American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1952)

FEW 16MM CAMERAMEN excel Burton Holmes' photographer Ted Phillips in ability to shoot for continuity without a script. His secret: Always record interesting action or facts in com¬ plete sequences, instead of single shots. Phillips believes the camera should tell the story without depending entirely on narration. How To Make Movies That Tell A Story There should be a definite story idea for every picture, whether it is a playlet, a vacation or travel documentary, or a chapter in the movie record of the family. By JOHN FORBES Ever wonder why that film you enter¬ ed in a contest failed to win an award? Well, the chances are it lacked good story form, or continuity. Good photography in itself does not necessarily make a good motion pic¬ ture. The individual scenes must be strung together in an attractive continu¬ ity pattern to tell a story or relate a fact — just as these words, forming a sentence and then a paragraph, make a complete statement. I nfortunately continuity has not • been regarded by movie amateurs with the importance it deserves. But it is the very essence of motion picture con¬ struction. It is the method of arranging scenes and titles so that a continuous audience interest flows through the en¬ tire picture. It makes entertainment out of a number of assorted shots, which would be of limited interest by them¬ selves, unsupported by complementing shots. Continuity — let it be said for the benefit of the uninitiated — is essential • to films of every classification: family movies, documentaries, vacation and travel movies, as well as fictional or dramatic compositions. The basic me¬ chanical construction of continuity for amateur films usually follows this pat¬ tern: an introductory long shot for es¬ tablishing locale; medium shot of characters or important subjects; and complementary medium, close and closeup shots to round out the continuity or narrative pattern. A sequence, which is a segment of the overall continuity or story, and which pictures the complete develop¬ ment of one idea or incident in the story, is likened to a chapter in a book. Put it in its proper order along with the rest of the sequences, and it does its part to complete the story into a well-knit and easily understood pictorial composition. Now this is not to say that you can go out with your camera and a supply of film and shoot at random without any prepared plan, then come to your editing board and, by splicing the vari¬ ous scenes into a certain pattern, come up with an interesting picture. The scenes must have been shot according to a plan — according to the manner in which they are to piece together to form a complete story. Here, then, is one of the first tricks the amateur movie maker should learn — “cut” your movie in the camera. By doing this you will accomplish two essential things: 1) you’ll insure getting the shots, of the required length, that will be useful when it comes to editing; and 2), you’ll save yourself a lot of time at the editing board in analyzing shots and trimming them to the desired length. The visual content of the film as a whole is what you should be concerned with when making every shot. Scenes must follow each other in a manner that makes for smooth and understandable presentation of the subject. Therefore, every scene must be considered not only for its own value, but its relationship to the scene preceding and the scene following it. If, for instance, you shoot a scene of your son or daughter eating an ice cream cone, then follow it im¬ mediately with a shot at a later date, perhaps showing the child riding a pony, the continuity here obviously is poor. Your audience will accept the film for what it is — a collection of un¬ edited “snapshots.” Missed will be all the interconnecting shots you should have made (had you planned your film¬ ing as a continuity) that would picture the child’s activity between eating the cone and riding the pony as a complete (Continued on Page 549) 534 American Cinematographer December, 1952