Two Special Lenses for "Barry Lyndon" by Ed DiGiulio
(President, Cinema Products Corp.)
From: American Cinematographer
How the stringent demands of a purist-perfectionist film-maker led to the
development of two valuable new cinematographic tools.
My first contact with Stanley Kubrick was when he was referred to me by our
mutual friend, Haskell Wexier, ASC, during Kubrick's preparation for "A
CLOCKWORK ORANGE". Haskell indicated to him that I and my company were very
responsive to the demanding needs of professional filmmakers, especially when it
came to coming up with unique solutions to difficult probems.
For "CLOCKWORK" we purchased a standard Mitchell BNC for Kubrick and overhauled
it, but did not reflex it or modify it in any special way. Kubrick's attitude
has always been that he would rather work with a non-reflexed BNC and thereby
gain tremendous flexibility and latitude in adaptation of special lenses to the
camera - as was subsequently the case on "BARRY LYNDON". For "CLOCKWORK" w e
also supplied the major accessory items for which we are well known, such as the
"Joy Stick" zoom control, the BNC crystal motor and the Arri crystal motor.
(Above Left) the Zeiss 50mm, f/0.7 lens, shown in special focusing-mount (and
with adjustable shutter blade removed). (Center) in front, the specially
modified Zeiss 50mm, f/0.7 lens. Behind it, the lens before modification.
(Right) Zeiss 50mm f/0.7 lens with Kollmorgen adaptor, creating an effective
focal length of 36.5mm.
(Above Left) Zeiss f/0.7 lens in special focusing mount. (Center) Lens with
Kollmorgen adaptor - 36.5mm focal length. (Right) The Cine-Pro T/9 24-480mm zoom
lens, shown with J-4 zoom control.
At the very early stages of his preparation for "BARRY LYNDON", Kubrick scoured
the world looking for exotic, ultra-fast lenses, because he knew he would be
shooting extremely low light level scenes. It was his objective, incredible as
it seemed at the time, to photograph candle-lit scenes in old English castles by
only the light of the candles themselves! A former still photographer for Look
magazine, Kubrick has become extremely knowledgeable with regard to lenses and,
in fact, has taught himself every phase of the technical application of his
filming equipment. He called one day to ask me if I thought I could fit a Zeiss
lens he had procured, which had a focal length of 50mm and a maximum aperture of
f/O.7. He sent me the dimensional specifications, and I reported that it was
impossible to fit the lens to his BNC because of its large diameter and also
because the rear element came within 4mm of the film plane. Stanley, being the
meticulous craftsman that he is, would not take 'No" for an answer and persisted
until I reluctantly agreed to take a hard look at the problem.
When the lens arrived, we could see it was designed as a still camera lens, with
a Compur shutter built into the lens. The diameter of the lens was so large that
it would just barely fit into the BNC lens port, leaving no room for an
additional focusing shell. As a consequence, we had to design a focusing
arrangement so that the entire lens barrel rotates freely in the lens port. To
avoid possible binds that might result from this unconventional mode of
operation, we added a second locating pin to the standard BNC lens flange, so
that the two pins securely held the lens barrel concentric with the lens port
during operation.
The problem of the close proximity of the rear element to the film plane was a
much more difficult matter to resolve. To begin with, we removed the adjustable
shutter blade, leaving the camera with only a fixed maximum opening. We then had
to machine the body housing and the aperture plate a considerable distance
inward so that the fixed shutter blade could be pulled back as far as possible
toward the film plane.
Naturally, the Compur shutter had to be dismantled and the iris leaves altered
so that they could be manually operated in the normal manner. Calibrating the
focus scale on the lens presented quite a problem, too. A lens as fast as this
has an extremely shallow depth of field when shooting wide open, so Kubrick
understandably wanted to have as broad a band spread on the scale as possible.
To do this we used an extremely fine thread for the focusing barrel and this
resulted in a scale which required two complete revolutions to go from infinity
down to approximately 5 feet. We had to stop at 5 feet or it would have taken
several more revolutions to bring it to the near focus point. Kubrick agreed
that this was as close a focus as he would require, and that stopping at two
revolutions would make the scale less ambiguous.
Remembering that this lens was to be used on a non-reflexed BNC and, further,
that the rear element of the lens came within 4mm of the film plane, an
additional problem was that the camera could not be racked over to the viewing
position if the lens were in its normal filming position. Accordingly, we
designed a safety interlock switch so that the lens had to be rotated a full
nine revolutions out before the micro switch would trip, permitting the camera
to be racked over. In this manner we protected the rear element of the lens from
being inadvertently smashed if the operator attempted to rack over before the
lens was moved forward sufficiently.
Ed DiGiulio, President of Cinema Products Corporation, shown holding the new
Cine-Pro 20-to-1 (24mm-480mm) lens, which was originally designed at the request
of Stanley Kubrick specially for filming "Barry Lyndon". The Zeiss 50mm, f/0.7
lens, with the Kollmorgen adaptor, is mounted on the non-reflexed Mitchell BNC
camera utilized to shoot the film's candlelight sequence.
The lens and camera were sent to Kubrick who film-tested it and reported that
the results were fantastic. He found, however, that he did have to recalibrate
our scale, apparently because of some slight shift in camera position during
shipment. We subsequently determined that it was necessary for us to tighten up
the dovetail gibs upon which the camera racks back and forth to the point where
racking over became fairly stiff, since the flange focal depth of the lens was
so extremely critical.
To protect the rear element of the Zeiss 50mm, f/0.7 lens (which was within 4mm
of the film plane), a special safety interlock switch was designed so that the
lens had to be rotated a full nine revolutions out before the micro-switch would
trip, permitting the camera to be racked over.
At this point Kubrick complained that the single 50mm focal length was too
limiting and that what he required was a wider-angle lens of the same speed. He
began thinking in terms of various anamorphosing schemes or other optical tricks
to widen the angle of the lens we had. I told him that before doing anything as
mind-boggling as this I would check with some of the optical experts I knew to
see if there were a simpler way. As luck would have it, Dr. Richard Vetter of
Todd-A-O, a man whose optical expertise I've always held in high esteem,
suggested to me that the result I was trying to achieve could probably be
accomplished by using a projection lens adapter, designed by the Kollmorgen
Corporation, which was originally intended to modify the focal length of 70mm
projection lenses in theatres so that the image format could exactly match the
size of the screen.
We purchased one of these adapters, mounted it to the front of the lens, and
after some optical and mechanical manipulation we were pleased to see that the
effective focal length of our composite lens system was 36.5mm. The aperture of
the new 36.5mm lens remained at f/0.7 and its effective aperture was reduced
only slightly by the minor light absorption in the two front elements. We sent
this lens on to Kubrick and, again, he was ecstatic with the results. However,
being the demanding technical genius that he is, Stanley Kubrick urged us to go
further and see if we could come up with a still wider angle lens. Again I
turned to Dr. Vetter, and this time he provided me with a "Dimension 150" lens
adapter which, when mounted to the front of still another Zeiss 50mm prime lens,
gave us an effective focal length of 24mm. However, at this point our
improvisational engineering techniques began to catch up with us and Kubrick
determined that the lens gave a bit too much distortion, so that he would not
wish to intercut photography from this lens with photography from the other two.
The Zeiss 50mm and 36.5mm, f/0.7 lenses used to film candlelight sequences for
"Barry Lyndon" without the addition of artificial light were originally
still-camera lenses developed for use by NASA in the Apollo Moon-landing
program, and modified by Cinema Products Corp. The 50mm lens, shown here in
focusing mount, had to have the adjustable shutter blade, necessary for still
photography, removed for filming.
As a technician and not a creative artist, I asked Kubrick the obvious question:
Why were we going to all this trouble when the scene could be easily
photographed with the high-quality super-speed lenses available today (such as
those manufactured by Canon and Zeiss) with the addition of some fill light. He
replied that he was not doing this just as a gimmick, but because he wanted to
preserve the natural patina and feeling of these old castles at night as they
actually were. The addition of any fill light would have added an artificiality
to the scene that he did not want. To achieve the amount of light he actually
needed in the candlelight scenes, and in order to make the whole movie balance
out properly, Kubrick went ahead and push-developed the entire film one stop -
outdoor and indoor scenes alike. I am sure that everyone who has seen the
results on the screen must agree that Kubrick has succeeded in achieving some of
the most unique and beautiful imagery in the cinematic art.
(Left) Specially machined aperture plate to accommodate the Zeiss 50mm, f/0.7
lens. (Right) The specially machined aperture plate in position in the specially
machined camera body housing, both designed to accommodate the modified
super-fast lens. Kubrick refused to settle for a standard high-speed lens and
the addition of artificial light because he wanted to re-create the natural
patina and mood of stately houses illuminated solely by candlelight, as they
were during the period of the film's story.
On "A CLOCKWORK ORANGE", Kubrick had made effective use of a 20-to-1 zoom lens
that he had rented from Samuelson Film Service in London. The closing scene of
the movie, with a long slow pull-back from the hero of the story as he walks
along the river, is a prime example of its application.
Kubrick likes to own all of his own equipment even to the extent of building his
own very modest location vehicle. This may be partly an ego trip, but I think it
is mainly due to the fact that he is meticulous about the care and maintenance
of his equipment and is, therefore, very uncomfortable with equipment that
someone else has used. In any event, for whatever reason, Kubrick insisted that
I build him a 20-to-1 zoom lens for "BARRY LYNDON". What followed was a series
of phone calls, telexes, and letters between Kubrick and myself and between me
and the Angenieux Corporation, who were, in fact, the suppliers of the basic
zoom components for all of these 20-to-1 zoom lenses. Through it all, Kubrick
displayed the kind of technical knowledge and skill, rare in modern filmmakers,
that enabled him to define the problem precisely and specify what had to be done
to achieve the lens he wanted.
We went ahead with his program and were just able to put together a working
prototype, still not properly finished or calibrated, so, that Kubrick would
have it in time for the filming. Again he was delighted with the results, as
seen in a number of exterior sequences in the film. We subsequently completed
the design of this lens - the Cine-Pro T9 24-480mm zoom lens - and have built
and sold several of these lenses. (And now that Kubrick has finished shooting
the picture, we have finally completed the construction of his prototype lens.)
My relationship with Stanley Kubrick has been one of the most unusual, yet
intellectually stimulating, that I have ever known. We have spent countless
hours in telephone conversations, and written literally hundreds of letters and
telexes back and forth. Yet I have never met the man! I felt sure I would while
in London attending the Film '73 exhibition with my wife, Lou. We were escorted
to his combination home-and-office by his executive producer, Jan Harlan. But
when we arrived, Kubrick was out scouting locations for "BARRY LYNDON" and
expressed his regrets at not having been there to meet us. We were, however,
very graciously entertained by his lovely wife Christiane, who is an
accomplished and recognized artist in her own right.
This minor frustration aside, it has been an exciting and stimulating experience
working with a man of Kubrick's consummate skills and talents on his recent film
projects. He currently has me investigating another camera/optical scheme he has
in mind which I think I should keep confidential until he has had a chance to
use it. Undoubtedly, it will be used on his next film project (a project which I
look forward to with a mixture of trepidation and excitement).
Our company motto is: "Technology in the Service of Creativity." I cannot think
of a more fitting example of our motto at work than the modest role my company
and I played in the making of "BARRY LYNDON".
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