The international photographer (Jan-Dec 1936)

Jamtarv, 1936 The I N T E R N A T 1 O N A L P H O T O G R A 1' H E R Fifteen listen, out there on top of this great monument which man, in skill and daring and science — with his very sweat and blood — has erected — and the news cameras grind — until the President's final: "Well Done!" Sept. 30th, 1935. C. R. Collins, Assignment Editor, Pathe News, 35 West 45th St., New York, N. Y. NONEXCLUSIVE DAM DEDICATION FILM DUE YOU EIGHT FORTY FIVE TUESDAY MORNING VIA RAILWAY AIR EXPRESS WAYBILL NUMBER THREE NINE TWO FIVE EIGHT FOUR REGARDS. Blackwell. Then, with the exposed film packed and aboard a New York bound plane, headed for our respective editorial offices, and the sending of the above wire —AND THEN ONLY— was the assignment ended— the story "covered" — with the hope in the heart of each "News Hound" that his editor would also say: "Well Done!" AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY FILM CLIPS Camera Speed For Close-Ups: Most average home-movie reels of family and friends contain a number of Big Close-ups. In such films the cameraman is chiefly concerned in securing close-ups which are characteristic of the subject being photographed, rather than portraying any specific action. More often than not, if Big Close-ups are taken with the camera running at normal speed, plus the inability of the subject to gage the tempo of movement, the nervousness of your subject becomes apallingly apparent when later the shot looms on the screen. You will get a much smoother shot, with a lot of the jerks of the subject ironed out, when shooting a 3-foot focus Big Close-up, if you use 24 speed. This slight increase in camera speed over normal will effect a very natural motion of the face on the screen. And when shooting at 24 speed, don't forget to set your lens for the increased exposure. This compensation calls for one-half stop larger than for normal 16 speed. Dolly Shots: Have you ever tried a traveling camera shot? It is quite simple — if you can borrow Junior's wagon — and adds variety to your films. Simply seat yourself in the wagon, have Junior push the wagon towards the subject, while you keep your camera in operation. The wagon must not be pushed too quickly; you need smooth motion. A camera speed of 24 or 32 frames per second is indicated for a dolly shot. Snow Exposures: At this season of the year, do not miss the opportunity of securing some scenic shots of the snow-covered landscapes. A word of caution, however, about exposure. Watch out for over-exposure! A brilliantly sunlit expanse of distant snow has great reflecting power, so with regular Panchromatic film stops F 11 and F 16 are advisable. Splices: If you have never become adept at making a good, strong and neat splice, there is no time better spent than learning the art. With a few feet of discarded film to work on, practice making splices. This is one phase of amateur movies everyone should be adept at. Novelty Title: Alphabet soup letters provide simple material for a novelty title, if your title board is of the small card type which allows for the camera to shoot down on a card. Lay out the wording of the title with the alphabet soup letters. Start the camera and when you have sufficient footage, carefully blow the letters from the title card. On the screen, when the title has been read, the letters will disappear as if by magic. Backward Motion: Oldtimers can skip this paragraph, as its content is directed to the beginner in amateur movies. You can create scenes of cinemagic by photographing a view, such as one of heavy downtown traffic, by holding the camera up side-down during exposure. When your film is returned from processing, cut out the traffic shot, reverse it end for end, and splice it into your roll again. You'll see your city traffic doing queer things on the screen. Always follow this same procedure whenever you desire to obtain backward motion on the screen. Fast. Trick Motion: There are many amateurs possessing variable speed and hand-crank cameras. Too often when a shot calls for a bit of comedy action, the amateur thinks only of the 8 speed. Now this 8 speed is in many respects ideal, but why ignore the hand-crank shaft? It's not there for emergency use only, in case of a breakdown of your motor drive, nor only to photograph an entire roll of film continuously. Rather the hand-crank shaft is the original trick crank; capable of giving various speeds to your camera under the 8 per second. Just a little practice at hand cranking with an empty camera, will soon make you adept at judging speed. And you'll find 4 frames per second will give you the original Keystone Kop chase speed better than by any other means. Such slow exposure speed as 4 per second requires a very small aperture setting on your lens — cut it way down to F 16 at least, when working in good light. Projection Hint: When screening your movies, don't allow a broken splice to cause a long interruption while you try the tuck-under system unassisted. Your guests will fidget and you'll come close to losing your mind trying to get that stray film onto the take-up reel. Keep a box of paper clips handy, the small, round variety. Then it is only a matter of a moment to clip together the broken splice (after the film has passed the last sprocket or roller), and continue with your show. Storage Cans: After all, the only proper place for a reel of film, when it is not in use, is in a container. Not left open to attract dust, heat or moisture. Film tins, in which originally is packed positive film, are most inexpensive and serve well as a container for a projection reel of film. A small piece of blottingpaper slipped in the tin will act as a humidor. Smaller tins, such as 16mm, 100-foot positive is packed in, will serve nicely for projection reels of 8mm film. Tripods: We don't care whether or not you have nerves of steel — the truth is you can never hold a motion picture camera as steady as can a tripod. Tripods will always give better results. You want a movie of your subject, not of a background. The true illusion of motion is strengthened considerably when the background remains in a constant position on the screen. And too, once a camera rests upon a good tripod, the temptation to panoram is greatly lessened. Invest in a good tripod, you won't regret it. And use it! If not on all your shots, certainly on all your interior work. (Turn to Page 22) Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.