American Cinematographer - December 1950 - 26

U S. Pat. No. 2260368

GOERZ AMERICAN

APOGOR
F:2.3
the movie lens with microscopic
definition successful cameramen
have been waiting for -
* A new six element high quality lens for the 16
and 35mm. film camera. Corrected for all aberra¬
tion at full opening, giving highest definition in
black-&-white and color. Made by skilled techni¬
cians with many years of optical training.
* Fitted to precision focusing mount which moves
the lens smoothly without rotating elements or
shifting image.
* This lens comes in C mount for 16mm. cameras.
Fitting to other cameras upon special order.
* Sizes available now: 35 and 50mm. uncoated
and 75mm. coated.
Write for prices, giving your dealer's name.

T.he

GOERZ AMERICAN

OPTICAL COMPANY
Office and Factory
317 EAST 34 ST., NEW YORK 16, N. Y.
AC-12

RUBy

EDITORIAL
SERVICE, INC.

Complete Film Editorial Facilities for
Motion Picture & Television
Production
SOUNDPROOF AIR-CONDITIONED
PRIVATE EDITING ROOMS
Modern Equipment for
EVERY TECHNICAL REQUIREMENT
35 & 16mm.

RENTALS BY DAY, WEEK
OR MONTH
ALL NEW MOVIOLA EQUIPMENT
Equipment Available for
Off-the-Premise Rentals.
729 - 7th Ave., New York 19, N.Y.
Tel: Circle 5-5640

MOTION PICTURE
i6«» PRINTERS 8"
Continuous and Reduction
SEND FOR DESCRIPTIVE LITERATURE

UHLER C*™ %-iacettwGr.
1 5778 Wyoming Ave., Detroit 21, Mich.

43o

AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER

themselves are amusing. It is rather a
comedy of action than of acting. Such
type of film is well within the ability of
the advanced amateur movie maker.
The laugh-getting effects the profes¬
sional tries to get with dialogue can, to
a degree, be achieved by gag titles. Cer¬
tainly, the titles in amateur films of this
sort should be humorous in keeping with
the story.
Next in order of screen appeal are
scenic and travel pictures. It is in these
two classifications that the amateur will
find his greatest opportunities. Merit in
such material rests on the unusualness
or unfamiliarity of the audience to the
pictured scenes, or in the rare and breath¬
taking beauty of the vistas.
With subjects of this sort, much de¬
pends upon the narrator-if the picture
is in sound-or the title writer, where
the picture is made silent. Today, with
more and more amateurs using magnetic
tape or wire to furish synchronized
sound with their films, the cinefilmer
now has opportunity to develop skills in
writing and recording sound, dialogue
and music for motion pictures. Here
bright and sprightly commentary con¬
tributes much in needed explanation, de¬
scription and entertainment, but the
same touch can also be given silent films
with carefully written titles. An other¬
wise dull or average travel reel can be
elevated to high screen rating by shrewd
cutting and clever titling-or narration.
Another subject field is the novelty
reel. This includes uncommon events-
such as the Paricutin volcano subject
mentioned earlier. A ping pong game,

swimming or diving event, curious in¬
dustries, odd occupations, unusual fac¬
tory processes-all these can be screened
by the amateur cinematographer with a
flair for originality or delineating the
unusual, to enhance his prestige as a
movie maker.
And now just a few words about
camera technique. First the need for con¬
stantly changing camera angles should
be emphasized. The cine photographer
should guard against the static shot-
the "postcard" shot. There are in¬
stances where short subjects depart¬
ments of Hollywood studios have con¬
sidered stories which, because of peculi¬
arities of construction, would necessitate
shooting the entire reel in two or three
setups. Due to the sheer inherent story
value, they gambled, and filmed them.
They were deadly on the screen. Slow,
draggy, uninteresting. When similar
stories were adapted to standard short
subjects treatment, with its many short
and fast cuts, in spite of speed they gave
the impression of being twice as long.
Audiences lost themselves in the story,
drank heartily of the proffered enter¬
tainment, saw a fast parade of varying
scenes-hence the impression of greater
length.
This is something for the cine ama¬
teur to consider when inclined to leave
in his edited pictures every frame of a
given shot-unwilling to use the shears
in true professional editing procedure:
trimming scenes down to their bare
essentials. In the final analysis, it is
this skilled cutting that actually makes
a short subject click on the screen.

SOUND AND THE CINEMATOGRAPHER
(Continued from Page 416)

is quite important here. For example,
the photographer on an industrial film
may make a scene of a workman loading
crates onto a boxcar. If the action is
not particularly engrossing, he may stop
his camera after four seconds. But if
he knows there's eight seconds of nar¬
ration about shipping the product, he'll
very likely film at least eight seconds of
this loading process. Then, even if the
cameraman can't find time to get more
transportation footage, the editor will be
able to "fill out" the picture to fit the
talk on shipping the sponsor's products.
In writing the narration, remember
that it's unwise to keep your narrator
talking every moment the picture is on
the screen. Pauses are desirable and give
the audience a chance to watch the film
in silence for a few seconds. A constant
flow of chatter begins to sound like an
irritable buzz after a while and our ears
simply cancel it out. Several of the shots
DECEMBER, 1950

in a picture are sure to be self-explana¬
tory, while others-especially in a travel
film-might have been cut in for their
beauty alone. This footage should be
left silent or accompanied with music.
A narrator who speaks only when he
has something to say will be respected
by his audience.
Although it sounds simply and obvi¬
ous, there's one rule about writing nar¬
ration that even the experts sometimes
forget, and that is: Don't tell the audi¬
ence what they can see for themselves
on the screen, unless special emphasis is
desired. If you have a scene of people
sunbathing on a beach, commentary such
as "These sunbathers are enjoying them¬
selves on the beautiful beach here," is
redundant. Instead, a sentence like this
might be used: "The sunbathing must
be mighty fine here, for travelers come
from Washington, Oregon, and many
Eastern states to visit Catalina and its
American Cinematographer - December 1950

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