Close Up (Jul-Nov 1927)

Record Details:

Title:
Close Up
Date:
Jul-Nov 1927
Publisher:
[London, etc., Pool]
Volume:
Close up ... devoted to the art of films
Leaf #:
000485
Language:
English
Subjects:
motion pictures, Motion pictures -- Periodicals
Collection:
Global Cinema, Switzerland, and Early Cinema
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
Library of Congress, MBRS, Moving Image Section
Sponsor:
Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
As an active film magazine, CLOSE UP lasted only a short time, from 1927 to 1933. Yet the legacy of this English-language periodical, which was published in Switzerland, continues to matter. Edited by Bryher and her husband Kenneth Macpherson, CLOSE UP became THE magazine for energetic debates about the nature of cinema and manifestos imagining new forms of filmmaking and spectatorship. The magazine published articles by filmmakers, such as Sergei Eisenstein, and female literary modernists, such as H.D. and Gertrude Stein. As film scholar Anne Friedberg explains in the anthology CLOSE-UP, 1927-1933: CINEMA & MODERNISM, 'CLOSE UP became the model for a certain type of writing about film -- writing that was theoretically astute, politically incisive, critical of films that were simply 'entertainment.' For six and a half years, CLOSE UP maintained a forum for a broad variety of ideas about the cinema; it never advocated a single direction of development, but rather posed alternatives to existing modes of production, consumption, and film style.' Like Friedberg's own writing, CLOSE UP continues to be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of film and media theory. -- Eric Hoyt, 2014
Date Added:
August 29, 2022
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CLOSE UP passing clouds, which are smeared on a roller, and if the lamp is brought sharply into focus thumb marks can be seen on the clouds ! If a spot hght is too sharply focussed it is possible to bum a hole in an actor's face. Beware ! When hghts are carried about for exteriors they are run on an automobile. In exterior work lamps are often used which in the studio would take all the features from an artist's face — I mean photographically ! Occasionally the light on exteriors is too strong, then the harsh hght is softened by strips of white cloth nailed above the outdoor stage. For exceptional exterior work, such as scenes in caverns, the lighting is suppHed by magnesium torches. As I have already observed there is no rule of thumb for the number of hghts to use and where to place them, but you will be able to work out your hghts if you do as I tell you. The golden rule that I would give you is, "Look for the shadows". Another second is ; "Make up your mind at once whether it is going to be a 'straight' or an 'effect' lighting." You think that doesn't get you very far ? Come, experiment. Here is a set. You want to hght it for an ordinary straight day hght shot. Place one lamp anywhere in front of the set outside the range of the camera. Immediately you will notice the heavy shadow which tells its tale of studio construction ; therefore you will want a lamp to counteract the shadow^ of the first. So you can go on placing your lamps until 43