Amateur Cine World (October 1935)

(Continued from previous page) The next likely trouble arises from the quantity of film cement applied to the film. It is only necessary to apply enough to wet the scraped portion all over. with cement it will produce a join which will soon break due to the weakening of the base and, if by accident, too much cement is applied, wipe it off at once and start over again. Should too little cement be used, such as there is will hardly affect the film base at all, with the result that the strips will not be truly welded, the one with the other and will soon break apart. Now I come to a difficulty which will have arisen in part before this, but which makes itself apparent only now. It is a peculiarity of the Kodak Splicer that the main registration pins are slightly larger than the film perforations. This is to ensure accurate registration at the splice, but care must be taken to see that the film is pushed right down over the pins and lies on the baseplate, for otherwise, when pressure is applied to the wet joint by means of the scraper plate, the perforations may be considerably strained and in an exceptional case may even be split right open. It should also be observed that the joined film must also be removed very carefully from the pins. The last problem that is likely to arise is that the two strips of film may not be quite equal in width, with the result that there is a tiny step on the edge of the film. Although considerable precaution is taken by the manufacturers, the trouble occasionally arises and when it does so it should be treated as follows :—In splicing see that the two strips square up accurately on the perforation side of the film. This almost entirely controls the ease with which the join will run through the projector and should therefore be observed most carefully. When the join is dry and has been removed from the splicer, then the little step on the other edge of the film can be smoothed off to a slope with the aid If it is swamped 7 PRAG FICAL TINTS of a safety razor blade and a steel straight edge. Very tiny projections of this kind will be found to be insufficient to trouble about and it is only recommended that the above course should be adopted when on running the finger down the edge of the film an appreciable step is felt. It is particularly important to observe this rule should a Bell & Howell Filmo 8 projector be in use, as this machine employs spring side tension for film registration and should there be such a step in the film it may cause it to stick in the gate. Many amateurs are of the opinion that owing to the very small size of the individual frame the work of editing 8mm. films is tedious and fiddling. In actual practice, however, this work is no more trying with this than with other sizes of film, but it is important to adopt a suitable system of working and not to attempt it haphazardly. 8mm. film will be found quite easy to handle and the small size of the frames will be found to be adequately compensated for by the conveniently small quantities of film which it is necessary to handle. The person who gets accustomed to 8mm. film will find thereafter that in editing 16mm. film the bulk of that film seems inconvenient—the fact of the matter is that with but brief experience one becomes used to any of these differences. A Suitable Routine For a suitable routine it is merely necessary to have at hand your projector (which you will also use as a rewinder), your splicer, a temporary screen and the special board referred to later. I shall assume that you are editing a reel of film such as you might have taken on your holidays—odd shots here and there, perhaps taken according to a mental plan but on the other hand, perhaps not—and that you wish to arrange them into a comprehensible film. If you have been shooting to a definite plan you will be able to vary some of the instructions to your own requirements. Prepare a List of Shots It will save you an enormous amount of difficulty and delay if you first of all make yourself thoroughly familiar with the contents of your reel by running through it a couple of times. This will also assist you in taking the next step, which is to prepare a list containing every shot on the reel (by projecting the film slowly and noting down each one—and numbering them consecutively), making a sufficient note to enable you to identify any shot from the description and without having to refer to the film. Whilst the preparation of this list may be somewhat tedious, in the case of 8mm. film, it simplifies A car run can provide you with many useful shots, but bear in mind that the car itself, as well as the places to which. it takes you, offers excellent cine possibilities. One of the ways in which it can be utilised as an excuse for showing portraits of the family is shown here. 302