Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1949)

18 THAT CHRISTMAS CAMERA! Patience, practice and a willingness to learn from others will A^-^ bring rich rewards to the new filmer — whether Eight or Sixteen JAMES W. MOORE, ACL I 00K, this one is for the beginners ! Members of the audience who have been filming for six months or more can file out now — although it probably will not hurt many of them, to stick around. The chaps we want to chin with are the real first filmers — those lucky guys who just got a camera for Christmas. Before too many rolls of film go lolloping past their lenses, wed like to toss in our two-cents' worth of friendly counsel. We recall, to be sure, the reply of the aging Edison when asked by an interviewer for his advice to the young. "The young,'* he advised, "never take advice!" Well, maybe so . . . but we're going to try anyway. TAKE YOUR TIME We hope, however, to be as realistic about it as was the Wizard of Menlo Park. We know, for example, that little less than an A-bomb can stop you from rushing your first rolls of film through that gleaming camera. Hopefully, by now, you have already done so — and you're about ready to relax. For by far the best advice of all is: Take Your Timel If ever haste made for waste, your first filming efforts may be that occasion. Banal as it may be, start out by reading the camera instruction book. The men who wrote that manual are experts. They know what you need to know, and you will find them explaining these matters in an easy-to-understand manner. Take the camera in one hand, the book in the other, and go over them point by point. Refer from PRESENT PLEASURE will only increase with the years, if the new filmers follow advice here compiled from panel of experts. one to the other as you read. When you get through, you too should know how the lens works, where the gate is and what happens to the film when it goes whirring through the camera. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Film is expensive — but time is cheap. So-o, after you have got those first frantic pictures out of your system, try practicing with your camera. If you have a roll-film model, practice carefully the all-important operations of threading — giving special attention to the correct size of upper and lower loops. When you have got this down so that you can do it in the dark, move on to other fundamentals. Practice simply holding the camera, so that it rests in your hands firmly but without tension. Practice looking through the viewfinder, so that your eye is accurately positioned behind the rear element. And, though it may seem absurdly simple, practice the timing of your footage on each prospective scene. In 8mm. work, a basic guide might be to allow 5 seconds (1 foot) for closeups, 10 seconds (2 feet) for medium shots and 15 seconds (3 feet) for long shots. With 16mm. film, the time of your takes will remain the same but the resulting footage will be doubled. RECORDS GET RESULTS As already suggested, many of these ideas may seem elemental and unrelated to actual practice. We want you to know, therefore, that we did not simply dream them up seated in an editorial ivory tower. They are, rather, the specific recommendations of experienced and competent amateur cameramen, whose opinions we sought out in preparing material for this article. Simple or otherwise, you still are going to make a few mistakes in your early filming. And, if you wish to correct them in future work, begin now to keep records of your technique in making each scene. Needed will be notations on light condition (natural or artificial), exposure used, lens used and focal setting. With these in hand, you can examine each roll as it comes back from processing, to determine what went well, what not so well and how to better it in the future. After a little of such record keeping, you'll find the need for it gradually disappears. ONE THING AT A TIME Do not, above all, become impatient and overeager. In filming, as in many other activities, it is well to learn to walk before you try running. Tackle one thing at a time, and get its technique well mastered before moving on to still other problems. Correct exposure is probably the first order of business, since without it all other qualities are bound to suffer. But adequate exposures are not difficult to come by, nor are they necessarily guaranteed simply by the purchase of an exposure meter. The important thing is to selecta single system of exposure [Continued on page 26]