American Cinematographer - May 1991 - 74

GET ON THE FAST TRACK

cool actors in a camera car. With all the
windows rolled up, it can get to be 90 de¬

tell them that all

grees

two

ies in the back seat plugged into the AC
outlet on the dolly truck, and vests on under
the actors' costumes, we can keep these

they have to do is plug the
quick-disconnect hoses into the battery,
turn it on and it's rolling, they're very com¬

This new,

inexpensive dolly carries operator,

assistant, and tripod, yet weighs less than 25
pounds and stows easily in the trunk of a car.
Utilizes PVC

pipe

track, or runs on standard
steel track, steel pipe, or angle iron. Tough
urethane wheels and high quality bearings
assure
smooth operation and long life.
Complete dolly is only $375.
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set on fire. Another application

because many of the
wardrobe people who use our system are
not familiar with technical devices. Once we
very easy to use,

fortable with it. The conductive fluid goes
to the cap first, because the head is more
comfortable at lower and higher tempera¬
tures than the body
"The fluid circulates from the cap
into the vest and then out into the battery.
The hosing that carries the fluid through the

system is insulated to prevent heat or cold
loss, and we've also insulated the two
hoses going in and out of the climate system
so the temperature of the outgoing line
won't be affected. For most shots, the actor
is connected to the system prior to filming,
then disconnected for the shot. After he
does a scene, he is usually re-connected to

the

battery. When the hoses

are

discon¬

nected, they seal up so no fluid leaks out,
and then they can be tucked into a pocket
or hidden inside a creature suit. On Preda¬
tor, for example, the tubes came out the
creature's neck, while on Star Trek V, they
were tucked into the front part of the
wardrobe of the Klingon commander."

some elaborate creature costume. They can
also be used for actors wearing fur coats or
other heavy wardrobe, and on actors

wearing facial prosthetic makeups. "On
Dick Tracy, one of the actors wore the cap
under his baldcap makeup, to prevent the
sweating which was causing his makeup
appliances to peel. The cap will reduce
facial sweating by 90%, so using our sys¬
tem, we were able to dramatically reduce
the amount of time he spent in the makeup
chair."
The applications, as Gilman
points out, are endless: "If you're trying to
create the illusion of a cold climate on a

soundstage, the actors wearing heavy
parkas under those hot lights start to get
pretty uncomfortable. Fortunately, they can
wear one of these systems and it'll keep
them cool so they don't have to remove their
wardrobe every five minutes."

inside. "With climate control batter¬

actors cool as

they're rolling down the

road," Gilman explains. The system also
works off DC current.
Since it was first used

on

Predator, Gilman, Harvey Hubert and the
crew at Diligent Dwarves have worked to
make their Actor Climate

Systems as fool¬
proof and efficient as possible, using
Lifesupport Systems' cap and vest.
"Predator was a helluva test and we
learned a lot," Gilman admits. "We learned
that we had to look out for every possible

thing. If the fittings dropped in the mud
while they were shooting in the jungle,
they'd clog if they weren't kept clean, be¬
cause the system is so precise. We've now
tried to make the system a little less precise
but still have it run efficiently, so that if
anomalies like dirt in the line or extra rough
housing occur, it'll still work. It's a very
delicate balance. Our goal is to make it
100% foolproof."

Although Diligent Dwarves has
supplied Actor Climate Systems to such
projects as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,
Harry and the Hendersons, Edward
Scissorhands, Gorillas in the Mist, and Star
Trek: The Next Generation, Gilman is quick
to point out that his climate control suits
aren't only to sooth the savage breast under

would be to

Another "Cool" Winner
A second "cool suit" award

re¬

cipient this year is Jim Graves, whose
company, J & G Enterprises, offers a dif¬
ferent climate control system for use in the
motion picture industry. Graves actually
developed the cool suits for the military. "I
was in aviation physiology research and
development for the Air Force for 20 years,"
Graves says. "When I retired, I went to work
for Life Support Systems, where we created
the liquid coolant system for the Apollo
missions. Later, I took that basic technology
and improved it for the motion picture in¬
dustry and auto racing field. We've been in
this business for 15 years, and we do all our
own engineering and manufacturing right
here at our facility, which gives us the abil¬
ity to be very versatile regarding the needs
of

our

users."
Unlike the radiator vest

em¬

also be used to

ployed in Diligent Dwarves' system, Graves
cool suit features a one piece vest and cap
made of lightweight, flexible netting, to
which a network of tubing is stitched. "It fits
the contours of the torso anthropometrically
and it covers all of the upper torso," Graves

cool in his fireproof insu¬
lation suit when a film requires someone be

also cooled. The head/neck coolant is part

The vest

keep

a stuntman

May 1991

can

points out. "The sides and shoulders

are
American Cinematographer - May 1991

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