Cinemagic #13 (1981)

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)

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7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


Abov.: A 'pace,hlp model IS enhancedand looks more realistic when you create aminiature Intenor thai lights up and showscrew members InSide Jack Imes, Jr.shows you how to create miniature space·ship Intenors that will add a special touchof realism to your space epIcs The storybegms on page 22 .

Left : Bonnie Borucki. the 16mm GrandPrIZe winner in last year's CINEMAGICI

SVA Short Film Search. 'Norks on theox berry at San Francisco State UniverSitythat she used to create her award winningIilm, Swan Creek Fanta8y_ Bonnie talksabout her film and he r irwolvement withanimation and filmmaking in this issue'sProfile on page 16

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


CONTENTS

Editor's

Bench

SUtScan___

46

Jump into y p e r s p a c ~ with an ille)(pen'

sive effect based on time exposure streak

photography. By A. Sharples.

Filmmakers'Forum __

A regular department devoted to readers'

comments and correspondence about

fantasy filmmaking.

ProIDe__ 16

Bonnie Borucki. last year's grand prize

winner in the CINEMAGIC!SVA ShortFilm Search, talks about her involvement

Create spectacular UFO "l ight ships" with

a simple and affordable technique. Bv Jeff

PoIliuotto.

ModelInteriors _ 22

Add a special touch of relliism to your

spaceship models by scrachbuilding

cockpits and interiors that light up and

show crew members at work By Jack

lmes,J r.

Producers'

Bulletin 24Board

__

with animation . By John Clayton. Latest new s of our readers' productions.

Electl'onic

SpecialEffects

A new departmenl Build a dual voltagereg ulated power supply! By Chris EStevens.

Books _32Books for filmmakers-valuable sourcesof information and technique for thefilmmaker. By John Clayton.

Cinemagic

Market-

place

__33Classified advertising and

announcemenlS.

Close-up _ 3 4

The Sa turn machine. Create a 9 ~planet for your next outer spa ce adven·

ture! By Jack lmes. Jr.

ClNEM,4.GIC -I J

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


Editor's

@7i}lirffll BENCHISSUE ' " - - - - - ~ = - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

PubU.hed by .

UQU INN STUDIOS, INC.

475 Pa rk Avenue SouthNew York, NewVork 10016

PublishersNorman Jacobs/Kerry O'Quinn

Associate u b U . b ~Rita Eisenstein

EditorDavid Hutchison

Design Director

Cheh N. Low

DesignerRobert Sefdk

MaDIIglng EdItorJohn Clayton

Editorial Contributors

Bonnie BoruckiJack lmmes. Jr.Jeff PoUiuotto

A. SharplesChris E. Ste.rens

Art StaffLaure. O'B rien

Amy Bergenfeld

ProductionAssl . taobJoan Baetz

Eileen DempseyCindy Lev ine

Nancy Reichardt

Founder of CirlEMAruCDon Dahler

~ i < i ' 1 9 1 ~ 1 \ , 1 ! t . f."i$to......m«2(2)689-28»)

About the coyer: A dazzling UFO "light

bUZZlf5 New Yor l< ' -;!II1JO' "'HI! t ho:!

narrows. The Verrazano Narrows Bridgeis In Ihe background. Ph:)log rapher/modeler Jeff Polliuotlo shows you how

to c reale the effect in his article, "C real·Ing Spectacular UFO Effects" on page20. Cover photo by Jeff PoHizlOttO.

4 C/NEMAGIC'" JJ

CNEMAGIC filmmakers who work in their own backyards and basements with

Super-6or 16mm equipment hIM!: the potential to equal or better the photographiceffects departments in Hollywood. Now. perhaps you think your editor has taken

leave ofhis senses with such a brash statement; but let me take a moment tOe!(plain why Ithink you have an edge over Hollywood.

From your letters and phone calls. I believe that almost all of you have a pretty good

gra sp of the principals of the photographic effects that create the exciting scenes in suchfilms as StarWa rso r tv's BallieslarGa/aetiea. You realize that the individual elements of a

shot-spaceships, planets, starfields, etC.-are all shot separately and assembled in tin

optica l printer. This process of assembly requires several stages of processing and

duplicating so that "effects" shots tend to take on a quality that is different from the liveaction photography. Obviously, the reason forthis is simply that the live action scenes "'go

through the camera once" while the "e ffects" require many " duplicating" steps. If there

were a way to assemble the various elements of a special effects shoton the same piece of

original emulsion this difference in quality would vanish - the effects sequence would have

the same photographic quality as the live .!Iction. Well of course there is such a method,

and before the days of optical printers photographic effects were assembled "in camera"'

without any duplic.!lting at 211.There are still a few companies today that prefer this method because of Ihe inherently

higher image quality. It Is.however. slower and therefore more expensive, Timeand money

are the things that Hollywood has in short supply. CINEMAGIC filmmakers , however,havetheir own ti me to spend and can work just as qu ckly or leisurelyas it suits them. If you want

to take a month to set up a shot so that all of the elements of an effect work together, you

can do t. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas can·t. lt costs thousands of dollars.!l minute

when you are on location or in a studio shooting a film and it doesn't matter whether film isrunning through the camera or not-the money still goes out.

Since it takes so much time. care and precision to get ell the pieces of an effect shotworking together. few producers can afford to have expensive crews sitting around waiting

for all the elements of.!ln effects shot to worktogether.ltis much morecost effective tofilm

the elements separately lind put them together in the opticlIl printer. A crew in an opticallab is much cheaper than a full crew in a studio.

Peter Ellenshaw is one of the great modern proponents of in·camera effects.l n Disney's

Darby O'GiII and the LilllePeopk Ellenshaw was able to muster enough s:.udio time to

set up many complex perspective shots to make Darby O'GiII appear to be talking and

dancing with the little people. No optical work was necessary to make Darby p ~ a r to be

talking to an actor only one and a half feet tall if Darby wa s d ose to the camera and theactor playing the leprechaun wa s at the back of the stud io. Sets were constructed tn false

perspective to make Darby and the leprechaun appear to be next to each other. Try foryourself the old photographic trick shot with a frif'nrl far away from the camera sumding on

a hill and someone else standing quite close to the camera. Your friend on the distant hill

can appear to be standing in the palm of the person standing close to the camera if, wh ilelooking through the camera lens, you line up the palm of the actor standing close to the

camera with the feet of your friend standing some distance away on a hill.lfsan old trick.bu t very effective and still used today.

It does, however, take a great deal of time to line up. If Darby O'GiIIwere to be ma detoday, many of the fine perspective shots would have to beellminated and substituted with

trllveJing mattes since the set up time in the studio for these shots would make the filmhorrendously expensive.

ClNEMAGIC filmmakers don't have such worries. Take another look at the article on

fo reground minii!ltu res in CINEMAGIC #1 and the Close Up section in CINEJv\AG IC #6.Using the technique of in.camera effects insures that your footage will have a first

generation look - with t a l e grainy duplicate shots. lt·sa very powerful tool-and one

that is olten overlooked by young filmmakers who have been to ld that bluescreen com·

positing is the only way to achieve an effects shot.

- David Hutchison/ Editor

CINEMAGI C II p l l b l ~ t > e d i · m o n ' ' ' ' ~ O'OWNN STUOIOS. INC .• • 75 P.r . .. . SoUl/! New Tor• . NYlOOHI . ISSNOO8().3000 Thil il issue Nllmbe, 13 rVolume3. No. 1.) C",,"nt i l_ COpy"OM \!IB, by C'OI,lINNS TUDIOtl. INC AU i\lht. . ~ " ' Y O " n .. . '" 0< ' . . . .0<0""00" 10 ",;n ",,,,,I_ .. '' .... "" in..., , , ~ . , , , , ,',om tr... publ.,,, , , . Wictly o < b o ~ . . , CINEI.4AGI C l t e C _ p ~ "0 p o n " ~ I I " y to, uno.oii.",ed m.n..sc"pU.phOIOS. '" 0 ' 0 1 .... m. '"". ,,,, bu l " '.. . .ne_ luom' ' ' . l l . r t accompan,ed b y . Hlt·.CId,.""" .. .. . , .eIope, ' ' 'ey ", III be .. OU ..VCO<l." ' .. ., r>d. It _N'Y. ntlurl'l<l<l. P'O<I""'- . , , . , , , 'HCI.,. no tmceulr-;Iy ..,do,..., by CI NEIootAG IC . • ,d anV . -1 • •p'" ,Nd '" ..:l''',,'.'. COO! ... not _N,ily I>ON 01CtNEIootAGrC SUbacnption ... .. $S.99 " " , y " ' f l" I(tu.. d. " .. -d ,n U •C. n .. . and Mex,co. lortlgnlubac"Pllon $1399 I" U S. t u " " ""'V Ne . . ,*<I"t l_ : .e nd dirtetly 10 CINEt.tAG1C. c/o O'OU'MSiudios. I" c . 475 A . . ,u . Soulh. N .... 'fOrl<.)oj 'f loolS. Nototicotion 01 chanll" 01,d_. or . . . . . ,all.. d ' o C I N E ~ " ' SuboIo , lptio" Dept. . P O. 110 ., 42. Mt o r r 1 I . I L 8 POllm.. a" ~ ' O f 3511110C I)oj EI.4,.,GIC . P 0 lIox 1.2. MI Morril. Il 6 ' OS• . Prinled In U.S.A.

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


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7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


S6t ScanMagic

You can zoom into hyperspace with this easy and inexpensive technique

based on time exposure streak photography with a zoom lens.

Little appears to have been written

on the subject of slit scan. On e can

only digest the b.ts and pieces thathave been written on the subject.

compile them together into a meaningful

order, then venture into experimentation bytrial and error. I have done this, but I make

no claims about covering the subject com·

pletely. The material in this article will giveyou scope for fu rthf'r p.xpP.timf"flts.

Fo r further reading, J highly recommend

The Focal Guide to Shooting An imation.by Zoran Perisic. Although the re are barely

two pages covering slit scan, the book Is a

wealth of information covering double ex·

posures, the zoptk process, aerial imageprojection, front pl'ojection and much more .

Basically. slit scan adopts the method oftime exposure photography whereby a still

camera is mounted on a tripod with itsshutter left open for a given period of time

to record a late evening traffic scene. The

resulting photo shows not the traffic, but II

pattern of colored streaksoflight formed by

the head and tail lights of the Cltrs thaI

whizzed by while the shutter was open. Slitscan is not just a gimmick, for though its

uses are limited it can be used to good

effect in many aspects of filmwork.lt opensup a new dimension of c:nematic art.

You should understand the basic princi

pal and to some extent the possible effectsof slit scan from Ken Walker's and John

Cosentino's slit scan article in ClNEMAGIC

liS, but before we study these let's look li t

the basic requirements.

Pl"eparlng the CameJ"a

You'll need a zoom lens camera (prefer·

ably motorized) with manual overide of the

exposure meter, and <!I time exposure fa·dlity.

For those of you who have a camera with

a time exposure faci lity, we still need a way

of manually overiding tr.e time exposure

meter to allow the shutter to remain open

until you wish to advance to the next frameof film. Compared to Ken Walker's llnd

John Cosentino's method of overiding the

meter (CINEMAGIC liS), my technique

may seem crude, but it works fine.My method for overiding the meter is to

house the meter In II pre-shaped black

By A SHARPLES

Make a hole in the cover to ft a bulb directly

in front of the time exposure meter. I use II1.5 volt 15 milliamp bulb (available from

Radio Shack) because this type of bulb

comes supplied with a rubber grommet fo r

the bulb to slide into. Fit the grommet into

the hole and then place the ca rdboard cas·

ing over the meter llnd secure it with blllCktape. Connect the bulb to a 4 1,7 volt batteryand wire a switch (I use a type of switch

called a " push to make switch") into thecircuit (see figure II I .) The switch will allow

you to turn the bulb on and of f and thus

control the length of exposure because the

shutter will dose when you turn the bulb on.You won't be able to seewhen the bulb is on

because the cllrdbo.ard hOUSing should belight tighl but you should be able to hearthe shuttet dose and the advance to

the next frame when you tum on the l ighl

The speed of film advancement can beregulated by Slightly pushing in or with·

drawing the bulb in the grommet housing

to displace the bulb aligrment or alter'nately by reducing the battery voltage, but

I"ve found this battery/ bulb combination to

be just right for my Bauer camera.

Capping Shutte .

The next requirement for slit scan is a

capping shutter. The shutter is always in the

open poSition when filming a slit scan

effect. The purpose of the capping shutter

is to cut off light from the fim emulsionafter completing the exposure of the al t·

work fo r each frame. You can make a capping shutter from a piece of rigid scrap

plastic (preferably black) and a small piece

of scrap alloy sheeting (see figure 112.) If

operating (opening and closing) the capping shutter c a u ~ movement of the foc·

using ring,)'Ou can correct th is problem by

taping the focusing ring to the lens barrel.

Callb .. ed Zoom Scale

The last camera requirement for doing

sill scan is a calibrated zoom sca le. This can

be made from a piece of white cardboard or

white plastic sheeting ( <!IS from a discardedice cream container, etc.) Pre-shape the

cardboard cover glued at the edges and The cardboard meter housing is taped to the camera with the inserted lightbulb in thereinforced with black plllStiC insulating tape. ru bber grommet. The capping shutter is in the open position.

6 ClNEMAGIC 1113

.I

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


,i

Figure IP

Figure #2

retractable lime ellposuremeter

at _-_- : _-_-_-_

A

<I-- blade handle

•,,,

, , . -

001 5 represen t thecardboard meierhousing

Rubber grommetjilted InlO sideof card housing

~ ~ ' < c : : i ___:::/- 1.5 volt lightbulb

.-. l:nVattery ~ __ push to rna

lig ht bulb ,1- - - - - . ,.-- grommet. ,

exposure meter , ; _ card board

•

tnp view

ke switch

housing

Overriding the ExpoSLre Meter

Sideview

bend forwardat 45"

blade SlOp

... front

bend backwards

7

The Cappmg ShutterThe shutter blade "A" can be made from sc rap rigid plastiC (black preferable.) The blade support '·B·· can be made from sheet alloy.As illustrated. "An and "8" are held together by an 8 B.A. bolt and tensioned at Ihe rear with a spnng secured With a washer and 2 B.Anuts loc ked together. Check tenSIOn before locking nuts together l ittle tension IS req Ui red. Measurements are not given becausecamera lens diameters vary, but the shutler blade should overlap the front of the lens by ~ .. all around. Tape is fitted to the undersideof the blade 10 avoid s: ra tchlng the fOCUSing rmg. Blade support ·'S" is taped onto the fOCUSing ring to ensure that Ihe st"utler bladehes flush agamst the lens when the shutter IS In a closed posi tion to avoid light spill.

zoom scale to fit your own particular camera

and tape it to the front of the camera body.

The number of calibrations is up to you, but

have them running both ways 10 calibratezooming both in and out.

The zoom S(:ale pointer is simply an

extension of the zoom ring lever. I made

/IIim:: f l U II I i:I j. 'i=t: of cI u:.t:d udlll-'Vil il pt:11

that fitted snug ly over the zoom ~ and a

piece of pre-shaped wire glued lO lhe ball·

poin t pen piece. The simplest wtly to makea sClile pointer is to pre·shape a piece of

wire, paint it black (if necessary) and tape it

directly to the zoom lever.

This completes the camera modifica·

tions necessary for doing slit scan cinema·tography, It shouldn't take mo re than an

aftemoon·s work or cost more than a fewdollars,

The Anim.tJon Stand

The dninlCltion :!>klnd i:!> 1:1 mean:!> o f SUp"

porting the camerll and artwork. It can

horizontal or verticlll, simple or sophist i·

ca ted. The horizontal type is the simplest toconstruct, but t mllkes it difficult to hold the

artwork in place, Some of you may already

have an animation stand, in which case

you're ready to start experimenting. For

those of you who don't have an animation

stand and for those who are unfamiliar withanimation (especiallytheyounger readers,)

I'll tell you what you'll require and how to

make the various items. I'll tell you what isessentilll, and you can decide on the reof l n e m c

The horizontal support is simp ly a reverse

of the vertical suppor t-so we'll forget it

because apart from simplifing rear projec·tion (no mirror needed) it has tess advatl'

tages than the vertical stand (see figure ·3.)

I have designed an animation stand that

ClNEMAGIC ·1 3 7

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


'/0" cameramount holelamp

adjustablemilled steellamp supportbrackets bentat45G

lamp moun ting hole

Figure Jt3

Bolt through with washerand wing nut

,,

o

o

•

o

Animation Stand backboard :y." plywood I'S"x2' approximateAnimation Stand table :y." plywood 1'S"xl'3" approximate

Animation Stand mirror board 0/,' plywood I'S"xl " approximate

• o

rear projection screen

projector

Horizontal Stand

wall support ho les

o

hardwood or metal

camera support bar

<-H-- camera mountextension blocks

Figure 1t4

Bolt through

washers and wing nuts

mirror boardsupport arms(milled steel)

adjustable mirror

support board

'Drawing not to scate

A Simply Made Wall Mounted Wooden Animation StandBefore fixing the camera mount, ensure that when filted and the camera is in place that your cut out lil!ld si1P IS CO rrl'!ct and. il aclose·up lens is to be used. measure the distance from the table surface to the C.li. lens-not the !lIm plane. Most C.li . lenses are supp·lied with a camera distance scale. A practicallield size wou ld be around 9"x12". Paint or spray the anima tIon stand and all associatedparts maue black. Allow sufficient space between the table and camera lens lo r a hinged platten and shadow mask. See text. WhenI/Iewing the artwork through the camera eyepiece, as with most animation stands, the artwork Wll appear to be upside down. Thecamera mount can be extended and the camera can be lilted behind the !TlOiJn\. This will gil/e you the right side up view. This makeswork ing With the animat ion stand easier.

8 ClNEMAG/C Ii 13

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


is simple to construct, yet relatively sophis·

ticated In its VfiSitiUty (see figure ~ 4 . ) Thiswill serve as a model from which to build

your own stand. The stand can be built

quite cheaply-especially fyou have accessto used lumber. &!cause it is wall mounted

it takes up little space and needs little redesign ing fo r future refinements. Apart from

slit scan, you will find it useful forfilm copy.ing, animating tlIes, pnotos and artwork,

shooting moving star fields and much

"""e.

I've in<:luded useful approximate mea·surements for the anirTl!ltion stand, but the

camera support bar distan<:e to table de-

pends on your camera and the size of the

artwork you decide to work with. Also.

should you need a close-up lens, the diopter of the lens you choose will e t e r m i n e t h etable to lens (not table to film plane) dis·

tance.The ideal close·up lens is a two diop

ter lens-this givesyou II range from 11" to

19" lens to table distance. The close·uplens doesn't effect the loom range, and

once the focus has been se t at the tele·

photo end the zoom 'Will remain in focus

throughout its full range.

When the camera is fitted to the supportbar on the animation stand. the lens axis

should be over the certer d the table By

looking through the camera eyepiece (ref·

lex cameras only) you can determine the

largest field size that you'll be woridng with.Mark this area ou t on the table and then,

allowing a W' safety margin all around. cut

this area ou t as shown ... figu re -4 .

Rear Projection Mlrror

Assuming that we have now built the

wall·mounted stand, WI!! will start to build

the rear projection assembly. The pivotingmirror stand shown in figure -4 holds a

mirror at a 45 degree angle to the artwork to

reflect light from a prOjector to the under·

side of the artwork. An ordinary mirro will

suffice for slit scan, but ifyou're planning to

rear project background plates for other

projects you should use a front surfaced

mirror.The mirror should be secured tothe

mirror stand with Cellotape Sti cky Fingers

or double surface adhesive tape.

Rear Projection M..t.erial

We now come to the cut ou t area on the

lInimation tab le. A piece of diffused mate

rial is fitted Into this area. This can befrosted glass, rear proJection mate ial (fog·

gy mylar) or even a piece of draftman's

quality tracing paper sandwiched between

two pieces of glass. \\!hat ever material youuse, it should be nush with the surface of

the table.Thejoints between the glass edge

and the cut out area cI the table can bedressed over with black tape to give a fin-

ished effect and to prevent dust from

entering.

Registering the Artwork

The zoom calibration scale. ThiS would bemarked on the opposite side for a verticlestand. Capping shutter In closed position.

~ m e po!lition even ofter being removedand replaced several t ines during the

course of filming. The best. way to register

artwork is with a pegbar. The usual amateur

method is to punch two holes into each

layer of artwork with a standard offi ce per'

forator (these are fairly inexpensive and are

available at most stationary stores.) F it two

pegs into the table (sawn of f screws or

wood dowels) that match both the diameter

of the punched out holes and the distance

between the holes in the artwork.There is a better method for more acu,

rate and versatile registration, The pro' s use

a three-pegged bar.The pegs are fitted into

a thin metal plate and the whole plate can

be moved and taped down in any desiredposition on the table. Professional registra·

tion peg bars are very expensive, but I have

devised a way of making one that worksalmost as well and costs very little.

The hole perforating punch thatyou pick

up at the stationary store usually punches

standard h o l e s . Purchase four \(i" x \4"roller bearings (these will make two peg.UeU:O) ~ / I ( J <.:ut twu pie\:e5o f f1m tin meG!lure

ing 4 1,7" x I " from an old tin can or scrllp

sheeting. Cut a piece of thickcardboard to

the same dimensions and centrally punch

two ho les in it with the perforator. Now

place the punched card onto one of thepieces of flat tin and secure them together

with a piece of tape. Place two roller bear·

ings into the holes and glue them into posi·

tion with super glue or any other suitable

glue. When the glue has set, remove thecardboard and repeat the process with the

other piece of tin and bearings. You now

have two movable pegbars that register

ex;actly into the punched holes. These can

be lightly sprayed with matte finish blackcartouch up spray paint fo r a better looking

finish and to help stop reflectons. Another

method for mounting the roller bearings to

the tin is to solder them into place, bu t you

must first heat them to kill the temper of thehard casing on the bearings(seefigure #5.)

The Platten

You now have the artwork registered into

place on the cu t out area on :he tab le.Th e

artwork must be held down flat on the table.

This can be done with a suitable sized pieceof plate 91ass. but this is akward to handle

repeatedly. You can solve this problem by

building a platten, which is a suitably shaped

hinged frame that supports the glass and

has a handle on the front to lift the frame.

Th e platten is no t difficult to make (see

figure -6 .) The platten should be can·

structed to allow sufficient space for the

pegbar. so that the platten doesn't foul the

Whether the artwork is on paper, plastic

sheeting or a clear acetate eel, you need awlly to register each piece of artwork on the

animation table so that it stays exactly in the An e)(ample of slit scan shows a saucer blasting off into hyperspace.

c/NEMAG/C -13 9

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


Handle extension piecesmade from sheet alloy

Allow space

for peg bar

/ ;> ,_ y' pop flvel

Bracket screwed into tab lewllh wood screws

Figure 1/6

-

handleW' wood dowel

The Platten

/:U-----JB:7Pegbar

Figure itS

Glass covers and overlaps

cut out Ileid area

Front and rear crosssections are madefrom slrlp alloy.

Fasten the platten together With pop rivets. Spray paint With malle black car touch up paint before gluing the glass Into position to theundersides of Ihe platten. Screw a "terry clip" onto the blackboard of the animation stand to act as a catch to clip the dowe handleInto when the platten is in the open pOSition. The platten holds the artwork flat on the table.

10 CINEMAGIC Ii /3

Figure ,a

DShadow MaskThis can be made 01 sheetalloy or even stiff card. II canbe secured dlreclly belowIhe camera W th smallangle bracke ts.

Figure #6

/ " ~Arrows indicate the way Ihat the polarizing

filters are crossed.

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


A star· gate tunne l is a prime example of a slit· scan effect. Widescreen creates more impact.

pegbar when in the closed position. Thisdepends on whether you have the pegbar in

the front or back of the artwork. Be surethat

the glass lies flat on the artwork.

The Shadow BoardThe shadow board is simply a shaped

piece of metal shee-jng or cardboard.painted matte black (at least on the side

that faces the'lHtwork.) with a hole cut out in

the center for the camera lens to film

through. It is mounte<! below the cameralens, with the camera lens In poSition over

the hole. It's purpose is to cu t out camera

reflections on the artv.ofk (see figure ·7 .)

The cut out area on the shadow board can

also be used to mount filters, etc.

Llgbting the Artwork

Fit lamp holders to the adjustable arms

on the animation stand (see figure #4 .)When fitted. the lamps should be adjusted

so that they are at approximateb' a 45

degree an!:Jle to the artwork. Make sure that The lIght box in use . Note :he peg bars for registrat Ion of the IIflwnrk.there are no visible reflections on the art·

work when viewed through the lens.

The simplest type of lamp to use IS a

Phillips with a built·in reflector, Any photo

flood lamp will do. More elaborate types

can be made from large round Of square

cans. or if you are good at metal work, youcan design your own. This type of lamp-

housing requires plenty of ventilation in the

form of holes or slits to disperse the heal

Also, metal lamp holders are best suited to

en enclosed lamp, but care must be takento ground the lamp holders.

Filter holders can be fitted to the base of

the lamp ho using to hold colored filters.masks or polorizing filters. Polarizing filters

will kill the glare from reflections and scat·

tered I ighl When used with shiny black art·

work, they will produce a very dense blackthat ls necessary for arlmated space back·grounds. superimpositions, elc. lhe polar·

izing filters must be suitably crossed (seefigure #8.)

The mosl suitable type of po lorizing

ma terial to use is MN 39. II is available from An example of slit scan shows a stars hip passing through a star·gate tunnel.the Polaroid Corporation and they will cut

ClNEMAG/C ·13 I I

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


A vertical animation stand with all the fittings mentioned for a do·it·yourself Rostrum.Note the slide projector for back illumination and rear projection.

Figure #10

Figure #9

# 1

ft"

j11" --------', II>" ----t"--------

The light Box

Pegbar is fitted over orbelow the cut out area

the material to any size you desire. Thismaterial should be sandwiched betweentwo pieces of glass for protection whenused in the filter holders and should be

used for short periods of time only, whensubjected to strong, hot liQhts.

J made my filter holders from two small,discarded metal photo frames. These reo

12 c/NEMAGIC 1113

0 0

- -

Field Guide

Drawn on clear acetate eel tofield size area (4x3) f:lrmat

quired very little alteration, I designed mylamp hOUSings with these filter holders inmind. Hinged barn doors can be fitted to

each side of the filter holder (see the photoof the animation stand set·up.) The lamphousings can be made to be detachablefrom the animation stand for lighting modelset-ups. Lastly, should you find it necessary,

a dimmer switch can be fitted to the lampsto give you full control over any lightingsituation.

This completes the animation stand, butthere are many refinements which can be

found in Zoran Perisic's book..For those of you who read TOllY Shapp's

article on widescreen in CINEM.A.GIC #5and may be considering trying slit scan withan anamorphic lens. this can be done, butthis type of accessory lens reduces yourcamera's zoom range by roughly half. This

is a shame, forJ

have seen a few of Tony" sdemonstrations and they really are impressive.

Animation Table or Ught BoxWhen compiling animated artwork in

sequence, you should register the artworkon a pegbar and position it in relation to thepreceeding piece of artwork This can bedone on the animation stand but you can'twork comfortably for many hours "With

mostanimation stands, and sometimes theartwork must be backlit to facilitate tracingthrough to the underlying artwork.

For the little time it takes to build. an

animation table is well worth the effort. It iseasy to make and quite inexpensive. Ananimation table is simply a sloping box witha cut ou t area on top into which a piece of

difusing material Is fitted, The artwork restson top of the difusing material and is backlitby a small lamp inside the box beneath thedifusing material. Tape the second pegbaryou made to the animat ion table to hold theartwork in place. The cut out area on theanimation table should have the samedimensions as the cut out area on the ani·mation stand (see figure 69.)

AIlgnlng the Artwork

The chart shown in figure 61 Ois a meansof aligning titles and artwork and is thesimplest and fastest method possible. Thechart should be drawn with black. water·proof ink on a clear acetate cel. The chartshould conform to the camera field size,plus the W' safety margin.

The SIlt Scan Effect

Apart from the 200 stargate effect, youcan reverse this to create the effect of leav·ing the stargate. Imagine one half of thescreen occupied by a spacecraft (photocutout) and the other halfofthe screen withthe stargate effect. This could really daule

your audience! Spaceships blasting intohyperspace (again by means of photocutout) are another effect you can achieve.With a smaller photo you could make thecraft disappear into infinity. The stargatecould be a tunnel with your ship entering or

leaving it.

The most suitable material for slit scanartwork is thin. black cardboard. Thin,black, opaque plastic sheeting is better still,because it is easier to cut-and the edgeslookcleaner when the film is projected. Usea small X·acto knife to cut out the slits.

!f you cut a small slit off center on theartwork and punch a small hole opposite to

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


The push·to·make switch fitted to the support bar. On the do·it·yoursell istand, this should be fitted to the left hand side on the camera support bar. The batteryis concealed behind the support bar.

the slit, b.!IckUghl the onwork ond then

zoom into th is with the shutter open. the dol.

would register liS II short line and the slit

would appellr liS II much longer line. The

slits and/ or dots can vtJry in both length andthickness and can be placed anywhere off

center on the artwork., but they must radiate

from the center.

To create movement, the slits must belInimated by varying the slits from frame to

frame and by use of the zoom SClile . Each

frame can be built upl!ISa compos ite, or the

film clln be backwound (see CINEMA.GIC-1 ) and extra art\llOf'k added either to indio

vidual f r a ~ of the whole scene. You can

also superimpose either top li t artwork or

rear projected artwork. The latter can be

done by rear projecting a colored, rotatingoil ring-which produces en effect of fluid ,

flowing color. Colored cels can be placedbehind the slits and moved a little between

each frame, o r a clellr eel can be colored

with felt markers. pieced beneath the slitsand moved between frames.

Slits that cross artwork either vertically,

horizontally or In a circular motion must beadded after zooming hlls been completed

or may be added after backwinding the

film. Because such slits are placed on theartwork without lOom movement, they are

called "static s l i t . s : ~The front artWOrk (s lits) can be made to

rotate in one direction and a spiral, colored

cel can be placed behind the slits and

ro tated in the opposite direction. The art·

work can be changed between frames andthis can be done in silhouette or with

colored , superimposed frontal artwork. The

speed of rotation can be Vllried, as can thespeed of the animated slits. The slits can

also be made to appear to be moving in

either an inward or outward direction. The

colored, spiral cel cen be slowed to a stopwhile the front artworkcontinues to turn, or

vice versa.The center ofthe artwork (which

should not have My slits) can be occupied

by given shope "s I!I center piece of

focal point.Where no backlit color is used on the sl its

or stargate effects, the slits could ~ made

from extremely narrowstripsof tape of vary'ing colors and thicknesses. These-as well

as colored felt markers-are available from

local art or offICe supply stores. The strips oftape can be' applied to a sheet of clearacetate or over a black background or

directly onto black artwork-which ever

you find cheapest. Paint or special Ink can

be used. but they are not as opaque or

accurate as tape.There are too many variations of slit

scan effect to mention. I have just outlined

the basic technique and outlined the possi·ble uses you may want apply slit scan to .

There's plenty of room for experimentation

and your imaginetion is probably alreadyexploring the possibilities. You'lI have to do

test exposures (and maybe even build theanimation stand if you don't have one

already) before you can embark upon this

exciting effect.Careful planning and timing will have to

be made. You' lI have to make a dope sheet

or chart showing the breakdown of eachframe of artwork. This should include tim'

ings, exposures. the artwork numbers (be

sure to number each eel of artwork.) It's

good practice to check of f on the dope

sheet each and every frame you're filming

because if you' re distracted from your workit's very easy to forget where you left off.

Before filming, take the precaution ofcleaning the film gate in youfcamera.lf you

don't have an external battery pack fOf'youf

camera, be sure to install new batteries(ret,:h<lrgdbles <lit: 0 good investment .)The

long time exposures involved in slit scan

can really drain your batteries. Make sure

that the capping shutter is In the dosed

position before switching on the camera.

Also, make sure that your exposure mete r

(F stop) is manually set. (1 /

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7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


Filmmakers'

EORUM

Ron Woodson desCri bed II "safe" stunt In the Fi lmmakers Forumsection of eM 1t8

Getting Stunted

As l in I IrMte\ lr rdmrmr.kerand stunltnlln. Ih_ been

concerned about the numter

of letters In Clnemag/c c0n-

cerning stunt work I would liketo caution fi lm makers tN l one

can never remove all of the risk

from II stunl The performanceof stunt! requires tra ining.

practice, and II regular regi-men of elIercise. A stuntman

(or worMn) must be In goOO

physi<:111 cond ition , limber, andill 1-1,<1<':1,1<.:.,. F i f j t o 1IIIJdIULUIC:II.

must be meticulously worked

ou t and practiced for weeks in

advance of fllmlng, N e g l e c ~ n gthe prope r preparation often

results in pulled muscles,sprains, and broken bones, and

sometimes in paralysis and

even death. Th e ba-ck and reck

are surpris ingly \o\llnefaole.Th is does not rnNO lhat you

should forget ever h8V1ng

stunts in your films. If you mustdo them yourself, don't do any-

thlJlg you have not been tJ'l\lned

for. Cbmero anglt's and under·

cranklng can ach ieve a lot

ually. as can reversing footage(seeCinemagk "8). For swntsyou can ' t do yourself , thefea re

r e 5 O U r c ~ other than p r o f ~sional stunt people. Check withyour local high school or cel

lege gymnastics teams for

tumbling stunts (Luke Sky-

walker's fall through the win-

dow of the CI<)lJd City wasdone by a gymnlst), For saling

thlough windows or over

14 ClNEMAGIC #/J

obstacles, check with the \rock

team high jumpers. For

straight drops. see if there is alocal skydiving club - they are

very goot at hrtting the ground

from several feet up. And dont

forget, some very exciting

~ u e n c e s can resIJit from edit·ing footage of different stunt.5

together. Fo r example. you

might shoot footage of a diverdoing IS flip (in cos tume ) from

a high board. framing out theboard and shooting against

~ k y , then ~ h o o t skydiver of

simi lar build, Jumping from rIVe

or six feet up and hitting the

ground, shot at a low angle to

match the Ilrs! one. Carefully

planned and edited, it would bequite convincing.

Remember: stunt.5 are not

easy. They are dangerOlls.

1hey should be one of themost carefully planned aspects

oi l l film, and can no l be ad

6bbed. I would be happy to

IInsWel' questions from readersabout how their specific stunt

requirements might be mel

lind how much preparationthey would need. I don't like it

'Nhen people get hurt, so I hope

people wiUwrite.

/I\oe Pitman

1404 Richmond Ave..'"121Houston. TX 77006

Amen! Conlilct Mo e or ClNE -MAGIC with your stun1 qucs-

t i o n . ~ an d don't leI anyone gel

hw t in the meantime!

Calling AU Creatures

.. . 1om beginning preprodoctk>non II tim entitled Sacrifice. One of

the cevm charactefS is an ~demon. I have tried to dHlgn an

evil. frightening creature, but myelfCNts 01 look ridiculous. Maybe~ C L N ~ G I C roden couldhelp me out. Anyone: with ideas Of'

designs for lin evil ~ I I l U r e , ....nowould to portidpote In theproductloo of my film, Is IISked to

write to me and send me designslind idea$. The one used will be

credited In the film.

Keep In mind met rm looking

for II costume for II person, notde$igns for II stop motion model.

Please keep your designs as slm ·

Sharing

. While corrl!$ponding with val·

ious film clubs across the count!)'.

I hllve found that some neveacquired /I very diSlastefulllt titude

called 'secrecy:' This was the caSo!!

when I wrote to a film club in NewYorK con«rn ing their techniques

for creMlng miniature explosions.

Wh ile I re1!liLe that they hIIve II

right to their "secrets,"1 believethIIt other film groups /I right10 know!

Thrnk IIboi.c this ror a moment:

Is a fUn company that is hundreds

of lIWtIy lICtually compding

with another company? Even IfyotJ reduced the distance to just til

few mill!$ or even II few bIod<s.WQuld the two companies actuallybe competing? The IInswe' is plain

lind simple: Nol Since they're lima·

teurs, they are definitely not com·

peting,

I th ink that filmmllking, tiS fllr asamtlteurs tire concerned, should

be conducted with lin IIItltude of

pie , evil lind ugly IIS)I:IU am. rl iappreciate ~ reply

BortM_4120 Welter Ave..

Las Veg.IIS. NY 81094

.. ,Maybe CfNEMAGIC can helpyou ou t Check ou l Craig Rear·don 's article on slush molded

IlItf'.JC appliances in lest Issue. !t'llgive you some great palnters onhow to make a scary crealure

costume. Try no t to copy Craig'sdesign_just. use his technique.Maybe Craig 'Sdesigr, an d his

account of how he executed itwill inspire you and you'll sud·denly see th e creature coming 10

life in yourmind. Good luck.

ShllrillQ, instead of an tttitude of

se<.:recy. What if. OlIt of all the

CINEMAGIC readers, ID one con-tributed to the Filmmakers'

Forum? Amateur filmmakers

should strive to spread their craft

in any wflj they can. TI.ey should

share-not guard-their special

knowledge or techniques.

Finally, by 5haring. a filmmakernot only sprellds his craft among

InIIny other filmmakers. but heIllso encourages the growth of new

film clubs lind brings other film·

milkers closer together than e"VeI'

before. Amateur filmmaking can'

no t gl'O\ll in IIIl atmosphere of

tlght·llpped "secrecy." Only by

sharing wiU filmmaking continue togrow lind inspire people who care"bou t n l<lklng film:..

Jack Norton

EpIc Film Productions. Ltd.

13013 VaUy Fo rge CIr.Balch Springs, TX 75180

Am en!

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


Backwinder Blues· .. While reading a back issue ofCINE.M..A.GIC ("'3). I noticed a little

backwinding gizmo made by EWA

products. Mr, ellidwell mertioned

eve!)thing about the product in hisreview except the price lind where

you can purchase i t Can you tellme where to find it l

Rodney Schulz

7 Gatlneau Bay

Winnipeg Manito baCanada R2J . 1T7

·,. Check

theHalmar

ad theCINEMAG/C Marketplace of this

issue. They disUibule the EWA

Backw/nder. YOll can send fortheir catalog. Tell 'em ClNE-

MAGIC senl you.

Frame Marker fo r EWA

Backwinder

· .. If you've bought an EWA back·

winder and found that the frame"counter" is nothing more rtu:m a

mark on the winding knob telling

you thai you've rewound 19

frames. then you share my frustra-

tion. If you would like single framem.. kjn9:';, YUU Cd" n ~ k e " ph<;>-

tocopy of the above frame count·ing wheel that I devised to correct

this problem.Arst, cut out the Inner circle and

outer Circle of the frame counting

wheel. Next. remove the windingknob of the backwinder by simply

pulling it off. Apply some glue to

the back of the frame maMleryou've cut out and slip it 0I0'er the

post of the backwinding knob.

Homemade

Animation Gauge

.. . l'm in a dilemma. I've been

looking for an animation gauge

and have not been able to Rndone. Could you please tell mewhere to find one? I've looked

everywherell s an !lnimationgauge re/;llly nece5sory forgood animation?

Thomas Trimble2 1940 Hall Rd .

Woodhaven. MI 48181

. . An animation gauge is not

absolt,lely necessary for goodanimation. but it sure helps!Dean Barnes and Greg Gil·

ger animated the Bigfoolcharacter In The Good, The

Bad and the Furry (see CINE·

MAGIC" 12) withoul an ani·malion gauge and they

achieued excellent results.

Paul Vilous an d Mike Anto·nucci animated Ihe Fanta

cinni Follies (see ClNEMAGIC

"8 ) without the <lid of agauge an d they too achieved

excellent results.P " , r h f ' f ' - ~ !J",!"II wanl In

build a gauge {or yourself-

it's very easy 10 cons.(ruct a

simple gauge. All you haLJe to

do Is an chor a suitably sized

piece of wire (heavy solder

wire w o r k best) into some

sort of base. The base call be

EWA's backwinder is available from Ha lmar. Make a photocopy of

t his frame marker for 'lour EWA Backwlnder.

making sure to match one of the

marks with the market already 0 1"1the bac:kw"inder. No .... put the

backwinding nob back 01"1 over themarker and you're ready to go to

.....ork. I've found that Scotch Spray

Moul"lt. an artists ' spray adhesive is

the best glue to use because you

can spray it 01"1 the back of themaMler. let dry for about a minute,

lind l will stick just like tape when

you push it into place on the

backwinder.I live in San Francisco and rd

like t:> correspond with other film

makers. Please write to me at the

address below.

Maurice Meyer

15 1 Broad 51.San Franc:isc:o. CA 94112

Animat ion gauges are used to gauge incremental

stop·motion movement.

made oul 0( wood or even aheavy lump of d ay. Ail you'retrying to do wilh a guage iskeep /Jack of where your

animation model was before!Jm" Il'I/p .t ;nrrpmpnll'll

movement Just position the

homemade guage as dose as

possible to your stop-motion

model before you moue i t

A(!.eryou'ue moved your

model. the tip of Ihe guage

wire will sl.ilI be in Ihe mod·

e/'s last position. This refer

ence will help you judge thesize of the incremental

movement. Remove the

guage before you ShOOl Ihefmmpl

A more sophisl.icated pr0-

ject for building an animation

gauge appears in DanDahler's Stop Meliorl Anima·

tion. You may want to try

building the guage describedin Dohler's book Good Luck!

The Bigfoot character in

The Good. The Bad and

the Furry was a stop· mo t ionmodel.

More Fur

.. . Here's some more info about

The Good. The Bad and thePurry that didn't appear in thefilmmakers' Profile in CINEMAGIC

"12. I thought that ClNEMAGIC

readers would be interested inlearning more about how the film

was made.The sound effects for the film

were either foleyed or came fromsound effects libraries. We foleyed

to Yo" tapes at home with items

such as a dirt box for footsteps. ahandful of quarters for spurs.

chai rs for squeaks. etc.

Music was recorded on 4 chan·nel \4" tape and was performed by

Peter Lauritson. Dean Barnes and

Peter Corey.

Bigfoot's grunts and groanswere recorded at 7'h.I.P.S, and

then transferred at 3 ¥. I.P.S. to16mm /'o\ag. A V.S.O. was also

used in this process to get the toneof Bigfoot's voice just righLDean Barnes was both the voice

of the gunfighter and BigfooL The

dubbing of the soundtrack or mixwas handled by David Cantu. whomixed down from five edited tracks

and some Ii " roll·ins such as the

wind for presence.Amusingly, our gunfighter. Gary

" Rat"" LeBouf cou ld not twirl a gun.The six·shooter spins were handled

by Greg Gilger, not Gary. Thedose-ups of the Bigfoot hand. and

its corresponding gun pulls were

handled by Dean Ba :nes.lt wasn't

easy pulling a one inch six-gun out

of a holster with a plastic glovehand! By the way, _ found the

Bigfoot's gun in a dime store at

the end of ll key chain!

Dean Barnes50421st5t.

Manhattan Beach, Ca 90266

Address al l cOTTespondence to:C/NEM/'.GIC Filmmakers 'Forum. c/ o O'Quinn Studios.

Inc., 475 ParkAoe. So., New YorlcNY 10016.

Due to the enormous volume ofmail received . the editor regrets

individual replies are impossible.

ClNEMAGIC # 13 15

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


I2ROFILE

Bonnie Borucki:

Kinetic Fantasies

Everyone has day dreams and fan

tasies. We all occasiooally forgetwhere we are and who v.oe are talk·

ing to and slip inside our minds for

a few momentsas we indulgeourselves in a

personal vision. It's one of life '5 pleasures.

Very few people. however, share their fanta

sies or give them visual form. That is the

By JOHN CLAYTON

role of the artist and the filmmaker. Onesuch artist is Bonnie Borucki.

Bonnie is a young filmm;,ker of excep

tiona! talent. She brings her own personal

fantasies to life on the screen through the

limitless magic of animation. Animation ishard work and it is at times tedious. butanimators like Bonnie never think of the

long hours spent at the animatioo table asboring. They see the finished product in

their s ~ . They revel in the opportunity to express themselves artistically.

Bonnie grew up with a love for drawing.

When she was !lbout seventeen her inter

ests broadened Md she began to explorethe possibilities that anima:ion held for

These frame blow-ups 01 Sw,n Creek Fantas, show Bonnie's artwork from the paper cut-out animated film The medium was watercolor...,.

16 ClNEMAG/C # 13

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


bringing her drawings to life. She experi·mented by first drllwing directly onto thef i lm-a te<:hnique flrsl employed by pio-neer animator N o r ~ n McLaren of theCanadian Film Board. Drawing onto film isthe cheapest possible method of produc·ing animated movies because you can usedear leader and you don ' l have 10 spendany money on expensille emulsion-coatedstock or processing. (For more info on thistype of anirTUltion see: Expen'mental Ani ·malion. by Robert Russet and Cecile Starr,

published by Van Nostrand and ReinholdCompany.New York and; Animaling FilmsWithoul a Camera, byJacques Bourgeois.published by Sterling Publishing Co" NewYork. Both books were reviewed in CINE·fIoAGIC -g.) After producing a few shortexperimental films of this type Bonniedecided to try her hand at paper cut-ou tanimation.

Bonnie's first attempt at paper cut·outanimation resulted in a four minute fantasyfilm entitled Swan r e e k F ' a n ! i l . ~ y . Thefilm

took top honors (G rand Prize in the l6mm

category) at last year's CINEMAGICjSVAShort Film Search. Basically, the film is a

dream sequence 01a narciSSistic girllalt inginto a creek ilInd changing in to the

lIarious creatures that i nhebit the creek andthe surrounding meadow. The transforma·tions are avisual del ight and the audience isleft feeling that they halle shared an artist'spersonal lIision. It took Bonnie two and ahalf years to produce the four minute flightof fancy. Two ofthef'il le finalist judges in the1980 ONEMAGICj SVA Film Search wereTim and Greg Hildebrandt-better knownas the Hildebrandt Brothers-the famousfantasy artists who also make fantasy mms.

They had many words ol praise for Bon·

nie's artistic talent and said they could reallyappreciate all the fine work that Bonn ie hadput into the film. All of the other judgesagreed that Swan Creek Fantasy showedan enormous amount of talent and dedi·

cation." After two years of college in Ohio, I

came to San Francisco," Bonnie begins."B y this time I had developed an avid inter·est in animation. One of my main rea sonsfor choosing San Francisco Sta te Uniller·sity was financial -Califomia state schoolsdon't charge tuition to state residents. AfterI established residency. the rest of my edu·cation was free-except for books and var'

ious lab feestor

thecourses I took."When I got to San Francisco I noticed

that there was a lot of anima tion going on

out here-there we re a lot of animators enda lot to see. There were a 101 of opportuni·ties to learn animation at SF . state. Theyprovide access to the necessary equipmentto Interested students, so I jumped at theopportunity and started working. I got a job

as a camera assi:<;.l;:!n f in IhP film depart·

ment as part of a work·study program .Bas·ically, a camera assistant loads the oxbenycamera for other students and helps themlearn to use the oxbeny, calculate camera

moves and make sure that nothing goeswrong that would spoil their fi lming effortsor damage the equipment

"After I became involved in the anima·

tion department I realized that they offeredmore than jus t the courses they listed. After\ took ;,It the animation courses I was stillable to continue to work through an inde·pendent study program. My ob as a cameraassistant gave me more access to the

equipment."Prior to actual production on Swan

CreekFantas!j.1 did the background paint·ings, sketched out the storyboards and dida lot of studies in animal movement. I stu'died Edward Muybrldge's bcoks on animal

mOllement.1 worked for a long time at mas·

•

ClNEMAG1C 1113 17

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


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tering the various phases in the movements Above and 0ppolite: More frame blow·upsof different animals so that the movements from Bonnie's award winning film ,

of the animals in the film would look

natural."The final shooting ratio on Swan Creek

Fantasy was about four to one. Some

scenes had to be shot over several times to

get them right A lot of the early footage wasexperimentation. I shot the entire film over

about three times because I wanted to

avoid as much editing as possible. I shot in

contlnuity to gel around editlng the separ·

ate scenes together.Swan Creek Fantasy fealures an origi·

nal musical score. The music augmentsthe mood se t by the lInimation. 11 is a slow,free floating piece that helps create the

dreamlike feeling of the film. Because the

music was written by one of Bonnie's

friends especially for the film, there are no

1891.11 obstacles involved with theatrical useof the soundtrack.

"Peter Healy composed the music andwas the main musician on the soundtrack,"

Bonnie continues. "He played the two flutes

that carry the melody. One of the flutes is anAustrian clay flute and the other is a Japa·

nese flute. Peter also played piano and the

African thumb piano. Dennis Hussey played

back·up guitar." We recorded the soundtrack directly

onto ma g (full coat) tape In a studio li t

school. The studio is set·up speclfically for

recording film soundtrocks.The musicianscan watch the film asthey are recording the

music. They watch the film through a

soundproof booth to cut out the noise of

the projector. I used three music trocks andone sound effects track.

Bonnie cUfTenUy teaches an animation

workshop every Sunday for young bay area

filmmakers. The non·profit organization thairuns the work5hop was founded about flve

years ago by Herman Berlant and is dedi,

cated to teaching aspiring filmmakers to

use film in conjunction with poetry, The

workshop itself has been in existlllnce for

about a year and a half. Participants pay a

three dollar lab fee each time they attend.

The young people who attend range in age

from about eight years to mid teens. Eachsession lasts about three hours.

Bonnie Isalso involved in two ten minute

promotional productions at the present

tlme. One is for the Sierra Club and the

other is for the YMCA. She is designing the

graphics and titles for both projects, as well

as handling other responsibilitles.

" In the future rd like to get into shootinglive action." Bonnie reveals. ' 'I'd like to

incorporate live actior: and animation. but

not in the usual way. I want to explore the

way people relate to one another and con·

duct interviews with various groups and

types of people,then use animation to iIIus'trate their opinions and dreams. I don' tthink I'd use live action and animation in the

same shot but rather cut back and forthbetween the live action interviews and the

animated illustrations of what my subjects

are talking about"

Bonnie is the only woman who enteredthe CINEfoIAGIC/ SVA Short Film Searchlast year, Although she doesn't consider

herself different from her male counter·

parts in the animation field. she recognizes

that the field is dominated (by sheer num'

bers) by males.

" I think that there's a real womens' film·making movement in San Francisco," Bon·

nie conti nues. " II's important because more

women are getting irwotved and expressing

themselves through film. When I first be-

came interested in filmmaking I noticed

that there were more male instructors andeven more male students, but I think that

things have changed and now the ratio-a tleast in San l l l n c i s c o ~ i 5 about even.

Bonnie's fi lm was recently exhibited at

the Castro Theatre in San Francisco as part

ofilie Bay Area Filmmakers' Festival. Eightdifferent animators were feawred.

" The festival was a lot of fun," Bonnie

relates. "The Castro Theatre really helps

promote independent filmmakers. They

also hold the Internaticnal Film Festival, so

they can really help new talent find an

audience,

Bonnie's plans for the future are to con·

tinue to make films and explore the differ·ent avenues for self expression that film·

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


making offers. She is currentJyenrolled in a

master's program at San Francisco Statecalled "Educational Technologies." Theprogram involves using aU ypes of media1:IS eduCllItionlll tools. Her rT'I<) i n interest is in

film, although sh e also wants to experiment

with video. She is also currently trying tohelp organize San Francisco area animato rs to form a cooperative group, with the

hope that their combined resources will be

enough to establish an an imation facilitythat all involved can share.

Bonnie Borucki is an artist with talentanddetermination. Her dedication is evidenced

by her involvement Nih the animation work·

shop for young filmmakers in the San

Franci5CO tJdy <2Tt:CI. <:IIlU l1y U 1 t ~ fi:K1 Uldlsht:

labored for more than twoyears to produce

a four minute fi lm-an av.ard winning film.It takes that kind of dedication and deter·

mination to bring your fantasies to life onthe silver screen so that others may share

them and beenriched by them. She sets anexample that is worth follOwing. (J f

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_----------'ClN£MAG /C #13 19

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


CQVER ST ORY

Creating Spectacular

UFO EffectsLight up your skies with UFO "light ships, "

Hveyou ever wondered how you

could add fantastic UFO effectsto your next "encounter" film?My friends CIre Iare produCing i!I

shalt Super·a film that c<llI:; fUI <I Illeetingbetween extra·terrestrials and humans and Iwanted to design a method for filmingUFOs similar in appearance to the ones

seen in C l o ~ Encounler.>.In researching many books and photos

on the film, I realized thaI the ships seen in

the film are "light ships:' ln otherwolds. theUFOs are equipped with external lightingwh ich Is bright enough to effectively blockout the '·body·· of the craft- giving a soft

and airy look to the ships. With this fact Inmind, I se t out to photograph my ownUFOs by manipulating light instead ofbuilding models (thus cutting down onlabor and costs.)

The procedure is simple and allyou need

is a 1ight·boJ<; a 35mm reflex camerll or amovie camera and a little imagination.

TbeUgbtBoxAs the name impllei, a light box is

nothing more than a box which concen·trates light th rough a piece of artWork forreproduction.

To construct your own, use hea..y card·

20 CINEft1AGIC 1113

Left to right: The backgrOlJnd plate of NewYork bay ; the UFO matte is backlit withcolored eels behind It; the composite.

By JEFF POLLIZlOTTO

board cut into 15·· square pieces (you·1Il1eed six pieces in aU). Tape four of the cutpieces together with masking tape, forminga box with open ends. On each of the other15·· pieces, lay out n 12·· circle on one (forthe photo reflector, use the reflector as yourguide) and an I I " square on the secondpiece. for placementof the UFO matte. Cutout the two pieces and tape them to theopen ends to complete the light box con·

struction.Thefina l step is totape the reflec·tor to the round hole on the end of the box(see figure II I .)

The UFO Matte

The mattes needed for shooting lire cutout of black constructIon paper. Cut thepaper \ '. larger than the hole in the light boxfront and lay out your UFO design on the

construction paper with pencil. Cut out thedesign with a sharp X·Acto knife.

When designing theUFO shape. thinkof

the design as a series 0( ind;v;dual cut-outsthat when lighted from behind will belndtogether to form the UFO shape . Think of

the matte as a stendl for light With this inmind, you can make your designs as sim·

pie or exotic as you like (depending on theoverall effect you need.)

After your UFO shape has been cut out

, ., .... ,"

of the construction paper,cu t out a pfece oftracing paper slightly argerthan the cut·outand tape it to the rear of the matte. This willhelp diffuse the light and eliminate any hot:spot:s In your photogr&ph:s . If you wont to

add color to the matte (or ust for coloring acertain section) gelatin filters work bestTape the gel to the matte from behind asyou did with the tracing paper (see figure-2 .)

Photographing th e UFO Malte

After you have cut out your mattes (I liketo work up a series of different designs)tape the matte to the front of the light box.

Set the box on a table and 5et up yourcamera on a tripod.

I've found thal when shooting originals.Kodachrome 64 slide film works best. With

an exposure of 1/15 second at f22 you'llhave ill good starting point but){)U·JJ have to

experiment with the camera settings to get

the effects you are looking for. This alsogives you the opportunity to experimentwith over·l!Xposure and u n d e r ~ u r e ef·feets. I've elways been surprised about theresults each shooting. Someof the shotsthat I thought wouldn·t come out look greatOne helpful hint when shooting: Keeprecords. It makes experimentation easier

II

I

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


and more accurate. This also enables you

to reproduce the effects again and again.As for the best type of lens to use, rve

found that lenses in the 100/ 150mm range

work best for this type of photography. If

you don'thave a lens in this range, tIy l o s ~up lenses over your normal lens.

Work with the room lights off and posi .tion the camera close enough to fiJi the

frame with a good size image. If you can't fill

the frame enough to have the UFO sur·rounded by black, you may have to paint

thefront of

the light box flat black.Try shooting with Soft, Cross Star, Fog or

Colored filters singly or in combination to

achieve different visual effects.

FUming the UFO

One of the best WiX'fS to film the UFO

slides is by double exposure using a varia'

tion of front projection and backwinding.

The scene can be filmed in a variety ofways (limited only by your imagination) bu t

you must plan out its movements before·

hand. A good storyboard can show the

UFO flying over a group of buildings or

hovering over your own home.

Say you want to film the UFO flying overyour neighborhood.SEt upyour camera on

a tripod and (following your storyboards)

film the scene. If the UFO will be passing

overhead, film the action as if the UFO isactually overhead and you are following it

across the scene. This gives you the basic

action that will make the UFO seem to " fly"

across the scene when the shot is finally

composited. Remember to keep dear of

obstructions (high trees, tall buildings) that

might interfere with the UFO as it passes

from one side of the frame to the other.

Afteryour scene is filmed, you must then

set up the camera for the second (UFO)

exposure. For this Important second expo'sure, you must first backwind the film to the

beginning of the scene. For a co mplete

explanation of backwinding, see CINE·MAGIC " I . Set up (I slide projector <lnd

your camera so the UFO c<ln be projected(on <I white bo<lrd) and filmed in the area

already planned out on your storyboards.

With the room lights off, film the scene with

the UFO projected on the board and posi·

tioned in the area (see figure "3.) At thispoint you can experiment with the position

of the slide projector for different effects or

you can move it as you r ~ f i l m the scene.

You can also film the UFO matte directly

onto your movie fi lm without having tophotograph from a 35mm slide. To do this,

film the UFO matte with your movie camera

instead of a 35mm SLR and backwihd to

shoot the live action. Position is critical, 50

storyboard carefully and follow the story·

board faithfully. You can shoot the live

action before or after (see figure "4.)

You may want to experiment with othersystems or you can already have a system

that you have in mind for superimposing

images on your films. Whichever method

you use, with a little imagination your film

will come alive with the UFO images youcan add to your next encounter film (J I

Figure "1

Paint front flat black

F "'2 black~ " ~ ; : ~ t I ~ ~ ' T ' ~ ; " 9 " " " " ~ P ' < " o back

f cut·out ~"UFO." < - - . . . . . . ~Front

Figl.lTe "'3

/ 'C Movie Camera

Mate.rlals

heavy cardboard

masking tape

metal ruler

Ex·Acto knifetracing paper

Black construction paper12" photo reflector

60w softlight bulb

gelatin filters

"'pod35mm reflex camera

reflex movie camera

Figure "'4

---Jll 01111J I

01

C , lide Projector ."'I '

3Smmcamera

-w h i t e c a r d ~

table top

l ight box

photo

reflecto

ClNEMAGfC # 13 21

!

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


Making Spaceship Intel'iol's

No spaceship stJould be without ill

command deck. I've tried to de ·sign realistic spacecraft with one

or more portnole windows toreveal the often·neglected "inner world"inside the hull. Building a ship's interiorrequires no more skill than making adetailed exterior. The basic idea is to plan

ahead so that ship lind interiors are con structed together.

Depending on what kind of ship I want. 1

use one of two methods for creating cabin

decks. The first method is to actually build aminiature "set," complete with internal light·

Ing and crew figures. Since my ships are

usually small, measuring only five to twelveInches long, I make 21 single large window In

the front part of the hull for the tiny com·

ml'lnrl clerk The second kind of interior isreserved for subminiature windows thatmeasure less than 1,4 inch in height. Thissecond method makes my small ships lookvery big on ca mera. The following proce ·

dures will explain both methods.

In planning interior \'eiws. the model ·

maker turns Into a "set designer." Draw

sketches as you plan your ship to showwhere each window will be placed and what

elements you want inside. Keep it simple or

your ship will look like a Aoating green·

hoose.After you've got something on paper. gO

buy a 1/ 72 scale mode l he licopter kit (such

as an Airfix AI/oulle two-seater.) The Airlix

kit Is suggested because you get super·

detailed crewmen along with a lo t of strangeparts to use for computer arrangements.

While you' re at the hobby store pick up

some fiber optics at the railroad secUon.

where they may be labeled as ind icato r sig '

nal accessories. I've purchased two 30 ftrolls of 20 mil and 40 mi l size for $2.50each, enough for a daten spaceships. If

your hobby sto re doesn': carry fiber optics.

use the Edmund $cientlfic supply catalog

22 ClNEMAGIC ' /3

By JACK IME$, JR.

Top: A spaceship With a scratch· built Intenor. Note the interior light ing from fiber opticsand grain·ol .wheat bulbs. Above : Some of the mater ials needed for creatmg the inte'riors include model parts, pamt. X·acto knife and f iber optiCS .

(101 E. Gloucester Pike, Banington, NJ.).

Also purchase about six tiny light bulbs.These bulbs have long wires attached and

are about the size of a grain of rice. These

lights will be powered by an AC adapter soge t a Rad io Shack 9 VDC (9 voh) trans ·former (Cal No, 0360017 or similar).

You'll also need some transparent color

plastic, such as the kind used for report

covers, Covers cost about 25 cents at an

office supply store and come in a wide var '

iety of colors. I usually use a red and a bluetype. Agdill. Uu;: two 8 '11" J( 1 '" sheets will

last a long time.Ifyou' re starting from scratch, you'l l need

a tube of a Super,Glue adhesive, scissors,

needle-nose pliers, metal "aluminum"' tape,

black plastic tape, e jeweller's saw or smallcoping saw. X·Acto knife and an X·Acto or

Dremel drill with 1/16" bi t A variety of

enamel paints are needed for painting the

crewmen and parts. An y modelmaker

would have.all this stuff on hand. and any·

thing no t isted can be found inscrapboxes.If your base model is from aki t,lsugsest

enlarging the existing windows. With more

window area, the interior will be easier to

photograph. As with scratchbuilding. win·

dows are made byfirst drawing them on thepanel with a soft pencil or dry marker. Use asharp X·Acto knife to carefully scribe the

window ines. Sever!!l p e ! ! t passes shouldallow you to slice the window clear. In lIou ·

blesome areas use needJe.nose pJiers to

"chew" the excess plastic out. Trim and

smooth all edges.

Now a matching cabin shell must bemade. Fo r a base I use a clear plastic box

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


::.. 10 Neari b " O P t i '

-? III ill/II ' L . m pColored

Plastic

OJ_nwColoredPlastic

JI ';::JJ

Clear

"Hyplar"

B"

Lamp Series Circuit

Floor

Lamp

Lamp

F'owerC.p

Hull

PhotoSlide

Lamp

made from throwaway containers for Grum .

bacher "HypJar" brand acrylic paint tubes.

These packages are strong, easy to cut andglue together easily.

If I plan an interior to fit a straight section

of the hull, I cut the front of the box straightalso. A curved hull requires a dose fit for

glueing, so I use a piece of stiff paper to

trace the shape for a pattern. When thepaper exactly fits the contour of the inner

wall, I then scribe the box and cut the plastic

to match.l'build the interior unit first, then attach it

to the ship, That way I don't have to tt y to

reopen the box for correct ions inside. even

as you build your interior, constantly fecheck the "look" by fitting it into the 'Windowslot.

Once I've cut the box halves, ! glue in

crew figures and control structures and anydoorways. I also cut some squares of color

acetate and glue them to the outsideof the

box's dear sidewalls. Remember not to fill

the wall insides with plastic parts. Instead,let plenty of color show 11 the gaps betweenparts. The colored light will help create vis·

ual depth and brighten the whole interior

for film exposures. Fo r Ilny piece that is to

be a computer or display terminal, I drillthree or four holes for holding the fiber

optics. I fit the end of an eight·inch strand

into each tiny hole and then bundle the

strands together with a bit of black tape.Eventually the strand cable will be looped

around the cabin and the free end an·

chon",d to an available light bulb. Again,

keep the computers simple or you'll have

too many cables to deal with.After the interior of the box is finished r

attach the light bulbs to the outsidewalls in

front of the color squares. To do this, cut a

2"" x W' pieceof'·metar· tape. which is very

strong and quite rigid as a lamp support.

Fold the tape midway around the lampwires just short of the glass bulb. Don·twrap

the bulb. just damp the wires. Tape the

lamp ··support" to the cabin sidewalls. ["ve

found that allowing a "computer'· part to

block the lamp itself prevents a visual "hot

spot'· in the film exposure. The blocking

part can be drilled previously with hole pat·terns to simulate a computer read-out. Note

the lamp is not in contact '.vith any plastic,butis held by the tape "s upport"' about 14"from the color fil ters, You don't want anycontact to melt the plastic and ruin your

work,

Next carefully connect the lamp wires

end·to-end so that you form a series circuit.I suggest that your lamp circuit be con

nected to a 9-volt connectorcap ratherthan

simply spliced to the transformer cord. In

Hull

LightDiffuser

this way you can easily connect the power

cable through hidden ports for filming

without revealing the dangling cable.Glue the cabin into the window slot, and

your interior is finished. If the H!Jhthulbs

cause the surrounding hull to glow softly on

the outside, then use black paint or metaltape to mask the th in plastic. If any seam

lines show, seal with extra tape.

The second method of making interiors

Is reserved for ultraminiature windows. All

you need to do is shoot a 35mm Ekta·

chrome slide of your original interior. Closeup·lens adapters will let you get a good

full-frame shot. After the film is processed,

cu t the interior area free and tape it to the

previously masked inner wall of the ship in

front of the window slot. Make a same-size

light diffuser ou t of frosted plastic (made

from a dispenser cup or plastic milk carton.

Even folded tracing paper will serve.) Tapea lamp behind the diffuser as described

earlier to make a support. The "back·

lighting·· of the slide will enable you to pho·

tograph It eastly, along WIth a good porti onof the ship·s exterior detail.

By creative use of interiors, the audience

gets a good sense of the ship·s sizeto scale.

In addition. no amount of hull detail causesyour audience to say in surprise, "Hey,

there·s people in that shipf' (J f

ClNEMAGIC # 13 23

•III

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


Producers'

BULLETIN BOARDAttack of the Bemlnles l A relce of devil women called Bern·inies make their way through the galaxy, destroying everything

in their path. Now, they have rellched E.!!rth! Can they be

stopped? Producer/Director/Editor: Mark Sawyer. Cut-outs:

Mark Sawyer and Brian Etynrl. Writer: Brian Etynrl. Sound edi·

tor lind animation: Mark Sawyer. FX include: over 250 eut·

outs. Super-S. color, soll'ld. Running time: 6 minutes. (!>'\ark

S a ~ . 1515 Festival, Houston, TX 77062.)

Time Star. Can Major Jones <!loci Major Tim Jackson save the

Time Star? Or will Star Wilson i!lnd the Leader blow it up?

Producers: Ian Hill, David Shusdock and Robert Roper. Direc

tor/Script: Ian Hill. Cast: Bryan Dunn, Robert Roper, Ian Hill

and David Shusdock. FX include: lasers end miniatures.

Super-S, color. Running time: About 30 minutes. (AFP Films.clo Ian Hill, 20 Field Rd" Cos Cob, CT 06807.)

Butterflie s Don ' t Ole. A collectionu r l J U U ~ l f I j ~ ! o v ~ ! o d r n r - > t ~ r i o u s siltteen

year old girl the powers to feel the deepemOlions and pain of an unknown five

year old boy who lives nearly a hundred

miles away. Ni!llure and the unknown

pli!lYs terrifying tricks on those whocome in contact with their lives. Pro

ducer: Kip Hanks Productions. Direc·

tor/ Screenplay/ FX: Kip Hanks. Cast:

Toyya Perry, Craig Palmer, Shawna

Clemmer. li z Hobby. lJwane Adkins.

Loretta Lunsford. Super·B, color. sound.Running lime: approximately 30 min·

utes (Kip Hanks, 7405 La Qu inta Rd .

Pensacola, FL 32506.)

The Secret of th e City. From his first day on the job.super private eye. Caine Barrington. knew that he had alot

ahead of him. Maybe even more than he expected. This firstociventure hilS Ciline solving il murder mystel)'; fighting a pairof demons; dueling a hitman: enlisting the aid of a psychic:

battling tt horde of clones; and meeting the Devil in the bowels

of hell. Producer: LB . Films. Director/ Screenplay: Don Smith ,Jr . Cast: Don Smith, Jr.. Kyle Ray. Carl Luthjohan, Julie Reist ,

Larry Lathrop, Jenny Smith. Dave Martin, Mike luthjohn . Mark

Colley. Terri Reist, Margaret Ray. Super·B. color. silent, music

soundtrack. Running time: 90 minutes (LB . FILMS c/ o Don

Sm ith , Jr . 405 No. Frori:. Dowagiac. MI . 49(47)

Ufe of .. Psychopathic Killer, A small community is terro

rized by a killer who murders innocent victims-mainly child·ren on their way home from schooL Producer: Splink Produc·

tions. Director/Writer/FX: David Grate. Cast: Mike Fiu and

Dan Grate. FX include: blood and animation. Super-S, color.

silent (David Grate, 10320 Beverly. Overland Park. KS

66207.)

Sedor J. The stOI)' of an alien found guilty of murder on

Edith. His senten(:e i5 life imprisonmem on the spo<:eship,ESA in the third sector of space. No live actors-all characters

are animated day. Producer: John Carter Studtos. Direc

to r/ FX: John Carter. FX include: stop motion of clay charac·

ters, mattes, miniature sets and spaceships and laser blasts.Super'S, co lor. silent Running time: 9-15 minutes. (John Car·

ter, 613 South 12th St.. QUincy,IL 62301.)

24 C/NEMAGIC # 13

As trOfUtuL Science fiction adventure. Producer/ Direc·to r/FX: Kirk Brady. FX include: full scale spacecraft interior

sets, custom made spacesuits and alien makeup. SlJper·B,

co lor. sync sound. In production. (Kirk Brady, 3411 Ellsworth

Rd .. Richmond. VA 23235.)

Night Cries. A maniae terrorizes a small town and lllipes outa family-along with a dozen other people-while policecommiss ioner and a very s h j f t y - ~ coroner tr y to solve the

murders. Producer/ Director/ Writer/ FX: Chris SoIazar. fXinclude: explosions. lots and lots of gore and blood (thanks to

ClNEl'-\AGIC #2). and several gun blaSls-inciuding a shotgun

blast to a human head. Super'S, color, sound on separate

cassette. Running time: approximenely 30 minutes. \FalconFilm co . c/o Chris Salazar. 2740 E. Indianapolis. Fresno, CA93726.)

The Seventh D.,-, 19B7, World War Three-which was

bacteriological-has just ended. In less than six days 99% of

Earth's population has been annihilated. This is the stol)' ofone of it's last survivors. The main purpose o f the movie is to

give a realistic view of how and why this war came to be. Producer/ Director/ Writer: Marc Tessier. Cameramen: Marc Tess·

ier , l'-\aurice Gagne. Ughting: Francois Rouleau. FX: Marc

Tessier. Cast: Michel Robitaille. Sylvie Masse. and Francois

Rouleau. Super·a. color, silent (Les Productions Amalgame 8,54() 1DB Ave., Drummondville. Quebec. Canada.)

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Neatness Counts: An alien lands on the moon and finds

aU the equipment and trash that the astronauts left Producer·

/D irector/Sc reenplay / Jeff Bloomer. Story by Jean Martin. FX

includes: Ball and socket latex animation model. Double

exposures and matts. Running time: approximately 5 minutes.

Super 8. (Jeff Bloomer, 10359 Grafton Rd . Carleton, Mich.

48 117.)

The Ceres InddenL Concerns the efforts of Ron Miller, a

lone space freighter captain traversing the asteroid belt trying

to discover what happe1ed to his brother who was lost there

three years earlier without a trace. He finds more than heexpected! Producer/D irector/ FX: Dave Williams. Writer: Robin

Wilson and Dave Williams. Cast: Carl Taraskus, Mike Davis,

Steve Dolezar, Carol Davis. Terry Bloom, Ken Kleinschroth.

Karen Rubolin. Kurt Stroemel and Carol Gross. FX include:

extensive use of miniatures. mattes, laser·type beams. anima·

tion and more. In Production. Super·S. color. sound. Running

time: 20·30 minutes. Completion by end of summer ·SI.

(Dave Williams, 9 West Lake Dr., Taunton Lakes, Marlton, NJ08053.)

Polyester. A film being "sort of like Father Knows Best

gone berserk. A suburban comedy about alcoholism, divorce.

and drug abuse." Writer/ Producer/ Director: John Waters.

Executi\le Producers: Robert Shaye and Michael White. Asso

ciate Producer: Sara Risher. Production Manager: Pat Moran.

Ar t DirectorlSet Designer: Vincent Peranio. Editor: Charles

Roggero. Cast : Tab Hunter Di vine, Edith Massey. DavidSamson, Mary Garlington, Ken King. Mink Stole, Joni Ruth

White, Stiv Bators and George Stover, FX include: gun blanks

(by David Donoho) and blood sqUibs. 35mm, color. sync

sound. Scoring for Spring 19S1 release. (New Line Cinema.

S53 Broadway, New York. New York 10003.)

My Pet VolkswagolL What do you get when you cross adog with a car? A smashed dog? No , you get a puppywagon.

This film is about a strange pet and it's owner's adventures.

Producer/Director/Writer: Doug Drieling. FX include: anima·

tion, radio control, pyrotechnics, spaceship and house minia·

tures, force field FX. Super'S, color. Runn ing time: 20 minutes.

(Douglas Drieling 9207 New Harrison Rd. Bradford, OH

4530S.)

Robot Zombies From Pluto. A satirical view of filmmak·

ing techniques by young filmmakers . Zombies invi.'Jde a card

board cut out of Columbus Ohio. only to find true horror. Pro

ducer/DirectorlScreenplay: Alan Hale. FX include: animation,

models. bolts from laser pistol. blood, gore. and oller nasty

treats. Super·S. In production. to be completed for

CINEJIIAGlC Film Fest. Runn ing time: 7Y.! minutes. (Alan Hale.239 Jackson, Columbus, Ohio 43206.)

Psychic ConOlct. The occupants of a distan t space station

are stalked by a murdering psychic. After many a grisley

murder, a crew member, who also has a strong psychic ability,must face the killer, but are her powers strong enough? Direc·

tor.'Writer/FX: Mike Neal. A Neal Production. Cast: Teresa

Neal and Company. FX include: Extensive make·up and set

designs (both full scale and minitures). lasers, blood, tit les

(non·lithographic), transporter effects and explosions. Super·S,

color, sound on separate cassette. Running time: approxi·

mately 5 minutes. In production. (Neal Productions, 363 E.

North Street, Dunkirk, IN 47336 .)

Terror of the Tubes . Comedy. Two

drifters. a disillusioned college student

and a punk rocker. stumble upon the

terrifying truth behind the Nielson televi·

sion ratings. Producer: Plague Produc·

tions. Writer/Director: Joe Williams.Cast: Mickey Connelly. Ji m Doughten,

Jackie Gillespie, Bev McCabe, Ji m

Radler, Michael Radler, Kristen Ramagli,

Ma..lreen Ramagli. Brian Roemer. Brian

Williams and Joe Williams. FX include:

laser and electric bolt FX. Super'S, color,

sound. Running time: 2().25 minutes.

(Plague Productions, c/o Joe Williams,

915 Broadway. Westville, NJ 08093.)

Sector 4 . A small county is invaded from outer space by a

warrior race of super aliens. Producer: Falcon Studios. Direc·

tor: Rick &inks. FX: Rick Banks and Judy Vires. Cast : Judy

Vires. Pam Vires, Kathrine Vires. Earl Vires, Tonya Vires , Sherry

Vires. Golden Vires, Fitch Vires. Ki m Vires, Tracy Vires, ConlyDuane Vires, Ed Banks, and Johnny and Irene Spincer. FX

include: lasers. disintegrate r beams, shotgun effect5, cosmic

dogfights, computer targeting and titling, explosions, and avariety of electronic effects. Super-8, color, sound. Running

time: 15-1S minutes. In preproduction. (Rick Banks, Star Rt I,Jackson, KY 41339.)

FUm not yet titled . An Experimental film working with

prehistoric creatures. FX include: Tab letop animation with ball

and socket animation models. 16 mm., silent. (Jeff Bloomer,

10359 Grafton Rd., Carleton, Mich. 48117.) ( I f

CJNEMAG/C Jt 13 25

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


TIRED

BLOOD?Whether the a n ~ \ \ ' \ . , . i\ }<"> or lin. Ih<' 1x..,1 ":II I

kC'Cp the blovd fUllmng 1\ 10 fcud I \ I \ ( , ( )

E " ~ T ) ' i"m" p ; 1 ~ h ' t l wilh k 'h;;", - " ' , - ~ " o II X ' I . ' ~ \ at film, III J'(Oj!.T;"'\.', illl<.""'ic,,,

,h . !Carful fihmn:lh,-... r.11V'P<-'\:li ...._" "11

c l a , , ~ i c fright filrm and 1111.' lal''''[ I l o C " ~ from

"a rid of mOIl\I<'T'. ,,11';11' ,)11<1 bi/ar!\'" CT\"';II UT,"

l or a limitedllllll·olll) . " " a r l ' " m a ~ i n ~ :lIl off.-r

no I h ' i l l ~ or o.:nd 1''':'Inn can T('<,j,1. Br<lnd 11,"\'

,uwrillCr\ ami Ih""", r " r w " i n ~ their ".Ih "illT('<Xi,'" a frC'C thrl'\.' l i l l ' ~ l ! H : o n l l n l ' r c i ; l 1 ad in

ou r daslilit'd '<'1:liol'. 'i,\\ hi 1(1 , 'Ollf trk'nd, or

1001. fOf a [X'11-pal. :lIId wc'lI put il into It \.' fiN

n';lIl.:J.blc j"uc.

i \ 1 ~ o . kaT f;m'. if l Ou ' l b - . ~ T i b c . IOU not onl'

sol\c(J\n lsa, on Ih,'<:OIcr rricc hut"c m,"1 th .

ma,gazlJIc ri,l!hllO }U\lT home. ':"rnxd' " ,n " " , I, UII?or. a Ilt·,.-.-iclll'" "II I 1 e 110\10:<;\ II\." (tile!

ITlu,-i<; r<;, 1<;"'. There ar,' : l 1 ~ o <po..... a! >IINribt:r

on ly contl'>h. m ~ l k l l l ) ! ttll' _ornCltllll£! ~ r o . ' C l ai n J ~ ' t " " d

An J i f r<;oding I \ \j l (/1<11 \ jql·1 ,·nOllih. Ih'·11

can proudll· "·('llr our Coun! hlOg.:w T ·,tUri.

"hid, i., <I\"ihlhk for 1 ~ l t t priL'l: fnl' \ut-...:nt .. ,....

o n l ~ .r-o• •

o_,__ _ • • ____

ORDIRNOWISend cash. c h e c ~ Of mone_ order !O

IFANGORtA, DEI'T . C13. 475 Park Avenlle South.

New York. New York too16

)Send me iI Count Fanger T·shi.\ at hall·priceC )t.( WepaHoslageandhandltng'

0$11 96lsUOScropl,on or renewal)0$1425 (one year Foreign surlace)

0$3.99 (T'S!"IIf\, regularly $6.96)

I eO:-" - -;;;b";t;;t;e-;- ; ; ; : - ; n c l o ~ - ; - = : : - ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : ; , : , a p e r With thO ad . 35 Characters I

3 hnesonly

. , - - - - - -26 c/NEMAG/C" 13

New Starlog Fllm Available

For Your School Group!

"S I'lTIOO·s Birthday Fantasy:· a l5-minute. 16mm movie hlls just beencompleted. and pr ints are available for loan to film classes, science netion

clubsor any organization consisting of 250 r more regu lar members.1Oefilm combines live-action intercut with five different animation sequencesarx:! features a music score by notable composers illCluding Wagner,Strauss, Strllvinsky and John Williams. A $15.00 fee in advance is reqUiredto cover one·way postage, insurance and packing costs. If interested, writeto the .!Iddress below wlth date of screening and information about your

group (including the number of members).

Hi, ClneMagidansl

David HiBch

"Stanog's Birthday fantasy"

475 Park Ave.. Sooth

New York. NY 10016

Iwant to add apersonal footnote to the notice above.because [thinkthisnew movie

wi ll be especially interesting to readers of this magazine.The movie was produced by SF Film Productions. a branch of the STARLOG

family of enterprises, and is meant as a birthday present to science fiction fllns on theoccasion of the 5th annive rsa ry of STARLOG. It is a flight of fantasy,featuring membersof our staff. shot entirely In our Mtllllldtti::Hi om ...!;:::;, wilh a film crew of youngprofessionals.

The movie required special weapons, models, props and set decoration that will bein teresting to SFfans and students offilm. The animation was shot on a computerizedOxberry stand and involved some tricky effects using multiple techniques far beyondthe uSUlil. One complex shot required six came ra passes (six different exposures)combined into a 3<kecond sequence of action.

The story is simple and is intended to pay tribute to the films and creators 'Nho haveinspired SF fans and to leave everyone with a "high·' feeling of youthful fun.

During the next few months, CINE.MJ\G IC will be featuring articles derived from ou rwork on this moyje-including step.by·step explanations of how certain spe<:ial effects

shots were created and tips on scripting and storyboarding. Obviously. these artlcleswiU mean much more to you if you have seen the movie 00 which they are based.

With our ClNEMAGIC Short Fi lm Search 1982 coming up this fall , this is also anexcellent opportun ity to see a film that squeezes a lot 0{ action into the IS-minutecontest limit. Perhaps this movie will inspire you and you r friends and setyour minds to

working on some creative Ideas of your own ."S tarlog's Birthday Fantasy" is educa tional for film students, and I urge you to

consider p l.!lnning a screening for your class or club or school group or .!Issembly

or-whatever.There's onlyso much we can tell you about fantastic filmmaking in the pages of this

magazine. After ali , it' shard to discuss movies with printed wordsand still pictures. Hereis a ra re opportunity to see (and enjoy)a Ilyjng demonstrationof whatONEMAGIC is all

about-inventive techniques, long hours and hard work. lind above all iY l imagination

that takes flight and attempts to carry an audience with It.Kerry O'Quinn/Publisher

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


Building a Dual Voltage RegulatedPower Supply

Programmable Power Supply

-----"-------J''w,

" 220 1(<'20 ",,,"C

I,ne'"c,

11

Before I get started on my first ani·cle, r d like to take a quick oppor·tunity to acknowledge a fewpeople who were responsible for

my getting involved with ClNEMAG1C magazine. First of all. rd like to thank Paul and

Angie Lowe of Lake Central High-s theatre

department, for giving me the opporturuty

to design and impleme nt electronic SPl!Cialeffects for their perforrr.ances. Also, I have

to include Bill Lac (the Wiz) and Wally Lowe

(no relation to Paul and Angie) for bringingto my attention STARLOG and CINE

MAGIC, and opening up an exCiting newoutlet for my projects. Included in this list

are also Carl Waters and Greg Walters ofmy local Radio Shack store lind Mr. Hy

Siegal and Mr. Patrick le e of Radio Shack

in fort Worth for their assistance. And of

course, I want to thank Kerry' O'Quinn and

David Hutchison of STARlOG/CINEMAG·IC for giving me the opportunity of sharing

with you a way to add another dimension to

your creative skills and talents.The heart of any electronic device Is the

power supply, and with the growth of the

integrated circuit chip, the possibilities for

adding special effects toyour film i!lre more

within reach than ever before, Because of

this i!ldvanced techllOlogy, it"s i!llot easierto

build a new addition to your bag of special

effect goodies. and to be able to do it at areasonable cost. It would cost considerably

more if you had to buy the separate parts

that make up some of the circuits inside

one of these chips. Whatever you do, don't

let the words "integrated circuit" scare you

aWi!ly. All it really means is that they've taken

a comp lete circuit and "integrated" it nto a

By Chris E. Stevens

. e , A6M1R&fl9RIO

"/.In l1o!317/ '

D,·. " "_" = ' "

f('\,-,

,w,'

• vee)

I ", '- 0: '"341\ 52 Bf t 0,C, " - ~ ~ v c cflS-2O!)Q """

OJ

,

little convenient package, saving space,

construction time and money.The power supply that wil! supply the

"l ife" of your projects is one that I've modi ·

fied from the Engineers Notebook supp

lied by Radio ShKk. This one uses fewerparts. and helps to cut the costs of building

such a project. t u l e allowi'l9 fOf more flex·

ibility where it might be needed for projectsthat will require a dual power supply. Sincethe layout is already completed, all you

have to do is make a printed circuit board.ge t the Ilnd put it together. This is a lot

easier than you think. As far as making aprinted circuit board, after the first one,

you'll be an expert in IlO time flat.

The Basic Circuit BoardTh e way that I go about making a PC

(printed ci rcuit) board might seem a little

unorthod01l, but It gives me a good copy

every time. Whenever I find a circuit in a

magazine I want to make, the first thing I do

is get a photo copy of the boi!Ird layout.This way I don't have to cut up the maga'

zine to get the layout transferred to the

copper dad board. After you get the copy of

the layout. take a pair of tin snips and cut apiece of the board to size, The 1m snips will

let you cut a board a lo t faster than a saw.

and ifU give ill more accurate cut.

Take the copy of the layCl.lt and tape it to

the copper side of he board Almostalways,

copies of ill board layout are from the

copper side. Make sure that you cu t ou t

your layout leaving an extra half inch or soaround the edges sothat you can fold these

over and tape your copy to the board (rom

the back Then take a center punch (a nail

" '",

-vee

will do) and every place you see a little

round dot. make a punch mark in the

board. Just tap it hard enough to put a littlepockmark in the copper.

After you've "punched the dots:' the next

step is to drill the holes. A number 55 wire

drill is the best size for most part lead wires,and a 1/161nch dri ll bi t is ok for the heavier

wires like the a.c. power cord and trans·former leads. Then the most usual size for

the corner mounting holes is about l/Bth

to 3/16 of an Inch. The reason for drillingthe holes first is thot when you paint

circuit onto the board, it's a lot easier to

connect the dots as opposed to paintingthe circuit first and trying to keep the loca·

t ion of the parts where they belong and true

to scale,

Etching the Board

To pu t the circuitry on the board isn't as

complicated as it sounds. T""Ie idea is to

paint the board where the "wires" will run to

the parts, The paint protects the copperfrom the etchant, and will not be eaten away

when the PC board is exposed to the acid.

The best thing to use for painting the board

is an enamel and a fine point brush, As long

i!lS there's a thick ellOugh layer of paint on

the board, the acid will make a clean etch

and the circuitry will not be eaten away In

the thin spots. If you have any doubt. after

the paint "sets" you can touch up the thin

spots. If you have an KActo knife, you can

scrape away any excess, correct any errors

and touch up the circuit where it might have

accidentally run together. The next step isto put the board in the etchant. The board

will etch a lo t faster if you floot it on top of

ClNEMAG1C *" 13 27

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


-0- -0-0

+""

I-0 -

,,,i

the solution with the copper side face down.

Follow the directions on the bottle of theelehant for the best results.

About the Circuit

After the board ;s etched, double check

to see if there CITe any places where you let

the ci rcuitry co me together. If so , YOLI c./In

take the X-Acto and CUi away the copperplate where things ran together.

When you install the parts, remember,you're working from the bottom of the

board;things will be reversedwhenyou putthe parts on the top side. Take the extratime to make sure that the polarities and the

dire<:tion oJ the parts are CQfrect. This is

especially i mportant with respect to the ICs.

To make a good solder connection, youhave to heat the part and the copp er circuit

<!It the same time. Use an iron for your soldering. and not much more t.1an 30 wattsmaximum. Anything much hotter willcause you to burn the copper right off theboard. A .. cold" solder joint will look grainyand a good oint will look smooth and shiny.

PC Board layout(bottom, foil-side View)Shown actual size

If you' re mounting your project in acabinet. you'lI find it easier to solder the

leads on the board tirst. installing theswitches, fuseholders and other things. andthen soldering the leads to them. Alsomake sure that the PC board is insulated..

Here's a lisl of tools I find most helpful:

X-Aclo Kni fe

30 Walt Soldering Iron (penci l type)

Solder

Solder Wick (so lder remover)

Assorted drill bits, plus a #55 size wire dri ll bilDrill, either electric or hand type

Tin snips

Assorted screwdrrvers. lIat blade. and Philips types

Small needle nose plierss

Wire cutter/strippersSmall adjustable wrench

FileSandpape r and steel wool.

Hardware Project Box 1-#270-252Hardware A.C , Line Co rd 1-#278-2155S-l S.P.S,T. Switch H1275-011F- l 1/ 2 Amp 3AG fuse 1-#270-1271F- l luseholder 1-#270-364L-t indicator light"' Ht272-1501

l- 1 PC board 1-#276-1567L-, Etchant 1-#276-1535T-, 117V. pn, 24V Sec .

300 rna. transformer 1-#273-1306C-' capacitor, 3,300 mfd , at 35VDC 1-#272-102 1C-2 .01 mId . diSC ceramic capaci tor 1-#272-1310-1 br idge reclifier IC 1-#276-1161VA-l LM317T vc l lage regu lator 1-#277-1778R-l 220 K ohm resistor" 1-/1271-049R-3 220 Ohm resistor 1-#271-015A-4 33 K ohm resistor 1-#271-030A-5 100 ohm resistor 1-#271-012R-6 330 ohm resistor 1-#271-017R-7 470 ohm resistor 1-#271-019A-l1,12 Ikohmresistor '" 1-#271-023R-9 2.2 K ohm resistor 1-#271-027R-1O 3,3 K ohm resistor '-#271-016

28 ClNEMAG/C #/3

S-2 6 position rotary switch 1-#275-13060-1 NPN transistor ,-#AS-2009

a-I transistor sockets' 1-#276-540

0-1 TO 220 mounting ki t 1-#276-1373

0 - ' IC socket' 1-11276-19950-1 connector 1-#274-6610 - ' heal Sink' 1-11276-13630-1 heal sink compound' 1-It276-13720-1 control knob ,-#274· 407

'No! needed to make the project work

"When using an Idicator lamp With abuill-in limiting resistor, put a jumper

wire in, in place of R-'

' ' 'For a single output power supply.

you can eliminate these parts. You can stilldrill the holes for possible later use.

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


from the metel chessis. I've found that the

domed sink washers mllke good spacers

and you can get them at most any hardwarestore. Again doublecheck your work before

you plug it In. If everything checks out, give

it a shot. Plug It in and tum it on.

About the Circuit

The power supply is a programlTl3ble,variable voltage dual output unit (How's

that for a mouthful?) What all this reallymeans is that with a twitch of a switch, (S·2)

you can select any voltage from 1.2volts upto 18 volts out. Also since some ICs will

require a positive and negative voltage, it

has II center tap. or aniftdal ground output

as well.The center tap will be either positive

or negative with respect tothe normcM posi·tive and negative output connectors, and

will also be at Y.! the output voltage. For

instance, in the 18 volt position, the center

tap will be at plus or minus 9 volts out (see

the schematic drawing). It may seem like a

lot of added effort and p e n s e . especially if

you're on a tight budget. but the addedflexibility will prove to be really handy lateron when we get into future projects.

While we're on the subject of future pro-jects, what I'd like to tackle next is the

SN76488 complex sound generator Ie hat

Radio Shack puts out. DorI 't let the word

"complex" throw you, it's just used as an

explanation of the sounds it makes. Thislinle goodie will let you <!Idd phaser fire and

a whole lot of other sounds to your scHiflicks and tapes.

Important Tips

Here's a few hints to make the construc·

tion ofyour [email protected] in the board. take II file or sandpaper

(about a -220 grit) and de·burr both sidesof the board. And, before you paint the

board, take fine steel wool and polish theboard to remove old layers of oxideand dirt..

This also gives the paint II better surface to

stick to. After the board is finished etching.

you've drilled the holes in the board, paint the copper side where the "wires" willrun to the plH!'" Thf!! pllin! protects the copper from the echant.

rinse it In running water at least t'NO minutes Soak the PC board (copper side down) in the echant. I use Archer brand echant.to stop the chemiclil etchant. Then scrub ava ilable at Radio Shack. Fo low the directions on the bottle for best results.the paint of f with a n o t h ~ r steel wool pad

while under running water, ITI3king sure

that you remove all of the paint. After it

dries, polish it dovm with the steel wool

again to bring up a good shine. This will

give you a good clean soldering surface.Most ICs can take about 260 degrees for

about {iue seconds befole the chip is heat

damaged. Let the IC cool before you solderthe next lead and so on. Also keep lIlI the

leads on the parts as short as possible. To

keep the space requirements down, I usu·

ally mount the resistors upright.

Any Questions?

I'd like to hear from you with your resultsfrom this project, as well as .!!Iny ideas forfuture projects that you'd like to see. Also if

you have any questions that Imight be ableto answer, let me know. I can be reached

through Cinemagic, O'Quinn Studios, Inc.,

475 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. The completed dual voltage, regulated power supply. The PC board is mounted in

10016. (J f a project bo)( with all wires. resistors. controls and other parts in place.

c/NEMAGIC N 13 29

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


Hollywood Soundtracks

NORTH BY NORTHWEST(Digital)

laurie Johnson conducts theLondon Studio Symphony Or-chestra in this long-awaited re-cording of the complete BernardHerrmann score to the 1959Alfred Hitchcock thriller starringCary Grant, Eva Marie Saint andJames Mason . Incredib le

KING'S ROW(Digital)

~ " : ; ; I : ! : I . : l ~ l dynamics In this digital stereo- perionnance l

Newly recorded, this spectacularm o ~ l e score by Erich WolfgangKOlngold is complete In thisdeluxe album. The classiC 1942

fTIO>'le drama, starring RonaldReagan. Is an emotional powerhouse. CtJarles Gerhardt conducts this e:>:cihng stereo digitalr&COrdlll,!!

List: $15.00 Special: 512.00

DTRACKS FROM HOLLYWOOD'S SCREEN GREATS

M .. .HI! OF THE WORLDn . . Y i n c « 1 I ~ _ 1 U r e l l a " " " W l l n .~ l e I e " ' l e , S C O / e

Mail to : STARLOG RECO RDS DEPT. e l3

475 Park Avenue SouthNew York. NY 10016

_ CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWERUst: $8.98 Spedal S798

_ SAMSON AND DELILAH

List $8.98 Special S796

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List: $8.98 Special. S198

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list $8.98 Spoc.al· $7 96

_ NORTH BY NORTHWEST (Oigi tIJI Stereo'

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list: $8.96 Special S798

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Ust. $8.96 Spacial S7.96

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_ ROCKETSHIP X·MLlsl: $8.98 Special: 57.98

_ KINGS ROW (Dlgllal SI.r.o'list: 515.00 S ecIil: 12.00

NAME

ADDRESS

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7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


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7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


KODAK'S

ANIMATION

GUIDE

Kodak's, "The world of Animation ,"is an authoritative guide fo r anyonewho Is interested in making animatedfilms. It is jam-packed with rips onevery aspect of film production andanimation technique. Th is in·depthguide book was prepared by Kodakespecially fo r the animator whO wantsto make professlonal-QU/llity animatedfilms on a MODEST BUDGET.

"The World of Animation"INCLUDES -

33 pages of complete olueprints fo rbuilding your own animation stand.

• A guide to all th e Kodak filmsavailab le fo r animation and when touse chem!!!

• A "how-co " guide fo r achieving allth e majo r animation techniques!!!

How to f ind work w ith a producer!!!

• How to b rea k Into th e bUSiness!! !

. 152 pages- fU ll color through-out!!!

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32 ClNEMAGfC I t 13

BOOKS

Handbook of AolmatJon Tech·niques . By Eli L Levitan. Van NostrandReinhold Co., New York. 9" x ! 1". 318

pages, 24.95 .Animation has the magical power of

giving life to creatures that don·t exist.Whether the animated character is drawn

or dimensional. the animator breathes life

into it and creates the circumstances that

it must endure. it is a wonderful form of

artistic expression because, unlike static

art it can totally engross the viewer and

involve him in an ongoing action.

Naturally. there are many young artists

who yearn to use animation as a medium

of expression. This requires more than anability to draw or even crete a beautiful

dimensional stop·motion m:xlel. Anima

tion requires a great deal of planning anda proficiency at the techniques involved inmaking an inanimate object or a pile of

drawings "move " realistically and appear

to be alive. A good book on the subject isa valuable aid.

Ell Levitan·s Handbook of Animation

is very helpful to the beginning animator.

Mr. Levitan has been an animato r for overforty years, so he speaks with considera·

ble experience. He·s learned all the short

cuts and most efficient methods that save

both time and money. and he sharesthem with his reader in his well written

and informative ha ndbook. His work in

animation has been honored with several

Clios-which are the equivalent of an

Oscar for television commercials-and hehas also been honored wi th the Outstand

ing Achievement Award from the direc·tors of the n t e r n ~ t Film Festival.

Virtually everything you'll need to know

to create fluid. technica lly excellent, lip

synced cel animation is inch.;ded in thiswonderful handbook. Illustrations stress

every important point. You·lleam how to

prepare exposure sheets; create effective

lip syncron iza tion (the mouth shapes for

the various vowels and consonants arewell illustrated;) become familiar with all

the components of the animation stand(the professional Oxberry type:) and

much more.

Stop-motion animation is not covered

in depth in the Handbook ofAnimation

Techniques. but many aspects coveredapply to both cel and stop-motion (sound

track analysis. etc.) Stop·motien anima

tors should find the handbook valuable,for even though greater bodies of infor

mation on stop·motion can be foundelsewhere, they almost certainly neglect

certain vital aspects covered by Mr. Levitan. Even if stop-motion is your ·'bag."

you·re sure to enjoy and be informed by

this wonderful book. Besides. it may

inspIre you to put your dinosaurs on the

shelf for a while and give cel animation atry, The H,mdbook of Animation Tech-

niques is fo r everyone who lovesanimation.

M.otlon PIcture Camera Tech-niques. By David W. Samuelson. Focal

Press. d istributed by Butterworths.Woburn , MA. 5" x 8'/.0" , 200 pages.

Most amateur filmmakers have a lot to

learn about camera and production tech

niques. Even the most talented and com·

petent amateur cinematographers can

use a few pointers, Motion Piclure

Camera Techniques, by David Samuel

son. is a good source of vital informationand helpful hints for filmmakers. One of

Focal Press' Media Manual series of textbooks, it deserves the attention of serious

amateur filmmakers and film studentswho want to expand their body of know

ledge on the subject of motion pIctureproduction, About a hundred different

aspects of filming are covered in the typical Media Manual method, which is a very

effective method indeed. Eoch subject is

generally allotted a two page spread in the

book. The left page is a written explana

tion of the technique or procedure, andthe right page is a series of drawings and

diagrams that illustrate the text. No par-

oJ ~ O'-'r--'iCD o

Accessory for f ilming from a 16mm frame.

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


Man holding camera on the ground for stability, Art is courtesy of Butte rworth's.

ticular subject is covered in great depth.although in many cases great d epth is notrequired and the text and illustrationsshould give the reader a suffic ient under·standing of the subject. Certain subjects.however, will require further reading. The

range of subjects covered goes from adiscussion of helicopter mounts to a briefcoverage of the traveling matte process to

an e)(planation of the uses of gaffers tape.All the information is very useful, even if

you have no immediate plans of renting a

helicopter or filming a co ronary bypassoperation. What you d o know can't hurtyou-what you don 't know can.

Let's face it - you want to be a profes·

sional fi lmmaker. You're hardly alone inthat amb ition . You' re going to have to

compete with thousands of other (manyvery ta lented) young people for a relativehandful of jobs in in the theatrical filmindustry. If you wa nt to direct your ownfilms. there really are only a handful ofpeople wh o make it. Don't dispair, you

can be one of them - but you better bevery good and you better be ready. Leamall you can about filmmaking. Make films.That's the best way to learn. Read asmuch as you can about everf aspect of

motion pict ure production - thats theonly way to learn about certain aspects of

filmmaking that you can't afford to prac'tice as an amateur. That way. when yo uget a job with some production company.you'll be able to impress people with yourknowledge and people won't have to

stand over you and explain things thatthey assumed you knew when they hiredyou. As in any other competitive field. it'ssink or swim. Books like MoUnn Pictu re.

Camera Techniques can teach you a fewstrokes and help you keep your headabove water in the lucky event that youare given (really, it' s never a hand·out) theopportunity to prove you have what it takesto make it. (Ttl

Unless t h ~ ~ - - - boo-k'-'-Clavailable through your local bookstore.Books not currently in stock can be spe.cially ordered for you by your local

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ClNEMAGIC # /3 33

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


CLOSE-UP

The SaturnMachine

By JACK IMES. JR.

YOU can create the rings of Saturn

for your next outer space epic by

using II simple technique called"streak photography." The tech·

nique can be created with either a stillcamera or a movie camera with a time

ellposure facility. It presents another in trigu '

ing opportunity to use the method of over·

,ding the time exposure meter on Y.Ou

camera that A. Sharples describes in his

article on slit scan in this issue. The tech·

nique was used by Doug Trumbull forSilent Running.

Th e ring creCltt'd by u ~ i l 1 g d tinlt:: = ~sure setting. A narrow, striped strip cI paperis rotated around the "planet" ball .The time

exposure causes a blurred streak that is a

perfect circle which appears to float inspace. Th e camera can be adjusted at any

angle and the ring will have the properperspective. I used a still 35mm relexcamera fo r the photos you see here. but IImovie camera can also be used. Stills can

be used as background plates or you can

shoo bo th It spaceship model and the

ringed "p!ltnet" simultaneously (provided

you Mve a rigid support to hold your model

still for the time exposure.) I used a 2

second exposure for these photos, but test

: . l I u ~ will g i v ~ you I:I"'V1Uvril:ltf;.' I ! ) ( p o ~ r et imes for any special lighting that you may

require. Good Filming! (J f

Above: The "Saturn machine" is easy to make, ine)lpensive and produces a good effect.

34 CIN£MAG/C # 13

•III

7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


7/28/2019 Cinemagic #13 (1981)


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Cinemagic #13 (1981)