Talking pictures : how they are made, how to appreciate them (c. 1937)

/// Home and School ocre results. To operate a camera correctly, one needs as a prerequisite a deep, sincere interest in the difficult but satisfying art of motion photography. From this will arise desire to study and to become skilful. Professional motion picture cameramen spend at least six hours a week reading the latest scientific bulletins on photography in order to keep up with the remarkable dav-by-day advance in lens and film reproductive quality. But an amateur need not study so intently, although he should be familiar with the basic books on photography. Cultural hobbies of this sort bring pleasure only in proportion to the study, effort, and interest which goes into them. The amateur finds his greatest difficulty in his inability to judge light values. This becomes intuitive in a professional. An amateur cannot expect to get this sixth sense for years. For him, there are mechanical "light meters" and printed "light tables." Used intelligently, these will bring good photographic results. But photography is like any other craft; those with a natural aptitude for it will develop more rapidly than others. Care of his camera is second nature to a professional. He realizes that all machinery must be carefully protected and used carefully. Amateurs frequently err in this respect. On shipboard 16 mm. cameras have been seen in deck chairs where they are exposed to the sea air for hours, and amateurs have been known to bang expensive home movie cameras against posts and walls. Home movie cameras often have signs of rust in the lens mounting. This shows that the lens has not been [257]