International photographer (Jan-Dec 1935)

March, 1935 The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER Twenty-first for Miss Ralston. While the "stand-in" patiently posed, the lights and set appurtenances were arranged for the next scene between Esther Ralston and Edmund Lowe. Overhead on the "cat-walks," men were moving lights. On the floor, lights were also being shoved and hurriedly arranged. Everywhere men, hairy chested ones, were rushing, hurrying, jostling each other, and walking over each other like a swarm of ants when their nest is disturbed. There was not time for excuse-me, or pardonrae, nor did I hear any, although there were a few disparaging looks cast by a victim at a receding husky form who had just collided with the victim. Perhaps "hardlooks" would describe them better. Over the hum of the activity was a constant babble of talk and orders. Here could be heard, "throw a baby on her," then someone would say "move the gobo in," or "how's the high stuff." I wondered what a "gobo" and "high stuff" was; a "gobo" is a shield of black cloth, or compo board, used to prevent the light from hitting the camera or certain portions of the set. A "gobo' is also at times called a "nigger." "High stuff" is the lighting equipment on the cat-walks. "Can you get the duck nearer" meant, the microphonewas too far away. The microphone — pardon me — the "duck" is hung on a "boom," which can hold the microphone above the players heads out of "camera-lines" and at the same time move it about to follow the movement of the players. A "duck" in some studios is called a "mike." A "mixer" is a sound man who increases or decreases and blends the various sounds during the filming of a scene. A "whistle-box" is a device used on an arc light to eliminate the hum of the arc. You don't put the milk in the ice-box in a studio ; instead the camera is put in the milk because the milk is a sound-proof box used for silencing the camera mechanism. "Dolly" isn't an extra girl ; instead it is the wheeled platform on which the camera is mounted for moving shots. A "butter-fly" is a gauze-covered hoop that is held over the heads of the players for diffusing the sun light in out-door shots, while a "century" is a standard that is constructed so as to hold a shade at any angle. When I heard someone at Universal say, in the manner of authority, "Go over and strike Whale on eighteen," I thought now here is something I can understand and like to see. Imagine, to my bloodthirsty chagrin, it was only instructions to the gang-foreman to dismantle Director James Whale's set on sound stage number eighteen. "Striking a set" is tearing it down, or in other words, it is taking the "toe-nail* out of the flats and storing them." "Toe-nails," 1 might explain, are nails that have two heads and can only be driven in the wood to the first head ; the second head being hooked by the hammer to expedite the removal of the nail when the set is to be torn down — pardon me again — I mean "struck." "Flats" are pieces of rectangular material which fit together in making the setting. The studios have groups of flats from which in a few moments are made millionaire homes, or another group of "flats" that when nailed together is an Irish shanty, others are New England homes, or perhaps a poor man's hovel. All the "flats" including doors and windows, go in groups and fit together like a mail-order house. They are kept in "flat-buildings" which are really square buildings or sheds that house the "flats", if you can gather what I mean. When the settings made of "flats" are put together, they are papered in keeping with the scenes to be shot on that set. The "fly-squad" is the gang which helps the set dresser move the furniture and arrange the set. No, they don't kill flies, but I've watched some of them work and flies could be killed on them. "Furniture" is the large prop, while a "hand-prop" is the small piece such as a vase, picture, and such small atmospheric items. "Sweetening a set" means adding frilly, feminine things. The language of the motion picture is indeed a strange one. No one seems to know from where the words come ; they just grow. Occasionally some incident happens that gives some mechanical gimmick a nickname ; perhaps some device is developed for a particular star such as the "Lupe" light named after Lupe Velez because it was made specially to light her picture. The "niggers," used to prevent the set illumination from spreading to unwanted places, were called "niggers" because they were black until one day a noted negro actor played on a set. From that day on "niggers" also had the name, "gobo." So on and on, a visitor on a set if he wanted to understand everything that was said would most certainly require an interpreter. i-nmiiiii»iii:m ' :i, i • 1 i. Z!fLeLa.,s<iWox<£ In Sound Recording THE NEW PRINCIPLE MINOR QUARTZ OPTICAL UNIT becomes an integral part of your sound recorder— this unit is cemented into a steel block—— it focuses a beam of light of great intensity and actinic value a distance away and on the film, which PROVIDES CLEARANCE and PREVENTS SCRATCHING of the sound track. The width of the beam of light measures from .0005" to .0008" as it strikes the moving film. Send for details and specimen of sound track. i . i . VHSOI 1833 Vil.itl.. II.. M, , I CAMERA b PROP RENTALS Camera Supply Co. 1515 Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, Calif. Ruddy Geraus, Manager Cladstone 2404 Nile Phone CLadsrone 6583 Cable Address — "CAMERAS" Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.