Racking focus
Racking focus is the practice of shifting the attention of a viewer of a film or video by changing the
focus of the
lens from a subject in the foreground to a subject in the background, or vice versa. It dated back to the time when cameras did not have
reflex lenses so the operator would have to "rack focus" the camera by looking through the
viewfinder, then sliding the camera over so that the shot would be in focus.
[1] American director
Richard Rush claims that he and cinematographer
Laszlo Kovacs invented the technique, first used in the 1968 motorcycle film
The Savage Seven. (Rush even owns the patent on a special lens used in the technique.)
The Savage Seven(1968)
Director: Richard Rush Cast: Adam Roarke, Robert Walker Jr., Billy Green Bush
The biker genre dates back to Stanley Kramer’s production of The Wild One in 1953. Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin would influence thousands of teenagers (including Bob Dylan and gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson) with their disregard for authority, their style of dress, and their basic overall devil-may-care attitude – riding around and caring only for the moment.
The next big success in the genre, despite minor cult classics such as Russ Meyer’s Motor Psycho in 1965, was Roger Corman's (or should I say, Peter Bogdanovich's?) The Wild Angels in 1966, starring the son of Tom Joad in leather, Peter Fonda. Fonda exudes a certain sadness in his performance as the lead of a motorcycle gang. It could have something to do with the fact that Fonda’s gloomy personal life was too much for him at the time. Three years later, his melancholy would turn into a longing for the real America and it would create a major film – Easy Rider.
But a year earlier, there is a forgotten motorcycle movie that used great rock music as Easy Rider did, pioneered the use of a major camera technique, and featured a lead performance full of conniving wit and double-crosses. That movie is The Savage Seven.
American Bandstand's Dick Clark produced the film which is about a white men-corrupted Indian Reservation where a motorcycle gang up to no good shows up to stir up trouble for everybody. The film opens up with a dashing pan over vast desert territory. Suddenly, an Indian appears out of nowhere. He starts screeching a battle cry. Another Native American jumps on top of the other, they fight to the ground. What is going on? Is this a Western?
“Quit fooling around,” yells Robert Walker Jr. as the two men get up and hop back into the back of a pick-up truck. It’s just a group of hardworking modern Native Americans going home for the day. What director Richard Rush does in this opening is wonderful. He downplays and modernizes the way Indians were previously portrayed in past cinematic outings. Sure, most of the Natives in the film were white or black pretending, but many of the lesser roles and extras were filled up with real Indians.
Robert Walker Jr. is good-hearted Johnny Blue Eyes. His comrades are played by John ‘Bud’ Cardos, Larry Bishop and the Mack himself, Max Julien. Johnny has a younger brother and sister (Joanna Frank, who is actually Steven Bochco’s sister). This makes up the essential group of Native Americans that are one element to the movie. Billy Green Bush (Jack Nicholson’s hick friend in Five Easy Pieces), Richard Rush regular Chuck Bail, and big Mel Berger as Fillmore make up the white men who corrupt and misuse the Indians.
Adam Roarke as Kisum, the leader of the gang, is the only worthy member to mention. The rest of the gang are clichés piled up on clichés. It’s the combination of Roarke, the beautiful cinematography of Laszlo Kovacs, and the rock music that make this one to watch. But more on all of that a bit later. The movie is an epic of three different levels of society vying for their own sense of freedom. The white men want the Indians gone or just less visible to them, the Indians want to be left alone and to be treated more fairly, and the gang want the freedom to do whatever the hell they want to do. There is plenty of manipulation by everyone in the movie, as they all try to trick one another with varying degrees of success.
Adam Roarke’s performance is nuanced with the right amount of stylized coolness, stoic wit, and conniving tendency. He’s as cool as Peter Fonda here (in fact, he plays second fiddle to Fonda in Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry in 1974). You never really know if Kisum genuinely likes the Indians or is just pretending to be nice to get Joanna Frank in the sack. He uses the town for his own personal garbage can, conning everyone – even some of his own gang.
Roarke played a similar leader in Rush’s inferior Hell's Angels On Wheels where he out-acted Jack Nicholson. He did two other motorcycle pictures (Hell's Belles and The Losers) before retiring to mediocre roles in the 1970s. He shined in a brief role in Rush’s excellent The Stunt Man, but sadly went largely unnoticed until the day he died (April 27, 1996). He’s got some of the qualities that Ryan O’Neal had to get famous, but he mixes that with Marlon Brando sensibilities that make him very compelling to watch.The other acting is mediocre, except for the always underused Billy Green Bush. I’ve never liked Robert Walker Jr. much and Larry Bishop acts like his rat pack dad – which is a living tree stump. Joanna Frank, as Johnny Blue Eyes’ quiet and cute waitress sister, does ok but never really has much to do except act silently to Roarke’s machismo advances. Mel Berger is a worthy, fat greedy bastard so affluent in these kind of exploitation movies. Richard Rush regulars Max Julien and Chuck Bail deliver their sparse dialogue cleverly. Twangy guitarist Duane Eddy even pops up in a short role, and there’s an appearance by Penny Marshall as she gets puked-on by one of the motorcycle gang. But it’s Adam Roarke who steals the show.
Richard Rush was 38 at the time of directing the movie, but was no stranger to motorcycle movies, having directed Hell's Angels On Wheels. His greatest triumph was The Stunt Man in 1980. After that, he became disillusioned with Hollywood and dropped off the map only to return to directing the Bruce Willis erotic thriller Color Of Night in the mid 1990s. Rush, with cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs, invented the rack focus camera technique (the focusing in on different areas in a single composition) in this film. He even owns the patent on some sort of lens for the trick. Rush directs with more grandeur here than he did with Hell's Angels On Wheels. It’s filmed in beautiful color and the camera captures many fine set pieces that moralize some of the characters. Example: Billy Green Bush’s hand caught in the cookie jar signifying how greedy he is, not letting go of the cookie to get his hand out.
The Savage Seven doesn’t have many action sequences and can’t really be considered an action movie. At the end, there’s a fight sequence in the town between everyone but the movie is fleshed out of characterizations. The production value is cheap but made to look grandiose.
The bikers streaming down the road while “the theme of Iron Butterfly” plays looks as good as Lawrence Of Arabia. They make the best of their Southern Californian locations but the look becomes tiresome if you watch enough of these films.
The movie plays like a con man movie with Roarke as the leading con. The plot twists are sharp and if you’re not paying attention you may miss it. Kisum makes a deal with the white townsfolk to get rid of the Indians. Yet, Kisum manages to raid the local grocery store and feed many of the same people he’s hired to kill. If the movie shares anything with the often compared Seven Samurai other than the similar title, it’s this twisted plot. Instead of the samurai (motorcycle gang) being hired to kill the bad guy, they’re hired to kill the good guys by the bad. It’s a convoluted take on Kurosawa’s classic.
The soundtrack, like Hell's Angels On Wheels, is full up on rock and roll. The main theme is by Cream. “Anyone for Tennis?” is a melodic little number that lingers on for a few scenes as Roarke and company gaze at the town as they try to get their kicks. It’s got more of a twangy rock meets hard rock soundtrack but it’s the Cream track that makes it appealing. The Cream and Iron Butterfly are taken out of the VHS versions due to a rights issue. These VHS versions also cut out 10 minutes of the more somber scenes, which have some of Roarke’s best work.
The movie is in dire need of a re-release and, for one night a couple years ago, it sort of did: showing at Quentin Tarantino’s first Austin, Texas film festival in 1997. Other than showing up on television uncut a few years ago, I’d of never have seen the unquestionable greatness of this film. It’s an unbridled attempt at making something better than what should have been which is a silly exploitation movie to only play at drive-ins during the time it was made and to whither away, totally forgotten about.
Instead, Richard Rush played up to the genre and made a great addition to movies that are usually only reserved for motorcycle enthusiasts. It also contains, for my money, one of the most interesting acting roles in exploitation movie history in the form of Adam Roarke as Kisum.
For fans of Roarke, also check out Howard Hawks’ El Dorado (in a weird twist of fate, Roarke would wind up playing Hawks in Hughes And Harlow: Angels In Hell in 1977). Also see Rush’s Hell's Angels On Wheels and Psych-Out; all three make a great triple bill.
Check for availability on Amazon (VHS)See also:
Lone Hero,
The Peace Killers,
Run, Angel, RunWhich filter should I use on my underwater camcorder and when (what depth)?
Without a filter or lights on your underwater camcorder all your video will look washed out and blue or green in color.
In blue water a UR-Pro red filter is used. This filter works well from about 20 to 60 feet. There is no magic depth. I use mine all the time except very close to the surface or on the surface or when using lights. There is no solution for depth except using lights with no filter or correcting for color and contrast when you are editing your video on your computer. Many editing software have color correction.
Frequently Asked QuestionsAbout Underwater Video and Equipment
Do you have questions? Then read on....
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE...will give you great underwater Video.
Got a question about video? Send questions to Sheryl Brakey at
sjbproductions@sjbproductions.com. We will try to answer them or give another opinion.
Should I buy a housing with a view finder or a LCD screen?
The answer to this depends on how much money you have to spend. If you need some correction for your eyes, the viewfinder does have a magnifier and works pretty well with no other correction in your mask (unless you need a lot of correction). The view is small and you have to have the housing closer to your mask.
The LCD screen is a bigger view, but there is no magnifier and unless you have a shade for it (some housings come with one- like the Light and Motion housings), it is hard to see in sunlight (just like on land). A LCD screen cost a lot more money too.
For more information on this topic....I have a Canon ZR70 mini dv camcorder and can't find a housing for it. Most housings are made for Sony camcorder, what can I do?
You are right, most underwater housings seem to be for Sony Camcorders. The choice of housings for other brands of camcorders depends on how much money you want to spend on either manual or electronic housings.
Ikelite is a good place to start. They can custom build a housing for most camcorders. It is one of the least expensive housing and has manual controls. For an explanation of the difference in housings and controls
click here.
Other manufacturers may be able to custom fit your camcorder too. You need to decide first which features are important to you.
How much wattage do I need in my underwater lights?
If you are using your lights for night, macro, close-ups and dark recesses, then you don't need a lot of wattage. The halogen lights available for many housings are from 20 to 100 watts. I use two 20 watt halogen lights for night, macro and close-ups. This works fine and there are number of options. See my article on
Underwater lights for more information.
What are the new high density lights?
The new high density lights give off a lot of light with little wattage or power. But they are expensive. A good inexpensive solution is the Underwater Kinetics Canon 100 light. There is more information on this in my article on
Underwater lights.
I have a Panasonic GS400 Camcorder and am looking at three housings: Equinox Pro-Pak 6, Sealux DS40 and Ocean Images GS400. How important is electronic controls versus manual and how important is white balance control on the housing?
First of all, on my website, I talk about
manual vs. electronic controls. It comes down to budget and convenience of use. I started with manual controls housing before switching to an electronic controlled housing. With electronic controls, more things can go wrong, such as leaking around controls. You have to carry extra batteries for the control handles on your dive trips.
As to White Balance. Your camera has three modes, indoor-outdoor-manual. I talk about when
white balance matters in using colored filters. In blue water with a UR Pro filter (which is a must to have--you will film with this on almost always) the automatic white balance works fine. In green water (which sometimes you encounter) you have two options. Change the white balance to indoor which should give a blue cast and use your UR Pro Filter which then gives a magenta cast. This corrects for green water. Or you can do everything the same as blue water and correct in editing in color correction by adding blue. I do both. So white balance control is not as important because there are ways around it.
What you need to consider on the three housings is whether you can turn off the automatic focus and lock the focus. This feature usually comes with the manual focus controls. The reason you want this is when in murky water or low light water, especially when trying to capture video of larger animals which aren't close, your automatic focus may go in and out of focus. I usually point at something close to me that is in focus--like my fin if I I am away from the reef and lock the focus. Then I point at the animal and continue to shoot.
This article gives you a general idea of what you need to edit video and where to start. There are a number of manufacturers with editing equipment and software available. If you have more questions on where to start with editing your own video or have a problem with editing that I may be able to answer, send your emails to
sjbproductions@sjbproducitons.com.
I wear glasses, what works underwater?
The best solution for glasses underwater is a
Sea Vision Mask corrected to your eye prescription. You can get just for distance or with bifocals. Sea Vision is noted for their color corrected mask but they do an excellent job with clear glass too. They take into consideration water magnification. But there are other problems with filters like the color of the water. The UR-Pro red filter is designed for blue water.