[Tig] More memories please

[Marc Wielage]

On 12/16/07 2:08 PM, "DCFWTX at aol.com" <DCFWTX at aol.com> wrote:

> I don't recall 
> them ever looking as good as WBAP's TK 41's. They are long gone, replaced by
> an 
> army of PE 350's, which are also long gone. I worked the PE 350 truck once
> for a tennis match in Dallas later about 1975. We muscled TV-81 cable all over
> place for the cameras (it was an indoor match, with lighting by Imero
> Fiorentino, I believe).
>------------------------------<snip>------------------------------<

I was a camera operator from about 1973-1977, and our station (WTVT in
Tampa) used GE PE-400's.  They were unusual in that it was a 4-tube design:
red, green, blue and an extra tube for luminance.  Unfortunately, the
cameras required a ton of light to get a decent picture -- at least 250
footcandles, and I think 350 was the average the engineers asked us to use.
The PE400s were big cameras, plus they had a weird integrated gear-driven
mechanical zoom lens, but the zoom was much smoother than a lot of competing
cameras at the time (until the advent of electric zoom shot-boxes).

Just as I was departing in 1977, the station was switching over to Norelco
PC-70s (and the later PC-100's), which were infinitely easier to set up and
maintain.  They also made far better pictures with less light.

I still have memories of dragging camera cable all over Tampa stadium,
various golf courses, and also Jacksonville stadium (where we often did the
ABC remotes for the Orange Bowl games).  Tough job.

--Marc Wielage/Senior Colorist
Technicolor Creative Services
Hollywood, USA