Directors have a long history of improvising to get the shot. Robert Rodriguez used a wheelchair as a dolly during the filming of El Mariachi. Here, director W.S. "Woody" Van Dyke, II (looking into the viewfinder of the lead camera), in association with cinematographer Clyde De Vinna, utilized some trees to serve as a make-shift camera crane while on location in Africa for the film Trader Horn. This 1929 film also marked the first time Hollywood shot a film with its principal actors in Africa.
Photo courtesy of Rudy Behlmer.
