Jon Fauer, ASC - Imago

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Clairmont Camera Pure Reach Periscope
Imagine this shot. Camera begins tight on the speedometer of a moving car, pulling back to reveal instrument cluster and then
moves out and sideways through the driver-side window, continuing to a full-profile view of the car driving in the Mojave Desert.
Or you’re doing miniatures, and an underslung camera is too big to navigate the models. How do you do these shots?
The new Pure Reach Periscope is available from Clairmont Camera. This T5 diffraction-limited relay puts top of the line motion
picture lenses at a distance of approximately 3 feet (36 inches) from the camera, without affecting the focal length, field of view,
depth of field or sharpness. Offering right angle or straight-in shots, it is most useful for miniature, car, and table-top cinematography—or
any periscope shot requiring no-compromise, full resolution motion picture film quality images.
The 36-inch Pure Reach Periscope delivers 1:1 transparent image quality, equivalent on film to mounting the prime lens directly on
the camera. Accordingly, the Pure Reach’s shots intercut seamlessly with non-periscope footage. Focus and T-stop are controlled
at the lens, using standard follow focus or FIZ wireless devices. The periscope is T5 and has no iris inside it. If you shoot at a stop
greater than T5, say at T8 on the prime, you’ll need an exposure of T8 and you’ll get the depth of field of T8 on film.
Developed by Star Wars VFX Oscar–winner Robert Blalack, the 36-inch Pure Reach Periscope lens has been used on a number of
important films. He said, “The journey to build it was driven by a theme park dark ride Praxis was producing and I was directing for
Busch Gardens Entertainment called “Akbar’s Adventure Tours.” We knew we were going to built extensive and detailed miniatures
that would require motion control periscope photography to render the scale and POV correctly. I previously had a custom lens
designed to solve an optical printing image problem when I was supervising the optical effects for the first Star Wars, so I knew the
time, cost and some of the pitfalls a diffraction limited periscope might present. I was intrigued by the idea that a periscope could
be “transparent” and relay the prime lens image so the result was as if the lens was mounted directly on the camera. The lens worked
beautifully for that project, and we kept refining it as time went on.
“Both the 36 inch physical reach and the image quality of Pure Reach is quite different from what’s out there. Pure Reach takes
motion picture lenses and transparently relays the image at 1:1. I’m not aware of another periscope that uses state of the art motion
picture prime lenses and has zero effect on their image quality and focal length. This basic fact makes Pure Reach a must for DP’s
who don’t want to apologize for their periscope shots. For those DP’s who have other, more arcane imaging requirements, Pure
Reach is very useful. Most periscopes start with a 24mm lens and relay it as a 23.1 or a 25.2mm or some focal length different than
what’s on the shooting end of the periscope. Focal length distortions like that exaggerate composite problems in situations where
elements are shot that require a matched focal length, say between live action and miniature plates. Barrel distortion, however subtle,
is another defect you don’t want to carry into a match move composite. When Alex Funke used the periscope on Lord of the Rings
and King Kong, he had a photographic tool that enabled his miniature images to match elements coming from live action, so that
CGI was able to emulate the original lens instead of a mutated periscope image.”
Visual Effects DP Alex Funke, ASC, who won two Oscars for his work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, said “I think the Pure Reach
snorkel is well named. The Miniatures Liberation Army, which I have the honor to command, used it very extensively all through
The Lord of the Rings and King Kong. Right angle or straight in, it’s a really beautiful piece of optical engineering, is faultlessly sharp,
and performs the way high-tech film equipment should. You can quote me on that.”
Clairmont Camera is recognized as the world’s largest independent (non-manufacturer) camera rental house and has locations in
Hollywood, Vancouver, Toronto, Albuquerque and Montreal. The Pure Reach is ready for rental; it is not for sale.
Apr-Jul 2009