American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1948)

PROFESSIONAL 16mm. View Finder for . . . • Bolex • Series 70 Filmos • Cine Special SHOWS LARGE, ERECT IMAGE, CORRECTED FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, ON GROUND GLASS. The first real professional light-weight view¬ finder ever offered for the above cameras. A must for serious professional film production. Write for complete description and price. Attractive Discounts to Dealers Maier-Hancock Corp. 12270 Montague St. Pacoima, Calif. AUTOMATIC DISSOLVE For The Cine Special JOSEPH YOLO 5968 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, Calif. New Improved Model ‘C” $6000 ★ ★★★★★★ TIME-TRIED AND PROVEN 4 LENS CINE SPECIAL TURRETS Custom built “C” mount turrets — for the pro¬ fessional and advanced amateur — any lens combination — 15mm through 152mm or more with no field interference — allows rapid swing from lens to lens — positive stop and field alignment on each position. Place your order today. Limited number available. Price, $175. Arthur H. Hart, Cinematic Developments 2125 Thirty-Second Ave., San Francisco, Calif. ★ ★★★★★★ DIRECT 16MM SOUND with MAURER RECORDING SYSTEM For the Producer of 1 6mm. Business, Educational and Religious Films. • Edge Numbered • Synchronized Studio Work Prints Photography • Sound Recording • Release Prints — • Duplicate Neeatives Color and B&W GEO. W. COLBURN LABORATORY, Inc IV* wivvnn Lnwwiini vii l g ill v* Wacker Dr., Dept. A . Chicago 6, III. inum or chrome paint. A reflector of this kind may unrolled and held by an assistant to furnish light in darkened areas, to throw light on shaded faces, and to otherwise balance the illumination within scenes encountered in one’s travels. Such a reflector, made at this writer’s sug¬ gestion, enabled a professional 16mm. cameraman to obtain some excellent shots of native craftsmen at work in Mexico recently. Of course, before you set to work con¬ structing reflectors for your own use, you may wish to test the effectiveness of such a photographic aid. If so, the next time you are shooting movies in sunlight, have another member of the family hold a towel, a sheet or a panel of white card¬ board outside of camera range but in such a manner as to throw reflected light into the scene on the shadow side of your subjects. The results on the screen will convince you that reflectors are essential to good cinematography. SPECIAL EFFECTS LIGHTING ( Continued from Page 418) has a relatively harsh quality when com¬ pared to interior lighting, so it is best sim¬ ulated by shining an arc unit through a window or doorway of the set. If arc illumination is not available, however, a senior or even a junior spotlight can be used with satisfactory effect. If the film is being shot in color, use a straw-colored gelatin over the source to simulate the warmth of the sunlight. The same types of lighting units are used for moonlight effects, except that they are generally toned down by means of diffusers, and the general key of the lighting is much lower. If a moonlight scene is being shot in color, a very light blue gelatin should be used over the source light. Candlelight, lamplight and firelight effects are frequently called for in the modern commerical film — and they, too. require special set-ups. The main rule to follow in creating any of these lighting effects is: simulate the source. In other words, place your lighting units so that the light will fall on the subject in the same way that it would if your source were a candle, a lamp or an open fire. If you are uncertain as to how the light would actually fall under these conditions, set up the real situation, observe the light¬ ing effect, and then set your lights accordingly. Candlelight is a soft even glow that emanates from a central source. In order to duplicate this glow in lighting several people seated around a table, for example, you would use several Baby-Keglites or Dinky Inkies (one for each person and one directly over the candle) so that each person will be evenly lighted from the central source and so that each will cast his own individual shadow. Slight diffu¬ sion over the units will add realism to the effect. Lamplight effects are set up in a sim¬ ilar fashion, except that the key is usually somewhat higher and the shadows more definite. This means brighter lighting units and less diffusion. Whenever candle¬ light or lamplight scenes are shot in color, straw-colored gelatins should be used in front of the lighting units. Colored light is a subject that has caused heated arguments in the field of commercial color film production. The purists maintain that it is an illegitimate, consciously arty device — but more and more commercial cameramen are coming to realize that colored light, properly used, has a definite place in commercial production. So many industrial and technical sub¬ jects lack color that it is a constant strug¬ gle for the cameraman to add visual in¬ terest to his compositions. Machinery is usually a drab gray or black, and industrial workshops or laboratories are traditionally painted in the dullest possible colors. Many cameramen solve this problem by placing colored gelatins over the lights used to illuminate backgrounds. It is not recommended that the key light be tinted (unless there is some specific reason for it) but side-light, top-light and back-light suitably colored will add much even to scenes which include people. Be careful, however, not to let colored light dominate the flesh tones, as the results are some¬ times fairly weird. A single shaft of colored light falling across a background will often dramatize a scene that would be completely color¬ less otherwise. The camera purists will ask the logical question: "From what source is that light coming?’’ But the audience will rarely, if ever, ask such ques¬ tions. It will only be conscious of the fact that the scene has a certain verve to it, plus the ability to hold interest. Gone are the days when the commercial cameraman could get by with mere illu¬ mination. Today he must concentrate on lighting that not only makes the scene photographically feasible, but adds to the impact of the screen presentation, holds the interest of the audience, and thus con¬ tributes to selling the idea which the client wants to get across. MOBILE JACK ( Continued from Page 414) The Spelleroller, constructed entirely of steel, consists of a lifting device combined with a mobile framework carrying a ver¬ tical lifting bar mounted at the front, as shown in the accompanying diagram. On the bar are two hooks — one at the top and (Continued on Page 433) 430 • American Cinematographer December, 1948