ed wilde interview

by Monty Hayes McMillan

Ed has been involved in the motion picture industry for longer than he would like to remember. He is interviewed by Monty Hayes McMillan, High Tech Media Director of Photography.

Monty: Hey, Ed, thanks for joining us. I've known you for decades and have heard a lot of your great stories, but I'd like our readers to know about your varied career in the industry.

Ed: Yes, Monty, you're right about that, it has been varied. I've photo assisted, worked as a catalogue and a multimedia photographer, had a set construction company, built lighting rigs for car shooters, worked in an effects house, had my own machine shop where I built rigging for motion control cameramen, worked at and then managed Ray M. Johnson Studio until they became a casualty of "runaway production". RJS made hero packaging, graphics and props for TV and motion pictures.

Monty: You began in still photography, right? How did that happen?

Ed: I got a BA at Brooks Institute on the G.I. bill with the intention of either becoming a photojournalist or an advertising photographer. I got a little side- tracked.

Monty: When we first met you were working with some really famous still photographers in LA, back during the 70s and early 80s. What was the most interesting shoot you worked on, what did you do on it, and how did that influence the rest of your career?

Ed: I worked with Jerry Trafficanda, Marv Lyons, Reid Miles, Gill Smith, Jim Wood, and John Bilecky to name a few.

But the most influential job I was on was the first. Harry Lyles was a guest instructor up at Brooks and very graciously gave his advanced class a open invitation to stop in at his studio in LA at any time. When I was there he was shooting a Tide commercial. I was shocked to find that they shot it reversed. He first shot the scene were mom pulls the "T" shirt out of the dryer. "My goodness, look at how Tide got Johnny's shirt so sparkling white!" Then they smeared mustard and ketchup all over it and shot the mom saying, "Oh my! Look at how dirty Johnny got his shirt. Tide will have it's work cut out for it this time."

I thought , they make money doing this? My soul was sold and my fate sealed. Plus Life Magazine folded about the time I started at Brooks.

Monty: Tell us about working with Polaroids. Do you think that digital cameras can totally fulfill the same purpose?

Ed: Bilecky shot almost exclusively 8X10 and used cases of 8X10 Polaroid®. At $10 a pop it got expensive. If you are shooting film it's a quick way to check composition, exposure and lighting contrast ratios. After using Polaroid for awhile you know the difference between the 'roid and what your film will hold. If you shoot film, and there are reasons to do so, Polaroid is handy, digital isn't much help.

Fortunately Fuji makes a Polaroid type product in 4X5 and 2-1/4 along with 4x5 and Hasselblad backs for the film. Also, I have been told that someone has bought the rights to make Polaroid film, so don't through out your Polaroid® backs....yet. For those of you who have gone digital - LEARN PHOTOSHOP! And I don't mean just well enough to tinker around in it. If you really learn to use Photoshop's full potential you will have an amazing amount of control over your images. Things can be done in Photoshop that we didn't even dream about at Brooks. Things that we could do, like separating out the color layers in a dye transfer and individually manipulating the color curves, could take hours in the darkroom. The best book out on Photoshop that I have found is by Focal Press: "Adobe Photoshop for Photographers" by Martin Evening. While on the digital subject, quite often people shoot 4X5 or 2-1/4 transparencies and scan them multiple times to capture detail. For instance, once for the hi-light detail, once for mid- tones, and once to capture shadow detail; then layer the scans in register in Photoshop and use transparency masking to work them together as one image.

If you are having problems getting the images to register, it could be because scanners wear out. The tracking mechanism loses its tolerances and the scans come out very slightly elongated. Because the scanner is worn the elongation is variable, the images then don't register. It only takes three or four years of frequent use for this to happen.

Monty: Besides size, what is the biggest difference between large format and 35 mm photography, in either the handling of it or the quality of the image?

Ed: The quality is there if you go digital and stay with the real top end cameras. 35 mm film is convenient but with large format photography you have swings and tilts - the ultimate control in perspective and focus. If I'm taking a 3/4 view of a car on large format, by slight swings of the back film plane I can add or subtract perspective. By slight swings on the lens I can change the plane of focus. If you need that you need large format.

PC lenses are useful but very limited. It's true you can control perspective digitally, however if shooting large format, and you know what you're doing, it only takes a few seconds to adjust perspective with a swing or tilt. That's why Architectural photographers and some car shooters still use 4X5. Plus you cannot change your plane of focus digitally.

Monty: How and why did you get into set design and construction?

Ed: At the time I was assisting John Bilecky who shot mostly cars and did both stills and TV commercials. I took one look at a set and saw how they were slapped together (I come from a tradition of cabinet makers and shipwrights going back to the 1600's) and told Bilecky, "I can do this", so I did. It paid better. Later I started building lighting rigs for him. I did a 8' x 24' aluminum truss box light that came apart in four pieces for taking out on locations. That was a big light for the time. It was before Fisher Light existed. He also liked to fly stretched muslin flats and bounce 10K Big Eyes into them. The biggest stretched muslin flat I ever made was 16' by 60'. It was a monster to hang.

Monty: You worked with Pamela to restore some of the Culver City Courthouse with Styrofoam balustrades when they were filming it before the whole thing was torn down to be reconstructed. How much of a set on a Hollywood film is just Styrofoam or smoke-and-mirrors? How much of that can't be done any more because of the high-capture quality of HD?

Ed: Isn't that what all of Hollywood is? Styrofoam, smoke-and-mirrors? If it's done well you can get away with it in HD. Look at all the bad TV make-up. When HD came in they just had to do it better.

Monty: Ray Johnson Studios was one of the premiere houses for graphics, signs, specialty props, breakthroughs, etc. I remember you guys used to build those giant credit cards that we'd drive a car through out on the dry lake beds. I also remember some wild stories about specialty props. What was your most unusual job with them?

Ed: That's all true, Monty. I've put everything through a breakthrough from a gold pocket watch to the Budweiser Clydesdales pulling their beer wagon. I was asked to make a lot of wacky stuff, like license plates for sheep. It was an ad for an investment house and they ran a flock of sheep down Wall Street past the Flat iron building. At the last minute the agency director thought it would be neat if all the sheep had little license plates. The question was how to attach them. We cut strips of fake sheep fur with Velcro at the ends and glued it on to the back of the plates so they could strap them on the sheep's necks. It was a 'work until 2AM for a 5 AM pick-up on the way to the airport' type of job.

For a Budweiser commercial we built a bunch of oversized beer bottles rigged so kids could fit into them and walk around looking like the bottles had sprouted legs. A set construction company built an oversized bowling lane. The gag was that an oversized bowling ball would roll down the alley toward the Budweiser bottles that were just sitting there and at the last minute they would sprout legs and run out of the way of the bowling bal. A cute idea. As we were unloading the bottles our producer said to the agency producer, "Gee! I didn't know you could use kids in a beer commercial."  There was shock, and frantic calls, and soon a stage full of little people trying to fit into bottles designed for children.

Doritos once had a campaign with the slogan, " A Blast of Flavor". The illustration on the chip bag was of the Doritos blasting open the bag. They wanted the chips to really blast open a bag. Once the rig was built and hero bags were made with special hidden weak points built into them so they would predictably blast open, we tested the rig. The rig was turned face up, the camera would be pointed down so the chips would fly out symmetrically. On the first outside test run (without a camera) the Doritos were blasted up onto the roof of our two story stage. " Well.... I guess we can dial the pressure back on the air mortar." Even after the pressure was dialed down the chips tended to shatter, so I had to strengthen them by dipping chips in a solution of diluted white glue, then drying them on chicken wire. The special strengthened chips did the trick.

Then there were Skittles. We did many thousands of them . Sometimes 2,000 or 3,000 at a time. They were machined out of acrylic rod. The machine marks tumbled off and then each one was individually airbrushed. Each skittle had a white vinyl "S" applied to each side by hand. We tried to pad print in bulk but the "S " smeared and looked like the real candy.

Monty: What was the most challenging project you worked on and why?

Ed: It's hard to come up with just one. Most of the challenges were physical in some way. I did more than one slate driveway for car spots where no driveway existed. That always involved steel riser platforms, a skip loader, tons of sand and slate and a crew to move it all. The car would be spotted on the risers, raised with a couple of pancakes under each wheel, then tons of sand would be brought in. Then the slate brought up. I would individually set each piece of slate on sand. The set would be finished by having guys brush white play sand in all the spaces to look like grout. Now it's done digitally.

Then there are all those jobs where there isn't enough time. Often being up until 2AM or 3AM or all night, using every trick in the book and some not in the book to dial in PMS colors on a box or label. Things like backing up a print in an ink jet printer and double printing the yellow to get the saturating needed. Pulling dry transfers to rub down a spot color the printer couldn't get, lacquering the print and then direct imaging a color, masking and airbrushing a color.

Monty: What was the most fun project you worked on and why?

Ed: The "Bud Babes". Budweiser had a beach blanket that looked like a Budweiser label graphic. The gag was that they would roll out the blanket on a wooden deck and out would roll three "Bud Babes" on the blanket. All three in white one-piece bathing suits with the Budweiser label graphic across the suit, perfectly matching and blending in with the label graphic on the blanket. Once the models were fitted for the suits, we set up a projector on our stage pointing down from the ceiling and projected the Bud label onto the floor in the exact size.

Then, the models came in with their white suits, a day for each one. The art director posed them on the floor with the image projected across their white bathing suits. We then spent the day masking and airbrushing the graphic on to every inch of the suit, exactly as it was projected over all the curves and undulations. Believe me, those "Bud Babes" had a lot of curves and undulations.

Monty: What advice can you give to someone tasked with taking a client's idea and turning it into a reality?

Ed: Learn not to flinch, look shocked, or fall out of your chair regardless of what your client says or asks for. This takes some time and practice but after awhile you will be able to do it. A good example. When I first started at Ray Johnson's, Krista Johnson, the owner, was in a meeting with the advertising agency art director over a Certs breath mint. We were making one oversized Certs mint. (Often on something that small, it's easier for everyone if it is oversized. It's easier to light, shoot, and make stunningly perfect.) The Certs had been sculpted and cast. It was 6 inches across with a raised "C" and looked perfect. It hadn't been air-bushed and the discussion was over the little blue flecks. The art director said, "I don't want the flecks to look like they do on the actual Certs. What I want them to look like is if you were to look at the flecks and then turn away and imagine what they look like. That's what I want them to look like." I was stunned and fortunately in the background. Krista, without flinching, immediately said. "We can do that, I know exactly what you want." Later that afternoon, Krista said to the air-brusher, "Gilbert, when you air brush the little blue flecks, duplicate what's on the actual Certs mint, just make the blue a touch more intense. Now don't go too far, just a touch. Let me see a test before you start on the real one."

Also, when you are working up a bid learn to listen to that little voice in your head that says, "This part is going to be a problem." Don't  ignore it and think...."Naw... that won't be an issue". You will pay.

Monty: Where do you see the technology of visual media going?

Ed: The future is always tricky. We all missed the speed with which digital took over. Even Kodak was off by 10 years or more. Digital is the future, that's a "Duh, no brainer". Taking pictures with actual film and printing it onto paper will be relegated to fine art only, much like someone doing gum prints today. People will think, "How quaint". More and more stuff will be totally computer generated, only existing in computers' memories. Look at Avatar. That's where we are headed.

Monty: What technical advice would you give photographers?

Ed: Embrace digital or you will be left in the dust. And out of work.

Also a word on color correcting. Don't stare at an image for too long. Remember the optical illusion where you stare at a black, green, and yellow image of an American flag and quickly look at a sheet of white paper and see a ghost image of a red white and blue flag? That happens as you are trying to correct color. Plus, your brain is constantly trying to do an "auto color correction". It also helps to dial back your monitor slightly from the factory brightness setting to avoid retina burnout, and use neutral grey for your desk top image. I use a black and white image on mine. Don't have any bright colors around you, and white walls help. 

Monty: What creative advice can you offer to photographers?

Ed: Learn to control your images. It's all about control. If you can control what you are doing, you can create the image that's in your head. I first heard that from Irving Penn, "Control! Control!! Control!!!"

Monty: Anything else you'd like to offer our readers as to the production of sets and props or the approach to photography, either film or digital?

Ed: Because I've watched some guys chase shadows around a set for hours and come up with nothing, I'll do a little something on lighting here, Monty. Although the equipment changes over the years the concepts remain the same. It's good to learn the basics like loop, paramount , Rembrandt, and split lighting - what they do and how to set lighting ratios. Good books on lighting will cover that but don't get too hung up on lighting formulas.

Don't start with a lighting formula and apply it to something. Start with a concept and the quality and way that light will fall across the subject. Then figure out a way to produce that quality of light. If you need a soft light and you have achieved it but the light is uneven across the set, the instinct is to pull the light back to even it out. Pulling it back makes the soft light hard. A 4x4 soft light is almost a point source if it's across on the opposite side of the stage. Keep the light close and soft and use scrims and nets to even it out.

Don't make things complicated. Decide on the quality of light you need and use one light to achieve that. If you need soft glowing light, it's amazing what can be done with one spot light and a stretched silk. Put the silk on one side of the set and shine the spot through it to the opposite corner of the set. The light will have a soft glow to it, and putting the hot spot on the far side evens things out.

Once your one light is set, if the contrast between light and shadow is too strong, then set a fill light. If a kicker is needed to separate something from the background, then set a kicker. But don't start with a bunch of lights. Start with an idea, a vision, then work from there.

Monty: Wow, thanks, Ed. That's a lot of great information as well as some fun stories.