American cinematographer (Oct 1933)

234 American Cinematographer • October 1933 GOERZ TRiX OBjECTO METER An exposure Meter Based on a New Scientific Principle Compares unknown light intensity of object with standard intensity of a luminous disc. Perma- nent calibration. Due to the long range of expos- ure readings, the Trix is equally successful indoors and outdoors for still and motion pictures including night scenes and snow landscapes. No delicate parts which need replace- ment or get out of order. Small, light, neat, easy to use and read, reasonably priced. Pan-Ortho Green Filters Manufactured by Dr. Kelner, they pro- vide requisite absorption of excess blue- violet and red sensitiveness of modern panchromatic emulsions and are a dis- tinct improvement over the yellow type of filter. Equally efficient for non-red sensitive orthochromatic emul- sions. Consequently, Universal filters for all purposes. Supplementary blue filter for additional' red absorption, al- so red filter for night effects. Un- cemented, very thin discs of optical glass, plane parallel and of true sur- face. Combined in sets, offer great variety of photographic results. Exclusive Distributors for the U. S. C. P. Coerz American Optical Co. 317 East 34th St. New York CRAIG JR. SPLICER *3 5 ° Now available for use with both 8 mm and l6 mm films. CRAIG SPLICER *IO ^ Now available in l6 mm size for use with either silent or sound on film films CRAIG MOVIE SUPPLY Co. 1031 South Broadway LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Represented by Ampro in the East Lighting The (Continued from Page 225) “booster-lights.” Very often, when you are working either indoors, or on porches, etc., in deep shade, you can use lights to illuminate your subject so that the shadowed foreground will balance proper- ly with the brightly sunlit portions. This is especially useful when you are making interiors during the day-time, with sunlit windows showing in the background. Normally, even a well-illuminated in- terior would receive so much less ex- posure than the brightly-illuminated view seen through the windows, that the latter would be grossly over-exposed, showing up as only a glare of white. By using lights on such interiors—even where they wouldn’t seen necessary--you can balance the exposure so that the result on the screen is really natural. In conclusion, undoubtedly the best summary of the problem of lighting a set is found in the words of James Wong Howe, A. S. C., who has said: “Instead of approaching any given set or action with the question, ‘How shall I light this?’, I prefer to approach it with the thought, ‘What compositions can I make with this set and this action?’ Then I proceed to make those compositions— and the lighting automatically takes care of itself. . . . There are of course scores of little tricks of lighting which help to give the effect of actuality. Every photo- grapher or painter soon learns, for in- stance, the value of contrasted planes— Ten Common Mistakes of the Amateur (Continued from Page 226) of continuity. You see the 16mm home movie is an intimate picture. They are called personal movies, home movies and every other term that indicates they are intimate. So get intimate shots. The close-up is the most intimate picture you can secure. Many fail to change their exposure for close-ups over a normal shot. You must open the lense from one to two stops for a close-up when there is no change in the light as compared to the exposure for a long shot on the same subject. The amount the lense will have to be opened of course will depend upon the light reflecting qualities the subject contains. The darker the subject the more you must open the lense. We have merely sketched these faults and methods of over-coming and correct- ing them. From time to time we will devote a complete article to these various phases so as to give you a more intimate understanding of what to do to secure better pictures. Home Set different degrees of illumination on back- ground, foreground, and middle-distance .—and of little catch-lights on curved sur- faces, archways, and draperies . . . and the fascinating play of light and shade (not always, by any means, shadow).... And that is about all there is to say about the problem of lighting: make your com- position; arrange your primary lighting to accentuate whatever may be the salient points of that composition, and to give a natural effect; arrange the rest of the lighting to carry out that idea, and to properly display your set and players and there you have your set lit!” Exposure Meters Become Professional (Continued from Page 222) use good photographic sense. You can- not expect the meter to give you the cor- rect reading of a scene at a great dis- tance when the light in front of you is not the same as at that distance. An exposure meter of the photo- electric type is influenced by the light immediately in front of it. If you are standing in the shadow and intend to shoot out in the sun, don’t expect to get the right reading. Go out there in the sun and get the reading. If you are in the sun and your subject is in the shadow . . . get the reading at the camera, then get another reading right up in the shadows. Take the average. That s what you would do if you had a wide exper- ience in photography and depended upon your judgment. Let’s say you are out in the sun and you secure a reading of objects in the shadow of FI 1 and up close you secure a reading of F5.6, I should say F8 would be the proper stop to use. It’s because of these things you must know that I say it is not a “ouija board, but you must use some of your photographic knowledge under various conditions. I heard a story about an amateur re- cently, which brought quite a laugh, but it impressed on me what a mighty fine thing the exposure meter must seem to people of such little photographic know- ledge. This fellow was using an ortho- chromatic film and was told to shoot it wide open. The shots came out rather well. He was shooting some beach scenes. When he said he had shot it wide open they asked him what stop he had used. He didn’t know the figure but showed them on the camera. He had set his lense at FI 6 and thought it was wide open. Many are of the opinion the profes- sional is a bit too proud to use an ex-