Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1936)

554 DECEMBER 1936 HE'LL WELCOME THIS GIFT » » » Movie makers appreciate Wollensak Cine Velostigmat lenses. Produce films that glow with snap, sparkle with life — even under adverse lighting conditions. Fast, too — fl.5 to f3.5. Wide-angle and telephoto. For 8mm. or 16mm. cameras. Give one for Xmas. It's something different. Order now to insure delivery. At dealers or direct, postpaid (or C.O.D.). Moneyback guarantee. WOLLENSAK OPTICAL CO. 649 Hudson Ave. Rochester, N. Y. WOLLENSAK HARRISON SUNSHADES AND FILTERS Give your pictures a professional -rouch by using Harrison Light Filters, Fog-Effect Filters and Diffusion Filters. Kodachrome and Dujaycolor users may us* the Multichrome Filters for varying color balance. Motion Picture Camera Supply, Inc. 723 SEVENTH AVENUE NEW YORK XMAS OFFERINGS in Guaranteed Used Cameras Never before at such low prices! Cine-Kodak Special outfit with F 1.9 lens, 100 ft. film chamber, special carrying case $320.00 3" F 4.5 Telephoto lens in special mount to fit Cine-Kodak Special Filmo 70 D fitted with F 2.7 Carl Zeiss Tessar lens and Combination tan carrying case Cine-Kodak B, F 1.9 lens, carrying case Keystone 7 Speed, F 1.5 lens... Filmo Model A. F 3.5 Cooke lens, focusing mount, tan carrying case Simplex Pockette movie with carrying case Liberal allowances on used cameras. If you desire to trade your camera, send us complete description, or even better, send outfit for appraisal. Ask for list of Bargain Equipment and Cameras as well as circular on the Lifa Filter. 23. 50 IO.OO 50. OO 45. OO 45.00 30.00 HENRY HERRERT IIH 485 Fifth Avenue New York under proper lighting, should prove a gem. Do not try to take it without sunlight, for here your entire value is the shadows on the ice blanket. Take it to get those shadows. If the sun strikes directly on the surface, the shadows may disappear. Wait until the sun passes over so that the lighting is from the side. This will bring the innumerable streaks of shadow against what would have been a sheet of plain white under a head on illumination. Do not be afraid to go out into the storm itself if the skies are not too dark. See that the camera is well protected, but be careful that the protection does not intrude on the lens when an exposure is being made. If there is any breeze, shoot across the drift rather than into it, not only to keep the lens from being wet, but because with a head on shot the snow will appear to be coming straight down. Focus sharply on the middle distance and let the foreground take care of itself. Later, when bringing the camera into the warm house, be sure to wipe the condensed moisture from the lens if you wish to use it immediatly. In assembling, use due caution to vary your shots. You have no imperative need to follow an exact continuity, since the general theme, winter, will tie the picture together, but you do need to have variety of camera distance, pace and subject matter. Sequences are imperative, for if you take but one scene of each interesting subject, your film is bound to be a hodgepodge. This is the one rule which seldom can be broken, and it is just as important in the newsreel type of film as in the drama. Try the editing game [Continued from page 532] editing in the camera as the picture is being made. That's a hint of what more advanced editing can be. Simpler editing would consist in cutting out short pieces which record camera wobbles, eliminating badly under or overexposed scenes and so on. Then, when all the scenes are cut apart, why not at the same time group and rearrange them, so that a peaceful shot of grandma knitting is not followed by a waterfall? Here's an easy way to keep each shot right under your hand. Place the hundred foot spool on the projector. Thread it up in the usual way, but don't use any takeup reel. Instead, let the film feed right out of the projector to the spindle of the rewind. (Yes, you must acquire a separate film rewind; it will prove handy in many ways ! ) Wind several thin rubber bands tightly around the rewind spindle, and you will find it easy to roll short lengths of film up on this. Of course, without a spool, the film must be guided by the fingers, or it will spring off the spindle. As the scene unreels from the projector, inspect it closely on the screen as to content and condition. As soon as the scene is over, stop the projector. Cut it from the rest of the film, wind it on the rewind spindle into a small roll and remove it by backing up on the rewind handle a turn or two. Snap a small rubber band around the roll, and it is ready to be stored against later splicing. There are various ways of doing this, but one thing is absolutely necessary; each scene must be easily located and identified at any time. The writer's favorite and homely (but effective) method is to make use of the familiar type of cardboard egg box, which is rectangular in shape and has a dozen compartments. Each of these compartments is numbered prominently in India ink, and each is just about the right size to hold a little roll of film. Now we have an arrangement to keep the shots in order, but how are we to know what is in each clip? Nothing is easier. Get a couple of packages of index cards — the cheapest kind will do — and number them to correspond with the number of the film compartments. As each scene is inspected, jot down on the card its contents and make any special notes which may help you to visualize it quickly. Place the film itself in the compartment corresponding to the number on the card. When you get through, you will have a collection of cards, each carrying a description of its scene. You may then rearrange the cards to your heart's desire and, when you have settled the order in which the scenes are to occur in your new film, the key numbers will make it easy to pick out each scene as you splice. The egg box method is only one of the systems available. You may hang up each strip of film with its end clipped to a numbered spring clothespin, if you like. However, to the writer's mind, the "numbered compartment" method is the best, because, if the editing is interrupted for several days, you simply close the cover of the egg box and store it in a cool dry place. Some zealous home carpenters improve on the egg box method by boring shallow holes in regular rows in a soft pine board with an expansion bit. You may purchase a regular editing case, with movable compartments and ready means for identification of scenes. But, whatever the method, the principle is the same. Closeups with Eight [Continued from page 536] base, sixteen inches long, on one end of which is mounted the camera. At the other end, a small adjustable frame is hinged to the base, the purpose of the frame being to hold the lettered title cards that are to be photographed. Between the frame and the camera is an