American Cinematographer - September 1968 - 25

fered terrain and waterways not unlike many areas in
Vietnam. In addition, accessibility and the close proximity
of supporting military facilities made it the best choice of
location.
The Green Berets' A-Camp site was constructed in a
remote area of the base on a knoll that was somewhat
reshaped by bulldozers. When the art director and the
construction people were finished, our Army Green Beret
advisers assured us we had a most authentic and realis¬
tic A-camp, complete with a picturesque ruined Buddhist
temple, bamboo firetower, team-house, dispensary, sand¬
bag bunkers and zig-zag trenches, requiring, in all, about
22,000 sandbags. There was also a "moat" with 10,000
punji sticks, concertina barbed wire and a clear "killing
zone" beyond these obstacles. It was realistic! It was also
a genuine challenge to illuminate this vast area and
properly light it for night photography with a necessarily
limited amount of lighting equipment.
In Columbus, Georgia, the Hilton, a typical southern
mansion built in 1838, served as a perfect facsimile of a
South Vietnamese plantation house. Most of our exterior
shots at this house and some interiors were filmed docu¬
mentary style. The bedroom interiors and closeup exterior
shots of the balcony were made on a sound stage in Holly¬
wood. Here, careful photographic matching between loca¬
tion shots and studio shots was essential.
As with all scenes involving Army personnel or equip¬
ment, the filming schedule had to be arranged to coin¬
cide with the regular Army training activities.
The beach sequences, involving John Wayne, Jim Hut¬
ton and Craig Jue were filmed at the Naval Missile Center,
Point Mugu, California. The battle scenes were staged
with the utmost military precision. Since the Viet Cong
generally attack at night, Wayne's film Army, like the
Special Forces in the actual war zone, was geared to
after-dark operations. On many nights we started filming
at dusk and continued until dawn the following morning.
Sound And Fury Of The Battlefield
"THE GREEN BERETS" is, of course, predominantly a
battle action picture. The filming of such action, especially
at night, always presents certain inherent problems. You
should work from the premise that each scene is different
and that each action is different. The camera is a tool to
interpret the mood and the intent of the action as well as

you can, within the limitations that exist - and you are
always limited.
In photographing battle sequences I attempt, not simply
to follow the action, but to involve the audience in it sub¬
jectively. For this reason I am often inclined to use more
low angles, so that the characters loom into the lens with
greater impact. I am concerned not only with mass move¬
ment, but with individual actions that are meaningful.
One of the biggest challenges is that of communication
and coordination to make sure that the action takes place
in front of the camera with the proper flow. You don't
want empty spaces or dead spots in the action, if they can
be avoided. Many of the people in a mob scene don't
actually know where the camera is - or if they do, they
don't pay any attention to it. Stumbling through smokefilled, poorly lighted areas, with explosions going off all
around them, they are understandably more concerned
with watching out for their own physical safety. This de¬
regard of the camera position is, however, generally a
plus value.
The assistant directors did a magnificent job, especially
from the safety standpoint. There were not only explosions
everywhere, but also open trenches. You had to remem¬
ber not to step into them, because you could disappear
and break a leg. It almost happened to me. It is easy to
forget about these things when you're working. Some
kind chap standing next to me took me by the arm as I
turned to leave a set-up and said, "Don't step into the
trench!" I would have, too, if it hadn't been for him.
Perhaps a prime example of the photographic chal¬
lenge of this particular film is the sequence, filmed at
night, in which the A-camp is about to be overrun and the
bunkers are being evacuated. We were using back-light,
principally, with just a little front light here and there.
The shadow areas were extremely important, and as the
people ran through these areas they became silhouetted
against a smoke background. From other angles they ap¬
peared to be rim-lighted against a black background.
The photographic style evolved from the fact that the
audience must catch glimpses of the horror, but doesn't
like to dwell on it.
Multiple Cameras-And Multiple Problems
The nature and scope of "THE GREEN BERETS" required
that much of the battle action be covered by means of

(LEFT) Mounted on a raft, the Panavision camera is prepared for filming a river crossing. (CENTER) Artificial precipitation at location site is created
by means of multiple rain-pipe sprinklers. Brute arcs serve as booster lights to lend modeling in otherwise flat overcast light. (RIGHT) Filming inside
location building with open shutters required a daylight balance for interior lighting in order to match color temperature with that of the natural
exterior background prominently visible through the screens.

American Cinematographer - September 1968

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