Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1953)

Photograpli9 by Morion I.. Kaganowich ARRIVAL: The picturesque floats of regional delegations make good material for film's start. CAUCUS: Trade and counter-trade are hatched in state caucus rooms. Use four-lamp lighting bar. HOOPLA: Parades for state favorites make lively action, here filmed at f/1.9 and 16 f.p.s. ELECTION: The winnah and new president gracefully accepts election as the convention ends. 129 CONVENTIONS ...in the can MORTON L. KAGANOWICH PLANNED movie making at the next national convention you attend can be more fun and give you better films than the haphazard shooting that most amateurs indulge in. This applies to any national convention, be it of the American Legion, Shriners, your trade association, or, as in my experience, the "Jaycees" or Junior Chamber of Commerce. The first consideration is your equipment. It should be reliable, and you should be thoroughly familiar with it. If you plan later showings to medium or large groups, 16mm. pictures will be superior to 8mm. because of the latter's limitations of screen size. The camera should have an 8 frames per second speed in addition to the normal 16 fps, if you are planning to shoot color under adverse light. Or, if you are going to add magnetic sound later, you will want to shoot at 24 fps on single-perforated stock. All my convention photography has been on Ansco Color film in a Bell & Howell 70-DA camera. An f/1.9 standard lens and an f/2.7 wide angle unit are an excellent combination. While a turret mount is a convenience, excellent work can be done with a single lens camera. An exposure meter, necessary filters and a tripod round out the accessories. Where interior lighting is necessary, a light bar with photoflood lamps and camera mounted together will be the best bet. On arrival at the convention, obtain an official program as soon as possible. Not only will it indicate any changes from the advance program material, but it will itemize in detail such matters as time, date and place. While registering, try to obtain any passes necessary to secure good shooting positions for the planned events. In a word, the greater your advance preparations, the better will be your films. Now for the shooting. Some producers like to start with shots before leaving home: the packing, poring over road maps and timetables, and the departure. A shot of a late member of the party running down the path, suitcase in one hand and holding onto his hat, is always good for a laugh. If you are going in a large contingent with official farewells, be sure to capture some footage of that. Since arrivals are sometimes full of confusion, you may miss a close shot of the city name on a signboard. Be sure you go back later for it. Follow this with a long shot of Main Street, a closeup of the welcome banners, the headquarters hotel and the registration desk. Now that you have set the scene, you are ready to show the convention. The big problem in convention movie making is how to be on the scene at the right time and place to shoot everything. Thus, with something going on all the time, you may as well resign yourself to the fact that you're bound to miss some of it. You should, however, be alert at all times to catch convention color: the state costumes, flags, signs, specially decorated cars, high jinks and spontaneous demonstrations. And at this point I must digress to tell you about the "one that got away." At one Jaycee convention which I covered, the Wyoming delegation imported several tons of snow to Miami, clumped it in front of the headquarters hotel and proceeded to stage a snowball fight in Florida in June! And my camera was in the hotel room. Before I could get it, of course, the snow was gone. Moral: carry your camera at all times. The colorful sequences should be interspersed with some quieter footage. You should devote a fair amount of screen time to the official business sessions, if there is sufficient light for filming. Here your light bar will be invaluable for closeups. And, for general auditorium shots, working wide open at 8 fps will usually record usable footage. Finally, if there is a convention photographer on deck, it might be [Continued on page 134] From the first speech to the last headache, here's how to film that great American gathering