Home Movies (1950)

USING ODD SHOTS WHAT ARE YOU doing with those odd shots of babies' cute antics that just don't seem to fit into any particular reel? Well, when new fathers meet they talk about their offspring. You can open this sequence with Dad and another man meeting on the street. The other party immediately reaches into his pocket and produces a wallet with pictures of HIS baby. Then show a close-up of the wallet to get the baby picture idea over. Dad will listen patiently for a few moments, politely push the pictures aside and go into an animated conversation about HIS baby. At this point Dad should go into a pantomine of taking movies and then cut to the shot he is talking about. Many humorous spoken titles can be inserted such as "Yeh! But my kid ..." etc., just before the cut to the pictUre. This can be continued until all your good shots are used. But be sure to show Dad's friend gradually resigning himself to his fate as he listens to his chatter. You might end this story with the friend putting his wallet back in his pocket and saying, "Where the heck can I buy a movie camera?" (By Elva Sullivan!) WATCH THEM GROW WHEN ONE HAS a new movie camera and a baby in the house, the baby seems to be the star of all productions. Baby doing this and baby doing that and we end up with a fine record of baby's growing up stage. But some years ago I was intrigued with a scene in stop motion of a plant sprouting from the earth and unfolding its petals. This gave a more dramatic impression than if the photographer had taken shots of different plants of the same variety in various stages of development. Deciding to do the same with our son who had reached the age of six I tried for the same effect. Each year on his birthday, I had his Mother and our boy take the same position on our front steps and go through the same motions. I shoot only five feet each year (16mm) and this is kept on a separate reel and spliced together. Now, at the age of sixteen, I have a reel of film that is priceless, for he grows the ten years in the space of minutes with an absolute comparison. It is surprising, when you see him in the same pose every year, how your film will resemble stop motion photography. (By Bill Jennings.') SPOKEN TITLES A GREAT MANY amateurs seem to be in doubt as to just where and how to insert a SPOKEN title. For example, let us take a scene of Mother calling Mary for dinner. In a long shot we see Mother coming out the door, then cut to a medium close shot as she looks up the street for Mary. As she MOVIE by THE READERS sees her she calls, "Mary, dinner is ready." In the close shot of Mother let her speak the entire title, then shoot the entire title just as it was spoken. When inserting it in your film cut the shot just after Mother has said "Mary" insert the title and cut back to Mother just before she has spoken the last word "ready." Then back to the medium shot as she turns and enters the house or any other action that your picture calls for. This will make for a very smooth insert. (By V. C. Gordon.) A WORD OF CAUTION JUST A WORD OF caution, in the interests of film economy, to the new camera owner. Remember, you now own a MOVING PICTURE camera, not a MOVING CAMERA picture. In other words, DON'T PAN unless absolutely necessary and if you do, do it just half as fast as you think it should be done. (By Joe Roebke.) This is . . . YOUR DEPARTMENT To all of you who have asked us for filming ideas, we dedicate this new department. The suggestions outlined are edited from letters and suggestions submitted from cine fans all over the country and we are sure they will be welcome. If you have ideas for short film subjects, send them along — your fellow hobbyists need them. Anyway, let us know your reaction to this new department. — Ed. ACTION— MAKES YOUR FILM! And everyone will enjoy it. TITLE BACKGROUND IT IS NOT too early to start giving some thought to your Easter film of the kiddies. There are several shots that can be made before-hand, particularly the titles. One of the most effective title backgrounds, if you are shooting in color, is through the use of the oil type egg dye that floats on water. Secure a large basin, large enough to extend beyond the limits of your lens, and place your camera in position on a good steady tripod. Sprinkle the various colored dyes on the water and after they have produced the desired mottled effect, start your camera. Prepared and ready to use are the eggs and the wire dipper that comes with the dye set. After the camera has run for a slow count of ONE, dip the egg in the dye and bring it out. Hold it for about one second in front of the lens and then remove it. With backwinding your film and with reasonable timing, you can dissolve from one main title to another as each egg is dipped into the dye. The closer you can shoot this background material the more effective your titles will be. (By Horace Winters.) EXTREME CLOSE-UP USING THE SAME treatment as above, a more startling effect can be produced if you have a telephoto lens capable of extreme close-ups. Then focus your lens on an area a little larger than the egg itself allowing a small portion of the dye material to 106