American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1941)

Century-Fox Studios. The vei-y practical training I had from my friend Leon Shamroy, A.S.C., will, I am sure, prove invaluable to me. It was very fine of him, too, to consider it in a measure as repaying some of the courtesies China's cinematographers there in Chungking have extended to American cinematographers who have been there. "I want to express my appreciation, too, to the players in 'Confirm or Deny' — especially the film's co-stars, Joan Bennett and Don Ameche, who gave generously and willingly of their spare time in order to serve as models while I experimented with lighting set-ups. "Incidentally, shooting in underground Chungking the only difficulty in lighting will be lamp placement, since the cavernshelters are all wired for electricity." In addition to his work in Chungking, and visits with his father, a high government official, Liu will film scenes in western Szechwan, along the Burma Road, and in China's little-known northwest country. Part of his stay in Chungking will also be devoted to discussing the possibility of augmenting China's present motion picture facilities by setting up an elaborate underground filmprocessing laboratory there. If this project works out as he anticipates, he will on his return to America buy the equipment for the lab, and send it on its long way to Chungking via the Burma Road, or even by plane. In any event, Hollywood has sent this son of Free China on his way with a hearty "God speed" ringing in his ears, with heartfelt greetings to Free China's motion picture colony in Chungking, and is looking forward to seeing, some six months from now, Liu's presentation of his country's story on the screen. END. Charlie Rosher (Continued from Page 422) you tell them that this angle or that movement is bad for the camera, they'll become so over-conscious of it that in their effort to avoid it, they'll freeze right up and give a performance much below what they really can do. The critics simply say the actor has given a bad performance; but maybe it was the cinematographer's psychological technique that was really at fault. "Some of our modern equipment and methods have given us a remarkable advantage when we're working with players like this. For example, a few years ago I made a number of pictures with a star who had a particularly square jaw: to get the best results, it was necessary to soften or shade the front-light when she turned to certain angles, or when the camera dollied to her in certain ways. The most effective method, 1 found, was to mount a special lamp on the dolly, and sit beside it with a little paddle with which I could shade the light as necessary during the action. I've no doubt it was disturbing to the people on the other side of the camera — but it was the most effective method available then. Today, we can simply mount a "Dinky Inky" on the camera, and manipulate it by remote control through a dimmer. Your lighting-control will be equally precise — but the player will be much less conscious of it. "And in that direction, I think, lies one of the most interesting trends I've noticed during the years I've been active in cinematography. We hardly realize it at the time, we're so close to it all: but each successive technical advance that has come along has tended in some measure to make conditions on the set more natural. When I first entered the profession, we had weirdly artifical-looking make-up, sets that were often unnaturally colored to suit the old ortho film, and glaring, flickery arc lights. Today, make-up is all but unnoticeable; panchromatic film makes it possible to photograph natural-appearing sets, and the nature and intensity of our lighting are rapidly approaching normal roomlevel standards, so that, all told, the actor can feel he is under much more nearly normal surroundings than ever before. "In fact, in some instances, he can actually do his work under strictly normal surroundings. In my most recent film, "One Foot in Heaven," we filmed several important sequences in this story of a clergyman's life actually within one of Los Angeles' finest churches. Not so many years ago, it would have been impossible to do this. In the first place, the church would scarcely have tolerated picture people working there; in the second place, it would have been technically impossible to light such an edifice photographically and yet obtain a natural result. But times have changed. We made our scenes there: photographically they're even more effective than any set could have been — and believe me, our players were so conscious of the surroundings that they gave more convincing performances than they might have given on a studio set. And as a result of this combination of technically and psychologically fitting surroundings, I am sure the results on the screen will prove more dramatically convincing than any of us could have obtained a few years ago." END. Title Trickery (Continued from Page 427) try the following, which involves more cardboard and Scotch tape. The title to be filmed last is centered in the easel in the usual manner. The second title is placed over the easel face and taped by the upper edge to the top of the easel. Then place the opening title over this and tape one edge to the easel. In action, the first title is filmed and then moved horizontally out of lens range revealing the second title, which, when sufficient footage is exposed, is lifted vertically bringing to view the final title of the series. A wipe in title photography sounds almost impossible but a cut-off wipe can easily be made using more carlboard and your titler. Trim a hea y piece of cardboard to fit exactly into the area framed by the easel standard.; Paste this to a piece large enough to I fit into the springback of the easel. 1 This combination forms the title regis-! tration base as it can always be fitted in the same position in the easel. Type or print your titles on twoi pieces of paper of the same dimensions ' as the larger section of cardboard. Paste the second title to be exposed on this base. Then place the opening title over this, but only paste it by one edge, j Fit the whole in the spring-back of your titler. Expose the necessary footage of the opening title, then remove and snip a diagonal strip from the loose end; replace and expose one frame. Keep repeating this operation until the whole of the lead title has been snipped away. Then film normally for the required footage in the second title. Although the title is removed a considerable number of times during the single frame action necessary in making the wipe, it can always be refitted exactly by means of that portion of the registration base fitting inside the easel aperture. Thus wipes of this type can be made as easily as regular titles and there need be no fear that the text will be jumpy during the single-frame action. END. Editing Vacation Films (Continued from Page 428) prise "twist," like an 0. Henry shortstory. Another thing you're likely to discover as you go through your film on your viewer is that it's likely to have too much footage of scenery, and not enough of people and action. This can often be remedied, professional-wise, with "added scenes" which you can make at home. Show yourself and the members of your party doing things you might have done on the trip — you, fussing with your camera — your wife ruffling the pages of road-map or guide-book — Junior eating a hot dog or ice-cream cone. Shot against a non-committal background and cut into the picture at the right spot, they'll seem as though they were mad-1 at the same time and place as the scenic shots. And they can add a very necessary "lift" to what might be an otherwise dry parade of scenery. Always remember, too, the basic professional rule for "establishing" a new location: begin with a long-shot, and work progressively in to the closest shots you've got. If you shot the Mt. Rushmore memorial, for instance, begin with the long-shots made, perhaps from a distance, with your normal lens, and come progressively closer with the closer shots you made from nearer points, and with your telephoto lenses. Editing a silent picture, you'll havi think about titles, too. and this is a pretty good place to begin. If you cai , give your picture a "sneak preview 444 September. 1941 American Cinematographer