Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1949)

306 AUGUST 1949 YES, you can get 'em at your dealer's now STEVENS CAMERA DRIVE for BOLEX H16 and CINE-KODAK TAKE THE BABY TOO SPECIAL • Eliminates scene-footage restrictions of spring-wound cameras. • Easily attached — No camera alterations. • Light weight — Only 12 ounces. • Uses either 4 or 5 standard, 6-volt radio "A" dry batteries. • Top efficiency with extremely low current drain. • Comes complete with mounting bracket and top-grain carrying case for batteries. Available (or Bolex H16 with built-in frame counter, 4 ^^ ^Jf *irt outside frame counter and ^ M M ^w Cine-Kodak Special Cameras J* J Exclusive Distributors J. B. PERRIN a COMPANY 8510 WARNER DRIVE CULVER CITY, CALIF. BLACK AND WHITE • KODACHROME ENLARGED REDUCED' DUPLICATES GEO. W. COLBURN LABORATORY, Inc. 164 N. Wocker Dr., Dept. M, Chicago 6, III. MOVIE AND SLIDE TITLES ST ILL AT SAME LOW PRICES! Same titles formerly distributed by Bell & Howell — now sold direct. Large variety backgrounds available. No charge for tinting film Amber 1 WRITE FOR free illustrated brochure and samples TITLE-CRAFT, 1022 Argyle St., Chicago 40, III. Two 3< stamps for giant catalogue. State size I 8-t6mm Silent, Sound, Sales, Rental, Exchanges. REED • REED DISTRIBUTORS, INC 7S0S Sll AVE., BROOKLYN 9, N. Y. -►8MM MAGAZINE COLOR < at Delta's Low Price! Here is our contribution to help you cut your movie making cost: FACTORY FRESH, 8MM Color Film, product of one of the world's largest film manufacturers, loaded into NEW 8mm magazines, fully guaranteed by Delta. For all 8mm magazine cameras. 8MM MAGAZINE COLOR, Daylight 12 for $46.50 8MM Bl. and White), SUPER SO Weston 12 for S34.50 $3.95 ea. X type S2.95 ea. , JwT\ Write for Movie Listing DELTA PHOTO SUPPLY 690 Third Ave., N. Y. C. 17 (Dept. MM-8) / A new trick with a baby tripod IF YOU are the kind of movie maker who gets around a good deal, you will have already encountered the vexatious problem of making setups on cement floors, waxed linoleum and other hard surfaces which do not cooperate with tripod points. This is risky business, for you can lose a good shot, or even damage your valuable camera, if one of those tripod legs suddenly slips. And your popularity will suffer as well, should someone's flooring also become damaged. Of the many tripods now on the market, a few are being made with various types of clamping devices which grip at the tops of the legs. The designers, of course, intended that these clamps should eliminate slippage. While this arrangement is better than none at all, in my experience these clamps are not the right answer to the problem. They do successfully hold the tripod legs open when the unit is lifted from the floor. But on slippery floors the tripod point will still slip, although not far, and the leg can bend. Further, such clamps do not prevent damage to floors. So let's look a little further. It stands to reason that the Hollywood studios, when they place a heavy, expensive Technicolor camera on a ''floor spider," know what they are doing. They cannot afford to risk damaging such equipment by half measures. No clamps are ever used at the tops of their tripod legs. They either use the "spider" or a parallel (platform) top, laid flat on the floor to receive the tripod points. Since the points receive the most strain, that is where the gripping action should take place. And remember this — no camera movement is steadier than the support on which it's used. If you are short on space, the three blocks of wood and the chains (see For the Well Dressed Camera, May, 1949) are okay. But the spider idea is MAURY KAINS, ACL better. The spider is less awkward to set up and to adjust. The chief objection to the spider is that it's just one more thing to lug around, an awkward accessory that is used infrequently. But if you own a "baby" tripod (and you should), your problem is fifty percent licked. One look at Fig. 1 will give you a fair idea of what I have up my sleeve. For my baby has learned a new trick. I no longer need to lug the spider every place I go. Now my baby is never left behind, for it serves me with more versatility than ever. The illustration will show how I have quickly converted the baby tripod into a spider. But it took a bit more than the magic word "Presto" to accomplish this. Near the tip of each leg, on the underside when the legs are spread out, I attached a small block of hardwood, shaped to fit the leg (see Fig. 2). These little blocks are a permanent installation, and therefore they should be sturdy. The undersides of the three blocks (which rest directly on the slippery floor) are flat, so that the tripod legs cannot twist or flex. A sheet of very thin soft rubber is cemented to the underside of each of these blocks. The rubber, if clean, will have a tendency to grip the floor and minimize slippage. If the rubber is too thick, or spongy, there will be a trace of bounce. This should be avoided for movie work, as even that little amount of give does not contribute to perfection. The second essential is the preparation of some sort of receptacle for the metal points of the big tripod's legs. You will see (Fig. 2) how I solved this by hollowing out cupped-shaped holes in the wooden extension legs of the baby tripod. These holes, of course, should be slanted slightly inwards, so that they will accept the points at the correct angle. It might also be noted (Fig. 1) that the underside extension FIG. 1: A baby tripod, spread almost flat to floor, prevents slipping on dangerous floors. FIG. 2: Detail of ingenious camera mounting shows wood block and hole in baby tripod leg.