Home Movies (1943)

home mum Published in llollvwood DECEMBEK II, ESPITE the film shortage, there'll be a lot of Christmas filming this year by astute movie makers who long ago acquired at least one roll of film, and wisely saved it for the year's big shooting event — the 25 th of this month. Almost every movie amateur has made movies at Christmas time. Its an annual ritual, a "must." As years go by, some are hard pressed for new filming ideas; and this year, more than before, requires that good filming ideas form the basis of Christmas movies if the limited film supply is to prove adequate for one's yuletide movie story. The prudent amateur will begin to think early about some form of story continuity long before Christmas day arrives, so that this years' yuletide movie will possess maximum interest, yet not waste a single frame of precious film on unnecessary details as is so often tha case where filming is done hit or miss. Christmas day is a very busy one for everybody, what with the giving and receiving of gifts, the entertainment of drop-in friends, and the general hubbub that attends holiday festivities. All in all, it presents quite a problem for the most resolute cinebug bent on recording Christmas for the family's future enjoyment. The purpose here, then, is to present some Christmas movie making ideas that will enable the filmer to shoot an interesting continuity even though his film supply is limited to a mere 50 or 100 feet. Christmas filmers can be roughly divided into two groups: those with children, whose Christmas activities center about them, and grownups who desire to record the holiday as a part of the family's movie-biography. Both should have a clear-cut plan before starting their cameras turning this year. The thing which makes home movies good is not so much the equipment used or the cleverness of the filmer as the idea behind them. We need only recall the many prize-winning movies measuring a mere hundred feet and photographed • To gain bet'er picture results and make your film go farther, shoot this year s Christmas movie in closeups as much as possible. Closeups reveal more interest with less footage than do medium or long shots. PUN CHRISTMAS CONTINUITIES NOW B y WALTER BROWN with moderate priced cameras, to substantiate this. A satisfactory Christmas movie with continuity and interesting human appeal can be produced with the limited film available to us this year, if we give some thought in advance as to just how we shall proceed. Exposure, composition — these aren't the likely handicaps. Its the story-telling values that must be improved. There are several ways to do this. One is to resolve to take a little more care with our picture making, once we start to shoot; to stick to a prepared plan, and not waste footage on static objects or uninteresting action. Another avenue to improvement is to consider the mistakes made in previous years; to recall the things we wished we had shot last year, and the year before. In short, let's be fully prepared, thoroughly mindful of past mistakes, and consider the limited film supply we have to work with. If there are children in the family, then shooting material will be no problem. The big question will be what to shoot and what to avoid. A planned continuity, then, will solve the problem. "But how can one plan a continuity," one may ask, "when activities of Chil dren are so unpredictable on Christmas day?" All the more reason why activities should be anticipated and analyzed for best possible screen value. Roughly, a Christmas movie of the children will include shots of Christmas eve preparations: tree trimming, gift wrapping, stocking hanging, etc., and then of events Christmas morn: exploring filled stockings, unwrapping gifts, playing with toys. Following activities in this order, and shooting as much as possible in closeups, will net a reasonably enjoyable picture. But what about the filmer who followed this plan last year? Well, this year he must use more imagination, seek a new approach. Suppose for example the family consists of Mother and Dad and two youngsters about six or eight years of age. Make the opening shot a scene of Mother and Dad reading in the living room. The decorated tree in the background indicates its Christmas time. Dad looks at watch, yawns, tells Mother its time to retire. Both rise and exit — be sure they do this unhurriedly, in a truly natural way. Mother peeks into bedroom to make sure kiddies are asleep. Dad, at the linen closet, rt gath• Continued on Page 419 397