American Cinematographer - March 1993 - 28

International
UNILUX'S MAN IN
MUNICH

It's been
d that good
creative
personal
don'tsai
have
head
for i¬
ties

business. In the

of Unilux's

case

representative in Germany, that maxim
doesn't apply. Dedo Weigert, a 30-year
veteran cinematographer, is founder and
owner of Dedo Weigert Film GmbH, one
of Europe's largest suppliers of film
equipment and services.
Weigert began his career by working

production manager for a Film
company. His first big break came in
1961 when he started freelancing as a
as a

camera

assistant for

British

camera¬

working for NBC's European
production unit. One of his first
assignments was at the the building of
the Berlin Wall. Not long after that,
Weigert was on location at the Kremlin.
man

He remembers the Kremlin shoot

very

vividly. "It was

huge job. We

roundup

used

eight cameras, all our lights and
every light they had in Russia. But we
lit up the whole Kremlin. I'm sure the
Russians had never seen anything like
it."

1963

1967, Weigert was
involved as a cinematographer in the
filming of some of NBC's Fmest docu¬
From

mentaries. His credits include films

Irkutz,

city in Siberia, "Soviets in

manufacturers of film

equipment such

Innovision and Unilux.

Weigert's company, which has
represented Unilux for five years, has
seven Unilux strobe lights available for
rental. Recently they've been used to
shoot a Campari commercial in Italy, a
Fiat spot in France, a Stender beer

Space","Leningrad" and "The French

commercial in Holland and

Revolution."

winning film for Mercedes-Benz.
Weigert says his 34 years in the

Because of his work in the

industry,
Weigert saw the need for camera rental
services in Germany. He founded his
company in 1965 and by 1973 it had
become one Europe's leading importers
of film technical

equipment.
During the 1970's, the company
began specializing in high-speed

photography and also opened an
industrial division, offering motion
analysis equipment. Today, Dedo
Weigert Film has 50 employees and
represents most of the world's major

Aaton, Anton Bauer, Century, Lowel,
NAC, Photo-Sonics, Rosco, Tiffen,

award¬

business have not dimmed his enthusi¬
asm

for

who

won a

cinematography. Now, Weigert,
Technical Achievement

Award from the

Academy of Motion

Picture Arts and Sciences in

he most

enjoys teaching

1990, says

people
high-speed
cameras and lighting. That's one of the
reasons his company's technicians
receive so much training. Besides, he
says, with a twinkle in his eye, "It's
good business."
★
young

what he knows about

UNILUX HELPS DP
SOLVE RAIN MYSTERY

You're
a Director
of Photography
reviewing
a TV script
recounting the
bizarre story

of a young man who
possessed the apparent ability to make
it rain. Only it wasn't ordinary rain.
This rain didn't

come

from clouds, but

from

walls, ceiling and the floor.
episode is for the reality-based
show, "Unsolved Mysteries," and is to be
The

filmed

location in East

Stroudsburg,
budget is tight, yet the water
special effects are critical to the success
of the production.
That was the dilemma facing
Kenneth Peterson, DP, for Cosgrove/
Meuer Productions. Fortunately,
on

PA. The

A Unilux strobe and the

tungsten lights that were used to create the water special effects seen in
'Rainboy." In this segment, water droplets on the newspaper were used to foreshadow the deluge that
was to follow. The Unilux light is shown with a cardboard rain hat

constant water

shots and

was

most

challenging assignment I had
asked to film. I had

a sense

Peterson, whose television experience

lighting just wouldn't give

includes "Miami Vice" and

different look I knew

"Wiseguy,"
regularly reviews film industry trade
publications and was familiar with
Unilux strobe lights.
According to Peterson, "The script
for the 50-minute episode called for

the

ever been
that back¬

me the
needed."

"There were so many creative and
technical elements to consider. The
would be moving on a dolly,
'Rainboy' would be levitating, water
would be flying in all directions and the
camera

equipment would need to be kept dry

it could continue

functioning."
Fortunately, Peterson was able to
convince Stacy Snyder, producer, and

David Vasser, director, that Unilux
strobe lights would produce the sharp,
clear images for the water special effects
that would bring credibility to what is

being considered
possession."

a case

of "demonic

continued on page 28

American Cinematographer - March 1993

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