Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1944)

246 to get some pictures. One time I dropped like that, I did so right alongside a dead Marine." Movie amateurs who have sweated over their films can see from this that there is always something worse. Monteverde interrupted here to say, "When a picture is being taken of a gun in action — one of our guns — always keep back of the muzzle, for the blast alongside and even with it is highly dangerous." Anyway, a better picture is obtained with the whole gun in the foreground. Another tip, perhaps more useful for amateurs, was to hold the breath while taking shots, and to concentrate on keeping the camera steady. Tripods, as previously explained, are useless in fast moving combat work. Most of the difficulties the Marine combat filmers have with their cameras under tropical conditions were described in my previous article, but how they got around one of them was not told. Three of their Eyemos were out of order because of wear and tropical humidity, and the cameramen were in despair until Damien Parer, the famous Australian newsreel cameraman who made the Kokoda Trail picture, and who is now with Paramount News, came along. He had an extra Eyemo, and he lent it to them; thus several valuable scenes were saved for the Marine Corps records. Parer, I can personally testify, is always sympathetic with his fellow cameramen, whether they be official and professionals, such as the Marines, or amateurs like myself. As for classification of scenes, the Marines follow professional practice in using these categories: extra long shot — scenic views; long shot — similar, with something in the foreground; medium long shot — about twenty five to thirty feet; medium shot — full figure shot; medium closeup — from about waist up; closeup — full face; extreme closeup — a hand at work. And for general filming advice they say this: put a good general scene before the audience, then a closeup and then various angle shots. You can see it for yourself at any newsreel theatre. Why not sit through five or six shows, study the professional practice and then go out and do like JUNE 1944 FILMING A SUMMER GROUP AVOID DARK NAILS In black and white closeups of feminine hands, the result will be more pleasing if the subject removes any dark nail stain before the exposure is made. Rich red stains will register dark, and lighter tones will appear to be gray. In similar closeups in color, very dark stains will be unpleasantly accentuated on the screen. LAND OF MY DREAMS, Joseph J. Harley, ACL, will tell you, is a simple record of fun and friends. As such, it is an attractive piece of Kodachrome, colorful in its camera work, leisurely in its pace (400 feet, 8mm.) and frankly sentimental in its outlook. Lake Saranac and the Harley summer cottage comprise the land of Joe Harley 's dreams, although his myriad friends of ten years' standing play a large part in that Elysium. You see them throughout the film, going about their fishing and boating, picnics and swimming with an infectious zest and good humor. The record is climaxed with a detailed presentation of a grand communal party, at which each of the guests is required to put on some sort of skit or bit of entertainment. The available properties and costumes suggest the themes. There are Hawaiian hulas, an Indian dance, a comedy scarecrow, a baby number and Rastus, The Wizard, doing a series of tricks in which he is generously assisted by the cameraman. A rousing parade in the Spirit of '76 breaks up the show, as dusk begins to fall and the friends gather for a last evening of song around the campfire. The production, says Mr. Harley, was carefully planned in advance and fully scenarized before a foot of film was shot. Although adverse weather conditions occasionally forced some slight alterations in the plan, it seems likely that only through its guidance was the producer able to complete the picture in eight days of shooting. Music accompanies the film as you see it today, largely as a background. But in certain sections its use also was accurately planned to synchronize with the action. This is specifically the case in connection with the skits presented at the party. Mr. Harley, who had a pretty good idea of his friends' dramatic capabilities, chose carefully a series of records which would point up the various themes — Hawaiian, Indian, scarecrow and the rest. Each of these records was then timed against a stop watch, so that, when the producer stood ready to record in pictures the action of the several skits, he knew exactly how much footage of each he must expose. To make doubly sure of an accurate synchrony, the same records which Mr. Harley had already selected for later use as background accompaniment to his film were actually played during the course of each dramatic turn. Then, to provide almost a split second starting point for each recording, the producer "faked" cleverly at home a series of closeups of his wife's hand, lowering the pickup arm of the portable phonograph used at the party. 8mm. scenes by Joseph J. Harley, ACL Frames from an 8mm. vacation picture, "Land of My Dreams''