American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1942)

W New Twist To A Garden Scenario By Lewis S. REED IT was Saturday afternoon. The sky was filled with California "liquid sunshine." There I sat with my new camera, a roll of Kodachrome, and a finger itching to push the camera-button. My thoughts were bitter as I looked out on the moist landscape. It was just my luck to ^et a new camera and then have it rain! Still, something had to be done to try out that new camera. In the warbag were two daylight photofloods, which I had used for shooting color titles; only a small subject was lacking. Looking around the room I saw the most recent peace-offering to my wife — a large bouquet of mixed cut flowers. They were exceedingly colorful, fairly compact, and could be used in different ariangements. Everything was set to try the new camera. The flowers were put on a small table in front of a window, so the daylight could be utilized for back-lighting, and the photofloods placed in the conventional forty-five degrees lighting position. A waste of film you say? Could be, but I remember heai-ing a noted authority on photography say it was possible to tell a story with moving pictures using only a statue as the subject. Anyway it was absolutely necessary to see what that new camera could do! Shots were made of the flowers collectively and individually. In front of a mirror, and on a mirror. In pieces of pottery. Floating in water. In every way that could be imagined. No story was told, but a fine variety of cut flower shots were obtained, and it was found excellent dissolves could be made with the Eastman eight millimeter magazine camera. You don't want to waste film taking what amounts to still pictures of flowers? You are right! Only why didn't you think of that on your last trip ? Remember you returned with a lot of shots which were the same as stills? If you do it on trips, you might as well do it at home and save your tires! The flower shots interested me. They had color, some originality, and gave me a clue to a method of practicing composition. They interested me so much that I finally decided to give the much publicized garden sequence a new twist, and see if it wasn't possible to make something new in a "family at home" scenario. My wife is a flower arranging addict. Flower arrangement doesn't mean a bunch of flowers dumped into a container, then pushed around to give a wellbalanced appearance. It is a study in composition of simple, earthy objects. A successful composition can be made with a twig. Every angle will tell a story. Purchase a book on the subject and discover a new hobby, one that is inexpensive to follow. (My wife makes them from weeds and sticks). After practicing the various basic principles of composition, you will find that all your other shots will benefit by your added knowledge. Instead of jumping out of your car and filming a desirable scene from the spot you land on, you will spend some time in properly framing and viewing the scene. Your shots will be more pleasing, lots of uninteresting shots will be passed by, and you will find film lasts much longer. Filming chances are restricted today. Tires, cost of film, censorship, etc., all are limiting factors. Home means much more to us today than it did before. Let me suggest a scenario which is simple, needs no elaborate setting, is instructive, and stars your home and family. There are chances for originality in arranging scenes and lighting. You can work on it night or day, quit when you want to, and take as much time on each shot as you desire. Main Title: "Story of An Arrangement." Note — All indoor shots should be made within six feet of the subject. This foi two reasons: (1) All unnecessary background is omitted. (2) The arrangement is the subject. Close ups will bring out every detail. "The flowers that bloom in the spring" have nothing to do with the case except to prove even a wacky arrangement can make an interesting composition. Photo by Herbert P. Bond. Scene 1 : Build a flower arrangement from the bare receptacle to the finish. Vary your camera angles or use stopmotion to prevent monotony. Scene 2: Show a series of arrangements in different parts of the house. Use mats to vary the backgrounds, or pieces of small pottery to add interest. The number of arrangements is limited only by your imagination. Scene 3: A woman's hands are shown giving the last deft touches to an arrangement. Dissolve to her hands digging in the garden. Scene W Continue with the old familiar garden sequence of hands planting, cultivating, etc. Show the garden growing from week to week. Scene 5: A series of shots showing the harvest of flowers. They can be still growing, or cut and held. Closeup of one particularly fine group. Dissolve to the same flowers, now indoors, and in an arrangement. Title: The End. (This could be faded in over the final scene.) It is not necessary to use flowers in the foregoing. Vegetables from your Victory Garden could be used equally well. At any rate, I hope that this idea will at least suggest the filmic possibilities of your own home and garden. In any case, try flower arranging as a means to improving your eye for composition. Don't be afraid. No one has accused me of being a panty waist yet! END. American Cinbmatographer May, 1942 217