American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1932)

20 American Cinematographer • December 1932 HIGHLIGHTS of AMATEUR CONTEST by William Stull, A.S.C. NOBODY left the lens-cap on — but a lot of folks forgot their scissors! That is the outstanding impression after viewing all of the hundreds of reels of film entered in the AMERICAN CINEMATOCRAPHER'S Contest. The average advanced amateur seems to be a mighty good photographer, and often a better-than-average director — but he is all too often a very poor film-editor. More films failed through bad cutting than through almost any other single shortcoming. In many pictures, every time a really beautiful scene appeared, the judges found that they could be almost sure to see that scene repeated, with variations, at least five or six times. Here, a slightly different exposure — there, a slightly different filtering — then several slightly different angles. Had the maker been content to show only the original, perfect scene, and cull the others, his picture would certainly be rated higher in both editing and photography. No one wants to see an artist's preliminary sketches; only the finished product is of interest to the world. Much virtue in a pair of shears! ♦ The 9.5 mm. contingent was surprisingly large. More than half of the entries from Japan were made with this equipment. America's sole upholder of 9.5 came from Iowa. ♦ While speaking of the 9.5 mm. entries, we must commend Mr. Wagoro Arai, of Tokio, who entered a 9.5 mm. animated cartoon. The making of these subjects is a difficult matter for an amateur even with 35 mm. equipment — and Mr. Arai's achievement in turning out so excellent a cartoon on 9.5 mm. is of real merit. ♦ The amateur news film was excellently represented. Worthy of especial note are the entries of Mr. Charles Meulemans, "X Olympiad"; M. Charles Rhein, "Exposition Internationale, Anvers, 1931"; and Miss Ruth Rodgers, "Royal Air Force Display," hailing from Hollywood, Belgium and England, respectively. ♦ The standard of photography shown in the better films proved a revelation to the professional cinematographers who formed the special sub-committees detailed to the preliminary judging. More than once during these sessions I overheard men like Victor Milner, A.S.C, or Karl Struss, A.S.C. — outstanding artists in professional camerawork — ■ remark, "I'd be proud to have such photography in one of my own pictures!" ♦ With films entered from England, Australia, Japan, Holland, Korea, Catalonia, South Africa, Alaska, Italy, Belgium, France, and all parts of the United States, the Contest proved an International affair in more ways than one — for it required all of the linguistic ability of the members of the A.S.C. to translate the titles of the various entries, many of which were in the language of the land of their origin. We hereby single out one of the entries, Senor Delimir de Caralt, and ask him to take a bow for his forethought in sending a synopsis of his entry, "Montserrat," and a complete list of its subtitles (which were in Catalan), together with a translation into Spanish and English. Viva El Senor de Caralt! ♦ Of the foreign countries, Japan had the largest representation, with nearly a dozen entries. Some of them were the finest combinations of perfect technique and sheer cinematic artistry that I have ever viewed. The greatest professionals might well be proud of such flawless work. Banzai Nippon! ♦ Despite the responsibility entailed in the final judging, the various notable professional artists and technicians who formed the final jury were eager to participate and to see what their amateur fellows were doing. One famous director cancelled a story conference with the author and producer of his next film in order to attend; an equally famous star stayed away from the preview of her latest picture for the same reason. All of them enjoyed the affair hugely. I have rarely seen an audience so completely interested in a program of motion pictures, either professional or amateur. ♦ After the judging, an almost universal subject of discussion was, "What is an amateur picture, anyhow? How can one compare a true home movie like "A Finny Fable" with an elaborate dramatic production, made with professional technique but by bona fide amateurs, like "Tarzan, Jr." or "The Black Door"? The answer appears to be the decision of the Officials of the A.S.C. to greatly enlarge the scope of next year's contest so that there may be definite awards for each of the many possible classifications of amateur-made productions. ♦ After viewing the excellent aerial sequences in "The Black Door," "Sky Lark," "Air Trails of the Sierras" and "Trail of the Eagle," Elmer C. Dyer, A.S.C, the world's premier aerial cinematographer, admitted that he felt distinctly humbled. "Some of those amateurs did so well with their air work," he said, "that they made me feel like an amateur. Well, maybe I am — 1 certainly haven't had the opportunity for studying flying camerawork that some of these Air Corps officers have had. I'd sure like to meet those boys — maybe I could learn a few things about using a Filmo in the air from them!" ♦ One of the executives attending the judging was W. J. German of the Brulatour Co., who was so impressed with the technical excellence of some of the pictures that he has asked the permission of the A.S.C. to take the films back to Rochester to show to the executives of the Eastman Kodak Co. ♦ The final determination of the winners of the contest has proved an intricate bit of mathematics, as the ballots throughout the judging were marked according to a point system, giving separate ratings for photography, composition, direction, production technique, story, titles, editing, acting and entertainment value. After watching the clerical staff of the AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER office integrating Continued on Page 48