American Cinematographer - April 1989 - 70

not like

comedy lighting, either; a
light, but with

lot of richness and
shadows in the

corners.

We

night effects and
some
good effects in the girl's
room.
Mostly it's a nice 'straight'
job. It's the kind that's harder to
shoot than the

more

razzle-dazzle

camera

stabilizer when

shooting in the air or on water.
Major Mount-
For major shooting with a
Mitchell 35mm MKII camera.
-Middle Mount
Vibration free, smooth
tracking, finger tip controls for
film or video cameras.
Nose Mount-

Shoot

straight ahead or
t!lt180° for film or video,
with cockpit controls.

useful tool in that

was

a

treat," he recalls. "At the

time there

only three in the

were

world. It mounts

on the throat of
the camera, and it flashes your film
to a controlled exposure just before

or

doesn't have to

The result is very

come

from

specific

Davy Crockett
Isidore Mankofsky,
Tyler Vibration-Free

very

kind, because with those the light

places.''

Use A

a

"Using the Panaflasher

got

realistic

some

flasher is
area.

a new

adventure of the

intrepid pioneer. The real life ad¬
ventures of Isidore Mankofsky and
his crew during the filming of the
show could also be described

over

exposure,

and you

Disney pilot Davy Crockett

chronicles

through the camera.
similar to pre- or
post-flashing the film in the labora¬
tory, except you don't have to han¬
dle the film twice. Also, you have
runs

immediate control

ASC
The

after it

as

intrepid and pioneering. The crew
faced bone-chilling, soggy working
conditions through most of the
shoot. Mankofsky employed a rela¬
tively unknown tool, the Panaflasher, without the help of film
dailies or prior testing. These obsta¬
cles were obviously overcome by
Mankofsky and his crew - the
show has merited nomination for
the ASC Award.

have the option of chang¬
ing filters. I was very, very happy
with the results, even though I
didn't have the time to completely
familiarize myself with how to fine
tune the Panaflasher.

"We shot the film in the
British Columbia Wilderness Area,
which is mostly thick, dark forest.
It was overcast for much of the time.

Often, under the canopy of trees,
spot in the whole area,
at high noon, would be a 1.4. That
far north, you get less than seven
the brightest

hours of

my meter would come up on
'E'. So having enough light was a

problem. But you'd throw this
Panaflasher on and suddenly the
forest would look beautiful. It helps
to

see

that

-Mini Mount

daylight, and later in the

day,

into the

shadows, and it did

job magnificently.
"Another consideration

16mm mount with

finger tip
controls for camera, motorized
focus, & variable speed zoom.

the film

on

that it

was

was

to be

directly transferred to tape. As any¬
one

who has been in that unfortu¬

position knows, the tape
people can do just about anything
they want to your images. I didn't
want the film to have deep blacks,
so I didn't want to
give them a piece
nate

Video Mount-

New Tyler seat base allows
quick installation of video
cameras

of film with

-Gyro Platform
Water-proof, fully automatic
sea stabilizer for boats,
corrects horizontal pitch.

transfer
It

was

-

FILM & VIDEO CAMERAS

Production Services -Atlanta

EQUIPMENT RENTAL
SALES & SERVICE

404/622-1311
2000 LAKEWOOD WAY.

Isidore

Mankofsky, ASC

"Davy Crockett is a period
film," explains Mankofsky. "They
were after
something that looked
different, something that wasn't
glitzy. This goes along with the
general trend toward less contrast
and a pastel look, and the Pana-

BLDG 4. ATLANTA, GA 30315
68

FAX # 404-622-1691

lot of contrast to

I wasn't able to be there.

one

of the most

transfers I've
AVAILABLE FOR ALL MOUNTS

a

begin with. Luckily there was an
extremely good technical man at
Disney who supervised the

April 1989

ever

satisfying

had, from film to

tape to air. But I suspect that some
of that is because I took away some
of their options by giving them a
very

pastel image.

about
weather

"The other amazing thing
Davy Crockett was the
-

it

three week

was

foul. I bet we had

a

period where it rained
every day, and some

at least once
American Cinematographer - April 1989

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