Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1948)

42 JANUARY 1948 WHAT IS THE MOST FUN? THE more we think about it, the more we see how The Reader Writes — a new feature that Movie Makers initiated last month — can become a real forum of amateur filming opinion. It is our belief, after twenty two years of contact with personal movies, that the basic reason for a hobby is to provide enjoyable recreation — in other words, fun. Are we right? If we are right, the fun of movie making covers a lot of territory. Judging from the quantity of family films, it would seem that here is the chief interest. But a great many amateurs use their cameras for a wide diversity of purposes. It would be very worth while to hear from them. How about the travel filmer, to cite another large group? Making a good movie on a good vacation calls for good humor from the cameraman and from his traveling companions. Does the keenest fun come from shooting or from later projection? There is the case of the gadgeteer. Does he make things because he enjoys doing so or is he saving money by home construction? Last month on this page we asked our readers to let us know whether Movie Makers pleases them, if they want new features and the elimination of old ones, if the editors are doing their jobs in a way f entertain those who read this magazine. We hope for plenty of comment; comment is our best guide. Why not widen our questioning and try to find out not only what you think of Movie Makers, but what you think about the whole range of amateur filming? Why do we shoot movies, anyway? We know that a lot of people do it, and we believe that they would like to know what the other fellow thinks is fun, in return for telling him what is fun in their movie making. Won't you tell us, then, what is the most fun for you in our hobby? THE AMATEUR CINEMA LEAGUE, INC. Founded in 1926 by Hiram Percy Maxim DIRECTORS John V. Hansen, President Ethelbert Warfield, Treasurer C. R. Dooley, Vice President Roy W. Winton, Managing Director Mrs. L. S. Galvin H. Earl Hoover Harold E. B. Speight Philip N. Thevenet Floyd L. Vanderpoel Stephen F. Voorhees The Amateur Cinema League, Inc., sole owner and publisher of MOVIE MAKERS, is an international organization of filmers. The League offers its members help in planning and making movies. 11 aids movie clubs end maintains for them a film exchange. It has various special services and publications for members. Your membership is invited. Five dollars a year. AMATEUR CINEMA LEAGUE. Inc.. 420 LEXINGTON AVE., NEW YORK 1 7, N. Y., U. S. A. rapid, I think that you could have purchased several slightly used seats on a river expedition for practically nothing. I had embarked on the trip expecting to be scared stiff when we got to the rapids. Frankly, I think that every one but the boatmen (who had done it before) felt the same way. After a rapid or two, though, I doubt if mere money could have bought any of our seats! Certainly not mine. I never had so much fun in my life. We practically fought about who would ride the back of the boat, to be in the front position. That's where you get the wildest ride, because the accepted procedure for running a rapid is to go into it stern first. In that way, the boatman can not only see where he is heading, but can control his boat better. The fact that the sharp prow is pointed upstream has a tendency to reduce his speed somewhat; he is able to reduce it still further, if necessary, by rowing upstream. Usually, however, rowing is done only to control the boat and not to alter its speed. After filming a few scenes of the boats, I mounted the waterproof box in position for a try at some shots from the boats. I'm sure that the rest of the boys believed that I was wasting my time in bothering with such an experiment; but all I wanted was a little footage to cut in, to make the other shots more effective. I thought that they wouldn't be worth a hoot for anything else. Imagine my surprise, when the film was processed, to find that they could be used as full scenes, instead of merely for quick cut-ins. I wish now that I had taken more of these scenes and on rougher rapids. I mistakenly selected only the smoother ones for the remote control shots. How was I to know that bouncing around in a rapid would produce a recognizable picture? I got a good scare the first time I opened the camera box and saw by the footage meter that it had not moved. I was almost ready to admit that it wouldn't work; then I lifted the camera out and automatically started to wind it. Immediately I knew that it had worked and that the footage meter was wrong. In reconstructing what happened, I found that the lid of the box had pressed so tightly against the leather handle on the Special that the footage meter was pinned down; the motor went on without it. On later remote control shots, I removed the handle and had no further trouble. To make a long story short, we ran the rapids safely with only two near accidents. One happened when a giant wave knocked open the hatch on Brennan's boat and filled the compartment with water (a waterfilled boat is unmanageable and strictly at the mercy of the rapid) ; the other was when the boat I was on hit a rock and knocked a hole in its hull. The only other near accident we had was on land when one of our passengers, Ted Cannon, stepped into some quicksand and was up to his armpits before we could snatch him out. I believe this story summarizes my adventures in filming Adventure on the Colorado. I am grateful to all who helped in any way to make the film a success — and especially to my boatmen, Harris and Brennan, whose daring and skill contributed so much toward that end. If my plans to run the Grand Canyon next summer do materialize, you may be sure that these men will be along. You can be sure, too. that the run will be packed with adventure. For the region traversed by the Colorado is the largest unexplored area in the United States. Any trip down the river, even today, is an Adventure — with a capital A.