BASIC MOVIE MAKING

[Music] whether you have a casual interest in movie making or a serious movie but we have a few tips that may make a real difference in your home movies a movie is really just a series of still pictures on a long piece of film each represents a slightly different point in time each frame is a photograph differing only slightly from the one before it for the one taken a fraction of a second later when projected in rapid succession these individual pictures give the impression of one continuously moving picture [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] movies can show movement so let them shoot action scenes movies of people doing things as a movie scene this picture cries for something to happen instead of taking a post picture take people in action people at work people at play people just being themselves in everyday activities natural action is our best actions without regard to the camera you can make a good movie story of any event if you simply get the activity as it happens you are part of the action not just an outsider looking on so get involved let the camera participate in whatever is going on you can make your story more complete if you follow a few hints first take a moment to plan your story before you begin shooting second take only those activities that relate to your story [Music] whatever your movie story is about titles make a good beginning they don't have to be fancy in fact you can often use those that someone else has made or just a few words written on something near at hand they'll give your audience an idea of what your movies about here's a tip always film your titles for about twice as long as it takes you to lead them after the titles the action we started choosing sides because yeah that's the way a volleyball game begins the main part of a movie will be the game itself [Music] [Applause] [Music] now about that ending [Music] [Applause] in your movies try to show your audience things as you see them you look at a scene from various distances different viewpoints and for different lengths of time your movie should do the same let's suppose for example that you're making a movie of some teenagers holding a fundraising project [Music] as a car drives up and teenagers get ready to go into action you might stand back looking over the situation a long shot makes a good beginning for your movie because it gives your audience the same overview but a long shot can't hold interest for very long so even closer to show what's going on finally move all the way in to a close-up close-ups eliminate distractions and help your audience to see exactly what you are trying to show another way to eliminate distractions is to keep your background simple a sky or wall make good backgrounds but try to keep these as small as possible in your scene move in on your subject let him fill the frame and your movies will be better looking if you're shooting on a bright day try to keep the Sun behind you or beside you or anywhere but shining into your lens if the Sun does shine directly into your lens your pictures may wash out in a flare or be improperly exposed like this one is also by varying your camera angle shooting up down or even over somebody's shoulder you'll give your audience more of a sense of being there [Music] finally there's the question of seam length scenes that have a lot to see in them can usually be kept long short scenes can be used to create the effect of fast action [Music] [Music] when the Sun Goes Down and you move indoors simply put a movie light on your camera and you're ready to shoot but when you use that movie light remember to keep the recommended distance from your subject if you get too close the light may make your movies look washed out for more natural looking these indoors without movie lights an existing light movie camera kodak ektachrome 160 movie film let you shoot by the light you live in these scenes were actually taken with an existing light camera and super 8 film and enlarged to 16 millimeters so they could be used as part of this movie the original has looked even better than these don't forget these have been enlarged and duplicated several times but the only lights we used with a normal lamps you see in the room if you take existing light movies remember to set your camera to the indoor position to tell it you've moved indoors otherwise your movies may look too orange let's sum up what we've covered so far movies show action so take movies of people doing things tell a story with you movies a story that has a beginning middle and an end use different types of shots long shots medium shots and close-ups vary the length of your scenes depending on how much there is to see you should be able to get about 20 scenes on a 50 foot roll of super 8 film use different camera angles give your audience a sense of really seeing everything for themselves keep your background simple make it easy for your audience to see what you are saying and finally when you make indoor movies use a movie light or if you make existing light movies switch your camera to the indoor position but for all of your various angles locations and seam lengths to look their best it's important for you to hold your camera steady it's this simple steady camera produces sharp pictures a tripod is of course the firmest camera support but you can usually hold your camera steady if you simply distribute your weight evenly and comfortably on both feet and keep your elbows in towards your body for added support if you still feel a bit shaky try bracing yourself against a solid object the only camera movement your audience will appreciate is the movement called panning pan shots are best used to follow action but try to have some idea what your subject will do before you pan so you don't end up in trouble like this also it's a good idea to shoot for a few seconds before you begin to pan then move the camera just quickly enough to keep the subjects steady in the frame again panning is for subjects in motion not for landscapes a landscape will generally have several points of interest a pan shot that includes all of these will be too long to hold your audience's attention and a fast pan causes blurred movies instead of panning pick out the centers of interest and take individual shots of each one [Music] [Music] okay let's take a look at the cameras most simple movie cameras have a fixed focus lens they're designed to take pictures under normal conditions and produce sharp movies of subjects from about five feet away from the camera to infinity other cameras have an adjustable focus lens you can get slightly close city a subject and shoot movies under a wider variety of conditions this requires more critical focusing some amateur movie cameras have a zoom lens this is actually a combination of many lenses in one it enables you to get a normal view of your subject a wide-angle panoramic view or a telephoto close-up all from the same location you can even move from the wide angle to the telephoto position while shooting but most people try to do this too often like in these scenes [Music] there's nothing wrong with any of these sewers they were just too many of them the same sequence would have been much better if we had used only one zoom and a series of other shots [Music] when using that zoom he should have focus accurately and hold the camera extra steady sharp focus and steadiness are especially important in the telephoto position another bit of advice on lenses keep them clean because a dirty lens means fuzzy movies now when your lens picks up a little dust try blowing it off or brushing it off using a soft lint-free cloth if your lens has finger marks or dirt on it remove them with lens cleaning tissue or a lens cleaner but never use eyeglass cleaner because it may remove the special optical coating on the lens when you get your movies back after processing take a few minutes to watch them before you show them to your audience if you find any scenes you're not happy with or some new things should be rearranged use a splicer to cut the film apart and put everything back together a splicer also comes in handy to make a lot of your little rolls of film into one big roll with one large roll both you and your audience will get more enjoyment from the show in fact almost any preparation you make before you show you movies makes them that much more enjoyable for your audience set up ahead of time so your friends won't have to wait while you put up the screen and thread the projector have the projector at a distance that will make the image as large as possible on the screen prepare a little narration to go with your film or at least have some idea of what you want to say and last one of the most appealing final touches is to play music along with your home movies pick something appropriate something that'll go with the mood of the picture [Music] [Music]