Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1931)

591 oct 29 1931 @CIB 131888 MOVIEMAKERS The title is dead; long live the title! KARL A. BARLEBEN, JR. Most home movies a re md still need si lent its aid MOVIE Makers may not give titles as much consideration these days as formerly because of the fact that the sound films which they see at the theaters do not require them, except in rare cases, and, of course, for "main" and "end" titles. Nevertheless, most amateurs' films are of the silent variety and, as such, naturally demand titles. Title making is not as difficult as many believe; instead, it is an enjoyable pastime, particularly during the winter months. There are many methods available to the amateur, some of them quite elaborate, employing lights, reflectors, title cards, easel and a mount for the camera. Other usages require merely a board upon which the letters are placed. It is suggested that the amateur try making his own titles and thereby derive both pleasure and benefit. Various forms of title cards have been suggested, among which might be mentioned the celluloid letters which are slipped into a corrugated title board. Then there are wooden block letters which can be placed at various angles and positions to form the wording. Another form of this type of lettering consists of metal letters which are magnetized and thus adhere to a metallic title board. There are also available plain metallic letters, then there are hand lettered titles for which the amateur, with a pen or brush and ink, prints or writes his own letters. All of these methods are satisfactory but, in all truthfulness, it must be said that probably the most all round, satisfactory type of title obtainable is the one that is printed in a printing press. Most professional titles are made in this manner. At first thought, the purchase of a printing press and a set of type might seem quite costly but, actually, a small press with sufficient type for average title work will not cost much more than ten dollars. Printed titles have the advantage, over other forms, of being uniform, smooth, sharp and clean cut. In other words, there are no wavy or fuzzy lines such as are often found on the hand printed variety; also, each title can be made to conform to the style of the others. It becomes an easy matter to set the type for each title and make an impression with full confidence that the effect of the type will be exactly like that of other titles so made. The small hand press is employed to print these. Any camera may be employed for making titles. It is Titled by Ralph R. Eno necessary, however, to be absolutely certain that the title board squarely faces the camera. In the majority of 16mm. cine cameras, no provision is made for direct focusing and the finder must be depended upon but, when working so close to the object, the finder is no longer accurate and, for this reason, a certain amount of leeway must be figured in focusing. For example, on one camera, the view finder is approximately one and three quarters of an inch off to one side of the lens. The title card must, therefore, be pushed this distance to the right side so that the title will be included in its entirety on the film, or the special alignment gauge available for this camera may be used to good purpose. When the finder is above the lens, as on another camera, for example, allowance must be made by moving the title card in a downward position. A few trials will soon acquaint the amateur with the particular requirements of his individual outfit. Focusing, of course, must be critical as the majority of lenses are equipped with focusing mounts. This presents no great difficulty. It is, however, sometimes desirable actually to see the image as it will appear on the film and, if the camera is already equipped for this purpose, this may be done by use of a focusing prism made especially for this purpose. Such prisms are available and cost only five or six dollars. The prism is inserted in the gate of the camera. Thus the amateur is permitted actually to focus and line up the title in the gate before placing the film in the camera, which should be on a tripod during the operation. The amount of light required for titling varies with the type of film used, the speed of the lens and the speed of the mechanism. Some cameras are equipped with half normal speed which operates at the rate of eight pictures per second instead of sixteen as is customary. With such cameras, it is advisable to use this speed and, thereby, gain in exposure. Two 200 watt lamps will be found sufficient with the lens stopped down to about f/5.6 at half speed while, with the new speed film and the same light source, the lens [Continued on page 608]