Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1953)

130 FILM THE FAMILY AT FUN Harold M. Lambert from Frederic Lewis OUTDOOR SPORTS, says the author, are among your best bets for providing colorful action-at-ease in your family filming plans. FOR a really good picture of those near and dear to you, put your movie camera to work when and where they're having fun. You will find that their absorption in whatever they're doing will help to do away with any tendency to appear self-conscious. Their natural actions and reactions will provide you with a variety of interesting facial expressions. And their explicit approach to their chosen activities will leave you with little or no need for narrative. Your film, as any good picture should, will call for a bit of planning in advance. Consider the season, the lighting, the best background — but above all, consider your family's recreational tastes. If your kid sister is the hopeless-tomboy type, she will look (and feel and act) out of place among dolls and teacups. If your father would rather golf or ride a good horse than eat, then don't settle for a shot of him reading the latest mystery book! Choose natural settings and typical activities. Then sit back and listen to such remarks as: "That shot of Dad is as real as life" "Oh, that's exactly like Aunt Ruth!" "You even got that funny way Benny serves the ball!" "How do you ever get such natural shots!" In planning your films, list all the special hobbies of your family members, and then add others in which they might reasonably participate. For, while it would be foolish to suggest the use of any really unfamiliar activity (which would be impractical from a standpoint of results), it may be helpful to mention a variety of pastimes which your family may have neglected or forgotten. Outdoor sports are among the best bets, for they provide lots of action and color, and present few problems of exposure. In summer especially there are endless numbers of photogenic hobbies and sports. Sailing is one that offers natural beauty and matchless grace. And there's swimming and numerous other water sports.' Film Good fun means good films, urges this movie making mother of five DOROTHY M. PEPER your visiting uncle casting a fly or drawing a bead on a rabbit or hawk. Camping out will provide you with a whole story in itself. Pitching the tent and digging a rain trench; gathering wood and building the fire; the smoke vs. the cook; bacon sizzling, coffee steaming. And then singing around the campfire to make a perfect climax! Biking and hiking are equally popular. Last week, in the home of a friend just back from Europe, we saw the pictures he made of his climbs among the Alps. There was a visual introduction to his buddies in rough hiking clothes and boots, packs strapped to their backs, golden loaves of French bread sticking out the top! When the ropes appeared between them, tied to each hiker's waist, we knew the trail was growing increasingly dangerous and difficult. The passage of time and the hikers' progress were told in a backward shot, down across the snow where a single trail had been etched by the men's boots. Flying ice, as the foremost hiker hacked out footholds in solid ice, told us every step at that altitude was taken at laborious cost. And when at last the colorful hotel was sighted atop a mountain peak, the hikers' faces showed a pride and triumph that left us fully satisfied. Wild life is a natural — and what family doesn't have at least one member who is intrigued by some phase of field or stream? We used half a roll on a couple of squirrels once. For they couldn't resist our picnic lunch of seedless grapes, and we couldn't resist their enormous appetites! Fully as appealing is the common chipmunk, in some localities so tame he will climb over children and into their laps. (A word of warning when shooting scenes in the woods: keep a constant check of your light conditions; they can vary within. a distance of a few feet.) If your family's tastes run to flora rather than fauna, don't hesitate. Eben G. Fine, naturalist and photographer of national reputation, once filmed the full story of the Colorado columbine's life. Climbing through the snow to their lofty haunts, and beginning with the first tender shoots, he took pictures at regular intervals throughout the season, ending with the full bloom in its uniquely delicate tint. So impressed was an artist friend with the result that she painted a life-sized picture and had it mounted as a gift! What if you don't live in the mountains or near any woods? If in California, film the poppies or poinsettias. If Arizona, film the habits of snakes. In the South, make it alligators. Or skip the nature angle altogether, if your family's interests lie in another place. Suppose your father dotes on puttering in his basement workshop — why not focus your camera on his work bench and watch his newest project take shape? If your kid brother's hobby is magic, then "catch him in The Act." Or perhaps it's a passion for tinkering on jalopies — then fade in on his feet protruding from beneath the running board, and end the sequence with the motor in action as a background for his greasy but triumphant face! Maybe Gram's hobby is rais [Continued on page 135]