We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.
Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.
on us.’ Hooded figure going in at door. Big close-up of man’s horror-stricken face. Short (commendably short, for countenances of people who die of plague are not pleasant to look on) shot of face of corpse. “I fled to Paris—an astronomer.” ‘‘ And was not Paris centre of the architectural world ? ”’ asks the girl, now thoroughly interested. Stills of buildings. ‘‘ I returned—an architect,” Wren replies.
The Fire of London
We now come on to the period of the Great Fire of London. The shots that illustrate it were, we fancy, taken at the Tower of London Pageant last year. Mix to mural tablet commemorating building that was destroyed in the Fire. Four other tablets are similarly treated—an original touch this. “‘And on the spot it started I built. ..’’ Shots of the Monument, followed by shots of St. Mary-le-Bow. Notice board of Royal Chelsea Hospital. Pan from notice board to buildings. Shots of the gates. Cut to closer view of them. Porter opens them and walks through and out of the picture, leaving the view open to us. Shots of pensioners and buildings. Views of Cambridge, Hampton Court, St. Paul’s Cathedral. Wren reveals that he was paid £4 a week as Surveyor-General and that later this sum was halved. There is, regrettably, another error in the title that gives this information.
Then he bids the couple farewell, and leaves, the film ending on the question: Was he man or ghost? But does it really matter? We ourselves should have liked to have seen a shot of the steps of St. Paul’s doubleexposed on his retreating figure, the shot being tilted upward until only the dome was seen ; raise still higher so that there is only cloud-flecked sky, across which appears... lhe End,”
This is a masterly production. The acting of the three principals is very good, as are the timing, cutting and photography. The composition of the shots is in many cases excellent. The treatment is distinguished. But Wren has a very bad make-up, making him look quite repulsive in close-up. A Leader has been awarded.
BLACK ISLE. By JOSEPH E. ROCCA. 9.5 mm. 230 ft.
This is a confusing film; even a second showing did not help us to elucidate what it was all about. The moving titles at the beginning go too fast for them to be read properly and the lettering does not stand out clearly. We get a shot of a cathedral ruin. What or where it is and what its relation to the film we do not know. Immediately preceding it there is He is as much a part
a shot of some young men getting VwtOwa trai Possibly the ruin is something of interest on the way. If. =it-48
of Paris as _ the Louvre. Search for such shots when on your holiday abroad. Or what about making a film with ‘sleep’ as its subject 2 Another ‘sleep’ shot appears on page 273.
Personal ¥1/ms REVIEWED. BY: OR CRITICS
important enough to be shown then we ought to know something about it. And if it is on the route we must not be introduced to it too abruptly. It could be seen framed by the carriage window or featured in long shot after a shot of a station sign (to tell us where it is), the camera approaching nearer to give us a closer view.
On the other hand, the fact that it is a still shot indicates that the cameraman had left the train. If he could have done so presumably the others could as well, so that we could have got a link with the previous shots by including the young men in the picture. The train shots in themselves are quite pleasing, but our sense of direction is muddled by a shot of the young men getting into a train after shots of trains in motion, These shots should be reversed.
Time Lapse and Order of Shots
Possibly the young men did change trains, but is it of any importance that we should know this? If, on the other hand, they had changed six times, then it would have been amusing to have shown each of the changes. It would be better to reverse the order of these shots. Provided it assists the flow of the film it does not matter in the least that, though Shot A comes before Shot B, it was filmed two days after, provided they are of relatively unimportant things in which time lapse is of no account. Here the shots are used as continuity links so that there is no reason at all why their order should not be reversed.
We are glad to note that a map is included but sorry that it does not convey very much to us. Words go across it very rapidly, too quickly for us to get their complete meaning. Apparently the film is a record of
(Continued on page 285)
283