Home Movies (1946)

HOME MOVIES FOR SEPTEMBER free his hands for other manipulations on the titler. The total growth of a plant or the formation of crystals can be shown a thousand times faster than normal growth. This type of nature and science study calls for a camera equipped with an electrical release and a timer which will control the interval of time between exposures of a frame of movie film. This particular timer must have a switch for controlling the electrical release on the camera and the necessary flood-Iites that illuminate the subject. All this has been successfully demonstrated with manual cable and electrical releases which I have made and used with my Revere 8mm. camera. Design of the Revere is such that installation of either the manual or electrical release is easily accomplshed. The electrical release, installed on the camera, is sho\yn in the photo while the diagrams give details for constructing and installing both releases. The initial step in preparing the Revere camera for use with either release is to drill a hole in the front of the camera case to admit tip of either release. An accurate diagram indicating exact position for this hole, and dimensions thereof, is shown in Fig. 5. Before this operation is attempted, it is necessary to remove the mechanism from the camera, a step any mechanically minded cinebug will find easy to do. To drill and tap the case without first removing the mechanism would mean, beside possibly damaging vital parts of the motor, that metal chips resulting from the drilling would fall into the • Continued on Page ^71 • Fig. 5 — Scale diagram giving specifications for drilling hole in Revere cannera case to take tip of either manual control cable release or the electrical release,. 543 • For the serious move amateur who augments his movie making education by studying the professional screen, "The Stranger" affords excellent study in photography, editing and plot construction. MOVIE MilLYSlS By ELI WILL THE STRANGER L/\yOl/r FOR THREfiDCO WL£ DIRECTED by Orson Welles. Screen play by Anthony Veiller from a story by Victor Trivas. Cinematography by Russell Metty. Produced by S. P. Eagle. An International Picture. Starring Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, and Orson Welles. ORSON Welles has made an excellent motion picture of The Stranger. He has taken a melodramatic story of an escaped Nazi criminal and turned it into a gripping and exciting film that holds you in suspense right up to the final shot. The picture moves along swiftly and relentlessly with rarely a moment's let-up in interest and tension. Few Hollywood motion pictures can boast of such superb cinematic construction. As with any good film, this accomplishment rests squarely upon its editing. Generally, when we speak of editing, we refer to particular dramatic climaxes or montage effects. However, in the broadcast sense, editing involves the overall conception of the entire motion picture. Every shot is related not only to the immediately preceding or following shots but also to all the other shots in the sequence and in the movie. Compositon, lighting, photography, camera angle and acting are all brought into play as a part of this problem of editing. In this way, Welles has achieved in The Stranger a rhythm and tempo based on film structure which is the key to the excellent suspense in the movie and which 99 out of 100 motion pictures sadly lack. Since the film is well conceived as a whole instead of being a conglomeration of separate scenes, it is difficult to isolate a particular series of shots and have them still retain their value. However there are especially imaginative sections which should be noted as vivid examples of creative film making. The final climatic scene in the church tower is an excellent example of careful editing. It is well worth seeing several times to appreciate how Welles has mounted his shots in a steadily rising dramatic excitement, created by rhythm and tempo of the shots, until the point when Welles, as the Nazi criminal, falls from the tower's ledge and meets his justified fate at the hands of the clock's ornamental angel. • Continued on Page $66