Who invented video assist

Each camera used its own lens, which means they couldn't record exactly the same view a condition known as parallax. Parallax can be a problem, especially for a tightly framed shot. Sometimes it isn't a problem. Lewis, for example, used video assist to help set up the timing of his scenes, so precise framing wasn't essential.

From what I've been able to learn, Lewis' original video-assist system used separate video and film cameras, possibly mechanically attached for convenience, and so may have been unpatentable in light of the the patent. The next major step was to combine the two optical systems to eliminate the parallax error. This combination was described in U. Patent 2,, by Paul Roos, issued with a filing date, which describes the combination of a movie camera with a TV camera recording the image through the same lens using a beamsplitter.

It appears that the Roos adapted an existing camera design that used the beamsplitter to provide an optical viewfinder; Roos realized he could put a video camera in the viewfinder path.

A patent filed in by Arthur E. Reeves and Robert Gordon Nichols U. For one lens, the film might see a wider view than the video camera; for another, the image on the film might be larger and thus have a narrower view. Solving this problem would require making significant adjustments to the camera when changing lenses.

Also, since the video camera is so far from the lens, with so many optical elements in between, it would not receive very much light. The video cameras of those days were not extremely sensitive, so to make them work, more light had to be diverted from the film. There are a couple of patents from and describing the attachment of a 16mm film camera to a studio-style TV camera, but as far as I can tell, there were no further advances in video assist technology for motion-picture use until Jim Songer integrated a video camera into a Panavision film camera and solved these problems.

Songer was hired by Gordon Sawyer of Samuel Goldwyn Studios in to work on video-assist technology, which he called "Instant Replay" at the time. Over the next several years the path of his developments echoed that of previous efforts, solving each problem in turn. Along the way, Songer's project was spun out to create a company called "Video West," and Songer was kind enough to send me copies of articles from American Cinematographer magazine describing the "Video West Instant Replay System.

Ultimately, Songer designed his own video camera using a high-resolution Saticon tube in which the video image was scanned from only a small portion of the tube face.

This made it possible to divert a smaller portion of the light away from the film, so the combined camera system could work with standard studio lighting. Songer's design made the video camera work as an almost invisible element in the film camera, eliminating the need for adjustments when changing lenses and minimizing the light loss so the camera would still work in typical studio conditions.

Songer's design was also more practical for use in the fast-paced motion picture industry than previous systems. It eliminated the need for adjustments when changing lenses, and was built into the loading door for a standard Panavision camera so that it could be moved from one camera to another. Previous systems, including a competing design from the Mitchell Camera Company, were built into the camera chassis, but Hollywood producers found it more convenient to rent standard cameras and install the video-assist module only when needed.

With just two of these video-assist systems, Video West supported the production of a large number of motion pictures starting with Blake Edwards' " The Party. Songer also made his system wireless: the video signal was transmitted by radio to the video-tape recorder and multiple video monitors, including battery-operated portable monitors that could be brought onto the set for review by actors. Referring to the various technical requirements for video assist as part of principal cinematography, the report concludes: "Since Jim Songer's Video Assist system was built inside the first sound reflex camera to be accepted by the motion picture industry for a camera in the 'A' position, it would make it chronologically impossible for anyone else to have achieved video assist any earlier.

Songer didn't apply for patents on this work, which would have belonged to Video West in any event. But later in his career, he earned 17 US patents between and , plus many more international patents. Some were very significant. March 12th, , PM Brian Drysdale. I believe it was Jerry Lewis who was there first. Kubrick had a version as well, I seem to recall a video camera being mounted so that he could view the action in the artificial gravity wheel set on from outside.

March 12th, , PM Richard Alvarez. My google-fu is strong. From Wickepia entry on 'video assist' Comedian and director Jerry Lewis is widely credited with inventing this system,[1] although some similar systems existed before Lewis first used a video camera to simultaneously film scenes with the cinematic cameras during production of The Bellboy in I've generally heard it ascribed to Lewis.

I understood that Dunton actually came up with a method of taking a live feed from the movie camera to a monitor which is what is now considered true video assist? But if I see him there I'll ask him! Ahh, according to Morris, Dunton was working on what he described as a " primitive prototype" of what we now call video assist, but not quite sure whether it wasn't just a video camera lashed to the top of the Mitchell or something more akin to what we know today?

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