Home Movies (1943)

HOME MOVIES FOR SEPTEMBER • A novel title wipeoff effect made by "rolling" one title away to reveal the one beneath. Titles are lettered on light paper, much larger than title area, allowing ample latitude for handling and roiling away title by hand as it is filmed. TRICKS II TITLES Cinematic innovations that get a film off to M A [NY amateur film, whether a super-feature or an ordinary family home movie, will make a better impression on the screen if it's opening titles are cleverly made. Note that we state ''opening titles." This definitely excludes spoken titles and subtitles for the reason that these should always appear as simple as possible and unadorned by decoration. But the main title, and the credit titles that follow, are much more effective if they are made unique through animation or other cinematic effects. Besides, title making becomes more fun when new a good start VAN TREES photographic trick effects are explored. A great many amateurs shoot pictures at the beach each year. Appropriate v/ould be an effect in the opening title suggesting the locale. Here is a trick that will put a touch of seashore in such titles even though you now live miles away from the ocean. It involves making an artificial beach in a shallow tray • Opening series of introductory titles in which the letters are painted on board fence background by paint brush swinging magically as though by unseen hand. Details for performing this titling trick are described fully by author Van Trees beginning on this page. or not too deep wooden tank, home constructed for the purpose. This is partially filled with fine sand and smoothed out to an even depth. The "beach" should slant downward and leave enough room at the nearer end of tray to hold a quantity of water. Next step r to construct a wooden sluice box, which will enable you to suddenly let enough water into the tray to make a wave that washes up over the sand and then recedes. The receding action is obtained by admitting the water at the lower end of the miniature beach. It will flow up the inclined beach, then reverse itself, flowing down grade by gravity. The trick effect to be accomplished by this setup is to have a wave wash up on the beach, then recede, revealing the title. This is produced by arranging block title letters in the sand, then covering them smoothly with sand. The camera begins by filming the sand. The water is realeased to form the wave, and as the water recedes, it carries away with it a quanity of sand to reveal the letters. Obviously, the covering of sand over the letters should be as thin a( possible without revealing outline of the letters. To "fade out" the title or cause it to disappear by the same action, more water is released from the sluice box to cause another wave to wash over the letters. The camera is stopped in the midst of the action and the letters removed or replaced by letters forming the next title; and the release of water • Continue J on Page 295 HELEN* £ARL COCHRA^ 285