American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1963)

NEW LOWEL-LIGHT UNI-6 LOCATION KIT Everything you need in one compact case, measures only 1 4 V2 x2 7 V2 x6 V2 , complete with six Lowel-Lights, six Lowel barndoors, 2 PIC 9 ft. 5 section stands, 3-25 ft. extension cables, 2-25 amp. fuses, 12 yd. roll gaffer tape. Comp|e,e . $124.50 Lowel-Lights, model K5, five Lowell-Light, with gaffer tape and case . . 34.50 Gaffer tape, 12 yard roll . 1.95 Gaffer tape, 30 yard roll . . . <£ 3.95 Lowel Barndoors . $ 5.75 COLORTRAN CINEMASTER CONVERTERS MARK 11 Cinemaster — 40,000 watts. 258.00 Cinemaster, Jr. — 25,000 watts .. 168.00 Cinemaster Chief — 50,000 watts . $309.00 IMEW BOOK REPORTS Animation Techniques and Commer¬ cial Film Production, by Eli L. Levi¬ tan. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 430 Park Ave., New York 22, N.Y. $11.00. Describes in detail the process by which a series of drawings is trans¬ formed into an eye-catching and suc¬ cessful animated commercial film. The author, Eli Levitan, is one of those rare individuals who not only combines practice with theory, but can write about this combination with clari¬ ty and smoothness. An animation vet¬ eran who started with Max Fleischer in the days of “Betty Boop” and “Popeye, cartoons, he wisely assumes that the reader has no previous knowledge of film production. He begins with a brief, yet complete description of film production today, from script to final editing. Then are described the mechan¬ ics of the camera and how the vari¬ ous controls are used in the production of animated films. The technical section includes what is easily the most thorough (and, per¬ haps, the only) explanation of how the field guide is used, the notations by which the animator gives instructions to the cameraman, and the various single and combined effects which give the animated film its universal appeal. Following the technical groundwork, the reader is then taken into the world of the film editor whose skill trans¬ forms a mass of film into a motion picture. Finally, and perhaps most important, there is a complete description of ani¬ mation techniques. Profuse illustrations augment the authors’ descriptions and technical treatises. There is virtually no area of animation technique as applied to commercial film production that is not dealt with. The author’s earlier hook, Animation Art in the Commercial Film, has since become a standard work in the field. This book. Animation Techniques and Commercial Film Production, although complete in itself, takes up where the first hook left off. The Technique of the Sound Studio, by Alec Nisbett. Hastings House Pub¬ lishers, Inc., 151 East 50th St., New York 22, N.Y. $10.50. This book is intended not only for those who are directly concerned with putting sound programs together but also for the writer, director, actor, musician, interviewer, contributor of taped actuality, engineer, or anyone else in any of the many fields which come together in the sound studio. The small film producer, newsreel cameramen shooting in sound, and the in-plant film worker especially will find this book of value because for the first time perhaps, it describes in detail all the procedures necessary to recording sound of professional quality on tape or film. Author Nisbett tells the reader what to listen for when placing microphones, controlling relative sound levels, mix¬ ing, creating sound effects, etc. He re¬ veals how best results can be obtained with any equipment from the simplest inexpensive microphone and recorder to that of the most elaborate recording studio. Film makers undertaking sound recording with the new compact, portable tape recorders now on the market, will find all this extremely helpful toward achieving top quality in film sound tracks. 8mm Sound Film and Education, edited by Louis Forsdale. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Colum¬ bia University, New York 27, N.Y. $2.50. Informed speculation about the im¬ pact 8mm sound film on educational motion picture use, production, and technology are presented in this new 166-page paperback. Here is perspec¬ tive on the many aspects of 8mm sound film and education which need to he considered. The hook reports the pro¬ ceedings of 8mm Sound Film and Education held at Teachers College, Columbia University, in November, 1961. The conference brought together nationally known representatives from education and photographic industries for three days to see and hear demon¬ strations of 8mm sound film and to discuss papers presented by experts. These cover major aspects of 8mm sound film and education, ranging from descriptions of laboratory practices to speculations on print costs in the years ahead, from discussions of the quality of 8mm small sound film to considera¬ tions of new types of projectors which will he stimulated by the development. The annotated bibliography is proba¬ bly the most comprehensive yet as¬ sembled in the 8mm sound field. This is a book for all concerned with the production and use of motion pic 50 AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, JANUARY, 1963