Cameras: News and Updates

Web Exclusive: Jack Anderson on the Panaflex GII

By StudentFilmmakers.com
posted Jan 30, 2012, 16:38

Web Exclusive:
Jack Anderson on the Panaflex GII

"In a real sense, you're always learning to use the camera. You get better and better over time. But that applies to any camera. So for the Panaflex, you can learn the basics in a few hours."
-Jack Anderson


Jack Anderson (behind the camera) and Debbie Reynolds.

StudentFilmmakers Magazine: What is your favorite camera and why?

Jack Anderson: I still love the Panaflex GII. The original Panaflex was the first professional camera I ever used. I loved its ergonomics: easy to see where everything fit, every piece interchangeable on every camera, easy to read counters, elegant follow focus [internal connections on lenses, no need to try to adjust a gear], and its simple beauty. The rumor was that Bob Gottschalk [Panavision's founder] decided to paint the camera cream and dove gray to match the color of his Rolls-Royce. Which I saw, and which was painted like a Panaflex. And I loved the faux-alligator pad on the door, so the operator wouldn't rest his head on cold metal.

That was all as an assistant. As an operator, I love the viewfinder. It was consistently the brightest and easiest to view [except for a short time the late unlamented Ultracam had a better one]. Panavision invented Panaglow so that the operator could see the frame lines no matter how dark the scene. Panavision invented Panaclear to heat the eyepiece so the operator's hot skin didn't cause fogging on the eyepiece. That also ended years of strapping hand warmers to the eyepieces, hoping they'd work and no one got burned.

For a DP, the camera is a dream. The movement is elegant and perfectly reliable. Panavision provides immediate service if there should be any camera problems in the field. The lenses are the best in the business. And you can choose among original Panavision designs, rebarreled Zeiss lenses, or Primo glass. The camera is still the quietest self-blimped camera ever. No more unhappy sound mixers.

All the newer models of Panaflex are great, but my heart belongs to the GII. I used it longer than any other camera, and it feels like family to me.

I haven't used enough digital cameras to have a favorite. And with the operation of Moore's law, by the time you can get used to one camera, another one has come out with astonishingly better specs. I am jonesing to use the ALEXA. I love ARRI, and I trust them to make a real movie camera. [Yes, I've used lots of ARRIs, mostly the BLs and 16SRs. They're terrific, and the Zeiss glass is magnificent.] I think the cameras to watch are the RED EPIC and the Canon C300.

SFM: How much does the Panaflex GII cost?

Jack Anderson: A full Panaflex package is in the neighborhood of $20,000 per week, depending on lenses and accessories. An ALEXA will run you some $60,000 to $88,940.00 to buy. An EPIC package costs $58,000 from RED. The Canon C300 is in the area of $20,000. All without lenses and accessories. Rental should be comparable to 35mm cameras.

SFM: Would you use these cameras in low light situations?

Jack Anderson: All of them, yes. For film cameras, it's a choice of emulsion [wonderful ISO 500 films from Kodak and Fuji]. The digital cameras are made to adjust the effective ISO upwards of 20000. That's five stops+ better than fast film, and film can capture an image with almost no light. Of course, I would always light a scene. Lighting is not illumination; it's a storytelling tool, a shaper of images, music for the eye.

SFM: How much training, or how long of training, does one need to learn the Panaflex GII camera?

Jack Anderson: In a real sense, you're always learning to use the camera. You get better and better over time. But that applies to any camera. So for the Panaflex, you can learn the basics in a few hours. The prep technicians at Panavision are always happy to welcome people in to show them how to build, load, and thread the camera.

To be a good assistant, you'll probably want a couple of weeks steady work to solidify your knowledge of the parts and accessories and to develop a physical memory for handling the camera. You should always have with you a good reference. I'd recommend David Elkins's "The Camera Assistant's Manual," since it has threading diagrams and explanations of every camera. Also useful is "Panaflex User's Manual" by David Samuelson.

As a Director of Photography, you will always have an assistant, so you don't really need to learn the camera. But it's a good idea at least to be trained on it. As I mentioned, I spent years with the GII as an assistant and an operator, so I have a very deep relationship with it.

SFM: What is one of your most favorite or most memorable scene that you shot with the Panaflex GII?

Jack Anderson: The introduction of the hook in Steven Spielberg's Hook. I told this story in StudentFilmmakers Magazine, in February 2009.

SFM: What was the craziest thing you've ever done with the Panaflex GII camera?

Jack Anderson: Well, it's not exactly crazy, but it's a little strange to hit the camera with a hammer. The original Panaflex had a relay that sometimes stuck. When that happened, the speed went out of control. I learned from the father of the Panaflex that the one way to fix it in the field was to tap a specific spot on the bottom of the camera. I used the handle of a medium screwdriver. A friend of mine had a small silvery hammer he would use on the rare occasions when the camera went loony. His director loved him and used to boast about "Lou's silver hammer," like Maxwell's in the Beatles song. My experience taught me to be discreet. One time I had this problem, I pulled the camera off the dolly and smacked it on its bottom, and it worked fine. But my producer saw me. She was not a technician, to put it mildly. All she saw was a quarter-million-dollar camera being hit by a crazy guy with a big screwdriver. She screamed bloody murder, and actually tried to get me fired until cooler heads prevailed.

SFM: If you could share a camera tip with filmmakers around the world, what would it be?

Jack Anderson: Always rehearse, even if you're only going over the shot in your mind. You always want to make the first take perfect. The director may not use it, but he and everyone else on the set will feel that you are perfectly reliable.

Photo courtesy of Jack Anderson.

 

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