Evening star., 1949-02-27
Camera Angles
Proper Editing of Movie Film

you can find an item with a
minimum of effort. Reels should
be placed in cans appropriately
labeled and stored in a film rack
for easy reference. The cans arc
essential to protect the film
against changes in temperature
and humidity. In addition to this
it will be an excellent idea to
indicate on the can any important
dates covered by the films such
as birthdays, historical occasions,
vacation years, etc.
Edit Them Right Away.
Once you have your film library
in good shape, keep it that way
Instead of tossing new rolls into
that spare bureau drawer or box
edit them right away and file
them. It's much easier to do 1t
that way than to allow them to
accumulate.
Editing-or cutting, if you win
is not just the removal Of bad
footage and the splicing together
of the film that is left. 1t is,
rather, the following of a COM
mon sense rule Of telling story
in its proper order. If you were
publishing a book. you would not
think of scrambling the chapters
The same rule applies to present.
ing a story by means Of movie
film.
In it's most basic application
you would not follow long shot
of a yacht race with medium
shot or closeup of a man pedal
ing a bicycle True, there might
be a possible connection-the man
might have used the bicycle to
get home after the race. But If
so, you must have explanatory
shots between the rsc2 sequence
and the riding sequence to make
the two Understandable.
Study Sequence In Advance.
To make the lob of editing
easier, you should build your Sc
quences at the time of shooting
with this objective in mind. If
possible use a shooting script. But
if this is not feasible you should
do some mental picture planning
before and during the actual ex-
posure Of the film. Try to visu-
alize in advance just what shots
you will need later on to present
connected and understandable
story.
AS a further aid to editing al
ways have your camera running
before the action begins and let
it run a few frames after the
action has ceased. And always be
sure to shoot a few cut-ins and
cutaways for use when it becomes
necessary to explain a time lapse
or fill-in for a spoiled scene.
If you are really trying to pro-
duce a professional looking film
don't be afraid to throw out any
scene that is faulty, no matter
what the reason may be. A bad
exposure, jerky pan, or a light
struck strip of film will brand
your picture as that Of novice
regardless of the merit of the bal
ance of the reel. 1t should be re-
membered that even the best pro-
fessionals of Hollywood shoot sew
eral times the footage that is used
in a movie theater. Even the
neWsreels use only small per-
centage of the footage shot by
the cameraman, so you needn't
feel badly if you have to discard
a portion of your film.
Very little equipment is needed
for amateur film editing.
splicer, winding reel. scissors, g
pair of white cotton gloves, a film
rack and barrel and possibly 6
light table are all that is needed
The gloves are used to protect the
hands from film cuts and to avoiC
getting fingerprints on the film
An editing barrel can be made by
lining an ordinary can with some
soft cloth so that the ends of the
cut strips can dangle safely with
out the danger of scratches. A
strip OF wood with a number OF
small finishing nails at the tor OF
the barrel will hold the strips in
their proper order.
Do your own editing. Only you
know what you had in mind when
you shot your story, so naturally
you will do the best job. Editing
a bad lot of film will make you
stop and think the next time you
use your camera.