The Akeley Specialists - Text 4
Akeley users’ specialization made possible their social integration into Hollywood. It was said that the camera, the Akeley specialist and his assistant formed a trio, a socio-technical ensemble.[7] On the one hand, the camera ensured a standardized recording of extraordinary action, like a horse race or a battle in the air, which often could not be reproduced because of their peculiar production circumstances. A few years after the arrival of the Akeley in Hollywood, a specialist such as Ira Hoke was in such demand to film this kind of sequence that he was forced to turn down some projects.[8] On the other hand, the over-specialization of those operators who had mastered a single piece of equipment limited their adaptation to the constant evolution of technology. In the early 1930s Hoke, even though he often promoted the Akeley within the ASC and the Junior Cameramen’s Club in the 1920s,[9] emphasized that this kind of device was not perfectly suited to shooting sound films.[10] Because these would soon dominate the market, the Akeley and its specialists would become less and less in demand. Ironically Ira Hoke, a specialist in shooting objects in motion, was left behind by this evolution. He then turned to working as a still photographer on film shoots.
