s C r e s c e n t S t a t eSchool was through paddocksof dairy cows."

Occasionally the travell ingpicture show man would cometo Robinvale and everyonecame to town to see the latestsilent movie, sitting on hardwooden seats with a genera-tor thumping outside whilst apianist played music appropri-ate to the scene.

"My first camera was a 120 BoxBrownie and it gave me mylove of photography. I was ableto convert a cupboard at homeinto a darkroom and I devel-oped my own pictures."

A l t h o u g h Te d s e r v e d a napprenticeship as a fitter andturner his love for photogra-phy continued. He bought aPathe 9.5mm camera and tookup movie making and joined acine society in Armadale.

"We would gather round theradio listening to cricket Testm a t c h e s b e i n g p l a y e d i nEngland. I filmed the gathering,processed the film in the bath-room and screened it for theguests."

When World War 11 broke outTed was a tool maker workingfor an engineering company.

38

My first camera was a120 Box Brownie and it gave memy love of photography.

Ted Taylor ACS

TED TAYLOR ACS


FLASHBACK

The Dutch East Indies administration setup a Government in Exile in Melbournea n d a n o r g a n i z a t i o n c a l l e d t h eNetherlands East Indies GovernmentInformation Service, NEIGIS under theleadership of Fred Daniel. This was thestart of a most extraordinary life of traveland adventure Ted never dreamed of asa boy.

The Japanese Army had occupied Javaand by promising the Javanese inde-pendence from the Dutch after the war,gained their cooperation.

Ted's first assignment was to join aDutch submarine that was to land aparty of Austra l ian Commandos inJapanese occupied Java. During thisexercise they torpedoed a Japaneseship and later attacked a destroyerwhich countered with depth charges.They suffered only minor damage

These early days took Ted on manymissions, Broome and Darwin after thebombing and the signing of a peacedeclaration by Japanese commanderson HMAS Burdekin. When Ted arrived inBatavia every building was daubed with"MERDEKA" (Freedom) and red and whiteflags flew everywhere. The blue band ofthe Dutch flag had been dropped leavingthe red and white. The only money thelocals would accept unti l 1947 wasJapanese invasion currency.

Later Ted went to cover the occupationof Surabaya and was quartered at theOranje Hotel which was attacked by theIndonesians who captured Ted, confis-cated his camera gear and threw him inprison. He was released and althoughhis camera gear was returned his cloth-ing and personal belongings were not.He was offered a Japanese soldier'suniform but it was too small and it didn'tseem to be appropriate clothing. Tedand his wife Merle were offered resi-dence in Java but he resigned fromNEIGIS and returned to Australia.

This led to 10 years as Chief Cameraman

filming newsreels and documentariesf o r M o v i e t o n e N e w s s t a t i o n e d i nMelbourne. Ten minute newsreels werescreened before a feature film and littletheatrettes were set up showing an hourlong presentation of news, cartoons andtravelogues.

Big annual stories like the Caulfield andMelbourne Cups meant additional crewsfrom Sydney and although there wasgreat rivalry between Movietone andCinesound there was always a gettogether at Ted's home on Cup eve. Tedfilmed local stories like the man whoinvented fire proof paint. "He built asmall house, painted it with his inventionand invited the fire chief and myself toa demonstration. He set fire to the houseand it promptly burnt to the ground. Ohwell, back to the drawing board". Thenewsreel took Ted all over Australia -stories like servicing lighthouses, MobilOil Rallies, the first Australian RoyalTour, emergency rescue of a doctor fromHeard Island in Antarctica by HMASMelbourne and of course the usualfloods, fires and famines.

With the advent of TV, Ted and family leftMelbourne and went to Artransa Park inSydney. He teamed up with Ross Wood,George Lowe, Gordon Lloyd and BrenBrown. George Lowe and Gordon Lloydhe knew from the NEIGIS days. Artransawas probably the biggest Australianstudio with three sound stages, BNCMitchell camera gear, Brute arcs andrear projection equipment.

"I worked a good deal with an inde-pendent producer, Gordon Grimsdalewho made a number of medical filmsthat I photographed in Papua NewGuinea, Singapore, Manilla and HongKong"

Ted became familiar with the Pearl andDean organization in Bangkok and hewas asked to join the company and headtheir camera department. "I supposebecause I had been living in Asia I had

come to like the lifestyle and managedto talk Merle into accepting the Pearland Dean offer". Back in the East lifewas much more luxurious than hiswartime experience. The supplied homecame with servants and it was in anattractive part of Bangkok. and wasmuch more befitting a professional cine-matographer.

Filming was now entirely in colour asThai TV was broadcasting in colour longbefore Australia. "Life in Bangkok wasvery pleasant and Merle and our chil-dren became proficient in speaking Thaiand the s tud io s ta f f spoke main lyEnglish. I travelled extensively in Asiafilming cinema commercials and docu-mentaries. A commercial I particularlyremember was for Tiger Balm, the wellknown Chinese lotion. We used a tamelarge tiger that caused quite a stir whenthe owner released him to roam freelyin the Lopburi Botanical Gardens. I tookMerle to stay at the Oranje Hotel inSurabaya where I was captured by theIndonesians all those years ago but thistime staying in the lap of luxury".

"Time came to return to Australia, a verydifferent film scene than when I left.Then cameramen would work perma-nently for a studio now they worked ona casual basis and with the influx ofgraduates from the various film schoolsthe market became very competitive.Before retiring from the film industry Ispent the next several years filmingcommercials and documentaries andamongst many memorable times werethose spent travelling around Australiawith Gordon Lloyd for Trans AustraliaAirlines (TAA). This is just a small partof my filming life and I am now happilyretired in Queensland".

This Flashback information is a smallselection from a self published autobi-ography Ted Taylor ACS compiled for hisfamily and given to John Leake ACS

37

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