Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1949)

254 HINTS FOR YOUR HOLIDAY Good practice means good pictures, says this veteran filmer, citing important but simple precautions SIDNEY MORITZ, ACL IT was two months ago that you made your reservations at the summer hotel. Then last month the family began going over their holiday duds. And just last week you had the car checked and greased. Yes, there's a lot of planning and preparation involved in the holiday fun which lies ahead. But how much of this same P and P have you done for your holiday filming? We don't mean continuity planning — scenes, sequence and scenario, that sort of thing. Often this is a bit difficult until you actually arrive at your vacation spot. What we have in mind are simple, sensible preparations for the filming fun ahead, preparations which will go far to guarantee good pictures. The first of these, like charity, begins at home. Take your basic items of equipment — camera, lenses, filters, meter and tripod — and check over them carefully. Give the camera a thorough cleaning, especially around the film gate and aperture. Do not oil it, however, unless your instruction book specifically permits such an operation. Most movie cameras have built-in lubrication which should be renewed only by the manufacturer's repair service. If yours is an old camera and you have reason to suspect that it is slowing down, you can test the timing with a simply prepared loop of white leader. Cut off a strip © Screen Traveler, from Gendreau THE OPEN ROAD— and not a care on your movie mind, if you follow the simple cine preparations suggested here. of this film in any convenient combination of sixteen frames — say thirty two or forty eight. Boldly mark just one frame, splice the two ends together and thread the resultant loop in the camera. With the lens removed from its mount, you can now check the passage of the marked frame past the aperture with a stop watch or sweep second hand. If your spring has slowed up only as much as three or four frames a second it can make a noticeable difference in your exposures. Next, clean all of your lenses, front and back — but don't you dare try unscrewing them to clean the inside,, elements. Actually, a black speck or two in there will not affect your picture adversely anyway. It's the film of dust, moisture and fingerprints on the outside elements which degrades definition. And, for this cleaning, use nothing but lens tissue designed for the purpose. Handkerchiefs, necktie ends and the tail of your shirt are out! If you've been having trouble with exposure, now's the time to get your meter checked. You can make sure yourself whether the light value pointer returns to zero when not in use. If it fails to, try correcting this feature by adjusting the setscrew provided for that purpose. If you suspect anything else is wrong, send the meter to the manufacturer for testing. As for your tripod, give it a cleaning, too, and oil those parts which need it for smooth, easy operation. Check all the settings to be sure that those which should lock firmly are doing so. And finally you may wish to mount on the tripod the handy accessories of spirit level and tape measure suggested here recently in For the Well Dressed Camera. Besides these items, what else are you planning to take with you on your filming holiday? Well, supplies of film, naturally. A handy precaution here, and one which will save you a lot of minor nuisance later, is to write your name and return address on all the film boxes before you leave home. First, this obviates the bother of doing it in the field. Second, if you should misplace or lose a roll, it's far more likely to be returned. Other handy helpers once you're away from home base are the following: (1) Your camera and meter instruction books. You may never need them; but if you do, then having them will save the day. (2) A lightweight screwdriver and a pair of pliers, for emergency adjustments to camera, tripod and the like. (3) A tape measure and plenty of lens tissue, as already mentioned. (4) If yours is a roll-film camera (instead of the magazine type), an extra takeup spool in both 50 and 100 foot sizes. One filmer we know was two days out at sea on a holiday cruise before discovering that the single takeup spool in his camera was a fifty footer — while all his film was on 100 foot rolls! But this isn't going to happen to you, and by now you're happily touring along towards vacationland. What filming hints will be of help once in the field? Well, in the first place, treat your camera and meter like the delicate, precision in [Continued on page 270]