American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 18

business to run smoothly."
Likewise, Stumpf adds, "Directors
hire a cinematographer they trust will make
their film look great, and they also trust the
cinematographer to hire the right people to
do great work. It's awesome when a cinematographer turns to me and says, 'What
do you think?' or 'Do you have any ideas?'
or 'Show me a great shot.' If they trust me
to line up a shot, and then they like it and
the director likes it, then it's a win for all of
us. Then the cinematographer knows they
can rely on me to get a great shot, and they
can concentrate more on working with the
gaffer and key grip to light the scene.
"Of course, guidance is always
DIY
The Pie-Pan Leko Gobo
Last month we talked about ellipsoidal reflector spotlight (ERS) fixtures, aka
"Lekos." One feature of an ERS is that it can
accept a metallic gobo in a holder in the
body of the fixture so that it will project a
pattern of light. Companies such as Rosco
and its GAM Products division manufacture
these templates in nearly any shape and
pattern you can imagine. But that isn't the
only way to get what you're looking for. A
do-it-yourself technique that I've employed
many times is to create my own gobo using
just a few simple tools that should be readily
available at your local grocery store.
This project starts with an aluminum
pie pan. These typically come in 8" rounds
and are a fairly thick aluminum. Although
the sides are often crimped and textured,
the base is usually fairly flat - and it's the
base that will be of use to us.
Using a pair of heavy scissors, tin
snips, a box cutter or an X-Acto knife, cut
the circular base away from its sides. Slip the
base into the Leko's gobo holder and trace
around the opening with a Sharpie; then,
trace around the whole holder. Pull the pan
base out of the holder.
Now, using that area within the
traced circumference of the opening as the
canvas for the gobo design, draw out whatever shape or pattern you have in mind:
clouds, a window pane, tree branches, stars
- anything. Then, using an X-Acto knife,
cut out the "light" portions of the template
- those areas that you want the light to
18

November 2017

welcomed and encouraged if the cinematographer or the director has a different
idea in mind," the operator continues. "If
I've pitched an idea and the cinematographer says, 'What do you think about this
instead?' - if it's a great idea for a shot, I'll
say with a smile and a bit of a laugh, 'That's
awesome! Your shot is going to look great
on my reel!' That type of teamwork and
camaraderie is always welcomed."
To help cinematographers clearly
communicate with their operators, Stumpf
offers these guiding thoughts: "If, as a
cinematographer, you have specific ideas
of what you're looking for, don't be afraid
to say it in simple terms. Operators are

there to execute the shots that the cinematographer and director are looking for
- so speak to them about it.
"Think of it like this," he continues.
"If you wanted to remodel your house,
you'd call in a general contractor to execute
your idea. The more you speak to the
contractor about what specifically you have
in mind, the closer you'll get to what
exactly it is that you want. And if you aren't
fully sure what you want the remodel to
look like, you'd ask for the contractor's
input. If you have a general contractor with
years of experience and great reviews and
recommendations, there's a good chance
you'll love the way the remodel of your

pass through. This can take a bit of practice
and definitely requires some forethought, as
the solid portions of the gobo's pattern -
the pieces that will block the projected light
- need to connect to the gobo's outer edge
so that they don't just fall out.
Once the pattern is set, trim the pan
bottom along the tracing you made of the
whole gobo holder. To ensure the gobo will
slip nicely into the holder, cut the pan
bottom ¼" inside the outline of the holder

- or you can cut ¼" outside the circumference you traced for the center opening.
It's important to use a metal material
for this task - which is why a pie pan is so
convenient. It's thicker than aluminum foil,
but not so thick that it can't be easily cut.
The aluminum will hold up well in the high
heat of a tungsten ERS fixture's conjugate
focal point.
- JH

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American Cinematographer - November 2017

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