Evening star., 1953-03-22
Comer0 Angles
Simple I ricksWithMovie
Film Brighten Interest
By Alexander J. Wedderburn
cUvuior Of Photography
The Smithsonian institution

have the magician produce
article after article simply by
pointing a finger. To produce
this effect have him make a
few mystical passes" with his
hands Camera running, Of
course), then suddenly stop
his movements with a finger
pointed at a spot where the
article is to appear. Stop the
camera at this point, with
your magician rigidly holding
his position, and place an OBJ
ject on the spot at his finger
tip. Then resume filming.
When the Aim is screened the
object will seem to have made
q spontaneous appearance.
This can be repeated as often
as you desire or, for a varia-
ton, the magician can hold a
handkerchief while some one
places an object behind it
while the camera Is stopped.
A ghost movie is another
simple trick any one can per-
form with his movie camera.
The effect is obtained by run
ming the film through the
camera twice-once for the
"live" characters in action and
the second run for the "spook."
The room furnishings that re-
corded on the first run through
the camera will show through
the body of the ghost when
the film is screened. If a 16-
nm. camera is used you SIM
ply make notes of the footage
where the ghost is to be sup
erimpoSed-rewind the film
and make the second expo
sure starting and stopping ac-
cording to your footage notes.
With an 8-mm. camera the
entire film should be exposed
on both sides. This will bring
it back to its original position.
Then using the footage notes
proceed as above.
Upside Down Comero
Reversing action is a bit more
complicated but any one can
do it. To get action going in
reverse on the screen the
filming must be done with
the camera held upside down.
Then when the film (16-mm.)
comes back from the professor
the footage that was shot from
this position is cut out of the
film and replaced end for end.
With 8-mm. film the strip is
not only reversed end for end
but must also be turned over
to get the sprocket holes on
the right side.
Fast and slow action are two
other popular ways to pep up
a film if they are not over
done. To increase screen ac-
tion the camera action should
be slowed down from the
normal shooting speed. Slow
motion on the screen is pro-
duced by speeding up. Most
amateurs film at 16 frames
per second and speed of 8
frames will greatly speed up
action. It must be remember
ed, however, that when this
is done the lens must be closed
one full stop to compensate
for the change in the ex-
posure. The reverse is true
when slow motion is desired.
For example, if your exposure
meter indicates an exposure of
Is frames at a lens aperture
of 8. an increase in speed to
"a frames per second would
require a lens opening of 6.3.
To shoot at 80 frames per Sec
ond under the same conditions
you would have to open up to
and aperture Of Sc.
Interval Shots
To film a bud opening into
a flower, shoot from a tripod
where lighting and background
do not change. Start by Aim
ing the bud in its unopened
stage. Then, at intervals, de-
pending on the speed at which
the bud opens, make addition
al shots of 2-6 seconds in
length at your cameras slow
est speed until the bud has
fully opened. The same tech
nique can be applied when
filming the emergence Of a
moth or butterfly from its
chrysalis stage.
Any of the above special
effects, If used with discretion,
will help improve your films
and make them more inter-
esting both to you and to those
who may otherwise watch
them merely for the sake Of
politeness.