American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 74

◗

A Storied Camera
Goldwyn's Mitchell No. 2.
Gainer would often mention the
camera to his friends and colleagues in
the industry. Ultimately, it was one of
those friends - Sol Negrin, ASC - who
had a kernel of information about the
camera. "It had belonged to a gentleman
named J. Burgi Contner [ASC]," Gainer
says. "He was a cinematographer, and he
owned a rental company, too."
Negrin, who passed away in
March, worked as a camera operator on a
number of series that Contner
photographed, including Naked City, The
Defenders and Car 54, Where Are You? "Sol
told me that he had used the camera,"
Gainer marvels. "Sol had even operated
on the original Kojak with it!"
Another conversation - this time
with Roy H. Wagner, ASC - brought to
light that Contner's son, television director James A. Contner, still owned the
camera. Introductions were made,
arrangements were discussed, and the
younger Contner eventually donated the
camera to the ASC Museum. "The donation was entirely arranged by Roy,"
Gainer emphasizes, with obvious gratitude for his fellow ASC member's efforts.
The camera was in good condition
but - unsurprisingly, given its long
career in feature films and television - it
had undergone several modifications
since Goldwyn had first purchased it
from the Mitchell Camera Corp. "At
some point it had been painted kind of a
marble-blue color by a rental house,"
Gainer details. "The camera had originally been Mitchell's black 'crinkle' color.
Also, it had been reflexed. The Mitchell
was originally just a BNC camera, not a
BNC-R. Someone had put a pellicle
mirror in the viewing system, which
allows you to look through the lens when
you're shooting - which is obviously very
helpful to the operator, but it's not original."
In restoring the camera to its
factory form, Gainer found that matching
the crinkle finish was among the most
difficult aspects. He chipped the blue
paint from the camera, but then found
that most companies had stopped making
crinkle black paint due to the carcinogens

Top: Toland sits
beside a
Mitchell camera
mounted on a
hydraulic tripod.
Middle: The
crinkle finish is
applied to the
blimp. Bottom:
The matte box
has its finish
removed.

74

November 2017

American Cinematographer



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 2017

Contents
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 1
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 2
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - Contents
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 4
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 5
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 6
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 7
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 8
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 9
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American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 11
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American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 14
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American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 17
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 18
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 19
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 20
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 21
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 22
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 23
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 24
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American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 27
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 28
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 29
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 30
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American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 33
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 34
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 35
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 36
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 37
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 38
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 39
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 40
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 41
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 42
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 43
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 44
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 45
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 46
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 47
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 48
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 48a
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 48b
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 49
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 50
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