American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1941)

filter-action. As you climb into the mountains, you will find that altitude and atmospheric conditions, together with the thinner, clearer air of the higher altitudes, tends to accentuate filteraction, so that any filter will produce a much more marked effect than it would under otherwise similar conditions at lower altitudes. In fact, when you are in high mountains, you can often get effects with yellow filters which are fully as striking as those you would normally get with a red one. END. I Make a Documentary (Continued from Page 227) the people trudge along away from you. You should have your own transportation ready so that you can push on ahead to the top of the trail for a shot as some of the people come into the settlement of Bottom. Bottom is the seat of government for Saba. It is situated down in the bottom of an extinct volcano crater. To get a comprehensive view of Bottom, climb up on the Shoe, a high pinnacle on the ridge above. From here you look right down into the crater and see the break in the rim through which molten lava once flowed into the sea. The trail from the landing to the settlement follows this lava course as the way of least resistance. Saba is seared with hard trails. Sabans walk and climb wherever they go — from house to house, to church, school, the store, post office or from their homes to the farm plots or cow pastures. There are no wheeled vehicles on Saba. A few donkeys help carry the loads but the owners have to spend a lot of time packing feed on their own heads to feed the donkeys! Several horses are shared by the government officials, the schoolteacher and the doctor. When the doctor goes out on a call, it is usually in response to a request brought by a fleet-footed boy who has raced across the country, up and down, to bring the message. The doctor mounts his horse and trots off with his boy running beside him at the same pace carrying the doctor's bag. This is a splendid chance for a dramatic sequence having all the elements to tell a forceful story of life and struggles on the Rock. Saba is a friendly island. Even its houses, from behind flower-lined walks and fences, have a pleasant look. They are neat, comfortably furnished, small but adequate, and always seem to be freshly painted — inside and out. Along the streets of Bottom you can pick up all kinds of shots illustrating the simplicity of government administration and daily life of the Sabans. The governor, a democratic person, walks to the office from his mansion (the only house in Saba with electric lights), nodding a friendly greeting or pausing for a chat with fellow citizens. At the police station an officer on duty faithfully strikes the hours on a crude bell. In late afternoon this same officer prepares fourteen gasoline lanterns which an old darky takes out and hangs on the street lamp posts. They come down at nine, as most people are in bed by that hour. Births, weddings, birthdays and deaths come in Saba as elsewhere. Try to film a birthday greeting from one neighbor to another. Special trays with sweets and flowers are delivered by a servant who proudly conveys the best wishes of her mistress. The servants from several houses like to assemble and descend upon the lucky house in a body. The people in Saba are extremely polite and not at all curious, although they are eager and grateful for the chance to chat with any strangers. They will gladly pose or help you to make pictures that will show the world how Saba lives. In one yard may be an old lady grinding guinea corn or a group making casava bread. Next door a family will be churning ice cream with ice brought from St. Kitts, 38 miles away, or children playing with dolls and home-made wagons. Around the corner a man may be building a stout boat. Without exception they can tell you of relatives in the United States or of their own sojourn there. Years ago Saban men realized the impossibility of making money on the Rock and many went away to earn a living in the outside world. They became famous as seamen, and even today many American ships have captains, mates and boatswains from Saba, while many other Sabans are harbor-masters along the northern-hemisphere waterways. Today the young men are still going away, but due to the change in the United States labor and maritime laws, this field is closed to them and they now go to the oil fields of Netherlands, Curacao and Aruba. There's a popular fallacy about Saba. It was told that years ago schooners were built on top of the rock and then lowered by ropes down over the cliffs to the sea. If schooners were ever built on Saba, they were built down on the beach. The Dutch are too clever and efficient to haul heavy timbers up tortuous trails to the top and then see the result of their labors smashed to bits in the pounding surf when they attempted to launch it. But the completion of a small boat on Saba is worth filming. The boat is proudly painted and named by the owner. The whole town soon knows of the launching. Everyone gathers to help and to enjoy the event. About twrenty strong men gather around; picking up the boat bodily, they set out with an even swing towards the sea. They always go through the village, even though it is out of their way. The fences, sidewalks and porches are lined with people, mostly women and children, to watch the boat pass by. All kinds of angles are available here. Set up in the boat and you will have a novel trucking shot as your camera moves along and interesting personalities come into view behind the faces of the men who are carrying the boat. Today it is possible for a boat t« be carried all the way down to the v over a wide, well-made trail. Years agq they made shortcuts across fields ancj down steep ravines using ropes when th« going was too difficult. For pictorial reenactment there's no reason why yotf shouldn't make these short-cut scenes to-i day as they are spectacular and afforc many chances for dramatic angles. When Sabans want to set an anchoring stake, they take a hard woode: sharpen its end and drive it into the ground. Two men raise a large flat rr<ck above their heads then let go, repeating this action like a human pile-driver unti: the stake is set solidly. A rope i.~ to the boat, a hitch taken on the stake •' and as a man with a steady hand and keen eye eases away, the boat is lowe:ec down the cliff. Some go below to steady her while another takes position on the ridge to signal orders. This is a sequence which will give you the chance to make all kinds of cut-ir shots, effective long-shots and angles* After the boat has reached safety on the shore, the men come down. All handtake off their shoes, roll up troi; gather around the boat and push her intQ the sea. They wave their hats and i as she rides the waves like a true Saba craft. Your final shot is then only wait ing for you to grab. Most of the little bits of farm land or Saba have been handed down from eration to generation. They are high uf. on the slopes of the mountain abov, settlement, where it is cool and th* is heavy. Each little plot repres endless back-breaking toil in clearii _ the rocks and dense, tough brush. Th( rocks have been formed into stout, defined fences. Old men and boys do of the farming. They are up at I a.m. to do the chores around the h then, after breakfast, they star: Always they lead behind them the fa n>w. a few sheep or goats and somel a donkey. The way up is long and ; over rocks worn smooth with use. don't even stop to rest: they are user, ti it, as it is their life day after day. At the family plot they first stake out. the livestock to graze and then tun u for a long day of toil, hand-cultiv. rows of vegetables that zig-zag between huge boulders too heavy to move. T o: they gather firewood and enormous loads of fresh grass and weeds which carry on their heads back to their hon ed 244 May, 1941 American Cinematographer