American Cinematographer - December 1960 - 39

shown to the boys by means of film before the start
of the regular season," says Kennedy, "aren't likely
to be repeated during a conference game when it can
really hurt you."
Coach Fred Weiboldt of Upsala College, East
Orange, New Jersey, believes strongly in filming pre¬
season practice plays. During these games, which are
played in the College gym, Coach Weiboldt has a
capable cameraman and a Bolex 16mm camera on
hand shooting important action.
Fast Films, Lenses Helpful

There are a number of developments which have
encouraged more and more colleges and high schools
to film their basketball games. Much better lighting
is being provided in the gym and fieldhouses now
being built, so that shooting movies in "existing
light" is productive of good results. Adequate light¬
ing has always been an important factor in getting
quality game movies; and it goes hand-in-hand with
the need for well-lighted areas for physical educa¬
tion classes and indoor sports activities, too.
However, coaches using the older gyms needn't
be discouraged about the poorer light usually found
there, thanks to faster camera lenses and movie film.
Recently Paillard has introduced fast Cinor lenses
for both the Bolex 16mm and 8mm cameras having
apertures of f/0.95 and f/0.9 respectively. Such
lenses make it possible to get good movies in rela¬
tively poor light.
Another help has been the development, by East¬
man Kodak, DuPont and Ansco, of high-speed motio picture films. I have used DuPont 931 film in
shooting games in New Jersey college and high
school gyms with excellent results.
As a Bolex camera user, I find that the Bolex
Unimotor is an important adjunct to shooting fast
action by means of "existing light" and fast film.
When shooting football movies, the cameraman can
rely entirely on a spring-motor drive, as it is pos¬
sible to rewind the spring after each play so the
camera will not run down in the middle of a shot.
In basketball, however, the play is continuous, and
affords little or no time to rewind a camera motor.
With the Unimotor mounted on a Bolex, an entire
hundred-foot roll of film may be exposed in a con¬
tinuous run, if necessary-often essential in filming
basketball continuity.
The Unimotor operates on either 6-volt batteries
or regular 110-volt house current converted by
means of a step-down transformer.

Experience has shown that the best position in
which to set up the camera is near that point where
the end and side lines meet. Coaches who have previ¬
ously used movies generally have a plan in mind for
the camera coverage. During the first half, for ex¬
ample, it is a good idea to concentrate on filming
team defense. The second half can be devoted to
offensive play. While this plan enables the camera¬
man to get only about half of the game on film, it
will give the coach vital footage of his offense and
defense-and at the same time cut the cost of film in
half.
As with football coaching and game-analysis
movies, rapid processing of basketball films is also
desirable. Commercial film laboratories usually do
not work Saturday nights, as they often do during
the football season in order to accommodate the need
of gridiron coaches; but most labs will provide
"same-day" service during the week. Film placed in
their hands during early morning hours or before
noon usually can be processed and returned by Spe¬
cial Delivery mail the following day.
Basketball Filming Techniques

When filming basketball action for analytical pur¬
poses, the cameraman should concentrate on the
players of the team for which he is shooting, shoot¬
ing the team offense as the players near the mid¬
court line, then cover them as they move back on
Continued on Page 764

HEAD COACH Don Kennedy of St. Peters College in Jersey City, N.J.,
points out flaws in team play to members of his squad as movies of
earlier practice session are projected. Graphic presentation of player
mistakes via movies invariably reduce errors in vital conference games.

Film Requirements

To shoot the average high school basketball game,
which is usually played in eight-minute quarters,
will require about 800 feet of 16mm film. College
games, which are played in 20-minute halves, will
require about 1,200 feet. It is possible, of course, to
use less film and still get adequate information for
coaching purposes.
DECEMBER

* 1960

745

American Cinematographer - December 1960

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - December 1960