Filmmaking Techniques in 8mm

[Music] [Applause] in 1932 a relatively inexpensive device to record historic events such as these became available to the public the eight millimeter motion picture camera it was capable of filming up to 50 feet of movie magic as long as you kept it wound up remember to turn the film over taking care to expose the film to his little light as possible and avoided pitfalls such as these but somehow dad always managed to complete his filming and interestingly enough his movies were magic editing was almost unheard of what bad shot was what you saw there they all were mom and all the kiddies up on the silver screen it was magical time marched on eight millimeter filmmaking became more and more sophisticated the industry grew up and offered amateur equipment of professional quality this is dad's grandson and his birthday gift is a super 8 millimeter camera it's equipped with a powered zoom lens his cartridge fed and battery operated a built-in light meter sets f-stops automatically it's also capable of in-camera faden's fade outs and dissolves unlike granddad our young filmmaker has given some thought to his first film he's picked his location a miniature golf course the scouts and predetermines his camera angles and setups he takes notes and prepares a script with the use of his imagination he hopes to create an entertaining film rather than a catalogue of family history this shooting script will assure proper coverage once back on location we are now viewing the course through our cameras viewfinder it's important to know the names given to different camera angles and camera moves this is known as the long or establishing shot any swinging of the camera to the right or left along a horizontal plane is known as a pan any movement of the camera up or down along a vertical line is known as a tilt or tilting shot the dolly shot requires a smooth surface to avoid bumps an assistant and wheels this too is a long shot but it's identified as the master shot because a complete action is usually allowed to play through in this camera position the same action will be repeated in closer angles full shot medium shot medium close-up the close-up extreme close-up an insert shot point of view shot and the zoom shot for stability and smoothness whenever possible the camera should be mounted on a tripod however do not rule out the use of handheld shots affordable recorder allows us to record the natural sounds on the course later these effects will be added to the finished film in a post-production dubbing session camera movement like every change of angles should be motivated and focused attention on story points length of shots how much of the action is shown length of sequences and how they are juxtaposed and editing create timing and pace most people feel they've added a strange new world when they arrive at the editing phase of filmmaking this is a professional 16 millimeter editing room for eight millimeter no such room exists however there's a lot of equipment available that will compensate for its loss and what we'll show you is only a small example of what exists there are a variety of viewers each have features that are useful but none combine all of the best features small screen larger screen sharp and soft focus good and bad are found in all and of course they have to be hand cranked but they'll serve our purpose which one do you want to work with good choice there are three basic types of splices the cement splicer uses liquid cement to bind the film together the tape splicer uses transparent tape and is in common use the key most Spicer uses a chemical ingredient to fuse the film together today we'll use the Kimo splicer okay let's demonstrate its use the two pieces of film to be joined together are placed on either sides of the splicer pressure plates and sprocket pins hold the film secure depressing the handle forward and down cut serrated edges into the two pieces of film the chemical ingredient is applied to the splice bar and the editor is closed seconds later the film is removed and the splice is completed now this is really quite ingenious a homemade trim bin a large cardboard box several wooden sticks and numbered clothes pins it will do very nicely to hold our scenes outtakes and trims stop never touch your film with your bare hands remember in super 8 your film is direct positive original film that means the film you are about to edit is the only film you have put on these lint-free cotton gloves never work on your film again without them you see the oil and acid from your own gloved fingers could place unremovable prints onto the emulsion of your film the gloves also protect the film from being scratched all of which would be distracting to your future audiences now edit together all of your 50 foot reels put them on one master rail cut out all of the noticeably bad shots and remove all of the leader except at the beginning of the reel then we'll project everything we shot and try to envision what the finished film will look like sometimes three or four screenings are needed before the editor has the correct feel of the film but don't count on memory alone take notes the screening completed the film's broken down into separate takes or shots each is marked with an identifying number cross-referenced with the shooting script for example the long shot at the first T is labeled scene number 1 the full shot 1a the medium shot 1b and so on until the entire film is broken down now reassemble your film but all of the needed shots into continuity and you're moving closer to final cut let's project the first sequence the long shot master projected in its entirety is little continuity and becomes static our attention wanders and focus is lost specific actions and reactions are missed let's cut in close-ups and other angles to create a sequence good you're beginning to understand the basic concepts of film editing but your work is only started you may wish to cut and recut sequences again and again before you're satisfied and have the final cut then titles should be added and finally music and sound effects you don't have to be an artist to achieve professional-looking titles our directors theme for his film is love is the reward of love he's used transfer lettering on a clear cell which will be photographed over artwork of his choice in this case a blow-up of a still picture taken at the location the artwork is placed on an easel in direct line with a camera lights are positioned at 45-degree angles to avoid reflection the artwork is shot first full screen the cell has dropped into place and is photographed in the finished film will see the titles suddenly appearing over our little Dutch couple the final phase is post-production sound this machine called a mag striper is applying a thin stripe of magnetic recording tape to the edge of the completed film our filmmaking team is selecting and compiling the music and sound effects that will be added the projector is equipped with recording and playback heads attached to it is a three channel mixer we'll be using it today to mix together sounds coming from several different sources one line goes to the phonograph one line to the tape deck and one line to the microphone [Music] our sound man has already edited a transfer the natural sounds recorded on the gas set to the quarter-inch tape deck special effects such as a crowd cheering will come from the phonograph these effects records can be purchased at most music stores remember you can record only when the projector is screening the film watch both the screen and the frame counters on the projector and the tape deck for cues all right start the projector and begin your mix it seems the two of them are doing just fine now let's jump ahead and see a sneak preview of the finished film love is little ward of love [Music] Oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it was hard work but the reward is great well maybe not that great but who knows maybe someday 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