Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1949)

478 DECEMBER 1949 RENASCENCE THE Renaissance, in our office dictionary, is defined as "that period which saw the revival of arts and letters in Europe and marked the transition from medieval to modern history." Then, speaking in lower case, the big book goes on: ". . . or any period similarly characterized by enthusiastic and vigorous activity along literary, artistic or other lines." Personally, we prefer the simpler English version, "renascence," meaning revival or rebirth. But no matter how you spell it or how pronounce it, the stirring uplift of the word's meaning is still the same — rebirth, revival! And, we sincerely believe, it exactly describes what's happening to home movies today. How else can you account for the tremendous resurgence of interest in the Ten Best contest? How else can you explain a 3 5 percent increase in footage and a 73 percent increase in number of entries over 1948? And, mind you, these increases occurred right down the length and breadth of the competition. 8mm. was up. Black and white was up. Sound accom paniment, magnetic or on disc, soared to new levels. Films poured in from the West and Midwest, as well as the East, while eight countries overseas sent an equal number of entries. Here, indeed, was enthusiastic and vigorous activity. This rebirth was evident not only in the quantity of films submitted, but in their quality as well. When, in the judging, our staff made its first run-through of all the competing pictures, eighteen of them ended up as possible Ten Besters. There were fifty one selected for possible Honorable Mention! Obviously some of them had to go. Even as it ultimately worked out, thirty one films — the highest number in the twenty year history of the competition — won through to final and indisputable honors. And there may well be others with almost equal claims to recognition! So there you are. This is the way it was in the Ten Best contest for 1949. We call it renascence. The Amateur Cinema League, which is going through a period of rebirth itself, welcomes these signals with elation. 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 1 7. N. Y.. U. S. A. Choosing lighting units [Continued from page 463] easily brush the extended bulbs into furniture or even against other people. CHOOSING THE SPOTLIGHT If adequate flood units are the backbone of your lighting structure, the spotlight can be regarded as the dressing which gives it accent and interest. The best way to start using spotlights is the small way. Get a midget spot using a 50 to 200 watt lamp. Experiment with its adjustments and note the changing nature of its beam. With the larger units (500 or 750 watt) and a few accessories such as "barndoors," "snoots" and a diffuser, you'll be amazed at the effects you can create. Ideally, the spotlight should be flexible in design so that it can be used either from a stand or tabletop, and the housing should be adjustable up and down through an arc of about 100 degrees. This housing should be of substantial gauge metal, with adequate provision for ventilation and against light spill. The reflecting surface be hind the lamp should be highly polished, preferably a concave spherical mirror which focuses an image of the lamp filament at the focal plane of the lens. And. with the larger units especially, the cord from inside the socket to a point 12 inches beyond the housing should be asbestos covered. THE BOOM LIGHT One of the acknowledged weaknesses of many home lighting setups is the inability to place light sources high enough. The boom light is one answer to that problem, and there is now available an inexpensive unit which attaches to any good light stand and extends at its end a clamp-on reflector. The boom light, as its name implies, is essentially a long boom, or rod. weighted at one end, with a universal joint for the reflector at the other, and a thumbscrew pressure plate which permits adjustment of the rod along its length. With its use a lighting unit can be positioned over a scene almost at will and some 12 feet above the floor. Construction of the boom rod should be sturdy enough so that when held at one end with the reflector as sembly at the other the bend in the rod will be only just perceptible. The counterweight should be heavy enough so that the pressure plate will not slip even with the boom extended at two thirds of its length. ACCESSORIES Handy accessories to round out the efficiency of your lighting assembly might begin with the high-low switch. This is a metal box, generally fused, with one heavy duty intake cord and two or four outlet sockets. Your lighting units plug into it in pairs and the high-low control permits burning them at low intensity during the setup, high intensity only while filming. Other aids include diffusing screens of spun glass mounted on metal hoops, when softening of a light source is desired, while with the spotlight there are such items as barndoors (for blocking off a portion of the light beam), snoots in various sizes (to funnel the beam into a prescribed area), spotshades (to prevent light spill toward the camera without interfering with the beam) and various masks for controlling the beam size, shape and intensity.