Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1948)

fkJit Juice STTfTF 147 STRIP 4. Now examine your story board for abrupt or unpleasant transitions. You soon discover a marked one between scenes of the fruit juice and the bath. FRUIT ZUICG IMTKOD. TO BhTMSC£/>JcT BATH STRIP 5. A medium long shot, showing Mother carrying Baby into the bath locale, establishes the set and bridges the bad transition discovered in Strip 4. ^ AO mm INT£oP. TO BftTM SC£U£ UM>R£SS/A/cr TcTS7//V£ <f/flTcT/«. 8ATM 'BATH CONT/AJy£& DfceS^NG STRIP 6. But there is only one scene, the closeup, for the entire bath! You add undressing, testing water, a new closeup and dressing for a full sequence. more than a motion picture album. There are too many long shots — in which your main actor may be lost. You see by examining your board that closeups would help. So you decide to try again, and you give your little actor more prominence. The result may look like Strip 2. Monotonous, isn't it? (Except that Baby is wonderful!) Now there are again too many similar shots — all closeups. Consider which field and angle will present each scene in the best way. Base your decision on the action to take place or the mood you wish to establish or the variety in the continuity shown by your board. Notice that some scenes demand closeups, others medium or long shots. You develop your plan still further. It begins to look like Strip 3. That's better — different fields and angles, variety. Notice that your story board is already working for you. At this stage it may look fairly good. However,, if you examine it more carefully, you will see that it demands more development and improvement. From here on you will see it go through a process of change, as your ideas become clearer and more complete. It will be particularly helpful, in planning the introduction and closing of scenes and in various transitions. Let's consider that for a moment. Suppose your story board shows that you have gone too suddenly from the fruit juice to the bath scene — with a result as in Strip 4. You decide that a smoother transition would help, so you simply add a short scene— a long shot — to introduce the bath. The improvement shows in Strip 5. Then you find that you have planned only one main scene for the bath! So you decide to present it in a more varied way — and you add a number of additional angles. Strip 6 shows that now we are really getting somewhere! Remember that these shots must not be planned at random. Consider the best fields and angles for such things as the first setting of the stage, for undressing, placing Baby in the bath, the main event, removing, drying, dressing and perhaps even carrying from the room. When each change or improvement is made, check it with the rest of the board. When your board is complete in the main sequences, check again to see if each sketch or still picture includes the things essential to your idea ; see also if the fields are correct for the action you wish to show. Suppose your story board shows some background objects in such a way as to attract too much attention, as in Sketch 7. By removing them, the result will clear up as in Sketch 8. Or you can change the angle, [Continued on page 172] SKETCH 7. A busy background, crowding the subject, is now shown by story board. SKETCH 8. Removal of background objects and simplifying foreground shows results. SKETCH 9. A change of angle creates a new and pleasing set to right of subject.