Personal Movies (1933)

244 PERSONAL MOVIES cusing prism. It slips into the film channel occupying the same position that the film normaly does. The image produced by the lens is viewed on the ground glass surface of the prism. Owners of cameras possessing direct visual focusing such as the Victor Model 5, and Filmo 70-DA have this problem solved for them. Cinematographers who possess the Filmo 70-DA camera have an accessoryavailable whereby the title card can be perfectly aligned. This device is known as the Focusing Alignment guage. It is a sliding camera mount which is attached to the camera. Three positions for the latter are provided. In use the title card is mounted vertically in front of the camera. The latter is then moved to the right of the track to place the view-finder in the photographic lens position. The camera is moved about until the card is correctly placed in the view-finder. The turret is now revolved to bring the lens in the focusing position, and the camera is shifted to the extreme left of the guage track. The lens is focused upon the card and returned to the photographic aperture. The camera is now shifted to the photographic position and the title "shot." Either daylight or artificial light is suitable to illuminate the card. When using artificial light caution must be observed that the card is evenly illuminated. Best results are obtained with two lamps, one placed on either side of the title card. Use the tubular type of bulb, and provide both lamps with reflectors. If your equipment is limited to one lamp place it directly above the camera in the manner illustrated. This method is suitable but will not produce as even an illumination as is obtained with the use of two lighting units. When employing block letters we depart from this method of illumination. In this case our light source must come from one side so that the block letters will cast shadows and stand out in relief. The title should be of such length that it would appear on the screen for The Cine-Kodak Titler Showing the Correct Method of Ising a Single Lamp a sufficient time to be slowly read. The usual rule is to allow from 14 to 16 frames per word. The question of the type of film to be used arises. Since snappy results are desired the best type of emulsion to employ is positive film. This is ordinarily used to produce prints from negative film when the latter has been used instead of the usual reversal type. Two methods can be employed with this film. Direct positive titles can be produced, or the positive type of film can be exposed, developed as a negative, and then prints produced therefrom. Direct positive titles offer a simple method of producing the finished title at home. We will discuss this method later. The Hell & Howell Character Title Writer Should the amateur wish to employ the usual reversal film, it would be best to choose normal panchromatic film rather than supersensitive "pan". The former produces more contrasty results. Then again we have some of the orthochromatic reversal emlusions recently introduced which are contrasty films. Now to return to direct positive titles. In this case we expose the positive film to the title card develop the film as a negative and employ this negative as the finished title. We must therefore employ an opposite procedure in designing our title cards. Instead of light lettering against a dark back ground we have dark lettering against a light background. After the positive film has been exposed and developed it is actually a negative but the title will appear upon it in the correct fashion. The entire process can be accomplished at home. Ordinary M-Q tubes or prepared fine-grain developers can be used to make the developing solution. A ruby lamp serves as a source of illumination while developing the film. Eight by ten photographic trays will accommodate a length of film used as a title, or you can borrow some enameled pans from the kitchen. To facilitate matters it would be best to first expose a strip of positive film to The Focusing Alignment Guage varying diaphragm openings, develop it, and determine the correct exposure. After each title has been "shot" take the camera to the dark room and cut a notch in the edge of the film. The notches will serve as a guide to the subsequent cutting of the film prior to developing. Many filmers are also still camera enthusiasts and possess a dark room and equipment. This will simplify matters to a great extent. If you are not in this class the bath room or a roomy closet will serve the purpose. A ruby lamp can be purchased at a small cost, and as I have mentioned before should photographic trays not be available, pans from the kitchen will be found to be appropriate. After the title has been completed we are now ready to splice it into the rest of the film. Titles made on reversal film are added in the usual fashion — with the emulsion facing the lens of the projector. Direct positive titles are spliced into the main film in the same manner. Titles produced by first making a negative and then producing prints therefrom (the negative-positive method) are spliced into the rest of the film with the emulsion facing the lamphouse. With the action on reversal film such titles may appear slightly out of focus on the screen, since the emulsions of the reversal film and of the title are on opposite sides of the film. Let us turn now to the production of trick titles. There seems to be no limit to the variation in effects that can be produced. The individual in