Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1945)

CHILDREN IN SPRING 171 How film can unite two subjects ELAINE CARLSON, ACL IT IS springtime in The Rockies, on the plains, in the valleys, and springtime begs for pictures. The winter winds, the cold drizzles or the heavy snows fade at last before the insistence of new life, and each day proves itself a perfect subject for movies. Especially is this so if you film children: for children and spring belong to each other. With the whole world engrossed in struggle, it seems to me that this particular spring is a time to film little children, as far removed from the horrors of war as may be. Spring, the perennial proof of reason for hope, and children, the hope of the world, together make a subject worthy of anybody's film library. Of course a plan should come first. It can be varied as to story content, but the fact that it is a plan will help in editing and making better titles. A story easily told with whatever children are available, or with those in the family whose pictures you want to have as part of your library, is fun to work out. My plan was simple. Joe tried to skip all responsibility — ■ school and gardening — by going fishing. Beth and Rover, the dog, find him, and, in the process of showing him what there is to do, Beth makes him a convert to the happy occupation of planting seeds and shoots. The first scene is at home, with Mother pointing to garden implements as Joe, Beth and others start to school. Scenes of the children on the school grounds follow. The boys play basketball, the girls play hopscotch and jacks. Here I had to be careful with my scenes, to avoid making a simple hodgepodge of children. My heroine plays too, but my hero wanders from one thing to another and cannot seem to enter into any sustained activity. The bell rings Icloseup of bell) and then my only scene of the whole school grounds shows all the children running and walking toward the school building. The grounds are empty, and I move nearer to take a closeup of Joe, who is left alone, scuffling his feet and looking down at the ground. Suddenly he raises his head, as if he were just aware that he is successfully out of school. He looks all about, to be sure that no one is watching. Then he slips out a fishing, pole from behind a shrub and trots off with it. He drops his cap in his haste. A closeup of the cap on the ground is necessary to later action. The next scene shows Joe on the bank of a river, happily settled doun for a day of fishing. Back at school again. I show a picture of the deserted grounds just before the children rush out. Beth, the heroine, comes slowly out, looking all about. She sees Joe's cap and picks it up (closeup I. She asks others if they have seen Joe. Here again is opportunity to catch the children at play and to have pictures of them at their games. Finally the dog appears and leads her to Joe. Beth brings Joe home, reluctant. She shows him the exciting business of planting flowers, picks a few blooms from shrubs already in color, and, before he knows it, Joe has dropped his fishing pole, to take up a spade of his own and to begin the beauty. It is an idea that allows for all the activities of children in the spring — 'their play, their work, their hobbies. Spring weather is treacherous. The sun is not as strong as one might think; so, the lighting must be watched carefully. A universal focus, or the distance gauge set at the red "25" on my camera, was advisable to get clear pictures of the scenes of children at play on the school grounds. Cutting and splicing are, of course, necessary for careful continuity, which cannot always be secured by shooting [Continued on page 182] thrilling work of creating Photographs by Elaine Carlson, ACL * Incidents from movie made by author to get record of children engaged in springtime activities.