This is part of an interview Series for the National Film and Sound Archive Aural History Programme.
My name is John Fife (JF) and I have with me Morrie Pilens (MP).
JF: In that old newsroom, you were saying before that the cameramen were the people who went out and really drove the story in the early days. I guess that changed when the journos, when sound came in.
MP: When the sound came in the whole thing changed completely. All of a sudden there was the one that was going to talk, to stand up, comes out with the cameraman and starts telling him what shots to take and what have you.
JF: Also I’m thinking that the style of the story would change because all of a sudden you’re able to door stop talent as well.
MP: Oh yes yes. It’s all of a sudden changed. Where we were able to walk in on people, or have the interview on the run…
Bass Strait Oil fire, one of the platforms was burning. There was a guy called Red Adair who was an international oil fireman. Internationally known, so they called him out to help stamp out this bloody oil fire. So we’re all up at Langford waiting for him to arrive, in a room all set up for a press conference. I’ve got the Pro 600 there, we’re waiting for him to come and do an interview…
I had Cyril Jones with me and I said ‘Listen, come with me I’ll just go outside, across to the helipad because I want some silent footage of him arriving.’
And he said ‘Oh no, we’ll miss it in here. We’d never get back here in time.’
It’s only about 200 metres and I said ‘No, come on.’ So finally he comes with me, and a week before I had bought a cassette tape recorder and I’d been playing with it.
As we arrived there I said to Cyril ‘Do you want to try this? When he comes out of the helicopter, which is where the shed is there – the car is in here waiting for him. When he comes out of the helicopter, press those two buttons.’
‘Yeah, okay.’
‘And hold the microphone in front of him.’
Helicopter arrives, Red Adair comes out, Cyril switches it on, walks back with him to the car, talking with him for a minute, minute and a half – full length of the walk. He hops in the car, shuts the door, SHOOM! Shuts the door SHOOM! and off they go.
Didn’t go to the press conference! Just pissed off to Melbourne!
Laughter
So, not only have we got the only pictures of him arriving, we’ve also got a sound interview! So we sent *this back from Sale with a note of explanation, to Stan Harder? And I can just about hear the bloody growling, but he had two sync points. The back doors shutting. So he synced the tape back from those doors shutting with the pictures, back to the helicopter arriving. And we had a bloody sound interview!
Sound and film. A minute air, from the helicopter walking to the car. Do you think the shit hit the fan? Channel 9 guy got the sack!
JF: Yeah?
MP: Channel 9 reporter got the sack for that. I can’t even think of his name. Sorrell (John) (for 9) was bloody ropable. ‘Who was that bloody cameraman?… Bill?… Sack him!’