The earliest form of monitoring what the camera sees, is the director sitting under the lens. That was how Sidney Lumet did it his whole career, even when money was no object and the video assist technology was a standard requirement for all other directors. No video monitors needed, and the cameras ran film through them.
This film was posted on a Facebook group, It's a 2011 BBC production. Jean Rouch, Jean-Pierre Beauviala, Bob Drew, DA Pennybaker, Richard Leecock, David & Albert Maysles (and more) are featured. Jean-Pierre Beauviala explains the technical achievement of making the Aaton quiter, it seems small but it was very significant. Andre Coutant's prototype camera is actually breath taking, as guts of camera are tiny, compared to the magazine holding the film, reduce the size of the mag to a SD card and you can see how this paved the way, for what we have today. The film reminded me how fortunate we are today (despite all discussions about missing features) with the current tools (camera, audio & non-linear editing), which are flawless compared to 60 years ago: compact, light weight, sync sound, color, long recording times (more than 20 seconds, 3 minutes, 10 minutes -as film mags would allow) AND some can fit in your pocket! Here's where we came from:
From: https://ascmag.com/articles/flashback-apocalypse-now
That is a 200 foot mag on the camera i.e: 2 minutes at 24fps. If they flew at all with Storaro hanging off the side it probably wasn't very long or very high (I hope!).
What do the birth of motion picture production have in common with the invention of the Stedicam?PHILADELPHIA! I saw last night an wonderful, locally produced film and had no idea, that motion picture production, started in Philadelphia:
Trailer: Before Hollywood: Philadelphia and the Birth of the Movies
More clips from the documentary are available here: https://6abc.com/entertainment/watch-philly-in-focus---the-birth-of-motion-pictures/3191361/
At the screening the the Filmmakers were present and mentioned they have received a grant and will make a new version of the film, appealing to a wider audience (outside of Philadelphia)... coming someday soon.
More on Garrett Brown (who lives outside Philadelphia) and his pioneering work on the Steadicam.
He hold over 50 patents, many on camera rigs, many of which are used in to televise the Olympic Games."How it was done before our time"...? I'm just going to leave this here:
Get this on a 8" x 12" tin sign to hang in your edit bay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1972-Akai-VTR-Recorder-Play-and-Replay-vintage-Reproduction-Metal-Sign-8-x-12/272708082406?hash=item3f7eab1ae6:g:L6oAAOSwKytZNxNq:sc:USPSFirstClass!19002!US!-1
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!