Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1953)

329 CONTROL UNIT in the author's ingenious title fader design is the pitman shaft (E in the diagram) which, attached to the top end of one lamp shaft arm (D) and the bottom end of the other, swings both lamps in synchrony. THE MATERIALS NEEDED (A) One piece of wood 2" by 4" by 46" long standard. (B) Three pieces of wood 2" by 4" by 16" long. Titler supports. (C) Two pieces of wood 1" by 2" by 34" long. Lamp shaft supports. (D) Two pieces of wood 1 " by 2" by 8!/2" long. Lamp shaft by %" by 32" long. Pitman shaft, by %" by 10" long. Operating thin wall Two pieces of wood 1 " arms. (E) One piece of wood Vi" (F) One piece of wood Vi" handle. (G) Two pieces of metal electric-conduit pipe, Vi (H) Eight metal washers, 11/16" hole in center. (I) Four stove bolts 2" long; nuts and washers. (J) Two carriage bolts Va" by 3" long. (K) Two pieces of pipe thread Va" by V/i" long. (L) Ten wood screws, size 12, 2Vz" long. (M) Eight cotter pins 3/32" by VA" long. (N) Two lamp sockets (porcelain type preferred); two No photoflood reflectors and two No. 2 photoflood lamps. (O) Two pieces of wood W' by 3/a" by 41" long. Braces. HOW TO ADJUST LAMPS To adjust the lamps on the lamp shafts, swing the operating handle (F) toward titler standard (A) to a stop at the extreme end of swing. Slip both lamp shafts (G) until the lamps are both pointing to the center of the title. Tighten the stove bolts slightly in the lamp shaft arms at the lamp shaft. Start to swing the lamps away from the title. Observe carefully whether the shadows cast by the two reflectors break exactly at the center of the title. If they do not, then adjust one lamp shaft slightly until this is accomplished. This is the only adjustment to be made for synchronizing the movement of the lamps, hut it must be made critically. When the proper adjustment has been made, tighten both lamp shaft arms to the lamp shafts with the stove bolts provided. HOW TO USE THE FADER With a little practice you will soon be able to make perfect fades with this device, using your present camera. To make a fade-in, start the camera slightly ahead of the movement of the lamps. Continue running the camera while you advance the lamps toward the title, allowing from 1 to 3 seconds (16 to 48 frames) for the fade, depending on the mood and tempo of your picture. Continue operating the camera for the amount of time needed to film the title. After the necessary footage for the title has been filmed, start to fade the lamps away from the title at the same rate of speed you used during the previous fade-in. When the lights are completely off the title, stop the camera. The fade-out will be complete. LAP DISSOLVE TITLES To make lap dissolves with a roll-film camera you will need ideally the back-winding feature. First make a fadeout at the end of a title as explained above. Then rewind the film from 16 to 48 frames, depending on the number of frames exposed during the fade-out. Be sure and cover the lens aperture during the rewinding of the film. Then start the camera forward and proceed to make a fade-in over the fade-out that has just been reversed in the camera. If you have a magazine camera the fade-in and fade-out will be made the same way as for the roll film unit. However, since it is not possible to reverse the film in a 16mm. magazine camera, it will be almost impossible to make a lap dissolve with that type of camera. To make a lap dissolve with an 8mm. magazine camera, first make a fade-out in the manner explained for the rollfilm camera. To reverse the film it is necessary to remove the magazine and turn it around in the camera. With the lens aperture covered, run the camera the same length of time as used in filming the fade-out. A camera with a frame counter is a definite advantage for this operation. Then remove the magazine from the camera and place it back in the original position in the camera. Now start the camera forward, slightly ahead of the fade-in of the lamps, and proceed to make the fade-in over the fade-out that has just been wound back. A lap dissolve will result. Besides using this device in title filming, the imaginative producer should find uses for it in other forms of closeup shooting. Inserts of newspapers or letters, for example, will be far smoother with a fade-in and out.