American Cinematographer - July 1992 - 12

Letters

Hollogon But Not Forgotten
In the Letters column of the May
1992 issue, Mr. Ranjit Sandhu inquired
about the Hollogon Skanner, an invention
of Ulrich Fritzler in 1977.1 am probably in
the best position to respond since all the
work on this device was done in our facility
by our staff at that time. Furthermore, we
have also acquired all the rights and have
built several models.

Hollogon Optical Systems Corp.
bought out by the initial investors many
years ago and dear Ulrich no longer has any
interest in the invention or the subsequent
company. Mr. Fritzler lived in New York City

was

brightest
controllable

when

we

last heard from him, also many

years ago.

light source

To avoid confusion with hologra¬
phy, we have renamed the device the
Scanagon. The original name was a con¬
traction of "hollow polygon."
The Scanagon is a remarkable
device; it is made entirely of mirrors in the
form of a 24-faceted polygon, and each
facet is a corner reflector. It was originally

intended to be used in film editors, and was
nominated for an Academy Award in 1980.

Recently, we delivered a model that
projects normal 4-perf 35mm film at 0 to 500
fps, forward and reverse, for an infra-red
motion simulator. The images appear as a
variable-speed normal optical flickerless
movie.
We would be
from anyone
-

pleased to hear

interested.
Robert Woltz
President
Robert Woltz Associates, Inc.
519 Superior Avenue

real, although not always obvious, ad¬
vantages to shooting on film.
are

For any

specific level of produc¬

tion, film is faster. This is true not only in
the obvious case of lighting, but also in con¬

sidering the irritations of trying to shoot
hand-held in

a

crowded situation while

being wrapped up in a tangle of wires (or
being forced to use a risky wireless); of
breaking your back moving from location to
location with all those batteries for the cam¬

deck, monitor; and of wasting time
using a monitor and wondering if it's going

era,

to "come out."

Much of the frustration involved
in shooting video

has nothing to do with the

actual limitations of the tape format, but
rather with the absurdly inelegant design

compromises that are taken for granted in
video gear. Video gear design has been
driven by the not-so-extreme demands of
the

"photo opportunity." Such things as
prime lenses and ergonomically placed con¬
trols are not usually missed by the average
pool videographer or EFP camera operator.
Film shooters, on the other hand,
take for granted the ability to hinge around
from a POV shot of, let's say, a clipboard in
a technician's hands to a shot of his face,
without getting into that maddening macro

straightjacket.
Perhaps the best thing about
shooting film in difficult, chaotic (and excit¬
ing) situations is the freedom and confi¬
dence that comes from knowing that the
image will look fantastic (or, if it doesn't,
that your reputation can more than likely be
saved in the negative transfer). After you've
gone to all the extra trouble to shoot tape,
all you end up with is a tape-look product.

Newport Beach, CA 92663
-

Mark Knobil

Pittsburgh, PA
A Vote for Film
With all of the trade press and
excitement about each new wave of video

gear, it is difficult to keep sight of the fact
that in practical use, video is still frustrat-

ingly primitive when compared to 16mm. I
MOBILE LIGHTING, LTD.
Nationwide: 515/673-0491
Los

*800/354-4448

feel the need to point out that there are real
and damaging shortcomings to video pro¬
duction in its present form, and that there

Angeles: 818/988-1791

Matewan, Another 48 Hrs., K-9 and the
television series

Emergency, was incor¬
rectly identified as Kevin Pike. AC regrets

the

Atlanta-PC&E: 800/537-4021
Ft. Lauderdale-Film Trade: 305/891 -2099
Canada-Primelite: 416/949-4380
10

Errata
In our May '92 story "Read All
About It: Newsies Revives the Musical,"
actor Kevin Tighe, whose credits include

July 1992

error.

▲
American Cinematographer - July 1992

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 1992
