Doug Hart

"As part of the legends surrounding The Godfather, Willis is said to have thrown an entire 35mm movie camera body and film magazine off a bridge after a quarrel with director Francis Ford Coppola." Sorry, all - this is pure fiction. There were many quarrels, to be sure, but no cameras thrown off bridges. Doug Hart First Camera Assistant to Gordon Willis ASC (ten years and ten features, plus many commercials) NYC

The replies I have read to your question have hit most of the right points. Here's a few more: Pay attention to what is going on. Keep your eyes on the DP and the 1AC. Learn to pick their voices out of a crowd. Don't be late. In my opinion, most firings in this business relate to chronic lateness. Better to be 1/2 hour early than 1/2 minute late. And nobody cares about your excuses. Learn to anticipate. Solve problems before they become problems. Keep batteries on charge whenever possible. Keep a fresh battery close to the camera. Keep an eye out for expendables (tape, camera reports, pens, markers, chalk, etc.) that are running out. Buy more BEFORE they run out. Keep a running shopping list of things to acquire. Keep all the camera equipment together - don't let things get scattered around the set or location. Put things back where they belong, to make it easier to find the next time. Learn which cases contain which equipment. Label the cases to help with this. Label the shelves on the camera truck so the gear gets back to the same place each time. It also helps remind you if something is missing at wrap time. Always have a pen and notebook handy, to write things down so you don't forget, to make lists of equipment or expendables to order, to jot down phone numbers, etc. Always carry a flashlight, and tie a roll of white tape to your belt. Remember how the DP and Camera Operator like their coffee/tea. But most important - be there when they need you. Best Wishes. Doug Hart 1AC, NYC

As I recall, although it has been a long time since I have used an Eclair ACL, or even seen one, the loop size was one perf larger than for the Eclair NPR, so 13 frames for the NPR and 14 frames for the ACL. The camera may run plus or minus one frame, but is more likely to pick up scratches, so loop size is important. Doug Hart 1AC, NYC

The lenses don't care whether you are shooting 16mm or 35mm (or IMAX). Depth of Field and Circles of Confusion are concepts that deal with the negative size and the degree of magnification needed to get a sharp image up on the screen. It is a very subjective concept, and cannot be determined by using some mathematical formula. Everyone has their own opinion, based on their own experience. 16mm negatives are smaller, so C-of-C also have to be small. 35mm negatives are larger, but if shooting for big screen theatres, so is the degree of magnification. Shooting 35mm for TV gives you the large negative with a relatively smaller degree of magnification, so the C-of-C can be larger and still appear sharp on the small TV screen. "Appear" is the key word here. There is no precise definition of what is in focus and what is not. Focus does not suddenly drop off at the limits of Depth of Field, it is a very gradual fall off, and it is often difficult to distinguish "sharp" from "soft." There are many factors at play here - film negative stock used, lenses used, diffusion used, print stock used, projection lens used, distance to screen, size of screen, etc. Change any one of these factors, and something that looked sharp is now soft. Grainy films look softer than fine grain films. Smaller screens look sharper than large screens. Using diffusion filters reduced apparent sharpness (that's why we use them). There are no hard and fast rules about C-of-C. Everyone does it differently. Look at the charts printed in books, and in electronic calculators and plastic dial calculators, and you will see a wide range of C-of-C for the same formats, and it changes over the years. The SamCine II calculator, still my favorite, gives the AC three choices for C-of-C, 1/500", 1/700" and 1/1000", without really making any recommendation which C-of-C to use for which format. After many years of puilling focus, I have decided on my own, based on thousands of hours of film shot, that I should use 1/1000" for 16mm shooting, 1/700" for 35mm for theatres ("Big Screen"), and 1/500" for 35mm for TV ("Small Screen"). I also use 1/1000" for 35mm anamorphic shooting, because the anamorphic lenses are just not as sharp as spherical lenses, and the screens are often much larger. These values work for me, and have done so for many years, but another 1AC might have a different opinion. Whatever works for you is right. Doug Hart 1AC, NYC (Check out the chapter on Focus in my book (The Camera Assistant, Focal Press, 1996) for more on this subject.)

If you are shooting 35mm anamorphic ("scope") then treat your lenses the same as 35mm spherical (non-scope), and use the same circle of confusion. But understand that the focal lengths required for the same image height are almost doubled in anamorphic shooting - the full face closeup you might shoot with a 50mm lens in spherical 35mm, at the same distance, will require a 100mm lens in anamorphic shooting, reducing your depth-of-field greatly. This is why pulling focus with anamorphic lenses is much more demanding. Doug Hart 1AC, NYC (My latest anamorphic production as 1AC, "Brooklyn Rules" opens in October.)

All of the replies posted here to your questions contain useful info, but no one has mentioned one of your questions - how big a bag (or tent) to buy. Since this is a significant purchase for a beginner AC, and you don't want to have to buy any other bags or tents as your career evolves, buy the largest bag/tent available. You can easily load a small mag in a large bag, but not the reverse. Buy the largest model available, and you will never be disappointed or inconvenienced while loading any mag. Take care of your bag/tent, and it should last you a lifetime. Always keep it clean, inside and out, keep it in a storage bag or case, keep it out of direct sunlight, and be careful where you work in it. I own my own bag and tent, but I always add one to the rental house camera list, in case mine gets wet or dirty. It should rent for very little. Taking a rental house bag/tent (after carefully examining it for tears, dirt, etc.) is the cheapest insurance you can get for your job. It is too dumb a thing not to have a backup for. Doug Hart 1AC, NYC

You really only need a front box if you are working on the types of productions that use gear heads, such as the Panavision Panahead or the Arri Arrihead. Most fluid heads (Sachtler, Ronford, O'Connor, etc.) do not usually accept front boxes, except those with special brackets built for that purpose, sometimes found in the larger rental houses. My front box was made by Don Earl, a long-time Panavision employee who made and sold AC gear as a sideline. It's the only one I have ever had, and is now almost 30 years old. It has had a hard life. I have modified it and repaired it many times, and it is now just the way I want it. And I will keep repairing it until I retire. It has been dropped, tipped over, stepped on, fallen, rained and snowed on, dunked in lakes and oceans, and almost run over by the camera truck. Most of my work is in feature films and episodic TV, and almost all with gear heads, so a front box is right for me. If you are doing documentaries or commercials or smaller productions, it may not be right for you. If you need to pick up the tripod and camera and run to the next setup every two minutes, a front box will only slow you down. You are better off with a belt pouch and/or ditty bag. If you are using a fluid head, and often have to tilt way down, the front box will be in your way, and you will have to remove it for those shots. When you can find front boxes, they are expensive, so if you do not want to spend the money for a ready-made one, make your own, if you have some basic carpentry skills. Find someone who has one, and make some drawings and careful measurements. The mounting brackets (two styles - locking and non-locking) are available at some rental houses and on-line supply houses like Filmtools.com. I recommend the locking type, with a moveable bar that "locks" the braclet onto the gear head, although it will cost more. With the "non-locking" type, any upward push on the box will detach it from the gear head and dump the contents, disrupting the shoot and causing much laughter and embarrassment. Most serious First Assistants will want one eventually, and when they are ready, they should get one. Until then, do some research - look at other AC's boxes, see which features you like and which you don't like. Take some measurements, make some drawings, design your own. Ask where other AC's got their boxes, and/or where they got their brackets. Best Wishes. Doug Hart 1AC, NYC

Hi Leon - Nice to see your name on this list. But I am disappointed that you mentioned David's book and not mine, especially since you know me and have worked with me. Just kidding. I'm looking forward to working with you again soon. Doug Hart 1AC, NYC

Thanks for the kind words. Focal Press has been pushing me for a second edition, but I haven't done much about it yet. What it really needs is a "High Def" chapter, but I haven't done enough HD work to feel comfortable writing about it. Someday soon, I promise. Doug Hart 1AC, NYC

Yes - the "Mag Number" is the magazine manufacturer's serial number (usually 3-6 digits) usually engraved into the magazine. This is the only way to absolutely and uniqely identify the actual magazine used for a particular roll of film. The film's emulsion number (10-15 digits), identifies the roll of film, necessary to track down a defective batch of film, found on the film can label, should also accompany EVERY roll of film, wherever it goes - onto the label for the magazine that roll is loaded into, on the Camera Report for that roll, onto the can for every Recan or Short End made from that roll, etc. Doug Hart 1AC, NYC

Andrea - Check out my book: THE CAMERA ASSISTANT: A COMPLETE PROFESSIONAL HANDBOOK (Focal Press, 1996). Available from Amazon, ASC website, Filmtools website, Focal Press, many Camera Rental Houses, sometimes even eBay. Doug Hart 1st AC, NYC

Hi David - Gordon favored either T2.8 or T4 for most interiors for spherical 1.85:1, and day exteriors generally a stop or stop-and-a-half higher. I never did a complete anamorphic film with him, only a few days of "B" camera on "Manhattan." The ten films I did with him, we used the older Panavision Super Speed lenses, from 20mm to 150mm, even though towards the end of my time with him the Primos were available. I can't recall ever using anything wider than 20mm. He had a set of Super Speed lenses he liked, and Panavision kept them together and reserved for him (along with 2 camera bodies), since he shot often enough, between features and commercials, for them to justify doing so. I still have that list of serial numbers. We rarely used zooms, though we always had a 5:1 and 10:1 with us. They rarely came off the truck. On those rare occasions when we used a zoom, the actual zoom was always hidden in a dolly move or a pan, so it was rarely noticed. We used the 10:1 mostly for a fixed long lens for those rare instances when we needed one, and didn't have a chance to pre-order a 200mm or 300mm prime, which we did not normally carry. Gordon's favorite lens by far was the 40mm (serial #23) - probably half of "Stardust Memories" and much of the other films was done on the 40mm. He was also partial to the Mitchell Difusion filters, "A" though "D" densities (instead of numbers like Tiffen). We even had additional filters made by Panchro, a "1/2 A" lighter than "A," and a "B and a Half" between "B" and "C" (he felt the gap between "B" and "C" was too great). The Mitchell Diffusions are hard to find now, but the Tiffen Soft FX series are very similar, and made the same way, textured glass on one side. We rarely used gray scales or cards, except for rear or front projection plates or some other special purpose - Gordon was a "printer lights" DP, after much emulsion testing during prep. We would have a specific set of lights for each stock being used, separate sets for interiors and exteriors, and the instructions on the camera reports simply said "print at 28-41-32" or whatever the numbers were for that stock, interior or exterior. We never mixed interior and exterior on the same roll. There is a longer discussion of this in my book, THE CAMERA ASSISTANT: A COMPLETE PROFESSIONAL HANDBOOK, Focal Press, 1996. Gordon just wanted the lab to do the same thing every day, never to try and "help." I don't recall about "Broadway Danny Rose," but you are probably right - Double-X, since Plus-X is so slow. I remember that for "Stardust Memories" we also had both Plus-X and Double-X, and that for "Zelig," we used Plus-X, Double-X and Four-X negative, and Gordon would try to match the newsreel footage that our footage would intercut with, as well as trying to match the frame rate. We would constantly be changing from 16 to 18 to 20 fps to match the stock footage. Here's a trivia question for the group - in "Zelig," there are ONLY TWO blue screen shots in all those scenes of Woody placed into historic events. Who can find the 2 shots where we used blue screen? Students from my Assistants Workshops in Maine are not eligible, since we talked about this and often screen the film! Doug Hart 1AC, NYC

Hi - Every 1st AC does it differently, and every chart and calculator (and lens manufacturer) uses a different Circle of Confusion. As a long-time 1st AC, I have my own preferences for settings, which I have used successfully for years: 16mm (& Super 16mm) 1/1000" ( 0.001") 35mm for TV (TV Series, Commercials) 1/500" ( 0.002") (for a small TV screen) 35mm for Theatre (Feature Films) 1/700" ( 0.0014") (for a large theatre screen) 35mm Anamorphic (Feature Films) 1/1000" ( 0.001") (for a larger theatre screen) These are based on negative size, degree of magnification needed, and looking at the results on screen. Other 1st ACs use different values, based on THEIR experience. No set of values is absolutely RIGHT and not set is absolutely WRONG. They are just guidelines, and based on personal preferences. Take a close look at the Depth of Field charts and calculators you use. You will be surprised to see how many different Circles of Confusion are used, and how they change year to year. This is discussed in greater detail in my book THE CAMERA ASSISTANT: A COMPLETE PROFESSIONAL HANDBOOK, Focal Press, 1996. Doug Hart 1st AC, New York Author, Teacher