Home Movies and Home Talkies (Jun 1932-May 1933)

356 HOME MOVIES & HOME TALKIES sequence out of nothing — ^nothino: but odd shots arranged in rhytluiiic and dramatic cross-cutting. As for the word Assembling, I ^:^^!t-,./J^l■V^^^l^^lJ■t^■^-^■--.J-^^:^.^..'.■;73E■Jl^..^^vBl.^^^v^au■J^ E Q m E Fig. 1. A helpful device for working out movements tliink this should be reserved for the first stage in Editing — that is, the rough assembling together of the shot scenes in their continuity. We are now left with the two words Cutting and Editing. Use whichever you feel like. If you feel that this is the job of work of a technician who knows and is proud of his ci-aft, then Cutting is a good workmanlike word. But if you feel that it is something more than just this, if you consider that it is a creative taskrequiring a more dignified wortl than Cutting, then you can adopt Editing. Method in Editing How amateur films ever get edited sometimes baffles me. I have myself edited numberless 35-mm . films with just a bench, scissors, a ramshackle winder, film cement, a brush to put it on with, and a bin to unroll my film into (and not always that). What I have missed in equipment I have made up in tidiness and some attempt at orderliness. For instance, when I have been choosing my takes, I have noted, in an ordinary stenograjiher's book, the number of the take I have chosen — marking out the book before going into the projection room. All the scenes and every take of each scene I have assembled in numerical order and then noted in my book, one scene to the page, thus : Scene 1 (at the top of mv page) and Take 1, Take 2, Take 3, etc. (down the lefthand side of my sheet). In this way it is easy to make your notes as the film is being projected. (Fig. 2.) Then, when this is done, I unwind the film on the cutting bench — -with my notebook at my side — join all the chosen takes in numerical order on one reel and roll up each unused scene, label and number it, put a rubber band around it and then put it in a tin. When this tin is full I put a label on the cover of the tin, J=-ILM STICK THIN NAILS. Fig. 2. The Notebook An artist's impression of the film editor's room in a British studio Copyright '^Illustrated London Nexvs " carefully marking it with the name of the film, the numbers of the scene contained and in large letters mark it " REJECTED TAKES." This method saves hours of labour looking for sections of film, for though they may be rejected you will surely find yourself needing some of them after all — perhaps because a chosen take doesn't match ; or you may need part of a take because you are cross-cutting that scene and the first part of your rejected take is better than that of the chosen take, though the eml of the rejected take or takes are hopeless. Or again, you may want to lengthen and draw out the action by repeating a close-up. So, in short, study your rejected takes and label them carefully — and if you have time when choosing takes, mark in your little book why and where one take Fig. 3. The Film Bin was bad and another was better. (See Fig. 2.) If you have the space aiad the money j'ou can fit up a glorious cutting room. Shelves, pigeon holes, a real sufficiency of bins, moviolas or such " projection " machines for viewing and hearing short sections of film on your cutting bench, bin clips, patent scrapers^ joining macliines and numberless other amusing and useful gadgets. A. modern cutting room, well fitted up, is a joy to an Editor. In such perfect surroundings he can bathe happiest and most satisfied person on a production unit. ■When you have joined up your chosen takes in numerical order, you will see them once more on tlie screen in order tO' study the action a little closer and to look out for the approximate places Fig, i. The '• Film Horse'