Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1949)

434 NOVEMBER 1949 HOBBYIST'S HOBBY AS WE write these words, the Ten Best screenAjV ings for 1949 have come, finally, to an end. * • The League's projectors are dim, the turntables mute, and the screen — that magic window opening momentarily onto the lives of others — is dark as with a drawn shade. There remain now only the final, delicate decisions between the better and the best, the good and the great. Of these selections, for the moment, we are not wholly sure. We wonder, in fact, whether one can ever be wholly sure of such decisions. For amateur movies are, essentially, the stuff of dreams. By what yardstick can one measure their length and breadth? In what test tube can one assay their worth? On what scale can one balance a rose against a robin? We are not sure. We are sure, however, of the universality of subject matter which now appeals to the amateur filmer. Just take a look at the list. There have sparkled across the League's screen during the past two months pictures on Mexico and Miami, Scotland and the Swiss Alps, Gaspesia and Guatemala. These are the travel pictures, of course, and perhaps you expect them. But do you expect socially minded studies on Boy and Girl scouting, the dangers of cancer or the treatment of soil erosion in Africa's Basutoland? How do you account for scientifically accurate records of bird and bee life, a drama of a deserted dog or a captivating fantasy about the family cat? How do you explain the inexplicable devotion demanded by model work and animation? Perhaps one can best understand this catholicity of coverage by acknowledging that amateur movie making is, above all others, the hobbyist's hobby. We have long hailed it as such. The amateur cinema league, inc. Founded in 1926 by Hiram Percy Maxim John V. Hansen, President Ethelbert Warfield, Treasurer C. R. Dooley Ralph E. Gray H. Earl Hoover DIRECTORS Joseph J. Harley, Vice President James W. Moore, Managing Director Harold E. B. Speight Stephen F. Voorhees Roy C. Wilcox 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. It aids movie clubs and maintains for them a film exchange. It has various special services and publications for members. Your membership is invited. Six dollars a year. AMATEUR CINEMA LEAGUE. Inc.. 420 LEXINGTON AVE., NEW YORK 17. N. Y., U.S.A. He puts his hand on his forehead to shade his eyes. 29. Slow panorama of country scene. If you live in a section of the country that grows corn, try to obtain shots of corn shocks and pumpkins. Include other native vegetalion. 30. Closeup of Bud staring in the distance with hand shading his eyes. 31. Show panorama of another rustic autumnal setting. 32. Same as Scene 30. Suddenly Bud is all attention, and he jerks his gun to his shoulder. 33. Medium shot of Bud with gun to shoulder. He fires. 34. Semi-closeup of Kenny grinning. He covers his mouth to hide the grin, then lowers his hand and says: Title. "That was only an old crow, Dad!" 35. Closeup of Bud grinning foolishly. 36. Medium shot of the two of them walking across a field. They kick an occasional clump of weeds. Finally Kenny brings up his rifle and fires at some target out of camera range. He starts running, while Bud stands still, -' ratching his head. Fade out. 37. Fade in. Interior shot, semicloseup, of Jane as she comes to the kitchen floor and calls: Title. "Dinner's ready!" 38. Same setting as Scene 1. Bud is slouched in his chair, asleep, with shoes off. Kenny is on the floor, reading comics. At the sound of his mother's voice, Kenny gets up and calls to his dad. Bud doesn't stir, however, so Kenny prods him. 39. Semi-closeup of Bud asleep in his chair with Kenny trying to awaken him. Finally Bud opens one eye, then the other. 40. Medium shot of Bud stiffly trying to get up from the chair. Kenny helps him, and Bud hobbles from camera range. 41. A full shot of the dining room, with the family and guests (if any) seated around the Thanksgiving Day dinner table. 42. Semi-closeups of various tempting dishes on the table. Include the salad, potatoes, cranberry sauce and a fine big turkey on a platter, roasted a juicy brown. 43. Near shot of Kenny sitting down behind the turkey. He picks up the carving knife and fork and starts carving, with a big smile on his face. After a moment, he looks up and peers at the other end of the table. 44. Medium shot. The camera is immediately behind Kenny and is looking over his head and shoulders down the length of the table. At the far end is Bud with a separate platter in front of him. On it is a reasonable facsimile of a roasted crow (use a small chicken) . 45. Semi-closeup of Bud savagely sawing away at the tough sides of the crow. Fade out. Directing children [Continued from page 415] ever show that they know a camera is filming them. It quickly convinces any youngster that this is not the thing to do. For the occasional child who cannot resist a peep at the camera during rehearsals, the quiet but firm assurance that the scene will be scrapped if he peeks at the camera during the take is also effective. A great help in getting good facial closeups of children is the use of a short telephoto lens. This enables the cameraman to avoid having the camera so close to the child that he becomes overly camera-conscious and therefore tends to tighten up. The movie maker who will develop his ability to direct children in acting, and who will use definite planning for his films of children, has an opportunity to create that rarity of home movies — a film of children that will be a delight to all.