American Cinematographer - August 1990 - 60

such

as the
helicopter aerials
where increased mobility was

imperative.
The

film

equipment

package

was built around the
16mm Cinema Products GSMO
camera. The GSMO is the ulti¬
mate adventure camera and

highly underrated. It is one of the
lightest sync cameras available.
The built-in variable speed motor
(to 64 fps) and quick change mags
always are useful. Harsh loca¬
tions are the rule in documentary
filmmaking and reliability is of
the utmost importance. Thou¬
sands of films have been shot
with these cameras in the most

inhospitable environments with¬
out a negative scratch or maga¬
zine

jam.

The lens complement for
"Return of the Wolves" included

Angenieux 12-240 zoom (in a
customized mount designed by
Derrick Whitehouse in Los Ange¬
an

Above: A

les),

Angenieux 12-120 zoom,
angle, and the
Canon 600mm super telephoto.
The 600mm Canon proved to be

new ver¬

sion of the tale of

a

the fox and the

grapes? Below:
Wolves share the

an

5.7mm wide

the workhorse for the sequences

remains of kill.

on

grizzlies, wolves, and caribou.

Most of the Canons are sharp as
a tack and the 600mm
proved to
be no exception. The rack and

pinion focusing (side follow fo¬
cus) as opposed to barrel focus is
an
important feature of the Can¬
ons and
imperative for wildlife
shooting. The Canon 150-600mm
zoom had been used on a
previ¬
ous
project for National Geo¬
graphic on wild horses and
proved equally adept and sharp.
"Return of the Wolves"

photographed on 7297 day¬
light negative stock. Extensive
pre-testing had proven 7297
compared favorably with the
almost standard 7291, especially
in light of a television transfer.
Alaskan locations have extremely
low light levels, especially early
in the morning and at dusk when
was

West and has provoked a

number

of advocates to call for the rein¬
troduction of wolves. These plans
have become highly controver¬
sial. Immediate howls of protest
were heard in
response to the

efforts. The filmmakers
challenge was how to tell a com¬
plicated multi-faceted story on a
limited budget.
recovery

It

was

decided to shoot

mixing of the two styles of
production is every cinematogra¬
pher's nightmare. The blending
of a harsh, cool, video electronic
look with the softer pastels of the
film palette proved the ultimate

challenge, but one which worked
project.

in the best interests of the

KUED/7

owns

state-of-the-art

BetaCam and CMX postproduc¬
tion facilities and was able to save

combination of BetaCam and
16mm film (ECN) technology.

the project considerable amounts
of money. Film was reserved for
the most dramatic sequences

American

August 1990

"Return of the Wolves" with

58

This

Cinematographer

a

wildlife are most active. The 7297
has a daylight balance ASA of
250. Normally, the stock was shot
with a straight ND6 filter which

gives an ASA of 64 and allows
optimum sharpness in the choice
American Cinematographer - August 1990

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - August 1990
