Tomatoe

Directed by John Nash Ott

Ott shot his time-lapse plant footage in his Winnetka greenhouse. He installed automatic temperature, humidity, and irrigation systems to help with growing different species of plants, and outfitted his greenhouse with automatic photofloods, iron window shutters, and an army of Bell & Howell “Filmo Model 70” 16mm cameras mounted on dolleys. The nerve center of all of this was an elaborate setup of switch panels and controls connected to a timer. Ott’s automatic greenhouse was called “ingenious” by American Cinematographer in 1947.