Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1945)

139 ONE HOBBY RIDES ANOTHER How a film was made because the maker had two hobbies HELEN H. LOEFFLER, ACL AMATEUR movie making has been my hobby since ^ 1937. In 1940 I became interested in the fascinating crafts of metal working, jewelry and vitreous enameling. After studying them at a special school for two years, I decided that they made an ideal subject for my other hobby, movie making. With the idea of using the metal and vitreous enamel crafts in combination as the subject of my picture, I spent the next year mastering the tools, methods and techniques required. At the same time I planned just what was needed in order to make the movie. Vitreous enamel is a chemically colored glass that is provided in lumps and that must be ground to a consistency between those of salt and sugar, before it is laid on the metal. The art of covering metallic surfaces with a vitreous enamel coating dates back to the ancients; for various pieces of gold, silver and copper enameled ware, as well as enameled earthenware objects, are in existence which show that the early Egyptian, Byzantine and Chinese peoples practiced the art. I read all the books that I could find about the subject on Staten Island and then spent one summer reading all that Central Circulation, at the New York Public Library, could offer. Still I feel that I have a long way to go. When I first decided to make a record of the steps necessary to complete a vitreous enameled bowl, I had not even thought of entering Movie Makers Ten Best contest. But, as my idea grew and seemed good, I decided to submit the resultant film which, I am happy to say, was honored. From that time on, I worked harder because I knew that the standard was high. Even though my best might be none too good, I had the craftsman's confidence that I knew one hobby so well that I could try to record it successfully through another. We all know that the attributes of good motion pictures are variety, dramatic interest, pictorial interest, mood, progress and movement. I mentally reviewed these in relation to my newer hobby and decided that I could apply them all to the movie I planned to make. To improve my filming, I read articles and books and kept a pencil and paper at hand, so that, when ideas came to me, I could jot them down for use in writing the scenario. It did not take me long to find out what lay ahead after I had drafted the scenario in rough form. I would have to be director, light man, actor and general factotum. The only thing I could not do was to press the camera's button, but I believed that, once I had arranged the setup, with the camera properly adjusted and on a tripod, I could leave the purely manual chore of button pressing to somebody else. None of my fellow craftsmen knew anything of about movie making. I did not know much; but, believe me, just undertake to combine another hobby with movie making and you will learn about both! During the summer of 1943, along with Victory gardening, I wrote the final form of the scenario, which, in turn, had to be divided into two parts, as some shots had to be taken at my school and some at home in my studio. At first I had planned to take them all in one place, but, as I had to work after classes on Saturday, I knew that, with retakes and other unforeseen occurrences, I should not finish the film in a reasonable amount of time. The studio at home is quite well equipped, having dies, molds, stakes, hammers, saws, various small tools, a gas mouth torch and two motors, together with one heavy and one small hand motor. Other necessary pieces, too numerous to mention, made it possible to do about half the picture at home with the aid of a friend who offered many good suggestions. As she knew nothing about my hobbies, her questions and suggestions improved a number of scenes that seemed quite clear to me. I wrote the scenario with a column on the left, so that I could check when a particular scene was taken. I also left several lines between each scene, where I wrote the number and kind of lights, the exposure, the distance of camera from subject and the distance of lights from subject. This information is a "must," because, if retakes are necessary, a minimum of [Continued on page 145] A handicraft provides an ideal subject for a film study, particularly in 8mm. movies, because the many opportunities for interesting closeups. Hnhart Photn Features