From the January/June 1999 issue of the Operating Cameraman

Marvin Rush ASC and Douglas Knapp SOC are currently hard at work on the set of Star Trek: Voyager. Doug has been an operator for 20 years and came over from sitcoms to do some B camera and occasional A camera operation, then was brought in full time 4 years ago.

Marvin Rush: Judi Brown our script supervisor told me about Doug while we were working on Deep Space Nine. Doug was working as part of a tight 12-man sitcom team and mostly unavailable. I didn't realize how good he really was. Not everyone that works in sitcoms is a good one-camera operator and vice versa. It is a skill that is somewhat specific and within seconds I realized that Doug was an excellent operator.

First to all I like a dead frame, I like a camera that's not moving unnecessarily. In other words if an actor is moving and you're constantly adjusting the frame, it's very distracting. I'd rather let an actor move in the frame and then move the camera when the time comes.

Doug had an instant taste similar to my own and has a very smooth manner even in 3-speed. He can handle difficult shots like whip pans instantly much better than I can. I'm a pretty good operator and Doug's got me beat on almost everything. I know his operating will be good.

He can also dance, climb around and scamper on a dolly, to perform very difficult or complicated shots. He can move his body around, get the low angles, get the high angles. I mean he's just very versatile.

SOC: What does it provide you as the DP to have a good operator on the set that you can trust?

Rush: My trust in Doug means I can turn over a shot before it's finished. In other words I can get the framework put in place and I don't have to stay there and polish it until it's done. Because I know Doug will get it to the right level. I don't have to figure out all the problems. It means I have more time to worry about other things. And it's a division of labor. If there's less for me to do with the camera and I can concentrate on the lighting, then we can get more work done in a shorter span of time.

SOC: Describe your communication with Doug.

Rush: We do thirty setups a day, probably average twenty-five to thirty. We've done that for four years together. In that span of time we've done a lot of shots. I can reference a shot by a show we did together. That kind of shorthand happens with anybody that you've worked with for a while.

There is another kind of shorthand and that is a stylistic one. I can for instance say "Let's do some non-standard composition here." Instantly he knows what I mean. We're going to have the reverse lead. We're going to put the actor to the leading edge of the frame looking out of a frame as opposed to looking into a frame.

Or we might put somebody at the bottom of a frame and have a whole bunch of air at the top or vice versa. So I can just say "non-standard composition" and all of a sudden Doug starts looking for those kinds of opportunities. I don't have to explain what I mean when I want that.

There's so little that needs to be said in any long term relationship with somebody who is bright. I mean Doug Knapp is very bright. So I don't have to say a lot and explain what I mean.

He's also a cameraman, he knows how to light and he knows how to shoot. He always understands my problems and what I'm looking at. It's just a real good team.

SOC: Is there a particular shot in your memory that Doug was able to perform that wowed you or that you were very impressed with, either its construction or its performance?

Rush: We have had such a great relationship that all the great shots over the years fade into memory. I can say that he can do shots I can't do. He's more flexible than I am. So I can put the dolly in a much lowered position than is comfortable for me, and he can scamper around the dolly and I count on him to do it because directors want to set up difficult shots on this show all the time.

I expect him to be able to pull off difficult shots, work it out. He did one yesterday actually that was pretty difficult. It was very fast and close to camera.

One area he has grown in is using some of the tools in unconventional ways For instance, the standard way to operate a film camera is you look through the eyepiece. But there are applications (this being one) where you can't look through the eyepiece. In other words, where you really would rather have a Hot Head, but guess what, you don't have one.

And yet the shot can be done and so instead you use the video finder on the side of the camera, the assistant's video monitor suddenly becomes the operator's finder. Doug used that in conjunction with the eyepiece. So as the camera is in an awkward position, you can't get your eye to the eyepiece, you begin the shot on the video finder. Now as the camera is coming around the assistant reaches up and uncovers the blind for the eyepiece just as his eye goes to the eyepiece.

Having the skill to blend that move so you can seamlessly go from video finder instantly to an optical finder, or the other way, are examples of finesse and skill. He gets it and then he just does it. That's someone who's really gifted, who has complete control of their physical body and their movements.

First is the brain, okay. Having a bright person who can understand visual concepts quickly with limited amount of words, gets it on the same page with almost nothing said. Having the ability to concentrate exclusively on the task at hand and disregard everything that is not pertinent to the shot. That's the brain.

The second thing is fine motor skills, real fine muscle control to be able to execute what you would like to do with the frame. Well, Doug's got both of those skills and that's a great operator.

SOC: Nothing is more satisfying than knowing what to do and doing it. What is his personality like on the set?

Rush: Doug is almost, this sounds like, gosh it sounds like a love letter. Well, it really is in a way, you know. I feel that way. I mean I really adore working with him. He is the most easy going guy around. His easy going manner keeps me from getting upset.

We work well together because I think we have a lot of respect for each other. I know I have a lot of respect for Doug and I feel he has respect for my talents. I'm real proud of the work that he's been doing lately as a cameraman.

We've brought other operators in, and it takes a little while to get up to speed on the show. I actually have to work harder when the other operators are here because I have to explain things more. So when Doug's around I actually get to kick back a bit because he does an awful lot of the work.

When Doug is out shooting second unit, the other thing I worry about is not that the new A camera operator won't do good work, I worry that the styles won't match. Another advantage of having Doug DP the second unit is because he's been on the show for a long time. He knows how this show looks and, you know, it's a combination of the reality of the sets and the lighting style.

Bill Peets is my gaffer and Randy Burgess is the key grip. We've built a specific look, most of which was crafted by my team. My telecine guy George McCanon times the dailies and that's what they cut the show with, so the margin for error and the time to correct just isn't there. I know Doug understands that and his work cuts in smoothly with my work.

SOC: Sounds like a wonderful way to hone the craft. When did you start shooting and on what shows to get to this point?

Rush: Well, I started out at a tiny religious TV station in Glendale as a tape operator, director, technical director and camera operator in 1972. But I loved camera. That's the area where I felt I had the most skill and I certainly was the most interested in.

I wanted to get into film, but I couldn't find a way in. I did a lot of sports, Dodgers, Lakers and boxing at the Olympic auditorium, roller derby and hockey. I mean every sport you could possibly name. Track and field, golf, tennis, I think I've done every sport. For about five years I made most of my income doing sports because it was interesting and challenging.

I started working for Dinah Shore when they went on location. And that led to a staff job at Channel 5 doing the Dinah Shore Show when she moved from CBS to KTLA. After Channel 5, I was also doing a series there called WKRP in Cincinnati which was a great show and I was an operator.

Then they left Channel 5 and moved over to the Radford CBS Studio Center and I was offered a chance to leave KTLA. I made the choice based on what I thought was best for my career. I went over to CBS and I thought, maybe I can get a chance to spin the wheels on a Worrall Head, on film sitcom. It took me a couple years of trying, but doing WKRP and then practicing, really getting the skill up.

Then somebody was sick one night on a sitcom and they didn't have an operator and Jim Sater in the camera department at CBS Radford asked if I wanted to do a film job. That show was in 1981 and called The Last Resort. I only did one episode, but that credit got me a chance to work on Newhart when the show started on video tape. George LaFountaine ASC was the DP.

But after the first season, it went to film and the exec producer of that show, Barry Kim, fired the camera operators. He said, "We're going to go to film, we're going to let you guys go." And I went to his office and said "Barry, listen, I've done it. I've done a film show. I only did one, but I did it, I can do it. Will you please at least try me. If I don't do okay I won't darken your door again." Well, he looked at me and said, "Fine. I'll give you a shot."

I started on the wing camera, but then after a couple of weeks one of the operators moved on to a one-camera show, so I moved over to B camera. So in a matter of like four or five weeks I was now the center camera on a three camera sitcom which is a pretty responsible position. I did Newhart for 4 years.

SOC: What show did you move up to director of photography on?

Rush: Out of the blue the producer Hugh Wilson, the guy who had produced WKRP was doing a show with Lonnie Anderson at that time, called The Lonnie Anderson Pilot. It later changed its name to Easy Street. And it ran for one season.

Well, he called me up and said, "I got this pilot, do you want to do it?" I said "Yeah." And then I thought for a second. I said, "You mean as an operator, right?" He says "No, I want you to shoot it." And I said, "Are you sure?" "You can do it can't you?" he said. I said "Yeah sure. I can do it." (laughter) Literally a bolt out of the blue. Suddenly I'm a Director of Photography.

It ran one season then I went over to do The Tracy Ullman Show. In the middle of the season Hugh Wilson called me to do Frank's Place. I was not available so he hired Bill Fraker ASC who shot a beautiful pilot. The show sold and Hugh asked me to do the series. I wanted to do a one-camera show so I took it.

After it got canceled I came to Paramount to shoot Dear John for a season. It was a little disappointing because I wanted to do one-camera. Then the show finished and I was asked to do Star Trek: Next Generation, then I moved to Deep Space Nine and now I'm in the fifth season of Voyager.

SOC: What can you say to operators who, like you were, are trying to get on a regular show, and what do you now as a DP look for in a new operator?

Rush: When I bring in an operator on B camera, I'm looking for somebody who gets it right away, who understands quickly what we're trying to accomplish. It doesn't matter if he doesn't do it my way at first, so long as after I explain what my way is, he does it that way automatically and without any coaching. In other words, a little bit of coaching and then I'm done talking and now shot after shot after shot he gets it. There are very few operators like that, and they are the ones I use, the ones that really please me.

I really like a dead frame and there are very few operators that walk in and have the confidence to leave a frame alone when they don't have to move it. An actor moves a little to the left or right and they're constantly framing that actor. I hate that so much I can't tell you. It really bugs me and I hate it when I do it so I don't like it when I see somebody else do it.

Another issue is, I'm constantly trying to harmonize the background with the foreground. You know, I don't want something growing out of somebody's head. Now I set it up with the second team, then turn it over to the operator with first team.

I'm expecting him to reproduce the frame even though people stand differently or are subtly different in height, maybe they put their weight on a different foot. I'm expecting the operator to accomplish the feel as best he can, at least as good as I did when I set it up with second team, or better.

No, I don't want him to arbitrarily change it and he's got to have confidence that I'm going to like what he's going to do. But if it's different, and there's method and design to the shot, and if the operator sees that design, understands and applies it, makes sure that it happens, I respect that.

So paying attention, looking at what I am seeing, not just the surface but seeing the depth of the shot as well, is paramount.

Another aspect I look for in good operating is if an operator can get a print early. The actors get up for take one and the director would like to get it done. The cameraman certainly would like to get it done. Now the operator has got to get it done.

So if you can get a print early, it means more time for me to light the next shot, more setups get done in a day, the director gets more choices. If the director wants to do take two or take three that's his choice, but if our team can give him a print early in the process, everybody is better.

Usually take ones are better. I mean people are up for take one so that performance is often the best one. An operator that is constantly missing take one, I don't want to work with. I can't afford to ruin good performances because he can't get the shot early.

It's hard to do a dead frame, gamble, always win, and print take one. That's impossible and that's what I want. I'm being honest, I'm expecting miracles done on a daily basis from my operator--my crew and myself too. I've got a lot of work to do and I want the shots done right and I want them done early.

So that separates the men from the boys. There are some people who can't get a shot quickly and there are other guys who can. I've seen it done. They just have whatever it takes to get an acceptable print on take one every time or just about every time. That man is worth more money. He's valuable because he saves you money. Doug gets print take one almost every time. I mean, it's rare that he doesn't deliver. He wouldn't be here if he didn't.

SOC: Who are some of the directors of photography that you worked under that helped you develop your craft?

Rush: I suffered from one terrible thing, I didn't work under very many cinematographers because I worked on the video side of the business. Lighting in video is often not the stressed item. Although there are some guys I admire in video that I worked for.

Bobby Dickinson was one of the guys that did Solid Gold and I think he's a genius. I mean, he's a brilliant video lighting designer and I learned some things watching him work.

George LaFountaine certainly was a mentor. I learned a lot from him and George Steviaks, whom I worked for quite a bit. But I didn't operate for a lot of great feature film cinematographers and watch them work. I wanted to, but I couldn't get the job.

I suddenly found myself a cinematographer having not worked for very many others. I really wish I had had a chance because there's a lot of things I didn't learn because I didn't get a chance to learn them. I had to learn by teaching myself and learning from gaffers. So I missed out on some things.

Brian Reynolds was a lighting designer for me many years ago and he taught me some things. I worked behind the scenes shooting a movie called The River that Vilmos Zsigmond DP 'd. I was just simply doing the documentary. I spent about a week in his company and I learned quite a few things watching him work, watching his lighting and learning how to use and work with practical sources, augment a practical source, and make it look absolutely totally real. I admire his work.

We're a link in the chain

This industry has given us a rich heritage of talent from the likes of Billy Bitzer and Harry Stradling Sr on down, so if you're not already familiar with who your DP worked under as an operator I encourage you to find out. As camera operators and future DPs you are a very important link in continuing the legacy and tradition of fine craftsmanship since the beginning of filmmaking.