Geoff Fletcher
There was the Watters Periscope, also referred to as the Shallcross Periscope. It was a big mirror mounted on the bottom of the ped between two of the compression gas cylinders and fitted with two opening wooden doors to protect the glass when not in use, plus a small mirror attachment for the turret lens -both set at 45 degrees. This provided the means for a very low angle shot when required without having to use a creeper. It only worked with fixed lenses on turrets I think, and was a bit sod a sod to work with as you tended to forget it was there and bang the lower assembly into things. It also required some delicate adjustments of camera height etc. to obtain the required effect.
(Or am I completely wrong, and they were in fact two different bits of equipment – somebody will confirm or otherwise I’m sure.)
Have discovered this in my diary ((I>edited):
| Monday 24th January 1966 |
| D: Panorama 1300 – 2105 Cam 3 |
| Tech Mngr: Bill Watters Crew 16 Sen Cam: Ken Major |
| Up and to work. Found I’d forgotten wallet. … . To canteen – no one there I knew. … Eventually found by rest of crew after our meal – they had rigged first!…. Did Cam 3 and spent early afternoon testing new Watters Periscope. Very grotty ped. Did show after eventful so called rehearsal with many breaks and much ragging of Mum who was FM. …. |
Roger Bunce
Both mirrors were front-silvered (I think) to avoid double reflections, but this made them vulnerable to damage, hence the shutters. The small mirror attached to the lens was known as PUMA (Periscope Upper Mirror Attachment – see abbreviations – presumably the lower one was a PLMA) and could be used in isolation, to make the set appear to be slanting. It only fitted on the fixed lenses of B/W days.
The much larger front element of the zoom lenses, which became compulsory with colour, would have needed a much larger mirror, so that’s when they invented the CHAR instead (again see abbreviations).
Oddly, I’ve just been wittering (Sept 2015) about this stuff on a “Doctor Who” commentary.
The name “Watters Periscope” is new to me, so I don’t know if it was the same thing.
Geoff Fletcher
I also remember them as being front silvered.
The Shallcross version was in general use and turned up in the studios quite often. I used the word "new" in the diary entry – I think the Watters version was experimental and had a smaller lower mirror in a metal box with protective doors – I have very vague recollections of some such device.
Just for fun, here’s my reluctant banker from my diary entry – Mike Chislet at Evesham (TO19, 19th June 1964) with Bob Foley having a guitar session late one evening, and for our sound tech ops – that’s John Norman in the background.
(Click on the picture below to see larger version:
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