American Cinematographer - October 1989 - 60

SPECTRA
AND

air

footage that we got up at
Edwards Air Force Base with
some

clips that had been done in

1952. So there

1J- a
is

a

-

a

Atlanta

meter for every

application

Spectra Cinemeter
with

com¬

pointer lock

days. If

graphed,

starts at the very

you're up against."

silo [300 ft. down] and cranes up
the entire length of the silo, to the

television schedule, in 24

you see something on
television that's well-photo-

you know it's excep¬
tional work, just because of what

Miniseries

or

Special

Nominations

Spectra Candela 300
Spectra Candela 50

Disaster at Silo 7

Roy H. Wagner, ASC

Spectra Tricolor Meter
1

Spectra Cinespot
Degree Spotmeter

for measuring screen

always seem to get the
hard shows," chuckles Roy H.
Wagner, ASC. Nominated twice
this year, Wagner apparently is
able to meet the stringent sched¬
ule and budget demands made of
the television cinematographer.
Disaster at Silo 7 is

NEW

brightness

cer¬

tainly no exception-in addition
to the inherent logistical night¬
mares of shooting inside an ac¬
tual missile silo, the production
trod the treacherous political turf
of the Pentagon.
"The silo had recently
been sealed due to the disarma¬

Spectra Viewing Filters
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replacement parts Spectra service & repairs
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pacts wth the Russians,"
explains Wagner. "We had to
find a way of opening the canopy
without causing an international
incident. At one point a delega¬
tion of Russians actually came to

ment

observe-to make sure the silo
doors were off for purely photo¬

graphic reasons. Another shot
required a massive explosion,
and again the Russians had to be
notified that it was a motion pic¬
ture explosion, that we were not
in fact shooting the missile off. It
was really tenuous all the way
through. There was always a
concern that it wasn't going to
happen. If the military didn't like
the way the story was being told,
they could pull the plug on us at
any time."
The story is based on an
incident which actually took
place in Arkansas, when a
dropped wrench caused a dan¬

Building 4
Atlanta, GA 30315
58

October 1989

bottom of the

very top. We used a 14mm lens,
which could see everything. We
had to find a way of lighting the

shiny, reflective missile, hiding
the lights and the cables, and
pulling the camera up the length

"I

Spectra Professional

tary not only allowed the story to
be dramatized, but contributed
one of the main sets-the silo.
"We had a shot that

on a

leading Spectra dealer

with

lot of

plex problems. To me, the amaz¬
ing thing is that this was all done

MAKE A GREAT TEAM
Production Services

were a

gerous fuel leak. Sparks from a
fan triggered a huge explosion,
and the live warhead ended up
500 yards away-luckily unde¬
tonated. Surprisingly, the mili¬

of the silo. There is about six feet
between the missile and the silo
wall. And this had to be done on
a television schedule.
"We tried to make it look
like a 'cathedral of war', very
dramatic and theatrical. We

rigged the camera on a stage
counterweight system, the same
kind of system that raises a cur¬
tain in the theater. We had grips
and electricians rappelling down
the inner sides of the silo to rig the
lighting. It was quite complicated
and dangerous.
"It's amazing to me that
Disaster at Silo 7, as physically
difficult and politically tricky as
it was, actually got done, con¬
cludes Wagner. "I'm very hon¬
ored by the nomination, espe¬
cially because of how complex it
was

to make."

Favorite Son
Part 3
Bradford

May

Favorite
Son
was
Bradford May's ninth collabora¬
tion with director Jeff Bleckner.
Their previous work includes Do
You Remember Love?, which won
1985 Emmy for best dramatic

a

show. The story of Favorite Son
dictated a natural approach: lim¬
ited camera movement, natural

lighting, and a sense of environ¬
ment. The Oval Office

ated in

with

a

was recre¬

warehouse and filled

May's version of warm East
sunlight.

Coast
American Cinematographer - October 1989

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