Amateur Cine World (November 1935)

EDITOR to hisREADERS makers view with suspicion and mistrust. If he can use an exposure meter with a fair assurance of success and if he has grasped the basic elements of editing, then, he will argue (and to a certain extent quite justifiably so), that is as far as he need be bothered with the technical aspect of amateur cinematography. Nevertheless, a knowledge of technique is the only effective insurance against film wastage. It is important that the amateur should be able to expose his film in the fulness of technical knowledge, so that he can determine with reasonable accuracy what the screen picture will look like. Cine film, whether reversal or neg.-pos.—and reversal particularly so—has rather special attributes technically ; if the worker knows the peculiarities of his raw material he starts off with the promise of success. The great distinction between photographic technique, as applied to film work, and snapshot photography is that in the latter case the photograph is the end and aim in itself and in the former it is merely a means to an end. The individual shots taken on a reel of film are seldom completely interesting in themselves but only in relation to other shots ; they must be trimmed and cut according to their content and position in the film. But although photographic technique may be a subsidiary aspect of film making, it is none the less a very important one, for unless the images on the film are satisfactory technically they may have a distracting influence on the subject matter of the various shots, and thus tend to spoil the effect of the film. The ideal of the keen movie-maker should be to suggest and reinforce by technical means the special aspect of the subject matter on which he wishes to lay stress ; and “ by technical means ”’ does not necessarily imply the use of special apparatus. Rather does it mean a working know ledge of what ever apparatus is used, be it of the simplest. In other words, the good workman should know his tools. The suggestion a rérotLonre se. ment may _ be achieved by the familiar angle e [instars vow is a word that many movie shot, filters, in the editing and by the suitable modification of exposure to create a ‘brilliant’? or ‘ gloomy” impression. In past issues of Amateur Cine World we have dealt at some length with angle shots, filters and editing ; the point it seems desirable to emphasise at the present juncture is that of pure photographic technique. It should be remembered that the film—so far as amateurs are concerned—lies on a very different technical basis from ordinary amateur photography. The amateur photographer tends to be strongly affected by the necessity for correct and accurate technical values. . The moviemaker is in a very different position. Many have been attracted in the beginning by the possibility of making family films or of producing personal records of some sort (and very admirable these aims are) but it is doubtful whether any of them entered the field at first with a desire to know all about technique. Some knowledge of it will help them to make vastly better family films. It is, after all, not so much what you film as how you film it that matters. To take an instance, the compensation in processing offered by various firms is a very great help to the less expert or non-technical minded, but even with this, exact exposure within very small limits is necessary on reversal film to get the very best results. Inaccurate exposure may lead to only the slightest lack of quality in the screen image, but the deficiency is undoubtedly present and is always liable to prejudice the effect of the shot when correctly placed in a film. Negative film is in a slightly different category, but it will always be a moot point as to whether negative or reversal is the best amateur raw material, for there are considerable advantages to be had on both sides. Whether _ re versal or negative film is used the amateur should respect his raw material — not regard it merely as a means to an end — and gain as much knowledge of technique as possible so that he can expose with reasonable expectations of success on every occasion. The passing pageant,of the streets offers interesting ‘ human’ material to the keen cine observer. 344