International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

Twenty-two The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER June, 1934 CONTINUITY OF AMATEUR PICTURES mm. By Walter Bluemel (Chief of Workshop, Department of Cinematography, University of Southern California) j^j^W*3LTHOUGH this magazine may appear as intended chiefly for technicians, especially cameramen, an article on story and continuity mayseem somewhat out of place here until one realizes the importance of a close association between writer, director and cameraman. It is only by full co-operation between these departments that the best results are obtainable, the ideal being reached when they are one, at least in effect. Only then can perfect unity, which is so necessary for good pictures, be achieved. This condition is, unfortunately, not usually possible in professional productions, but, with exceptions, is readily possible in amateur production. In order that a picture may be interesting it must have some form of continuity — a linking together of the separate scenes, which alone have little value, into a congruent whole, the combined effect of which is to tell an interesting story which produces an emotion or series of emotions as desired by the writer and director. Without the cooperation of the cameraman, and his understanding of what mood, emotional, or pictorial effect is desired, the separate scenes will not fuse into a congruent picture, and the effect desired by the writer and director will be lost. Hence the importance of close co-operation and the necessity for the cameraman to understand story and continuity construction. I do not believe that the amateur should be taught a lot of theory, for there is no substitute for learning by experience, and too much theory can only be confusing. He will, also, get more enjoyment out of his pictures if they are the result of his own efforts than if he follows closely someone else's suggestions. Enjoyment, after all, is his chief, and sometimes only, desire in making pictures. My object in presenting suggestions is only to whet up the amateur's interest and ambition to make better films, and to help him find new methods of approach. The space here is too limited to go into any amount of detail on the matter of story and continuity construction (for which purpose I again refer to the books I mentioned last month, as well as others on story writing), but a few suggestions at random will not be out of place. The question the beginning amateur who has just received a movie camera will ask is: "What shall 1 photograph?" Realizing that he is dealing with a pictorial medium, and especially one that moves, his first impulse will be to photograph anything that moves. His pictures are merely a group of unrelated scenes, each of which has movement of its own, but does not contribute to the whole effect of the film. It is equivalent to a lot of moving snapshots, and produces no more effect on an audience than a group of ordinary snapshots would do. Like snapshots, these scenes may at first be of interest to the person who took them, or the people who appear in them, and their friends and relatives, but, like the novelty of motion, the novelty of seeing friends, relatives, the baby, or, perhaps, some vacation scenes, soon wears off. If the money spent on movie equipment is not to be wasted, it is time then to consider improving the future films by using good continuity, effective direction and photography, and constructive editing. This only can give lasting appeal. Every amateur is surrounded with things that have story possibilities. He should train himself to appreciate these possibilities and make the most of them. Instead of just taking pictures of the baby or the vacation trip without any thought for continuity, why not make them doubly interesting by building up a continuity around them? Innumerable incidents come up continually in the average person's life which suggest a story for pictures. Some of the most common emotions and experiences often suggest the best story material. In this connection Rudolf Arnheim, in his book "FILM", says: "It is of the greatest works of art that it can most truly be said that they are concerned with emotions everyone knows and experiences — jealousy, filial love, revenge, loyalty, treachery." To make interesting, or even artistic pictures, it is, therefore, by no means necessary to go to out of the way places for out of the way subjects, nor is it necessary to have elaborate equipment. By good continuity, or treatment, most commonplace subjects can be made good picture material. The possibilities are unlimited. Among professional scenario writers, the rule generally is to first choose the character or characters, and then write the plot around them. A plot without characters is naturally impossible. Once, however, we have a specific character, or group of characters, whether real or fictitious, a story can readily be woven around them. The character himself, by his appearance or mannerisms, will often suggest a story to the writer. As with the professional writer, who must usually write for some particular star, the amateur must write stories which fit characters at his disposal. He must, therefore, choose the characters first and write the story around them. The baby, to use a common example (so many amateurs seem to have babies to take pictures of), has excellent story possibilities to the imaginative picture maker, and a picture-story of the baby serves the double purpose of being a photo-record and of being interesting to those who have no particular interest in the baby itself. The same applies to pictures of friends and relatives. The principal character need not always be human. The family pets often offer good story material. Even inanimate objects can sometimes be characters, as, for instance, the family car in a vacation picture. Not long ago I wrote a little scenario in which a dam was the principal character, being the villian. Thus there are so many story possibilities all around that I hardly need mention them to the imaginative amateur. Travel pictures may at first seem devoid of any continuity, but it is very rarely that they are. When there are several people in the part they can readily be made to link the scenes by building a little scenario around them and their travels. The incidents will usually suggest themselves, and in this case the story must be built up as you go along, as was frequently done in very early motion pictures. The country traveled over should suggest story material, as will the characters themselves by their actions and appearance. Repetition in the form of running gags may be used effectively to create comic relief in an otherwise unexciting travel film. A repetition of the same scene throughout the picture is sometimes very comical. This method is used in the J. P. Medbury and Pete Smith travelogues. I remem Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.