Stefan Sargent

CLAUS, KENNEDY, DAHMER, KING

Last month, Rodney King died. I thought of Elkan. He’s dead too. Why do people keep dying?

READY STEADY GO
Elkan and I had great times together. I’ll never forget the first time I almost met him.

It was a rainy Friday night in London – I even know the date, March 20, 1964. The place: the pub behind Rediffusion House; there he is surrounded by mini-skirted girls; Elkan, the center of attention.

I’m a cameraman at ITN, a news organization, based on the top floor of Rediffusion House. My colleagues have taken me out of the building through a side exit as the street is blocked by police, screaming fans and film crews. It’s called, Beatle Mania.

I enter the crowded pub, see the girls, the commotion, “Who’s that?” “Elkan.” “Who?” “You’ve never heard of Elkan Allan! He’s the producer of Ready Steady Go. “

That evening Ready, Steady, Go, broadcast live from the basement of Rediffusion House, has featured the Beatles singing “Can’t Buy Me Love”.

A HARD DAY’S DAY NIGHT

1964 - The Beatles at the Scala Theatre performing A Hard Day’s Night

A week later I’m with the ITN film crew sent to cover the filming of a Hard Day’s Night. We’re at the Scala Theater in London’s Charlotte Street. The Beatles are on a stage decked out with white Formica. We finish shooting the ITN news report. “Can I stay on?” “Sure.” I spend the rest of the day watching the Beatles rehearse, Dick Lester directing and the feature film crew at work. Bliss…

CHANNEL FOUR

It’s 1982, eighteen years later.  Elkan is in my office at Molinare. C4, Channel Four, a new independent broadcaster, are soon to be on air. Unlike the BBC and commercial TV stations, C4’s charter is to commission all programs from outside contractors.

Elkan wants to provide the C4 weather. “The weather, Elkan! Are you crazy?” “No, dear boy, they need to buy it in and someone has to provide it. The Met. Office has all the data. Your company, Molinare, has the latest technology.”

1982 - Ampex Video Art™ at Molinare

Yes, we have AVA, Ampex Video Art™, today’s most advanced electronic painting and animation device. His idea is to animate the weather. Don’t forget this is 1982, the BBC are using cardboard clouds.

Our computer graphics guy, Paul Docherty, creates a demo three minute broadcast with music and voice over. We all go to see the new Head of Programs at C4. The U-Matic tape plays in his office, then, on cue, the tea lady comes in and plunks the tray down right in front of the monitor. She spends the next two minutes blocking the monitor pouring tea. “Let’s run it again.” “No, I get the general idea. Enjoy your tea, I’ve a meeting to go to.” Grrrrr…

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

1992 – there’s no stopping Elkan. By now I’m running Spitfire Television. “Stefan, here’s an idea. Why don’t I go to Rhode Island and get the tapes of Claus von Bulow’s two trials.  Columbia TriStar can release our documentary with the feature film version, Reversal of Fortune.

1992 – Elkan editing “LA Cops on Trial” at Spitfire Television. Video editor, Mark Wharton, surveys the 1” tape rushes.

We make the documentary, The Trials of Claus von Bulow, they buy it and love it. We make three more trials, William Kennedy Smith, Jeffery Dahmer and LA Cops on Trial with Rodney King.

My Fab Four: Claus, Kennedy, Dahmer and King. Every month I get royalties from Amazon.

Thank you Rodney. Thank you Elkan.

Got to Get that Great Shot

It’s the week before NAB. I’m transferring tapes and files from my shoot in Bakersfield, Calif. The phone rings. “Hi, I’m Rebecca, Zaxox PR. I believe you’re going to NAB. My client Hubris Microsystems will be exhibiting there. I’d like to I arrange a meeting…” “Whoooaa—hold it. You need to speak to Jay Holben, he’s the Digital Video technical editor. I just write about disposable cameras.”

“Disposable cameras?” “Yes, you know the ones you bury in the ground and let the horses gallop over. I guess you’ve seen Napoleon—Able Gance’s 1927 masterpiece—he used a Debrie Parvo 35mm camera. I had a Bell & Howell Filmo Auto Load 16mm, it survived explosions, railroad trains, destruction testing… but don’t let me bore you; Jay’s your man.”

Loose Chips
Client of the month is Mt. Poso Cogeneration. I’m shooting in HD but the video is for their website and a few DVDs.

I’m having a meeting with Bill, the plant manager, and Louis, his operations manager. They receive wood chips from unwanted trees, burn them, create steam, drive turbines, make electricity. It’s a closed system—no smoke, no pollution, renewable energy—green, green, green.

Time to ask a question: “Apart from the trucks delivering the wood chips, the process is contained?” “That’s right. There’s nothing to see apart from the exterior of the plant,” says Louis.

We Go Walkabout
“Louis, there must be something I can shoot. Look, this is a GoPro camera—it cost $299—it’s disposable. I need movement; interesting, exciting shots: inside the flames, the turbines spinning, there’s steam, sparks of electricity, life forces…” Louis has always thought filmmakers were mad, I’m just reinforcing that idea.

“Louis, what’s the most exciting shot I can get?” “Well you could put the camera on the conveyor belt.” “And catch it at the other end?” “Not possible—but if we tie some string onto it, we could pull it back. It’s risky.”

Disposable Dave
The next day, after a cautionary talk by the health and safety officer, we are leaning over the conveyor belt, and my brave little GoPro with its Gorilla tripod is being positioned on the wood chips.

Dave and Tricia have 40 feet of cable gaffer-taped to the GoPro. The live picture looks good. “Camera flashing?” “YES!” “OK, Louis, start the conveyor belt.”

Dave and Tricia are feeding out the cable to the moving conveyor belt when suddenly Dave is grabbed by fast-moving wood chips and dragged onto the belt. Tricia throws herself onto it and climbs, hand over hand, up the chips to rescue Dave before he enters the furnace.

“Forget Dave! Get the camera! Save the camera!” screams Stefan. Not to worry, that little GoPro just keeps on running.

Louis hits emergency stop. Zap! The conveyor belt stops. All safe. We got it!

(Dave and Tricia are OK—I just made that up.)

Yeah—it’s terrific! Louis, I love you

Harvey is an American professor living and working in Switzerland. I’ve shot his weeklong training sessions in Lausanne and here in Big Sur, Calif.

DIANE – HIS NEW PA

An e-mail: Hi Stefan, Harvey is teaching in Big Sur next month and wants you to shoot 12 five-minute talks. Please quote.

Hi Diane, it’s really up to Harvey. Can he do all 12 in one day?

Stefan, just spoke to Harvey. He thinks he can do three a day after the training sessions. I can send you a list of topics.

INSERT ANOTHER EIGHT E-MAILS.

Diane, our e-mails are getting nowhere. I want to speak to Harvey direct.

Stefan, I’ll organize a conference call.

THE CONFERENCE CALL
Friends, there are the three things that drive me up the wall:

3: 24p. Note that both Peter Jackson and James Cameron have ditched 24p on their next movies.
2: The current craze to shoot movies on tricked-out still cameras instead of using video cameras.
1: Conference calls. Grrrrrr…

Needless to say, Harvey never makes it to the phone. After 25 minutes with Diane, nothing is resolved.

IT’S ON
I receive another e-mail. I’m booked for the week.

IT’S OFF
ONE DAY before the shoot—it’s all off. I’m packed and ready to go. I AM SO PISSED!

At this stage, any normal, rational person would have booked a flight to Pago Pago and gone native. Oh no, not me—I’m chewed up with angst… Sod Harvey! Sod Diane! I’m a filmmaker! I make films! I’ll shoot next week, no matter what!

A PLAN OF MY OWN INVENTION
I’ll start by shooting the neighbors: Mary next door, Carolyn up the road, Trip, our inventor friend. I’ll even shoot Andy, who runs the local deli.

“Mary, I’m coming over to shoot you—don’t change, don’t clean the house. It’s just a three-minute piece about YOU.”

Whooosh, I’m there. “Mary, tell me who you are, where you live. Talk to the camera.” She does it. I run home. It’s exactly 2’ 59”.

I immediately register 2-59.com; now, instead of shooting Harvey, I’m filming friends, neighbors and strangers.

Stephen, a musician and computer artist
I shoot Stephen, who creates visual interpretations of music. He suggests I film his next-door neighbor, Alan. Knock, knock. (The camera is running.) “Hello, I’m Stefan, a friend of Stephen. Can I film you?”

Bug of Heritage Salvage, Passionate Purveyor of Planks, Patina and Provenance

We’re driving up to Petaluma to film Karen, a vineyard owner; we pass a salvage wood outlet. Drive in. “Can I film you?” “Sure.” “It that your bike? Can you just ride around and I’ll fire questions at you from the car window.” His name is Bug and he’s great.
Dee, the general manager of Angel Island

I’ll do 1,000+ of these: firemen, architects, judges, garbage collectors… I’ll ask other filmmakers to join in and contribute. We’ll build a huge database of real people talking about themselves.

WHAT A STUPID IDEA
Then, like a hallucinatory drug wearing off, I stop. Should I continue and shoot my dentist, Andy at the deli, my actor friend Peter? I must be crazy. It seemed like a good idea—but is it?

What’s it all about, Stefan?

What absolute garbage! Is this a piss-take?Alison’s viral YouTube video

If I could afford it, I’d only make pro-bono videos. The “clients” are just so grateful. “I can’t thank you enough for this!” You get free lunches, free tickets to their fund raising Gala. “Stand up Stefan, John and Tricia. These are our wonderful filmmakers!” Applause, cheers, the Gala audience goes wild. We’re Super Stars.
After all the praise and thanks, I get a tax credit for making a donation.

MY CLIENT, SHE WROTE ME A LETTER
Remember Alison – Alison, from my local WildCare non-profit? A year ago, she was “THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH 9:16” in my February Prod. Diary.
Alison wonders why she shot 9:16 portrait instead of wide screen landscape.

Last year, she made a YouTube video that went viral – 707,000 viewings and counting!

Now, it’s Xmas. She writes me a letter:
Merry Christmas! Sending big warm hugs all around 🙂 Unfortunately I have some bad news: here’s the word from on high, due to budget constraints etc. we have decided to recycle one of the previous videos instead of making a new one.
I am SO bummed!

Hi Alison,
Sh** happens – if there’s anything I can do – like say knock up a free video – let me know…

My smooth talking sales pitch works. She falls for it. We’re doing this year’s video for free!

I’M COOL, SO FLAME MEStarman and his $7,400 Pannie HPX370. He needs more work – even tried Craigslist.

A few months ago, I wrote HOW TO FIND WORK for DV.com. It was in response to a forlorn post by Starman. Here’s the jist of my piece:
Starman, you need more and better contacts. Stop thinking of yourself as a cameraman; you’re a media wrangler; you can do everything from Photoshop to WordPress Websites. Demonstrate how good you are – offer to do it for free. If you’re good, paying work will follow.

It’s my own M.O. – I’ve been doing free “get to know me” videos since way back when. Did I get flamed? You bet:

• God what absolute garbage. Is this a piss-take? Charging nothing is what will destroy the business of the guy you are trying to help. How many freebies will turn into paying jobs? Bugger all.
• What a stupid column! Yeah right! So, do all kinds of incredibly easy things – things anyone could do – and, do them all free! He’s gonna be busy all right. LOL!
• I think freebies are a waste of time now – the sort of client who will accept a freebie is the sort who will pay peanuts later.

BROADCAST MUSEUM FREEBIESan Francisco television inventor, Philo Farnsworth wonders where the glass tube goes.

Ten years ago, I’m invited to a committee meeting. “How are we going to raise money for the museum?” I suggest making a video. I’ll do it for free.

Freebie finished, it’s shown at NATAS events and on local TV. That one pro-bono, has brought in paying, regular work and 100s of 1,000s of real, bankable dollars.

• How many freebies will turn into paying jobs? Bugger all.
  
  Wrong. I have the 1099s.

HE’S ME, ONLY SMÄRTER AND NÄSTIER

“Let’s go to the movies tonight. It’s on locally, a film about Eames. We shot their exhibition in Paris. Remember?”

“I don’t want to go out tonight.” “Maybe tomorrow…” “Going out to the movies is so last century. Can’t we watch it on Netflix?”

Drat – I really want to see it. Is it his stuff or mine? I’ll bet it’s his.

ROGERS AND COWAN
It’s the early ‘70s and Rogers and Cowan are regular clients. Every few weeks I get a call from Judy, “Here’s a fun one: David Niven is in a costume drama being shot in Wales. We just need a to camera piece about the film. Can you do March 21?

“Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers – go their country home – then shoot Bill in his office… “Want to meet Richard Chamberlain? He’s rented a cottage near Ashford…

Get the idea? Sometimes Judy would be there but usually it’s just Tricia with her Nagra recorder and me with my Éclair. I’m shooting celebs, so there’s no need to interview, they know the drill and make shooting easy.

In January ‘75, Judy phones, “This is a tough one –– The World of Franklin and Jefferson – a Bicentennial exhibition in Paris, funded by IBM. Go to their Paris office. A to-camera piece from the CEO and then shoot the first day of the show. It’s going to be a lot of historic paintings and artifacts; you know chairs, spinning wheels. Do what you can …”

CHARLES AND RAY
We’re at IBM (in French: eee bee em). The CEO is on camera. That’s when it hits me, this is an Eames exhibition. Judy never mentioned it. They’re my heroes; I’ve seen their films and two of my friends have Eames lounge chairs.

The next day we’re at the Grand Palais, part of the Louvre. It’s the day before the opening. The space is packed with helpers and officials. It’s almost impossible to shoot anything without someone walking in front. Eames is showing around Jack Warner (later senator). I wire them up with radio mikes. Warner is bad on his history. Eames laughs and corrects him; several times. Unbroadcastable.

Judy was right: this is tough – people in shadows looking at a clutter of bright, stationary objects.

A DAEMON ON WHEELS
I’m rattled and then I spot him. Him with the tripod on wheels. He’s doing moving shots and waltzing around the exhibits.

“Hi I’m Stefan – I’m working for Roger and Cowan, they’re a PR firm. Love your wheels.” “It’s the only way to shoot static things – if they don’t move, you have to.” “Who’s your client?” “Can’t say. Do I know you?” “I worked at the BBC.” “With Ken Westbury, now I remember you… didn’t you drop an Arriflex?”

Of course, I know this guy, he is, or was, a star BBC cameraman. He’s shot some of their best docos. and  is 10X more experienced than I am.

Off he goes getting ballerina shots I could never take. I WANT A DOLLY. Still he only has an Angenieux 12-120mm zoom lens. Maybe I could trade my wider, faster lenses in return for his wheels… I try. “Just for half an hour, please.” No dice.

He’s my doppelgänger – the guy who’s smarter and better than me. Who’s he working for? My guess is the Bicentennial Commission or maybe Eames himself.

Outclassed at every turn. He’s getting the money shots; I’m shooting crap.

COFFEE WITH CHARLES
Finally, I pin Eames down. He’s tired – doesn’t want to do an interview. Says visual people can’t do spoken word, that’s why they design. We have coffee. I try for a voice over interview. He graciously agrees – then says, “Look, this isn’t working,” smiles and wanders off. He’s not your chatty celeb..

AMERICAN MASTERS
I’ve missed the cinema screening but it’s on PBS tonight. OMG, The World of Franklin and Jefferson section has shots from three locations: Paris, London and New York, all jumbled up.

But wait, at 75 minutes in, there’s a tracking shot – from NY not Paris. My doppelgänger sure gets around…

Back to Jan. ’75: lesson learned; I buy – WHEEEEEELS!

PAN AND ZOOM WITH DAVE
I’ve done two ‘copter shoots for Dave – one in Sonoma County, CA, the other flying over the Great Salt Lake. They were both scary but fun. Now he wants a third – early morning traffic jams on the LA freeways.

Flying low over freeways, yuk! I just don’t want to do it…

“What’s the matter Stefan? This is very, very important shot for an equally very important client. I don’t understand your problem; getting old, thinking of chucking it all in?”

“Gee Dave, you know how to hurt a guy. Look it’s just not my thing – and besides there are plenty of aerial cameramen in LA. You should use a real pro with a proper helicopter rig.”

ENTER THE POV.HD CAMERA
I’d never heard of a camera called POV.HD until Queen Cristina asked me to review it.

I phone Dave. “Hi Dave, that freeway job, I’ve got a new camera that does great point of view shots from the top of a car.”

“Sounds good but we still need that helicopter to show the advantage of car pool lanes. It’s very, very important…”

IT’S HERE – MY NEW TOY

POV.HD camera head and suction pad

The POV.HD (awful name) arrives with a box full of bits and pieces, which I guess are for downhill skiers or rally drivers. The only one I really need is the suction mount.

Like the GoPro, you can change the field of view by changing the size of the capture area of the sensors. 1080p has a FOV of 142 degrees, while 720p is not so wide at 95 degrees.

I do a few tests. 142 is just too wide – in LA we’ll be on a six and seven lane freeways, my guess is 95 degrees will be better. So 720p it is…

A GREAT BIG FREEWAY

The huge advantage of the POV.HD over you know what, is that the recorder is separate from the camera head. You can see what you’re actually shooting, you can stop and start and even playback to check that you really got it. At $599, it’s double the price but what’s $300 in a job costing thousands?

POV.HD recorder with 2” LED monitor

I wet the suction cup and clamp it down. “Is it safe?” says Dave. “Sure, I tested it at home.” “Safe at 80 mph on a freeway? Can you imagine what would happen if it flew off and hit another car.” I’m worried. I have two steel safety cables at home – why didn’t I bring them?

I give the POV.HD a good tug left and right, seems really secure. Being just the camera head, it’s lighter and more streamlined than the GoPro body.

Early morning, the sun is just up. We leave the car pool parking lot. Dave is driving; I’m at the recorder controls.

DAVE’S DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
We’re recording onto a Class 6 SD 8 GB card. Dave’s up to 75 mph; the camera’s steady, looks good, very smooth. We climb up the ramp from the car pool lane and descend into the freeway itself.

“Look at that traffic jam and we’re going whiz past it. How’s it look?”

We spend an hour shooting. Dave merges into the jam and in the POV.HD monitor I can see the car pool traffic passing by while we’re stopped dead.

Dave finds an overpass. We clamber up the stairs and I set up the shot. Dave is peering over my shoulder looking at my Sony V1 flip-out viewfinder. He’s excited.

“Pan and zoom, pan and zoom.” “That doesn’t mean anything. You got to say in or out – or left and right.”

The traffic’s really bad and the car pool lanes are almost empty. “Pan in.” I sense he wants to shoot it himself.

Dave’s overpass shot showing the car pool advantage

“Here you go. This is the zoom control. Pan and zoom as much as you like.” A huge smile comes over his face.

“I’m getting really good things. It’s great. I zoomed in. This is terrific! I’ve got it! Perfect. Tells the story. Cancel the helicopter!”

If my checked-in baggage is lost in space

and never makes it here

my carry-on - three cameras, two radio mikes, batteries, LED light, tapes, SD cards – will save the day.

IL VA THAT-A-WAY It’s 1975 – I’m flying to Dubai with one stop over, Damascus. It’s a five-hour flight. The crew tells me they are flying back tonight. I climb down the steps into the hot night air, walk to the terminal.

The lounge is in chaos. It’s Hajj time when devout Muslims make their way to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The Middle East hub is Damascus. The lounge is packed with pilgrims trying to connect with their Saudi flights.

From a window, I watch the luggage coming off the plane. There’s my camera case, my tripod and my suitcase, all in a two-wheel trailer towed behind an airport truck. It passes right in front of my lounge window.

Ten minutes later, I see it again. Yikes, it’s going back to the same plane, my camera, my tripod, my suitcase. I dash to the door. Two Syrian soldiers with sub-machine guns stop me.

“That’s my luggage! That plane is going back to London! I’m going to Dubai!”

In Arabic: “Kiss your baggage goodbye. Now get back inside.”

I’ll try my schoolboy French: “M’aidez Monsieur. On regarde ma camera avec tripied – il va that-a-way – la bas.” I connect with the French speaking guard. “Suivez-moi” he says.

Great. We run across the tarmac and reclaim my stuff. The rest of the baggage goes up the conveyor belt and into the wrong aircraft. The guard, now my very best friend, carries my camera and checks me into the Dubai flight. Merci beaucoup!

FLY AND CRY 20 years later, still based in London, I fly to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Here we go – it’s carousel time. Gradually it empties. Where’s mine? The carousel grinds to a halt. Oh dear.

I find the British Airways luggage lady and show her my stubs. She phones. OMG, it’s all gone to Edinburgh; my lighting case, my tripod and my personal suitcase, not here in Northern Ireland but in Scotland.

“We’re really sorry. It will be on the next flight out of Edinburgh. Arrives here at four tomorrow afternoon.”

Not a big deal. Why? I carried-on my camera, some batteries, tape stock and a radio mike. I have the essentials. I’m good to go and dead smug.

Next day; I handhold (no tripod) and use available light (no lights). Wire up the CEO with the wireless mike and walk him around the factory.

By five, I’m back at Belfast airport and there’s my lost luggage, fresh from Scotland. The only thing I missed was my toothbrush. Yeah!

POLYCARBONATE RULES Over the years, I’ve stuck to this plan: carry-on enough to shoot even if all the checked-in vanishes, as one day it will. I used to carry-on over-the-shoulder camera bags but somehow the walk from security to the flight gate got longer and longer. Maybe it’s me, I’ve got older and weaker; time to re-think.

This year we retired our camera bags and lighting suitcase and bought two new cases. A 21” Delsey Helium Shadow 1844 carry-on trolley for the two cameras and the larger 25” Shadow 1847 for lights and everything else. The polycarbonate is super light and the four wheels simply glide across the airport floor.

We checked in the 25” in at SFO this week. Fingers crossed – made it. Yep, just 48 lbs., that’s with a Rifa light, two dimmable Dedos, four lighting stands, reflector, a small tripod, Sennheiser rifle mike, AJA IoExpress, power cables and what have you. 48 lbs. – two pounds under the 50 lbs. maximum. Pride.

The 21” carry-on Shadow holds two Sony V1 cameras with extra batteries, tape stock, headphones and filters. All snuggled inside Snoop Camera Inserts from Timbuk2.

Over my shoulder is the Timbuk2 Camera Messenger (without its Snoop Insert). Unlike my retired camera cases, the bag holds my 15” MacBook Pro, two radio mikes, GoPro Hero, X-mini speaker, LED light and emergency Violet Crumble bar.

THE CASE OF THE CAUTIOUS CAMERAMAN; case – get it? Just in case you missed it.