Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1314367
Fall 2020 – LOCAL695.ORG 7 The Fisher Microphone Boom James L. Fisher | Local 695 Y-8 Microphone Boom Operator While working at Universal Studios, Jim Fisher invented this iconic perambulator mic boom, first used in the 1950's and still in use today on virtually all 4 four-camera live-audience sitcoms. In the early years, there were several manufacturers offering competing sound boom designs, but "the Fisher" is the one that outlasted them all, with four different models running from sixteen to twenty-nine feet in length. With the advent of digital cameras and very long shooting takes, we're now seeing a resurgence in their use on episodic television and features. The Video Assist "Video Tap" Jimmy Songer | Local 695 Y-3A Video Engineer While working at Warner Bros. Production Sound and Video Services, Jimmy set out to improve the Video Assist system Jerry Lewis first used on the The Bellboy (1960) at Paramount. Jerry attached a video camera on the outside of the film camera to capture video roughly similar to what the camera saw, and that video was distributed to multiple TV monitors placed around the set. The system Jimmy invented placed a beam-splitter and video pickup tube inside the camera, directly within the light path behind the lens. First used on Blake Edwards' The Party (1968) for MGM, this innovation allowed Video Assist to grab an image framed exactly the same as what was being caught on film. The First Video Assist Recording & Playback Don Howard | Local 695 Y-7 Video Engineer The next big advancement for Video Assist was developed by Don Howard and Jimmy Songer while working at Warner Bros. Production Sound and Video Services. At that time, videotape recorders were still very bulky, but Jimmy and Don were able to reduce the size significantly enough to integrate Jimmy's Video Tap technology with a portable record and playback system that could be used on location. Before that, you had to wait until the next morning to watch "Dailies" but with this record and playback now a part of the Video Assist package, the Director and the production crew were able to watch playback of any scene instantly. Quad Split Monitoring for Video Assist Harry Flagle | Local 695 Y-4 Supervising Video Engineer Also at Warner Bros. Production Sound and Video Services, Harry invented the Quad Split box, which could take the output of four separate cameras and combine them into a feed for a single Video Assist monitor, with each camera image appearing in a quadrant on the single screen. Boom-Trac Fisher Boom Mounting System Bruce Arledge Jr. | Local 695 Y-1 Production Sound Mixer The Fisher boom is synonymous with four-camera live- audience sitcoms but sound booms placed up in the "green beds" were always difficult to work with because they had to be locked into fixed positions. Bruce solved the problem in 1996 with Boom-Trac, a dolly system for mounting Fisher booms. This proved to be such an effective solution that to this day, you'll seldom see green bed booms mounted any other way. (Look for an article on Bruce Arledge Jr. in the next issue.) The First Digital Video Assist: Cinelogic "Deja View" Sam Cherroff | Local 695 Y-4 Video Engineer In the late 1990's, Sam took a chance by quietly bringing his creation, the first all-digital Video Assist system, onto the set of a commercial shoot. Faster, more dependable, and far more capable than videotape, all-digital Video Assist systems soon became the standard for Video Assist everywhere. Over the years, there have been many more contributions made by Local 695 members, from timecode slates developed by Mike Denecke, to motion-control hardware and software, and no doubt many more are being developed at this moment. Stand together and stay strong. In Solidarity, Scott Bernard Business Representative