We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.
Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.
448
Camera Work
bearing in mind the fact that the public must never be allowed to suspect trickery.
Your good cameraman makes himself expert in all branches of his craft. He must know how to build up and photograph interiors ; he must have a broad sense of " landscape " ; he must specialize in showing lovely woman even lovelier than she is. He must be constantly improving his methods of' lighting for all these different types of photography, and .bettering his methods of make-up and shading for the men and women whose faces form so large a part of his finished work.
Have you noticed the tremendous diversity of scene and subject contamed in any one evening's entertainment at your local cinema ? There will be in one film views of a beautiful countryside, dreaming portraits of some famous star, the shaded lamp glowing softly on her upturned face, lighting the wistful appeal of her features as she awaits, maybe, the coming of some handsome hero — for whose manly colouring and hard skin an entirely different lighting and makeup-system has to be thought out by some hard-working cameraman ? Notice how cunningly the lighting of the boudoir-scene is contrasted with the love-scene on the terrace, or " matched up " with that little moment in my lady's ante-room !
There are a hundred-and-one different little " special jobs " which the cameraman must master. The nroper lighting and photography of
manuscripts, letters, and so on, for instance, is quite an art in itself. Or perhaps a close-up has to be made of a handshake, a gracefully -turned ankle, or the face of a watch ; dozens of such little " bits " appear in films, and, if badly done, can look absurdly harsh and unnecessary.
His technical knowledge must be comprehensive enough to enable him, by moving his camera slightl3^ to enhance that star's height, to make this player appear slimmer ; even to alter the colour of their eyes.
The director of a film certainly is in charge of its production. He conceives this, that, and the other scene ; he rehearses the players in their movements and their lines. The art director builds glorious settings at his bidding. But he must lean most of all on the skill of his cameraman, for is he not, after all, making motion pictures ?
It would take a book to describe all the various branches of camera-art as applied in the film studio. But bear in mind always that the cameraman, in order to please your eye, has carried consistently in his head questions of hghting, make-up, position, action, decoration, and distance. His work must never be for himself, in order to test some pet theory or wildcat scheme ; he must always work for the best results possible with the material which the film itself gives him. He seldom figures in the headlines. His personal successes are seldom recognized by the public. He is just the man behind the camera ; technical expert, craftsman, and artist.