Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1947)

MOVIE MAKERS blue sky for a background, I fastened a quarter inch tube in the end of the garden hose, by wrapping it with electrician's tape. Then I tied the hose to the side of a stepladder, to get the jet high enough to give a good sky background. With a gust of wind the ball would fall off, and each time that I replaced it I would get a wet shoulder, but the result was quite pleasing with a white ping pong ball floating against a slightly underexposed blue sky. Filming smoke rings was quite a difficult undertaking, and many feet of film yielded very disappointing results. The best was finally obtained by making the smoke ring pass within four inches of the reflector of a No. 1 Photoflood lamp, and, while the ring was in this very small area, recording it at 128 pictures a second. To get perfect exposure at 128 pictures a second was very simple. Tf the meter called for f/11, as it did for ocean breakers and the diver, then the rule that each larger stop doubles the light and each doubling of speed decreases the light one half was applied, and the resulting exposure was //4. The formation of crystals was next attempted, as an example of microcinematography. I soon found, however, that the microscope would cover only a very small portion of a drop of liquid. Thus, I turned to the method known as macrocinematography. which is the use of an extension tube between the lens and the camera. Using a two inch tube and a two and a half inch telephoto. I got a field that would just take in a small drop of liquid. Inasmuch as extension tubes reduce the / value of a lens, it was a case of using a wide open (f/2.1) stop and all the light possible. The light was one No. 1 Photoflood in a reflector, placed four inches from the subject. The background was a piece of blue cardboard, to contrast with the orange colored solution or to emphasize the white crystals. The speed of crystallization was forced by placing an electric soldering iron one half inch from the drop and using a saturated solution of the chemical. The chemicals employed were bichromate of soda, ammonium chloride and ammonium oxalate. How to make a lively title for this picture required some study before executing it. I wanted something different and professional in appearance. This meant superimposed letters on a '"live" background. Not only this, but I wanted the letters M-O-T-I-O-N to revolve in the picture. The background selected was the pendulum of an old grandfather's clock, typifying motion. So. the first thing was to film the pendulum in motion with a fade in and a fade out and the use of two No. 2 Photofloods. This section of film was then rewound, and a device was prepared to 263 Now Ready • • ***** Embodies the slimness, ruggedness, sensitivity, selective viewing angle, and the dependability of the famous Universal Master II; but also provides the following features for movie makers: • Calibrated especially for cine' cameras, o Calculator dial "pre-set" for film, type of camera, and shutter speed... no manipulation while in action. • Virtually direct-reading in use. • Invaluable for black-and-white ... a "must" for color. See the new Cine' Model Master II at your dealer's . . . Weston Electrical Instrument Corporation, 626 Frelinghuysen Avenue, Newark 5, New Jersey. UNIVERSAL and CINE' Models DUAL TURNTABLE Custom designed to operate through your sound-on-film projector, the FIDELITONE Model P Dual Turntable assures superb reproduction of recorded music, sound effects and narrative. Silent projector owners will want the Model A FIDELITONE Dual Turntable. Write for literature and name of your nearest dealer. GEORGE K. CULBERTSON COMPANY 5133 Juanita Avenue, Dept. M • Minneapolis 10, Minnesota