American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1946)

everywhere, just waiting to be discov¬ ered. All too often the non-professional feels that he doesn’t dare turn a camera unless he has an earth-shaking idea in mind. He is convinced that nothing short of a theme like “Gone With the Wind,” is worthy of his cinematic efforts. This is far from the truth; in fact he stands a better chance of achieving a success¬ ful film if he selects an idea that is not too ambitious. A small idea can become the basis for a big picture. I do not mean an unimportant idea, but rather one that may be compact in scope. “A Day in the Life of a Dog,” to name an elementary example, could become a very entertain¬ ing film if it were done with style and imagination. On the other hand, an amateur attempt to portray the Civil War on the screen could hardly fail to be clumsy and inept. Draw upon sources around you for ideas before venturing into fields that are unfamiliar. Requirements of the Idea When an idea is being considered as the basis for a film, there are certain requirements that it should meet before being definitely selected: 1. The idea should be worthwhile. The making of any motion picture is a large operation, no matter on how mod¬ est a scale it is undertaken. It repre¬ sents a sizable outlay of time, effort, and expense, all of which would not be justified if the idea were not worthy of such attention. The only way to judge an idea’s worth is to analyze the results to be achieved in filming it. 2. The idea should either entertain or inform or, preferably, do both. The film¬ maker must know his prospective audi¬ ence and then ask himself the question: “Will this film entertain or inform that audience?” If he can answer in the affirmative, he is justified in going ahead to develop his idea into a finished pic¬ ture. 3. The idea should be kinetic. The motion picture, as the very term implies, is a medium that depends upon action. In spite of all the tricks that have been used by film-makers to force movement into a static idea, the fact remains that a satisfactory film cannot be made unless the idea itself possesses the elements of action. 4. The idea must be pictorial. That is to say, it should be capable of being staged in interesting locales and set¬ tings. The word: interesting does not imply lavish sets and beautiful land¬ scapes. Rows of wash in a tenement court may be interesting . Smoke from the chimneys of a hobo village may be interesting . The dirt-smeared faces of sweating laborers may contain elements of great pictorial interest. If these ele¬ ments are present in the idea, the film has a head start toward being a success. 5. The idea must be cinematic. Many fine novels and plays have been written that would not make good motion pic¬ tures because they are not translatable into the language of cameras and film. Similarly, the non-professional film pro¬ ducer will hit upon many ideas that sound fine until he stops to think of them in cinematic terms. The motion picture, in spite of its almost boundless scope, does have certain limitations, and there are some abstract ideas that are diffi¬ cult to portray on the screen. The film¬ maker should shy away from these ideas and confine his efforts to themes that by their very nature can best be portrayed through the medium of the screen. 6. The idea should be practical. Here, again, the average film-maker tends to approach ideas that are too ambitious for the production set-up with which he has to work. If he lives in an inland dis¬ trict he invariably wants to shoot a sea story. If he is working on a close budget he usually thinks it would be nice to have a “cast of thousands.” Actually, it is very possible to stay within the limitations of equipment, locale, and budget — and still turn out a fine motion picture. Picture-making is an exacting business at best; the film producer should not make it more difficult by straining limited resources to film an idea that is obviously out of reach of his production set-up. Developing the Idea Before he starts to shoot his story, even before he writes his script, the film producer should have the idea fully developed and analyzed in his own mind. He should give that idea a good deal of thought, allowing his imagination to play with the various facets of the sub¬ ject, letting the idea build up in his mind until he can see a clear mental picture of how it will appear on the screen. He should take notes, jotting down the de¬ tails as they occur to him, later cata¬ loguing and arranging these notes to help him in production planning. As we have said earlier, the idea is the foundation of the film, and the in¬ telligent producer builds his whole pro¬ duction around it. Each technical proc¬ ess, every line of dramatic approach is keyed to that basic idea, and is dis¬ carded if it does not materially add to its interpretation. Beware of effects that lead the film on tangents away from the main thesis. Unity is the keynote of smooth continuity on the screen. As the producer works mentally with the idea, he will find that it takes on shape and depth and character until finally it evolves itself into a theme. A theme is an idea that has broadened in scope to the point where it becomes the underlying motivation of every step and process in the making of the film. For instance, let us say that a producer wants to make a film based on the idea of “Dust.” The idea in itself is rather abstract and might be interpreted in a number of different ways. But as he thinks deeper into the subject, applying his imagination to its development, he is very much impressed with the role that dust plays in the lives of mid-western farmers — those men of the soil living in the so-called “Dust-bowl” area where fierce dust storms destroy crops and life and fight the farmer for his very exist¬ ence. After it has been broadened out in this manner the word “Dust” is no longer an abstract idea; it has become a vital motion picture theme, and might be called: “Dust: Enemy of the Farmer.” Actually, the theme as it develops from the idea becomes the factor that will determine what treatment the whole production will receive. It will dominate the succeeding steps of writing, direct¬ ing, filming and cutting. It’s message will be indicated in every bit of action and narration that goes to make up the film. If the film-maker keeps his central idea constantly in mind throughout the various steps of production, his film will have a directness and unity of approach that will make for effective cinema. We have discussed the element that is the nucleus of our film — the cinematic idea. We understand the important part it plays as the foundation of the film. We are now ready to go on to the next step in transforming that idea into a motion picture: the preparation of the script. Next issue: The Script. Canadian Provinces Install Central Film Libraries All of the eastern provinces of Canada have installed central film libraries and appointed provincial directors of audio¬ visual aids. This information is disclosed by Charles R. Crakes, educational con¬ sultant of the DeVry Corporation, who recently returned from tour of eastern Canada, who further stated that there was an intense interest by educational leaders of the Dominion in providing audi-visual tools of learning for the rural areas and small villages of that country. Photo Agencies Incorporate Photo Agencies of Southern Africa, headquartering in Johannesburg, has been incorporated, with Eric Horvitch functioning as managing director. Firm, which has operated for number of years under management of Horvitch, repre¬ sents leading professional and amateur motion picture equipment manufacturers in Union of South Africa, northern and southern Rhodesia, British Protector¬ ates, Portuguese East Africa and ad¬ joining territories. Scientific Books Wanted Our cooperation is asked to present to professional and amateur cinematog¬ raphers of the United States the request of American Book Center for War Devastated Libraries, Library of Con¬ gress, Washington, for donations of scientific books which will be useful in research and necessary in the physical, economic, social, and industrial rehabili¬ tation and reconstruction of Europe and the Far East. Perhaps some of our nu¬ merous movie enthusiasts may have dis¬ carded volumes of technical phases of photography and cinematography which would serve most useful purposes in zones where libraries were destroyed. Ship contributions prepaid to ABC, care of Library of Congress. Collect ship¬ ments cannot be accepted. American Cinematographer • July, 1946 245