American Cinematographer - November 1988 - 12

FINE TUNED

Letters

The Future?
I have been a reader of your fine

magazine for many years now, and I prac¬
tically study every article. As a film student,
and hopeful cinematographer, the thought
of HDTV taking over cinema scares me to
death. ("About HDTV,'' p. 77, Sept. 1988)
Is this how movies are going to
end up? Being beamed down by satellite to
a theater near you? Whatever happened to
the art of the movies? Films

are

meant to be

simple, but profound, not electronic.
Would a painter replace his can¬
vas and paint with something new by Sony?
No, I think not. The day that HDTV takes over
is the day that filmmakers everywhere
should stop and ask: Am I an artist or an

engineer?
-Charles C.

Compton
University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa

printed on a normal optical track and
the alteration of the composition ignored.
-Rick Mitchell
Los Angeles

was

French Subscribers
I am a young French filmmaker, a
faithful subscriber to American Cinematog¬

rapher and I appreciate

your

articles.

I wish to be

more

than

France. Therefore, I intend to create an
"American Cinematographer French Sub¬
scriber Club" of passionate French cinema¬
or directors who are ready to
experiences.
I would be grateful if you would
publish my address in the letter part of your
magazine so that interested French readers
may be in touch with me.
-Philippe Loranchet

tographers

share their

64 Bis, Avenue de Belfort
93140 Bondy

Questions Anwered

France

tographer article on the restoration of the
65mm version of The Bat Whispers re¬

we

of

me

I've gotten to

which was

Don Wilmon
comes

with

a

check-off list will keep

your crew

published in the May 1987 issue,
courtesy Grant Lobban of the BKSTS.
The statement

five-star

rating for outstanding
repair service. He knows
all the right stuff to fine
tune each Fisher Dolly
& Chapman Crane or
Dolly. His 10 point

shooting.

Production Services -Atlanta

EQUIPMENT RENTAL
SALES & SERVICE

404/622-1311

made that

perforations per frame. This verifies my
assumption that the cameras West used
came from Paramount's aborted experi¬
ments with

65mm,

a

frame from which is

reproduced on Lobban's chart of wide
and 3-D systems.
Lobban's chart also reproduces
frames from both a 70mm and a 35mm
screen

Zone Favorite
Thank you for doing a really
and interesting article on my favor¬

reduction

print of MGM's Billy the Kid. The

thorough
ite Twilight Zone episode "Walking Dis¬
tance." When I picked up the June 1988
issue and casually paged through it I was
really quite surprised to see in the table of
contents an article about something as
obscure as an old Twilight Zone episode.
Your article would normally be
found in a much more underground publica¬
tion that specializes in the little known and
frequently forgotten, so to find it in your
publication was a pleasant surprise and I
just want to commend you for recognizing a
truly excellent work that not many people
are aware

35mm print was shown double system in its
"real life" presentations, so the reduced

image was from perforation-to-perforation,
retaining the 2:1 aspect ratio.
I am still hoping to find out what
was done for the general 35mm release, but
since the film was unsuccessful, I assume it

(404) 622-1691

BLDG 4. ATLANTA, GA 30315

was

the 65mm format used for The Bat Whispers
is similar to today's 65mm format: five

2000 LAKEWOOD WAY.
10

some answers

questions left open in my article on

the aborted Wide Revolution of 1929-30

rent!

FAX#

minded
some

November 1988

reader

desperately seek contact with other
American Cinematographer subscribers in

The recent American Cinema¬

Our factory trained
technicians service what

a

and

of.
-E.F. Kohler
San Francisco

American

Cinematographer welcomes

letters. Send them to: Letters, Ameri¬

Cinematographer, P.O. Box 2230,
Hollywood, CA 90078. Please include
your name and address. Letters may
be edited for length and clarity.
can
American Cinematographer - November 1988

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 1988
