American Cinematographer - November 1990 - 68

( SINGLE FRAME MOTORS 'j
& INTERVALOMETERS
*12 TO 24 VDC POWER

1/16 SEC. TO OVER 8 MIN. TIME
(8,194 POSSIBLE).

*CRYSTAL SPEEDS
EXPOSURE

-

*INTERVALS FROM 1 FPS TO 60 HRS.
*BURST FEATURE 1 TO 15 FRAMES PER PULSE.
*LED FRAME COUNTER

*FOREWARD/REVERSE OPERATIONS.

instincts and my eye. I
just do what feels right."
In the epic night battle
scene that brings the movie to its
trust my

fatal conclusion, Francis wasn't
allowed to bring any heavy

the beach at Jekyll
Island, off the Georgia coast,
where it was staged.
equipment
"It

on

was a

wildlife

conser¬

he explains. "We
couldn't get within 400 yards of
the place, so we lit the night with
two Musco units simulating the
direction and quality of moon¬
light. I had never been on a film
that used two Musco lights be¬

vatory,"

SINGLE FRAME SYSTEMS FOR:
AATON
ARRI 16S&M
ARRI 16SR
ARRI 35IIC
ARRI 35111
BOLEX REX 4 & 5
ECLAIR ACL

MITCHELL 16MM
MITCHELL S35R MKII
MITCHELL 35 HS
MITCHELL BNC
AP65MM
IMAX
VISTAVISION

fore, but without them
never

we

have shot the way

could

that we

did.
"At

night, I was getting a
reading of about T-l .4 even
with the two big Musco units," he
says, "but with the Lightflex, I
meter

able to reduce contrast. That
allowed me to shoot in a range of
T-2 to T-3, which gave us a feeling
was

1014 Green Lane

La

*

V Phone: 818-790-1907

Canada, Calif. 91011
«

FAX: 818-790-1920 J

PHOTO / PROJECTION
SIAGE & STUDIO
(The right lamp

-

the right price)

ALSO: Rosco, Lowel, LTM,

Arri, Mathews, Permacel
Gaffer's Tape, etc.

of

depth."

While Glory has the look
and feel of an epic film, it was shot
in the spherical 1:85 format. The

feeling of scope came from com¬
position and camera movement
that allowed the audience to thor¬

oughly explore

every

setting.

"I think the most interest¬

ing footage is in the smaller
where the characters are
revealed," Francis says. "In one
scene, the colonel told the black
scenes,

soldiers about

proclamation
threatening that they would be
shot if captured by the Confeder¬
ate army. He said he would
understand if they deserted.
"My favorite scene was
staged the next morning. The

64

'sees' them - it sees their insides
rather than their outsides.
"The movie was almost
all exteriors, and it would have
been nice to shoot in soft, diffused

light rather than in harsher over¬
head sunlight," he says. "But
there are few David Leans or
Kurosawas today, who can wait
for the perfect light to happen.
Your job as a cameraman is to
make it happen with the tools that

you

have."

There was considerable
research concerning the kind of

lighting used in the period and
places where the story occurred.
Most light came from candles and
gas lamps, but Francis wanted to
know what kind of ambience they
put out, and where they were
located, so the intensity, color and
direction of light were authentic.
"Audiences instinctively
sense these
things," he explains.
"If a room seems too bright; if the
color of light isn't right; or if there
are shadows that don't
belong in
a setting; all of those distractions
subtract from the mood you are
trying to establish. If you want the
audience to suspend reality, you
have to take the trouble to do it

right.
"I've been
ies for 55

started

making mov¬
years," Francis states. "I

as an

worked

assistant to

a

still-

him and his

of this is that I have

out of his

quarters.

men

in their eyes.

That's the

Washington Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60607

things you can't do. It is
something that just happens with
some actors, and the
way that film
are

had deserted. You could see
the bond developing between

came

one

1327 W.

there

a

standing in the rain, peer¬
ing at the brigade lined up for his
orders. Slowly, he realized that no

Suite #103
312-738-0747

face," Francis continues. "But,

clapper boy,
through the crew
system at British International
Pictures. I've photographed every
kind of picture, so when people
ask me when I'm going to retire, I
tell them probably never. You
retire so you can spend your time
doing what you love. For me,
that's making movies. I guess part

colonel
He was

SMS PRODUCTIONS, INC.

an eyelight, or putting a
dramatic shadow on someone's

using

man,

and

100

came

as a

up

never

magic of movies, when
you can capture those types of

finished

feelings

'That's it. That's the best I

on

film without words

being said.
"There

do to enhance

Fax: 312-738-0564
November 1990

are

things you can

scenes

like this, like

been

percent satisfied. I've never

I always
better."

a

film and said to

myself,
can

do.'

feel I should have done
A
American Cinematographer - November 1990

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