Home Movies (1954)

how to shoot S I \ and SNOW By JULIUS SMITH Icicles are an excellent compositional aid in framing your main point of interest. Try to include a mass near the camera ichich can frame the scene and thus give it more depth. IF you're sweating it out in Southern California right now. or are lolling around somewhere in South Africa, why just pass this one up — unless you want to read on anyway and learn something which might come in handy. This is about snow and sun and how to shoot it. I guess the most important thing to think about with this kind of material is exposure. \^ ithout the right exposure. ( and we are talking about color film now I you can't even start thinking about the routine shots which lie so invitingly on every side when cold weather rolls along. But let's assume that we have been using that exposure meter pretty steadily all through the summer, and are fairly familiar with it: in fact, our films are pretty fair, even if we say so ourselves because we have done pretty well with the vacation films and even the indoor stuff we shot on Thanksgiving. In photographing snow scenes there are a few things which have to be considered such as cold weather, huge masses of sheer white, and lots of ultra-violet light. Then there are the various kinds of snow — muddy and dirty after a thawing day: hard and crusty after a soft snowfall, with cold weather following and freshly fallen snow. W hy do we list the various kinds of snow? Simply because each type demands a different kind of approach, and if we know how to shoot that particular kind of shot, then doesn't it follow that we shall have better films? So let s consider a few of the things mentioned in the last few paragraphs — like cold weather for instance. If it s cold, keep warm and keep the camera warm too. \^ ear warm. Sec Next Page you can shoot WITHOUT I TRIPOD By GEORGE CARLSON One of the most distinguishing technical marks of a good home movie is it's steady scenes. Hardly anything can beat a good sturdy tripod, but many of us are inclined to forget to take it along on a filming expedition. Even at home we like the easy way of hand holding the camera with it's usual weavy results. There are many substitutes for a tripod — many better than some of the thin legged spindly affairs available. Around home, for example, lean the camera against a door jamb or sit backwards on a chair and rest the camera on the chair back. Fig. 1. Out of doors the same holds good, try a tree, if convenient, to help steadv yourself and camera. Fig. 2. Those picnic benches and tables are as steady as anvthing. Fig. 3. A fence, park bench, bridge piers or railings, car doors all are fine. Fig. 4. For a camera hike get yourself an old broom stick and turn down, by force, a short 14-20 bolt into a smaller bored hole in one end. Cut off the bolt head and you have a pretty good unipod and hiking stick combined. Fig. 5. This is handy at games too, when you sit in the stands. Make it just the right height for eye-level, so that • See TRIPOD on Page 19 14