American Cinematographer - September 1968 - 55

candescent units one would ordinarily use to light the
interior.
The alternative which we followed was to light the in¬
terior for a daylight balance, using arcs with white car¬
bons and smaller quartz or incandescent units with dichroic filters or Macbeth filters. What made it even more
interesting was the fact that rain seemed to threaten. We
decided to take the bull by the horns and make a rain
sequence of it. Sprinklers were set up and additional
lights were placed outside to backlight our artificial rain
at such an angle that it would show up properly.
In other interior sequences where the daylight back¬
ground problem was not so acute, I would change my
color temperature base by simply pulling the 85 filter out
of the camera and going to an incandescent base of
3200° Kelvin. My incandescent lamps would now put out
white light instead of amber light. If arcs were employed
I would either use yellow carbons or would stick with
white carbons and filter the light. In the latter case, of
course, there would be a certain degree of light loss.
At The Mercy Of The Weather
Weatherwise, we were plagued by very frequent over¬
cast conditions while filming "THE GREEN BERETS.'' It was
important to somehow roll with these conditions, not mere¬
ly to stay on schedule, but to try to match the visual quality
of the scenes with those in the same sequence already
photographed under quite different light conditions.
In coping with overcast, you have your choice of two
alternatives - either to use your booster light to create
the effect of sunshine (if you can) or to use it just to fill
the shadows, so that you can read the faces, when de¬
sirable. With the condition known as "bright overcast"
your auxiliary lighting may not be powerful enough to do
you much good. In any event, there are no set rules in
cases like this. You may have certain approaches which
you'd like to follow, but, in the final analysis, you have to
treat each situation individually as it comes along.
Several sequences were filmed aboard the helicopters
known as "Hueys" which are so extensively used in Viet¬
nam. With the camera aboard and actors in the fore¬
ground, it was necessary to make some provision for
booster light. Battery-operated Sun-Guns, fitted with
dichroic filters, were used for this purpose. The camera
operator sometimes kneeled in the co-pilot's seat and
rested his camera on the back of the seat. I crouched
down behind the pilot with the switch in my hand, ready
to turn the light on and off during the actual filming. Some
might feel that it would have been simpler to film such
scenes against a process screen, but no one can argue
with the realism achieved. It is of interest to note that
there are no process shots at all in this feature.
Credit Where It Is Due
I should like to acknowledge the skill and cooperation
of fellow cinematographers Ted and Vincent Saizis from
Local 666, Chicago, who handled the Second Unit work
and most of the aerial photography on "THE GREEN
BERETS."
The low light levels inherent in the limited power and
lighting facilities available (and practical) forced us into
some very interesting low-key shots - offering an added
challenge to still photographer Steve Weaver, of Local
666, and to the well-known photographic journalist, David
Sutton, who also had to cope with coverage on some of
these low-key shots.
■

AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, SEPTEMBER 1968

Director of Photogrophy Hoch listens intently while Director-star Wayne
describes action which he has in mind. Hoch was constantly aware
not only of the challenge, but of the privilege and responsibility of
photographing "THE GREEN BERETS."

The author lines up the camera for an upcoming scene. Erratic weather
conditions during location filming demanded that he be able to adapt
instantly to whatever light conditions might prevail.

American Cinematographer - September 1968

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