Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1938)

554 NOVEMBER 1938 New Low Prices CRAIG JUNIOR 8 -16mm. SPLICERS Junior 8-l6mm. Splicer $2-50 Junior 8-l6mm. Combination 2> /.ib CRAIG Splicers and Rewinds make an ideal gift for The Movie-Maker CRAIG MOVIE SUPPLY Co. ,lnc. Los Angeles San Francisco Kodachrome MAPS£/&w&.-FINE TITLES Geo. W. Colburn Laboratory Special Motion Picture Printing I 197 Merchandise Mart, Chicago SOUND ON FILM Rent-Exchange-Sale Modern High Grade Feature* & Shorts CINE CLASSIC LIBRARY 1041 Jcffenon Ave. Brooklyn, N. Y. Just for Van Try making a home movie from a "shooting'* script, written by a Hollywood expert for amateur movie makers. New! Different! Exciting! Fun for everyone! We have all been confronted by the question: What shall I have my subjects DO? The answer is PLOT. Plot makes the difference between dull, boring movement and bright, sparkling, interesting action. Make your friends WANT to see your movies. Don't bore them. Give your films life, laughter, suspense! Only PLOT makes ALL movies interesting. Our scenarios are especially written for amateur cameramen by a professional fictionist, and designed for production with amateur equipment only. They are not synopses, but technically accurate "shooting" scripts, complete in every detail with scene footage indicated. No technical knowledge or added expense is necessary. Each script is an exciting, original story; each solves the problem of action for subjects. Your fun may prove profitable; there is a market for good results. Group of five widely varied scripts, each designed for less than 100 feet of film, mailed to you promptly upon receipt of only $1.00. Home Movie Screen Plays 944 Little Building Boston, Mass. table, it finds itself most susceptible to the evils of dust and dirt. If a roll of film is to be cut apart into numerous large and small sections, and is to be handled, shuffled about and spliced together again, it is indeed fortunate if it does not suffer some consequences. Yet, if one is reasonably careful, this feat can be managed without so much as a blemish appearing on the surface of the finished job. There are a number of equally good ways of sorting cut film at the editing board, and, be it with clips or pigeon holes, the most important factor is to protect the film from the particles of emulsion produced when one scrapes it to make a splice. This can be done by cleaning each splice neatly. Color film, especially, is susceptible to finger marks, and, if you find it uncomfortable to use cloth gloves during splicing, always hold the film between the fingers by the outside edges. Never take a chance, by pressing the emulsion and reverse surfaces between the fingers, for the natural skin oil will penetrate the emulsion coating and will leave a permanent finger mark. When scraping a film to make a splice, I find it advisable to have a small piece of soft cloth handy, with which to wipe the area of the splice to remove the particles of celluloid and emulsion. This method insures a cleaner and smoother splice. After completing each splice, I make a thorough examination of the joined sections, not only to determine the excellence of the splice, but to see if there is an excess of film cement. It is far better to scrape or to wipe this off at once than to have it catch in the projector later. After completing editing and splicing, I run the entire film through a soft cloth (using little or no pressure) to remove any foreign material that might remain. If it is found necessary to clean the film further, pure carbon tetrachloride or an approved commercial film cleaner should be used. Apply as little of the fluid as possible and make sure that the film is dry before it winds on the takeup reel. If you are not certain of a suitable cloth material to use with cleaning fluid, try a small square of chamois skin. This is an excellent thing to use with Kodachrome film, the surface of which is more delicate than that of black and white film emulsion. Special care is needed in handling color film, and it should be cleaned only when absolutely necessary. Never use alcohol as a cleaner for color films, as it removes part of the pigment in Kodachrome. Loss of flexibility seems to be the commonest difficulty met with in storing film in the average household. However, acetate film that has become brittle through excessive drying will regain its flexibility without permanent damage if the moisture is restored. A film that has been dried because it has been stored on a high shelf of a warm room, or near a radiator or steam riser, should be placed in a humidor can or container with a piece of moistened blotter. A period of twenty four hours is sufficient time to humidify the film properly. It is especially important to avoid humidifying Kodachrome to excess, as it causes one coil to stick to another, damaging the film. It must be remembered that emulsion is softened when it comes in contact with water, and serious damage will result if water touches the film surface. For further protection of films, there is available a special treatment which has been used successfully for some time in the theatrical and amateur fields. It is claimed that, when the finished film is treated by the process, it is rendered impervious to moisture and fumes and is hardened to resist wear and scratching. The film is subjected to treatment in a pressure chamber without removal from the reel. Many prominent film libraries make regular use of the process to protect their films against wear and tear. The average home atmosphere is very satisfactory for storing substandard motion picture films. A closet which is cool is a good place to keep them, but they should be placed on a low shelf, since hot, dry air rises. Films to be stored for a long period of time should be wound snugly on their reels, and the metal containers should be placed flat on the shelf. This position will prevent a film, which has become loosely wound, from forming uneven curves or loops. After my friend had projected his travel films for me, I offered to rewind them and, in doing so, I sacrificed a clean handkerchief, which I held in my hand around the film strip as I turned the rewind. When I showed him the black dust on the handkerchief, he was somewhat irritated. But he was also convinced. Try it on one of your own reels and see if you need a film house cleaning. I collect houses [Continued from page 544] But you need not live in New York to make your picture of houses. Every city has its own private collection. Say your address is Chicago or San Francisco and say you are a modernist. Perhaps you don't like little houses. All right, take the skyscraper for your subject. The progress of the modern skyscraper makes for a story, epic in scope. You can trace the development of the skyscraper since the first one was built down on the Battery, back in 1887. It was twelve stories high, and people came from near and far to crane their necks at the curious monster. Then, after a sequence of this, you can continue with shots of skyscrapers in your own city. If you don't find it convenient to shoot the skyscraper beginnings in New York City, you can