Screenland (Nov 1938-Apr 1939)

That Twosome, Tyrone and Exakta Continued from page 57 7 SECOND MYSTERY STORY "HOW DOES AGNES EVER SATISFY HER CHILDREN BETWEEN MEALS WITHOUT SPOILING THEIR APPETITES ? " Beech -Nut "This rodeo shot was a fast action shot. You can stop a rider in full flight like this with a highspeed camera and yet get excellent detail. For this shot I had time to decide in advance on the speed before the action began. At a football game or a race or something like that, you mightn't have a chance to figure things out. "It's nice to get a feeling of heat into a shot, as in the desert scenes on 'Suez,' where blazing sun made a heat haze in the distance and the water is dark in contrast to the white sand, or where the sky looks glaringly clear behind the huge tanks. "Talking about moods in pictures, this church at Xochimilco, Mexico, has a mood of menace. I used a dark filter on that. The church on the way to Xochimilco is one of my favorite shots, and I've had it blown up and finished in sepia. I cut off a little of the white road in the foreground, and it's really nice. The shot of the city of Taxo from a hotel balcony is the sort of thing that enchants me. I hope I can get a lot of that type of thing in South America. The Mexican trip was my first trip into a foreign land of any consequence and I got the urge from that. Maybe I'll tour the world with Exakta before long !" Being in pictures is an advantage to the earnest candid camera fiend, according to Tyrone. "I learn a lot from watching experts on pictures. About color, I've picked up a great deal from 'Jesse,' my first technicolor picture. I hope to put what I know into practice on that South American trip. Not too much glaring color, not too many distracting colors, concentrate on one lovely effect, not several. Now all that remains is for me to do it ! "Every time they set up the cameras outdoors, I try to decide where I'd set up myself for that particular scene, and then when they've done it, I find out either that I was right — which is rare — or what their reasons are for not doing as I'd have done. "I'm interested in these shots of the wind storm in 'Suez.' In the first one the property men are using a battering ram to break in the door; the second shot shows the door broken and the men leaping out of the way behind the shed, and a giant figure starting forward. That's an action shot in my language." Like nearly all men, Tyrone likes airplane shots. He has three favorites taken on board a plane — one is a sunset, one of a fog, and one of sun and clouds. "The last one I've had blown up and printed in a blue wash that's very effective. They put the blue into the printing solution, I think. It would be nice for a seascape, too." The trouble with most amateur sliots, Tyrone believes, is that they look flat and uninteresting. "People take them head on, without paying any attention to what they really want to get," he explained. "Now, hotel windows are good vantage points if you want a distance shot. This one of New York from a hotel window isn't bad. "I actually know very little about shooting pictures, but I keep watching the fellows on the set who are experts, and seeing their results and if I don't see how they got their results, I'm not above asking ! I think it's well to vary light and shade, to try for good composition, not to pick up the camera and shoot in a hurry." In Kansas City, over -the Labor Day week-end, there wasn't any small film left anywhere ! Why ? "About 50,000 people came down to Pineville to watch us making pictures, and I'll bet most of them, had cameras," laughed Tyrone. "They bought out the entire supply of film, and had to wait till Tuesday before the city could get in any more." The crowds amused Ty, so he shot them for his album. One woman actually sent Henry Fonda a roll of film No. 120 and asked him to' find a camera to take his picture with it and send the film back to her. "But nobody had a camera of that particular size," remembered Tyrone. "Henry has a new camera with a ground glass lens that's very interesting. But he's a real expert. I find Exakta easier to manage than the Leica or the Contax, because it's easier to see what you're doing, but every make has its devotees. "I suppose if anyone wanted to be really different in Hollywood or anywhere else these days, he wouldn't go in for candid cameras. "But why not — it's grand fun !" 80 SCREENLAND