apparatus [ap-uh-rat-uhs]
ap·pa·rat·us [ap-uh-rat-uhs] noun
A combination of instruments, machinery, or tools built for a particular purpose. Early cinema: the trade's term for its cameras, projectors, and printers. "The director yelled 'Camera!' and the cameraman began cranking his apparatus."
Hand-cranked motion picture cameras of the silent era, and the stories behind them.
Akeley Pancake
“There is a remarkable camera in Hollywood. It is the most difficult motion picture camera to operate successfully now in professional, but with it have been photographed some of the most thrilling action scenes on the screen today…”
Akeley Tripod and Panoramic Gyro Head
For use with an Akeley Pancake Camera, this unique invention by Carl E. Akeley was advanced for the period. The entire unit was a radical departure from the standard heads of the day. Its gyroscopic movements for both the pan and tilt allowed for very smooth motion following fast action…
Akeley Junior 35mm Camera
The picture worth a thousand words...
When I opened the image I was shocked to see not the Pancake, but a new previously unknown Akeley camera under Martin Johnson’s arm…