Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1940)

16 IF YOU cant sell yourself on the idea that editing is fun (which it actually is), you can force yourself to the job by the thought that, in editing, you can bury your mistakes. you can make orderly sequences grow where confusion reigned before and you can insert titles. Editing requires a pair of geared rewinds, mounted about three feet apart on a board or table; a splicer with scraper and cement; some means by which separate lengths of film may be stored temporarily and by which they may be easily identified. The teaching movie, Film Editing, recently produced by the Harmon Foundation in New York City, suggests a basket, to the edge of which lengths of film may be clipped. Other devices are trays divided into small sections, in which coils of films may be placed or which consist of small, numbered boxes. A projector and a small screen, placed within convenient reach, are necessary, and a film viewing device is very helpful, for, with it, you can look at an -enlarged image of the picture, frame by frame, if you desire. Some viewers show the film image in motion. A film viewer is invaluable should you do fine work, such as matching action in two successive shots. Pencil and paper, a supply of ruled cards or a note book, as your preference indicates, complete the film editor's apparatus. Editing procedure is to screen the film, roll by roll, and to make a note of each scene that you want to cut out, shorten or shift to another spot. In the order in which you encounter them, you note every defect that you want to eliminate. Then you have a simple chart to guide you when you start to work on the picture. More complete procedure, necessary if you are following a plan and the shots were taken out of the desired order, is to make a note of every scene thus: 1. Long shot of Broadway. 2. Times Square. 3. Close shot of chestnut vendor. 4. Radio City from Fifth Avenue. Then, after each scene is listed, one proceeds to cut up the film, shot by shot, and to attach to each length of film a number that corresponds to the number of the written description. After this is done, you screen the picture a couple of times and, after cogitating a while, you list the scenes in the new order that seems advisable. This might run 4, 2, 3, 1, etc., but it would be easy to find each scene when you want it. for its proper number is attached to it. The number may be held in place by a clip, as suggested in the movie, Film Editing, or, if the film is coiled in boxes, the number might be written on the box or on a piece of paper held on the film coil by a rubber band. In any case, the scenes are picked up, one by one. in the new order and are spliced in that sequence. Making good splices soon becomes a habit. But. if you are KENNETH F. SPACE, ACL a beginner, be sure to start right, and you won't have any bad habits or misconceptions to overcome. The two ends of film to be spliced together are laid in their respective sides of the splicer, emulsion side up, and the splicer is operated to trim off each end of the film neatly. When the film is correctly placed over the pins in the bed of the splicer, the cuts are made properly so that the top film overlaps the bottom one by a fraction of an inch. The top side of the bottom film strip is covered with emulsion, which must be removed to make the splice. With one variety of splicer, this is done by a corrugated scraper that scrubs the emulsion off. Another variety of splicer involves dampening the projecting area of film, then scraping the emulsion off. Both "dry" and "wet" splicers produce good results. The emulsion is removed on the area of film to be overlapped by the splice, because the film cement acts by dissolving the film base slightly, and the splice is really a weld. The cement does not act through the emulsion, for it is not a glue or paste. It is easy to see why all the emulsion must be removed cleanly from the area of the splice. Wherever little pieces of emulsion remain, the cement does not act, and the splice is that much weaker. After scraping off the emulsion, cement is applied evenly and quickly by a single stroke of the brush, and the end of the top film is clamped down on the end of the bottom film. One allows a few seconds for the cement to act and to dry; then he removes the clamps and tests the splice by holding the film in his hands and giving the splice a short and fairly sharp tug. If the splice parts, these things might be wrong: 1. You haven't scraped off all the emulsion. 2. You have scraped off all the emulsion and have continued industriously scraping until you have shaved down or weakened the film strip so that it will break. (Stop scraping after the area of the splice is clean.) 3. You haven't applied enough cement. 4. You haven't allowed the splice to "set" long enough before removing the clamps. 5. You have applied so much cement that you have dissolved the film base so deeply that [Continued on page 47] • A movie maker's movie is Film Editing, lately produced by the Harmon Foundation, in T^ew Tor\ City, Fourth of the series. You Can Make Good Movies, it was filmed for the Foundation by its staff cameraman, Kenneth F. Space, ACL. It was given Honorable Mention in the 1939 selection of the Ten Best by Movie Makers. The series of frame enlargements below and on the opposite page presents the highlights of the picture. 16mm. scenes by Kenneth F. Space, ACL I . A geared rewind is an indispensable editing aid, and it is helpful otherwise. 2. The splicer may be either the "dry" or the "wet" type. This One is the "wet" variety. 3. The scraper always comes with the splicer, and its operation is simplicity itself. 4. Film cement is necessary. Cork the bottle after each application to keep it fresh.