Home Movies (1951)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

BETS • Continued from Page 414 the action is taking place, and to set the mood. Now take a medium shot, to show WHAT is happening, (this really tells the story), and finally get in close for your close-up. This tells us WHO is involved in the story, and adds dramatic punch. HOW LONG SHOULD A SCENE BE? Long enough to convey what we want to tell. Scenes should not be less than four seconds in length, nor more than eight seconds. This is a good general rule. Count seconds accurately. Say, "thousand one", "thousand two" when checking length of a scene. THE SHINING JEWEL — CONTINUITY Continuity is simply — continuousness. When one scene links up smoothly with the next — with no jarring bumps — that is good continuity. Here is an example. Start the shot and photograph the action ; then, with the next shot, begin at the end of the last shot. In other words, overlap the action from one shot to another. Later, on, the excess can be cut. FIRST STEPS TOWARD TITLING Titling can be said to be a method of punctuating our statements on film. It can establish a change of scene, a lapse of time, or make clear some relationship in your film. Make your own titles, or use a sign board or street marker to indicate the location of your story. Maps, still photos, or even newspaper clippings can suggest a change of location. Another way, is to fade out the picture to end one scene, and fade in the next picture to begin a new scene. FIRST STEPS TOWARDS A SHOOTING SCRIPT A shooting script is really a "shopping list" of the things you have to do to make your film. Decide on the subject, then make notes on each scene, numbering each one, and recording the amount of footage required for each shot. This way you can budget your film and control the length of the entire project. LET THERE BE LIGHT Make sure each scene receives enough light. Outdoors, we can only choose the direction from which the light is to come, and sometimes throw extra light into the shadows by using reflectors. Make a few shots with the sun behind you — with the light coming from one side — and some with the sun behind your subject. Front lighting is safest but gives a flat effect. Side-lighting adds roundness, but requires reflectors to light up the shadow side. Back lighting involves the danger of the sun shining into your lens and causing flares. Experiment first with 16x24 cardboard sheets covered with foil to bounce light into shadow areas. Indoor lighting is more difficult, but the same things are involved. The photoflood, lasting only six hours, but giving a great amount of light, is the best bulb for the beginner. Units and stands supporting two photoflood lights can be purchased at any camera store. Take one and place it at the camera, somewhere above your picturetaking position, and note the effect. Move it to the left, then to the right, and see how your subject will appear to be more rounded, more natural. The flat light at the camera position is bad for black and white filming — avoid it when you can. Why not try it? BOOK HIM THE LITTLE FELLOW — Life and work of Charlie Chaplin — By Peter Cotes and Thelma Niklaus. 160 pages, published by The Philosophical Library, Inc. New York ($3.75). Although so many millions of people think of Chaplin almost as par of their lives, few know the details of his life. In this book they will find the account of Chaplin's poverty-stricken childhood in Kennigton; re-live his exciting apprenticeship with Fred Karno and his conquest of the London and provincial music-halls, BMM— 16MM KODACHROME ALACK & WHITS fr of , if* 8-16mm Silent. Sound, Sales, Rental, Exchanges. REED & REED DISTRIBUTORS, INC. 7508 3rd AVE., BROOKLYN 9. N. Y. REFLECTOR PHOTOLAMPS Naturally the other part is you and your camera. But put G-E Medium Beam reflector photolamps to work helping you and you'll get more rewarding results! Because these are the lamps made for home movies! Their spread matches that of your camera lens— to give you more usable light from less current. Ideal for 4-lamp camera bracket lights, since you can use up to four PH/375 lamps on a single home circuit. Get better lighted holiday shots this year. Use General Electric Medium BeamReflector Photolamps Remember . . . G-E Lamps for every photographic purpose GENERAL ELECTRIC 431