Handy Dandy Do-It-Yourself Filmmaking Film (1974)

Super eight camera check. Exposure meter check. Tripod check. Film check. Tape recorder check. Microphone check. Tape check. Spare batteries? Check. Lens tissue check. Shot list check. Okay. Well, this year at school, our class started a film making project. Yeah. We learned how to use a Super Eight movie camera, light meter, tape recorder, and all sorts of other equipment. So, this weekend, our school said we could borrow their equipment and start shooting our movie. [Music] The hardest thing was trying to pick a subject for our film. Yeah, we went through all sorts of ideas. We finally figured out that since we're shooting movies, we should find a subject that has some movement and action. That's why we decided to make a film about jousting. There are horses, knights, ladies in costume, and lots of excitement. jousting is Maryland's official state sport and it's been carried on ever since before the American Revolution. Basically, each rider tries to lands little rings that are suspended above the course. Anyway, it sure turned out to be a beautiful day to go out in the country and do some shooting. Pack away your film for a day in the country making a movie on an afternoon. You planned your day ahead of time. Your cameras already. Great things will come of filming for fun. All the things I see and know. I've got them on film to show. There's nothing in this world I can't see. Gee, my camera. My camera and me. My camera. My camera and me. There's much to be said for one's presentation. Keeping your audience in mind pieces will fit for editing later to film a charging horse who runs along the course. All the things I see and know I've got them all filmed the show. There's nothing in this world I can't see. G. My camera. My camera and me. My camera. My camera and me. Cameras and tripods and other equipment. Seems there are many things that could go wrong. But you'll soon see the techniques are simple. Everyone should try his hand at shooting a film. All the things I see and know, I've got them on. Film the show. There's nothing in this world I can't see. G. My camera. My camera and me. My camera. My camera and [Music] me. This Super Eight camera is like most of the ones you can buy these days. It has a viewfinder that looks right through the camera lens. It's called a reflex viewfinder, and it's the best kind to have because the picture you see is exactly what the film is [Music] getting. The controls in the camera are really very simple. It has a dial to set the camera speed, 18 frames per second is a standard speed for Super 8, and a dial to set the lens aperture. The lens aperture controls the amount of light reaching the film. And on lots of new cameras, it is set automatically by a light meter built right into the camera. This camera has the automatic aperture. But we also learned how to use a separate exposure meter so that we can always use cameras that have to be set [Music] manually. To use a light meter, first you look on the film box to get the ASA number. This number refers to the sensitivity of the film. and you set the light meter so that it shows that number in the ASA window. We're using Kodakchrome 2 and it says ASA 25. So I set the meter to ASA 25 here. Next, the meter is used to figure out how bright the light is. When you hold it properly, the needle points to number in the little window. You set the meter dial to this number, and the scale tells you how to set the camera. It's quite simple once you figure it out. Of course, there are all kinds of different exposure meters, but each one comes with an instruction book that shows you how to use it. The tape recorder is even easier to use than the camera. This one uses cassette tapes, and to load it, you simply snap the cassette in place. Just press the record button and turn it on to start recording. It's a good idea to tape a short test to make sure you're getting the right amount of recording volume. And you should always hold the microphone as close as possible to the sound you're recording, but this is about as close to the horses as I want to get. I hear you're a champion. Could you tell us what you're a champion of? Well, I'm the national jousting champion. I use the recorder to tape an interview with one of the jousters. I figured we could use your voice in the narration of our film. I think it looks a lot easier than it really is because you have to be able to ride the horse and hold the lance and uh make the time through the track and get the ring all at the same time. Could you tell us what jousting is all about? Well, the object is to have the horse trained to run through the track and you keep your undivided attention on this ring. The minute your horse spins around, you you uh get sight of this ring and you concentrate on it. The horse must run on its own through the track with not paying any attention to anything that's going on on the side. Thank you for the interview. You're welcome, Yane. [Music] Our camera has a zoom lens which can be operated manually by this lever [Music] or else electrically with this switch. [Music] [Applause] The electric zoom is usually smoother, especially if you're trying to hold the camera steady at the same [Music] time. You can zoom in or out while you're shooting if you want, but our teacher said most beginners get carried away and zoom all the time. [Music] Another thing we learned is always to use a tripod for shooting things that don't move themselves, like buildings or trees. This is especially important when the lens is set to get close-ups. Without the tripod, our shots would wobble around too much. Of course, if you want to handhold the camera, you should use both hands to try to keep it as steady as [Music] possible. From watching films at school, we learned that you should try to shoot each subject from a couple of different angles. First, you should try to get a wide view, or long shot, as they call it, so that your viewer can see the whole subject. Then you should move closer and get medium shots and close-ups to show the interesting details. Later, these different shots can be edited together to make a more interesting story. Memories are made on days like today. But memories are hard to show all your friends. Capturing a story with camera and recorder. Memories will be something to see. All the things I've got filmed the show. There's nothing I can't see. My camera. My camera and me. My camera. My camera and me. There's a lot to see with your camera. Subjects are constantly moving. Keep your head cool. Always remember, carefully choose the things that come to your mind. All the things I see, I've got them all. Film the show. There's nothing in this world I can't see. G. My camera. My camera and me. My camera. My camera and me. [Music] Well, we sure had a lot of fun shooting our film. Yeah, but shooting the film is really just the beginning. The next step is editing all these shots into a finished film. But you can see how we did that in another movie called the handy dandy film editing film. I've got them on film to show. There's nothing in this world I can't see. G my camera. My camera and me. My camera. My camera and me.