Home Movies (1951)

Home Movies SiEr HOLLYWOOD'S MAGAZINE FOR THE 8MM AND 1 6MM CAMERAMAN HENRY PROVISOR • EDITOR Vol. XVIII CONTENTS FOR JUNE, 1951 No. 6 ARTICLES STRANGERS MAKE FINE ACTORS— By Wilma Marlow . 193 SAFARI IN BRAZIL— By Sam Zebba 194 SYNCHRO-SOUND FOR THE AMATEUR— By George Cushman 195 WIDE-ANGLE LENS— By Stanley Andrews 196 MAKING BIRD MOVIES— By Arthur Marble, Ph.D. . . . 197 BACKYARD MOVIES— By Dave Detiege 198 CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE— By A. M. Lawrence . . 198 COMMON MOVIE TROUBLES— By George Carlson . . 199 MOVIE PREVIEWS— By Tamara Andreeva 190 DEPARTMENTS CINE' CAPSULES 188 CLUB NEWS 189 VACATION HINTS 191 VACATION IDEAS 200 CINE WORKSHOP 204 PRODUCT NEWS 206 I'VE GOT A PROBLEM 211 NEW FILM RELEASES 212 TIMELY TITLES 219 Cover Photograph by C. A. PETERSON Home Movies, Hollywood's magazine for amateur movie makers. Published monthly by Ver Halen Publications. Los Angeles, California. No part of contents may be reprinted without permission from the publisher. Entered as second-class matter May 6, 1938 at the postoffice at Los Angeles, Calif., under the act of March 3, 1879. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: U. S. $3.00 per year. Two years $5.00. Single copies, 25c. Canada, $3.50 per year. Foreign $4.00 per year. Foreign subscriptions accepted only if accompanied by payment in U. S. Funds. Advertising rates on application. Editorial CONTRIBUTIONS are invited but the publishers assume no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photos, which should be accompanied by sufficient postage for return if not used. Payment for editorial material made on application. CHARLES J. VER HALEN Publisher C. J. VER HALEN, JR Associate Publisher OFFICE OF PUBLICATION— 6047 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 28, Calif., HU. 2-3253 NEW YORK OFFICE— Seymour A. Robbins, 1819 Broadway, Plaza 7-0955 THE POINT from which distance should be measured in taking extreme close-ups, such as titles and insects, on most lenses, is on a level with the iris of the lens. * * * A SMALL HOOK near the top of the tripod is useful for hooking on to the end of a 25-foot (or longer) tape measure for measuring distances from lhe camera. TOO MUCH humidifying of film is more harmful than letting it dry to the brittle stage, inasmuch as it can ruin a film completely, whereas film which has dried brittle can sometimes be softened, or copied on to fresh film. * * * A SMALL SCREEN for editing purposes can be made by soaking a sheet of aluminum in a strong lye solution for about half an hour to give it a matte surface. PROJECTOR LAMPS burn out quicker on some projectors than others due to the difference in cooling. * * * WHEN COLOUR shots consistently show people's skin as being too tanned or reddish, as frequently happens in colour photography, try giving a little more exposure — about half a stop. * * * A PORTRAIT attachment for a still camera can be used with a movie lens of any focal length, inasmuch as a supplementary lens of this type does not have to be matched to any particular lens. It is, however, necessary to have some means of checking the focus, such as visual focussing, in order to determine the correct distance required between lens and subject. * * * TAKE EVERY opportunity to view other people's films so that you can see the effect of the different methods of handling, from the point of view of the audience. This will help in deciding what to leave in and what to cut out of your own films. * * * X-RAY DEVELOPER is ideal for beveloping titles taken on positive film, as it is very contrasty. * * * THE AVERAGE movie camera gives an exposure of about one-thirtieth of a second to each frame at the normal sixteen-frame-per-second speed. 188