Steven Spielberg was filming his latest movie deep in the heart
of the Amazon rain forest. The costs involved in transporting the
multitude of movie making equipment to the site were immense. On
top of that, he had a cast of thousands to feed and clothe. It was
his most expensive production yet and he sank his entire personal
fortune into the project.
The biggest expense was building an exact replica of an Ancient
city in the middle of the jungle. No expense was spared to make the
city authentic.
The climax of the movie was to be the complete destruction of
the city in a dramatic fire. Since Spielberg planned to actually
burn the city to the ground, there was only one chance to film it.
He set up four cameras:
"Camera one, I want you up in the helicopter to get an overhead
shot of the whole scene."
"Yes, boss."
"Camera two, I want you at the edge of the clearing for a medium
range shot."
"Yes, boss."
"Camera three, we've built a special fireproof hut in the center
of the city. You can poke the camera through a hole in the side and
get a close up view from the heart of the fire."
"OK, boss."
"Camera four, I need you at the top of that hill over there to
get a long range shot."
"Gotcha, boss."
Once the cameras and actors were all in place, Spielberg himself
lit the match to start the fire. It was an amazing sight. The fire
raged and roared for over an hour as the entire multi-million
dollar set was completely destroyed and reduced to a smoking pile
of ash.
Spielberg radioed the helicopter, "Camera one, how did it
go?"
"Sorry, boss, but the smoke was so thick I couldn't see a thing.
Then the smoke got into the engine of the chopper and we were
forced to land. I wasn't able to get anything."
"Darn it! Well, I guess I can just use the footage from the
other three cameras," Spielberg thought to himself.
"Camera two, how did it go?"
"Sorry, boss, but the downdraft from the chopper blades fanned
the flames and started the bush all around us on fire. We had to
run to safety and the camera was burned to a crisp."
"Arghh! I guess I'll have to make do with two cameras."
"Camera three, please tell me you got the shot."
"Sorry, boss. The fireproof hut worked fine, but the lens of the
camera couldn't take the heat and it melted. I didn't manage to get
anything."
"I can't believe this!" cried Spielberg. "Thank God I sent that
last camera up on the hill. The smoke didn't blow that way, nor was
their any brush fire or heat to worry about."
He walks towards the hill, cups his hands to his mouth and
hollers ...
"CAMERA FOUR!!!"
A moment later, the cameraman yells back ...
"READY WHEN YOU ARE, BOSS!"