Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1937)

The camera takes to the water 325 ORMAL I. SPRUNGMAN, ACL SOME movie makers can build a film on a shoestring. I'll start mine with a glass of water. Have you ever looked for plot in a sparkling tumbler? I swear I see geese honking over wilderness ponds — moose dunking for lily roots — scale clad giants breaking water — sparrows nesting in our bird bath. There's next door's youngster wading rainy puddles, his older brothers clinging to muddy banks and diving into tree shaded swimming holes. I see pretty forms on placid beaches, aqua planes bouncing over lake waters and waves slapping sunburned faces. 'Now there are several easy openings for a water sports film. You might take a back lighted closeup of water gurgling into a tall, cold glass, then slowly bring the filled glass toward the camera lens — or the camera toward the glass — and dissolve into subsequent water scenes of swimming and diving. Or, from a medium shot of a youngster drinking pump water from a cupped hand, fade out and in on a closeup of the same lad, his head emerging from the surface of the old swimmin" hole after a dive. You might even start your aqua filming by "closeuping" the pages of a swim suit catalog and, then, while camera motor is still running, change the focus and slowly lower the booklet to reveal the beach background and its occupants right out on location. The same idea could be used with vacation folders and resort advertisements. Swimming and diving scenes should present more than just a personal record. With little extra effort, such sequences can be made instructive and educational as well as entertaining. Perhaps you have an expert swimmer in your family. If not. coax some muscle bound, rawhided life guard to show the young heir the fundamentals of kicking and breathing. Or the kid brother, who is really a demon with the crawl stroke, might demonstrate his skill. Such an exhibition, besides providing nice family album stuff, often helps less experienced swimmers who may view the film. Vary the shooting angles wherever possible. The camera may be held at water's edge for the side and front shots, while a vertical view from a diving tower will reveal the whole action. If your camera has adjustable speeds, you can use twenty four Once there, it can find a multitude of lively scenes or thirty two frames a second to produce more interesting shots of diving, while sixty four frames can be used where slow motion studies are desired. If you are filming at your lake home, you might photograph the construction of a diving tower, from cutting the logs to assembling the ladder and the final test. Folks who can do something else besides peer into the lens when photographed are always popular screen subjects. By busying his home actors with creative tasks, the cameraman is bound to secure more natural sequences. A comical touch will "pep" up a swimming film, and funny bones can still be tickled with humorous sequences of a fully clothed swimmer walking off the end of a diving board or descending with an umbrella used as a parachute. All you need is some old clothes and a cooperative actor, and you can make a comedy relief sequence that is sure fire. A recent Grantland Rice Sportlight has covered this very feature. Ordinarily, everybody hesitates to ape the efforts of Hollywood's movie brethren, but many of these short sport reels are really well planned and are worthy of study by amateur camera toters. Filming beach scenes sans the necessary filters is almost as serious an offense as swimming publicly without the proper attire. If black and white film is employed, a 2x or 3x yellow filter will help to prevent overexposure and will emphasize clouds. In color filming, it is understood that only the haze filter can be used, and then only for distant views. While flat lighting is fine for Kodachrome, back and side lighting create the most artistic results in monochrome. A telephoto lens will permit securing closeups of water scenes from the lake shore, where hip deep wading or the use of a boat might produce only jittery pictures. Aqua planing offers real sport and splendid cine material, particularly where spills are frequent. Start this sequence at the very beginning of the action : [Continued on page 351] H. Armstrong: Roberts Most water sport shots can be made best from a boat