Amateur Movie Makers (Dec 1926-Dec 1927)

BILLY STARTS SCHOOL A Timely Home Scenario By Vera Standing PERHAPS your Billy, or Helen or Dick began their schooling this fall, and, if so, why not reinact that memorable occasion before your amateur camera? Or perhaps some of your friends are the proud parents who have just weathered that delightful family crisis. You can make them supremely happy by acting as their cameraman. All that is necessary, in either case, is to adapt the following continuity to your own needs. Or, if you so desire, you can write a new one with this as a model. Under stress of the actual occurance it would not, perhaps, have been wise to attempt such a filming. The general excitement on such a momentous day would not permit of careful planning and execution of even the simplest scenario. But once your revival of the rush for school is on the screen you will forget completely that it was not absolutely the true moment, as long as you have kept the action and the characterization natural. Remember, every single time the relation of camera and scene changes, if only to bring the camera closer or remove it to a distance, you have an entirely new scene on the screen and in the continuity. If you introduce more action into this continuity, notice particularly whether you can put it into a scene already there or whether you have to interpolate a brand new one and remember them all as a result. Spoken titles are always followed by a bit of the scene in which the person is speaking, if only to show him finish moving his lips. ^ ou shoot the whole scene, with the right persons visibly speaking, and not until you are editing the print do you insert the print of the title into the right place. The first and smaller figure for suggested footage is for 16 mm. or 9 mm. film, (which work out the same in footage) and the second and larger figure is for 35 mm. film. In each case, however, the running time will be approximately the same, as each 'I Guess These Will Have to Do Me For Today' film projects at the rate of sixteen frames per second. The first footage given in each case is not always identical with the second in number of frames, but nearly so. Here's luck! Cast of Characters Billy, six years old. Rob, his older brother, ten or twelve years old. Beth, his older sister, about eight or nine years old. Mummy Daddy Mrs. White, a neighbor. Julie, her little girl, about the age of Beth. Interior — A pretty suburban dining room or breakfast porch. (The latter will minimize lighting problems.) Exteriors — The front of the house and the street on which it is situated. Another street, with a school building. Scene 1. Dining room. Medium shot. Table in the foreground, door to one side in the rear. Daddy and Beth and Rob are already at breakfast. Daddy is reading the paper while he eats. Billy comes running in and stops beside Daddy, while Mother follows after and sits down at her place. Daddv drops his paper as Billy reaches up to him. (3% ft.-8 ft.) Scene 2. Dining room. Semi-closeup. Camera on same side of table as characters. Daddy bends toward Billv as the latter says excitedly. Spoken Title 1. Daddy, I'm going to start school to-day. (2-5) Daddy pretends to be dreadfullv surprised, and carefully measures Billy to see if he is big enough. Then he gives Bill a big hug. Mummy comes partly into the scene and draws Billy gentlv toward his chair, between his parents. (5-12.) Scene 3. Dining room. Medium shot. Camera behind and a little to one side of characters. Mummy ties on Billy's napkin and points to the clock on the opposite wall. (2-5.) Scene 4. Dining room. Clock. Closeup. The hands of the clock point to eight-thirty. (2-5.) (Continued on page 50) Twenty-seven