International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

Ten The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER October, 1934 ■ THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONTINUITY AND CUTTING Part I (Paul E. Bowles is a former student of the Department of Cinematography at the University of Southern California, and is now actively engaged in the industry in which he is so intensely interested. — Editor's Note.) 16 mm i. ii. OR the amateur it is doubly necessary to stress the relationship between cutting and continuity. Cutting too often inspires needless fear in the amateur. If you will learn to regard cutting same thought with continuity, and see the two in this relationship you will iron out much of your trouble : Continuity in the correct scenario is the cutting plan on paper — a preconceived cinematic arrangement of shots. Cutting, actual cutting, is really only a mechanical process through which you blend the film strips one into another so that the conjunction does not greatly disturb the eye, nor above all, disrupt the attention of the spectator. You will find that if you thoughtfully plan a story's continuity, using the artistic resources of the cinema in presenting an idea, that there is basically only one expressive cutting plan that will do justice to your idea. There is only one build-up of shots that will clearly and powerfully put over your characters and story, that will really interpret your conception of the drama. Consequently if you thoughtfully lay the ideas in a scene one upon another, continuity will become merely the inevitable outcome of a well ordered train of thought. After you have systematically laid out your story with regard for the value of its parts and their positions relative to one another, you must have had some vision of the actors' moves and the various camera set-ups. However, in proceeding with the shot by shot continuity, you must remember that the camera and actors are only the resources of the motion picture ; like the oils on a pallette they await the artist with an idea to express. From the continuity standpoint, to most clearly express yourself with the resources of the cinema, you must understand and account for their inherent value in relation to cinematic construction. Camera as a Resource of the Cine-Continuity In art and in drama we must select from passive existence moments of great intensity which epitomize the trend of the times, or contain the essence of some great drama. Just as the man using oils must express himself within the limits of the frame, and must select from life a portion which will make up a meaningful "idea unit," so must the cine-artist select "idea units" for he also has the frame as a limitation. The space within the frame is the most important element that the camera, as a resource to the continuity man, has to offer ; for it concentrates the spectator's attention on the "idea unit" — the most expressive portion of a scene at a particular time. In the cinema the spectator accepts a new world, a new space boundary, the limitation of the frame. This new world is the world of filmic space, a world in which essentials alone are seen, in which all movement and all objects have special meaning — a world in which the spectator is conscious of the movement of thought and the inevitability of circumstances, because he has concentrated before him both the action and the result of action, the experience and the development. It stands to reason that the space within the frame should never be filled with objects or action which detract from the dramatic "idea unit" within it. The spectator can only be affected by what he sees on the screen, and that must be clear and precise. It is only through the medium of the projected frame that you can gain his attention and interest, and later his belief in the situations of the story. Other attributes of the camera as a resource of the continuity man are : I. Its ability to change focus. For instance, to pull into focus a character hitherto in the background, bringing him to the special attention of the spectator. II. Its ability to pan and tilt when on a freehead. Important in this connection too are the possibilities offered the camera mounted on the crane or dolly; these offering the chance to stay on the point of intensity when it is expressive of your conception of a scene to use extended movements. Movement of the Material in Relation to Filmic Time as Resource of the Cine-Continuity Added to the limitation of the frame, we also have in the cinema the limitation on time in telling a story — generally about sixty minutes. This limitation is actually a resource of the cinema, and the pillar of continuity construction. The necessity for condensation of time makes it possible to set the "idea units" next to one another. Because of compression and intensification of time, situations occurring days apart or miles apart must be shown next to one another. It is because what we see we believe that we accept these peculiar demands of the cine-continuity. The spectator is not perturbed if a continuity of shots discloses a blossoming tree superimposed by a naked autumnal tree and again by a snow-packed tree, and then proceeds with winter scenes only a moment after the characters have been romping in some blossomed dell. Minute changes from day to night, the spanning of a continent or an ocean to see another answer a long distance call do not challenge our distrust. If the movement is continuous and progressive within the frame, and blended from one shot to another, we accept the compression of time. We have grown accustomed to regarding only the space within the frame limits, and are more intent on the area and movement there Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.