American cinematographer (Aug 1936)

August, 1936 • American Cinematographer 34S ILL 11, Ralph Dawson editing a production at Warner Bros.’ Studio. H O W Anth o n y Ad Y ou MAY RECALL that "Anthony Adverse" in book form covered upwards of twelve hundred type pages. In more ways than one, it was o "big story." When you see it on the screen, os of course you must, I believe you will agree that the Warner Bros.' version, which is now being premiered in the larger centers, is o "big film" (I almost used "colossal") in many respects, including its longitude. From start to finish it measures exactly 12,250 feet. To grasp fully the magnitude of the undertaking, o few figures ore pertinent. The script was of 250 pages; 1,098 camera set-ups were utilized, which I believe, is o record number of scenes in any dramatic offering to dote. In addition, another 200 scenes come from the special effects department in the form of superimposed titles and similar process photographies. These 1,300 individual scenes representing a total of upwards of 600,000 feet of positive print come in to my cutting room. From this mileage of celluloid tope I was to fashion a unit of screen entertainment telling o fast- moving and straightforward dramatic narrative. Translating the job into amateur camera measurement equivalents, it is os though you hod 240,000 feet of 1 6mm film or 120,000 feet of 8mm to edit and patch together. It represents quite o stock of 50 or 100-foot spools. I was well prepared for this avalanche of film, for I hod just finished the cutting of "Midsummer Night's Dream," which in many regards was the most intricate editing assignment I know of. First sifting come in the projection room. With Mervyn LeRoy, the director, I viewed each day's rushes on the screen. From these the choice takes were selected. It must be remembered that any scene may be shot several times from varying angles and with slightly varying action in order to obtain the best possible rendition of that seg- ment of the story. The unused or "second" takes were stored in cons each correctly labeled for instant access if later needed. When sufficient of these "first" takes accumulated to comprise a sequence, I asembled them. The entire series of these sequences completed the picture. Each of these scenes, of course, is stripped of all but the essential action before going into the sequence. W-hen we screened this first "rough cut," the picture ran 15,000 feet. This footage was the cream of the 600,000 feet passing before our first examination. Then came the delicate surgery of trimming the picture without interfering with the smooth flow of continuity. A few feet would be trimmed here; possibly a few feet would have to be added in another place. This refining and final polishing is arduous work; 2,500 feet had to be taken from a picture that apparently couldn't spare a single frame. It's a rather ruthless and cold-blooded op- eration. But, weighing the relative value of every foot of film, we eventually pared the picture to 12,500 feet of which some 300 feet is taken by straight titles. These positive trims are rolled and labeled with the scene numbers and stored in tins. Sound track film carrying the dialogue is cut to con- verse Was Cut by Ralph Dawson Film Editor, Warner Bros. Studios. form to the picture print. With this working print ap- proved, I can sit back and draw a deep breath of relief and await the first appearance of the next production— which usualy comes the next day. Picture and sound track next visit the sound-effects and music departments where these contributions are added to the dialogue. To this working print, now complete as ta sound and picture, the negative is matched and cut. Pic- ture and sound on their two separate negatives are then printed on one positive which is the release print exhib- ited in your theater. It has been stated many times that pictures are shot on the set, but are really made in the cutting room. To a large extent this is true. The amateur cinematographer constitutes all these several agencies; he is director, cine- matographer and editor rolled into one. He is in position to cut with his camera as he is shoot- ing. His work does not suffer the caustic competitive crit- icism that ours does. He hasn't the investment in sets and players. It is nat essential that he shoat each scene several times ta assure himself he is getting the finest effects ob- tainable. Nor that he make countless production "pro- tection" shots. I offer these suggestions. Lay out your proposed pic- ture on paper, scene by scene and in detail. Visualize the pictorial form each scene should take. Then shoot the scenes. When your film comes back from the laboratory, assemble and patch it together in continuity—but make it a rough cut. Now screen this first draft. Run it several times until you get the feel of its story and can sense the needed tempo of its proper development. Then do your trimming. Ybu can now value each scene in its relationship to the entire picture. If you make final trim of each scene as a complete unit rather than as a contributing factor to the entire picture, you will miss much of the smooth pace and timing that is Continued on page 356