American Cinematographer - August 1987 - 83

One of the first uses of the
Beta format, and its customized under¬
water

was during the yachting
the 1984 Los Angeles Olym¬

housing,

events at

pics. Former ABC producer, John
was series producer of
Sportsman for 11 years, had few op¬
tions in a global sports festival where
quick editing was imperative.
This year, Wilcox became Ex¬
Wilcox, who

ecutive Producer and Director of Mutual
of Omaha's "Spirit of Adventure," a
new series on ABC Sports. Though the
series has been shot primarily on film,
Wilcox was anxious to experiment with
Beta in the open ocean. "I just don't
think you can ignore tape in this field,"
he said. "The quality we're getting from
the recorder-camera systems is really

impressive, and there's

no more

Also, all the indicator lights that
Sony builds in were easily visible in the
housing, which allowed for the monitor¬
ing of the camera's operation under
water.

Sloan had made the zoom, focus,
iris, and operation switches accessible

water.

the

body of the housing. The camera
was powered by a BP 90 tape machine
battery which fit into the bottom of the
housing, giving about one hour of cam¬
era operation. Using 20 minute tapes,
the divers were capable of staying
down to get continuity and cut-away
on

shots after

advantage

action

over

sequences

-

a great

the 400 ft. film loads

of

a

well

tremendously well-built, knowl¬
edgeable about the behavior of marine
species, and well acquainted with both
film and tape. He was the principal
ers

-

cameraman on

the 1981 National Geo¬

Both

Waterman

and

Hall

pleased with the first-time use of
a Fujinon 6.5 to 23mm zoom lens in the
housing. The domed port ensured that
the image stayed sharp through all
ranges of the lens. Traditional flat port
housings lose the widest range of their
lens, effectively reducing it by 30
that
a

in 12 minutes.
While making a mad

run out

shot of

a

resting

sperm

dash for
whale and her

calf, Howard Hall, who with Waterman

comprised the principal underwater op¬
erators, found that the housing was
easy to move through the water. "I was
surprised," he said after the successful
paddle, during which he held the hous¬
ing in front of him and sprinted 200
yards with seal-like ease on his way to
the whales. "I remember the days
when housings were 140 pounds. You

percent.
Underwater lighting also
worked to good advantage. Waterman
and Hall had homemade, battery oper¬
ated 30 volt lights with 250 watt lamps
and wide angle reflectors. By mounting
his light near the back of his hous¬

ing - roughly two feet behind the
lens - Hall found that the dispersion of
the light matched the angle of the lens.
The result was evident in the picture;
the light neither washed out the fore¬
ground

nor got too spotty.

It added flash

Left:

Scorpion fish.

Below: Cameraman
Bob Sloan follows
ray

with his underwater
Betacam system.

ex¬

one

and underwater video spe¬
cialist on the Galapagos shoot. He has
invested over $12,000 and countless
hours in his housing. "I like to know
where it will be if I drop it," he
concluded.
Of the two housings we had
on the boat, Sloan's was the more cus¬
tomized. He had the camera/recorder
cameraman

stripped down, removed the standard
viewfinder handle, and mounted the unit

by means of a special camera plate in
the base of the housing. The camera

adapts to the housing through a wire
Sloan had installed the Be¬

harness.
sure

trast

viewfinder in the

housing to in¬
high definition, with adequate con¬

tacam

and

shooter

can

high brightness, so that a
still see his picture in bright
August 1987

American

Cinematographer

a

along the bottom

of the few private
Beta housing, served as a

plained. Sloan,
owners

was

suited for the work.
At 37, he has inherited Stan
Waterman's mantle. Hall represents the
new
breed of underwater shoot¬

were

built

float," Bob Sloan

Nevertheless, Hall

treme.

with Waterman.

cal cord to deal with."
The camera housing plays a
critical part in an underwater shoot.

know it will

Galapagos was a traffic jam of strong,
upwelling currents that often made
steady camera work difficult in the ex¬

graphic shark special; he is currently co¬
producing an Audubon documentary

umbili¬

Only four Betacam housings have been
to date, manufactured by Gates
Underwater Products in San Diego.
Though each is made of cast aluminum
and weighs 60 lbs. unloaded (90 lbs.
with camera and battery), the loaded
unit is virtually weightless underwater.
Some cameramen prefer to weigh the
unit slightly negative, placing two or
three pounds worth of lead diving
weights in the base of the housing. This
tends to help with the task of holding
the camera steady in rough water. Oth¬
ers disagree. "I like to weigh the unit a
half pound positive so if for some rea¬
son I have to let go of it underwater, I

could never have done what we've done
in these sorts of currents." Indeed, the

81
American Cinematographer - August 1987

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - August 1987
