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A Rare Two Headed Monster…MGM’s Over/Under Studio Crane
With motion picture studios all cranking at full tilt in the late 1930s, innovation at every level was part of the game. With so many Berkley and Ziegfeld type production numbers in vogue, this is actually a pretty clever approach to getting twin perspectives on a single tracking shot. Thought you may enjoy seeing this curiosity. -Bobby Ellerbee
Was there an option for an AC on either level or was it only used for deep focus shots? I don’t see 2nd seats.
Wow, I had seen this bizarre crane before in films like THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, but never knew it had a name!
Oh, my! The camera operator and assistant
on the second floor had to have some guts!
I know exactly where this shot was taken.
Stage 4 & 5 on the right are now office spaces.
I spent many hours at the building on left loading film and taking care of equipment in the Lorimar camera dept.
Not a Technicolor camera, James — just a Mitchell in an MGM studio blimp. Back before the Mitchell BNC took over, most studios built their own blimps (except for Fox who built their own cameras).
Looks like a later-model Technicolor camera.
NFL coverage uses two-headed sideline carts nowadays.
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