Home Movies (1950)

[EAS show. The egg coloring kit comes equipped with a white marking crayon that can be used to write your titles on the egg. This is invisible on the egg before it is dipped into the dye but after dipping it is legible as white lettering on a colored background. Needless to say, a good tripod is necessary for this work. (By Horace Winters.) "Mind if I catch the last happy expression you'll ever have?" BIRTHDAY PARTY To film a birthday party for the "small fry" it is sometimes difficult to find a suitable way to introduce all the guests as they arrive. Just to show them coming in the door or through the gate into the back yard can be very tiresome. Here is an idea I used and it proved very entertaining. I opened my picture with a shot of the express man delivering a small barrel — one just large enough for a child to hide in. Of course, it creates quite a lot of excitement as it is opened — and out pops the first guest. By stopping my camera between each shot another child is placed in the^barrekand thus makes her appearance. Placing the camera on a good steady tripod, so that the camera will not be moved between shots, gives the impression of all children being in the barrel. To give added punch to the final child, have Mother or someone else reach into the barrel and lift out a baby in the diaper age. — (By Al. Goodwin.} Amateur Heme Movie Reviews ***Excellent, **Good, +Average KEEP OUR REVIEWING STAFF BUSY! Yes, our reviewing staff is looking for more business. Are you sending in those films of yours for suggestion and review. This is a service of your magazine, HOME MOVIES, and all are invited to take advantage of it. So get those films in to us for STAR credit as often as you can. ***"MAX/N£'S CAREER" —600 feet, 16mm Kodachrome by William Messner, Teaneck, New Jersey. Other films by this amateur have been reviewed in the past and to say that he has greatly improved in the past vear is a decided understatement. His latest offering has all the qualifications of a professionally produced film. "Maxine's Career" begins with his daughter's graduation from High School — then follows the hectic days deciding on a college. The decision is made and the scenes of college activity that follow are expertlv handled. Of course, it was impossible to secure actual shots of her work in college and these are scenes that had to be staged. This gave our producer the opportunity to introduce some montage work and it was done to perfection. Particularly the shots of our heroine in her class on stage-craft. A woman and a carpenter's saw are two items that just don't seem to go together, but Mr. Messner's handling of this sequence showed a definite touch for light comedy. Our Starlet comes home for Christmas and the opportunity to appear in a Television Show. The scenes showing Maxine taking off a little weight, preparatory to her debut, adds just enough glamour to the film to start building for the climax. The big night arrives and the show goes on. Here again our producer is to be congratulated as his scenes in the television studio are beautifully handled as to lighting and exposure. Also, it gave our little star the chance to show her ability as a dancer. Needless to say, she wins the television contest and the closing montage of her dreams of fame and fortune leave nothing to be desired. An excellent film. it++"PARADISE IN THE PACIFIC"— 600 feet, 16mm Kodachrome, by Jack Shandler. There have been a great many feet of color film exposed in Honolulu so it takes a little different treatment to make a film on "the cross roads of the world" outstanding. This has been done to an exceptional degree in Mr. Shandlers newest picture that was recently viewed by the Los Angeles Cinema Club. The picture opens with the usual views of the harbor and Waikiki Beach but due to framing and unusual composition you get the feel of a new approach. Build PRETTY — BUT NO ACTION! Leave this for the still photographer. ings, streets and highways, so familiar to those who have been to the islands, take on new beauty. Bur Mr. Shandler has gone farther than the usual travelogue. He takes you into scenes that make the island "click." The interior scenes of pineapple being canned at the Dole plant are very well exposed and must have • continued on Page 125 107