Home Movies (1953)

MOVIE FISHING Ever try to take a group of young boys fishing? It's very much like unleashing twenty mountain lions in a small house. The rumpus is fabulous, but it's really very conducive to picture making. I recently took a group of Boy Scouts out to a fishing barge which was moored in the harbor. The fishing had been pretty good in the past, so I took along my camera to record the catches which the boys made. The fish were biting pretty good that day. They caught all manner of cod fish. carpy, and even one fair sized halibut. That all made a part of my film, but the big part was made up of the shipboard activities of the group. This included the mountainous meals which many of the boys brought. One at least included five pickles, three enormous sandwiches, two pieces of pie. and a couple of apples — all of which were eaten while clinging desperately to a fishing pole. Some of the top sequences were made when the boys found a nibble on their hooks. They'd jump up and down trying desperately to wind in the line in a couple of seconds" time. More often than not. these tactics would permit the fish to get away, but some of the fish were dragged aboard. Then came the funny sequences. The boys were usuallv too afraid of the fish to grab it and remove it from the hook, and the looks which came to their faces were some of the most humorous bits I've ever filmed. The boat was outfitted with a huge bait tank in the rear. At the last minute, several of the boys found out what great sport it was to dip bait from the tank and throw it to the seagulls who careened squawkingly around the barge. Despite the protest of the barge manager, they threw the "free meals" to the birds who managed to catch them on the wing. This made a nice sequence, and the final shots were made from the launch which carried us from the barge to dry land. — Ken Mitchell, Tampa. Fla. OCEAN The ocean is a place of many moods. The surface changes with 266 as many variations in expression as a human face. It can be wily, tranquil, joyous, jubilant, and poker-faced. I wanted to do a movie on the ocean, trying to capture these elements. I tried to show how the many sea-things were a part of. yet set apart from, the moods of the ocean itself. I limited my filming to two locations. One was a highly rocky section of beach with calm just beyond the breakers. The other was a smooth, flat HOLLYWOOD MOVIE MAGIC or turned from a block of brass or duraluminum. Building one of these devices permits making a longer pan-handle for your tripod, which results in smoother and easier panning. DELAYED-ACTION TIMER On the market for several years, the popular autoknips tvpe delaved action self-timer for still cameras can be adapted to cine cameras. Actually it is a simple clockwork mechanism that actuates a finger member to which the cable release is ordinarily attached. To convert to cine camera use. cut off the original cable-release hook and replace it with a little brass finger which catches the cinecamera trigger as the finger gradually moves downward during the operation of the timer. It can be set to start the camera from one to sixty seconds after releasing. For use with the Bell & Howell 8mm camera, the timer is fastened to an "L" shaped bracket of brass, as shown, which fits between camera and tripod. For use with other cameras, the shape of the bracket would have to be modified so that it could fit the camera box, be related in the proper position to the release button, and the direction in which it moves to start the camera running. European or American type of autoknips timer can be purchased readily from any camera supply store, and the price is very nominal. REMOTE CONTROL Sometimes an extra hand is necessary when shooting action scenes with the camera mounted on a tripod. A camera-trigger cord on the handle of the tripod head will solve this difficulty for those who use cameras which have a rather large release button. The cord is looped over the release button and then passes over a guide made from a piece of light metal bent at one end and inserted between camera and tripod head. The cord extends from this bearing to the tripod handle, and is tied at this point. This provides a loop for the finger to control the camera button, allowing the same hand that operates the tripod head to control camera action, and leaving the other hand free to operate fading and other effect devices. 8mm FINDER Here is a special finder for the popular l*o lenses itelephoto) used on most 8mm cameras. This one was designed for use on the Keystone-type cameras, but by adapting the finder placement and mount, it may be used on other 3mm cameras as well. Take a flat piece of brass 1/24" thick, shape it to fit on the side of the camera, almost exactly over the key that opens and locks the camera door. On each side of the plate solder a piece of brass 1/24" thick