I I THREE EXAMPLES OF i ; TELEVISION CAMERA PLOTTING I . T0 ILLUSTRATE THE DIRECTOR’S PROCESSES AS A VISUAL COMMUNICATOR Ii THESIS FOR THE DEGREE 0F M.A. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY DAVID H. LEONARD 1963 “ D ~_- ’ fiertr‘E-‘J? IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 31293 00071 1303 LIBRARY Michigan State University MSU RETURNING MATERIALS: Place in book drop to LIBRARIES remove this checkout from “ your record. FINES Win be charged if book is returned after the date stamped below. D p; " "3v (2923 ABSTRACT THREE EXAMPLES OF TELEVISION CAMERA PLOTTING To Illustrate the Director's Processes as a Visual Communicator by David H. Leonard The television director is responsible for what the viewer sees on his screen. By planning his camera shots, what happens within them.and how they are connected one with another, the director helps the viewer to understand what is happening, and beyond that, to react intellectually or emotionally in accordance with the purpose of the program. This important process of his work is often neglected in courses in television production. One reason may be that few recorded examples exist to show how a director analyzes the program material, how he derives his camera treatment, and why he treats it as he does. To remedy that deficiency, this thesis provides three specific examples of camera plotting, each typical of local live television programming and different in content and character. The examples are presented in conventional television script form, supplemented with verbal analysis, sketches of the shots employed, and floor plans showing the placement of cameras and performers. Following the third example, the specific techniques which have David H. Leonard been illustrated are correlated under a number of general principles which will provide a more unified understanding of them. It is not the author's intention to treat all of the techniques which directors employ, but those which are illustrated should at least provide the reader with an understanding of the kinds of communication purposes with which directors are concerned. Of these, the two which are particularly stressed and exemplified are: (1) making the program clear, and (2) involving the audience in an intellectual or emotional reaction. In illustrating these purposes the author draws upon various texts concerned with visual and camera technique, and upon his own experience for ten years as a student, teacher, and practitioner of television production. THREE EXAMPLES OF TELEVISION CAMERA PLOTTING to Illustrate the Director's Processes J” as a Visual Communicator By David H. Leonard A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Television and Radio 1963 I: .1"';_1.,‘ l ( I a, I. a} ‘2/ '13,: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank all who have offered help and encouragement while this thesis has been in production, especially my wife, Mary, and the children, who have come to call it "Daddy‘s book." -—David H. Leonard, July 1963 ii CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION0.0.0.0.0....OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO000.000.... 1 EXAMPLE I: AFROTC RIFLE TEAM...................... 4 EXAMPLE II: SWISS CHEESE.......................... 31 EXAMPLE III: SALESMANSHIP......................... 59 CONCLUSION......................................... 77 BIBLIOGRAPIIYOI0.000000000000000000000000000000000IO 88 iii INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION The director of a television program has ultimate responsibility for what is seen on the screen. The script writer and producer may make suggestions about visual treatment of the program material, but the director has ultimate responsibility. In many local stations the director is also the writer and producer; hence he is not only ultimately but totally responsible for the program's visual expression. This expression includes many elements-—among them, scenery, lighting, costume, and makeup-—but of chief importance are the camera shots, what happens within them, and how they are connected one with another. In determining these shots and the transitions between them, the director does not act capriciously. He chooses each in terms of its ability to communicate to the viewer the meaning of the event which is being televised. Through them the viewer can be made to understand what is happening, and beyond that to react to it intellectually or emotionally, in accordance with the purpose of the program. This important process of the director's work is often neglected in courses in television production. One reason may be that few recorded examples exist to show how a director analyzes the program material, how he derives his camera treatment, and why he treats it as he does. The purpose of this thesis is to remedy that deficiency. Three specific examples of television camera plotting are provided, 2 in order to make as real and as clear as possible the director's processes as a visual communicator. The examples are typical of local live television programming and differ from each other in content and character. The examples are presented in conventional television script form. Following the description of each shot in the video column is an explanation of why it was decided on. At the foot of each page, in storyboard fashion, there is a rough sketch of the appearance of each shot. There is also a floor plan which indicates the placement of cameras and performers. Arrowed dash lines indicate performer and camera movements. Camera angles are indicated by solid lines except that, when a camera pans, its angle at the end of the pan is described by dash lines. Following the third example an attempt is made to bring together some of the specific techniques used in the examples and correlate them under a number of general principles which will provide a more unified understanding of them. It is not the intention of this thesis to treat all the techniques which directors employ, but those which are illustrated should at least provide the reader with an understanding of the kinds of commni- cation purposes with which directors are concerned. In illustrating these purposes the author draws upon texts which are cited in the bibliography and also upon ten years experience as a student, teacher, and practitioner of television production. EXAMPLE I: AFROTC RIFLE TEAM The program.used for this example was produced by undergraduate students at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, and presented April 14, 1953, over the University-owned station WOI-TV. The author of this thesis served as tflmer for the program. The script and shot sequence used here is based on a production report filed by the program’s director and on the author's memory. EXAMPLE I: AFROTC RIFLE TEAM Given a championship rifle team and the national dignitaries to award the trophy, how can the team.and the award be presented on television with meaning and excitement? Or must it be "another award ceremony on TV?" The producer wants the audience to share the excitement of a championship team in action. He decides to have the team fire live ammunition in the studio-—to show the team.members sight their rifles and squeeze off the rounds. The program.can't be a regulation marksmanship competition because the studio is too small and the program time too short, so the producer decides on a practice session. The team coach tells him that most people don't know how rifle matches are carried out, so part of the program describes the equipment, stances, and procedures of rifle marksmanship. The award? It's held for the end of the program. After the audience finds out what the whole thing is about and sees the team's skill, it will be ready to respond with more than casual interest to the national trophy. The award ceremony becomes the "punch-line" of the program. The five-man team and its coach are scheduled to appear, along with a narrator to ask questions and watch the clock. NOw the director gets a script and a rundown on what the producer is trying to accomplish. The script has only a few word- fordword sequences. Most of it is an outline to guide the performers' ad-lib comments. As with all programs, the director has two major responsibilities: he must make the action of the program clear to the audience, and he must make the audience feel the excite- ment of the event. Thus he must use his cameras to help explain .how rifle matches are carried out and his shots must support the excitement created when a man is sighting his rifle and checking to see if he hit the bulfs-eye. What techniques can the director use at each point in the program? First he must understand the nature of rifle marksmanship. He must know what the patterns of a match are. He must know what the exciting moments are, when the tension is highest, and what part of the action shows this excitement best. He studies the script, watches the team practice, and then he begins to plan studio layout, camera placement, shots, shot sequences, and so forth. The final test of a director's skill at putting together his knowledge of television techniques and his understanding of the event being televised is in the program as it appears to viewers at home. Example I illustrates this process for showing an event that is not primarily structured for television, but for the rifle range. 1.}. i941. “33:9? ”A, ”H NIH .. Ha.“ ... gauuoHohu magnum soon muonmouofia usual been” no Hooa “Hone cg mane uowueu 53 B one euoauomuuv euoos oozed 33a .um H u .5 w: Boon Houusoo seams mamam UHOMM¢= nmflmuooam caudm SHOT NO. 8 AFROTC Rifle Team VIDEO FILM, AERIAL GUNNERY M N533: Combat aerial gunnery. This is what our constitution calls providing for the common defense and general welfare. To provide for the common defense-— a serious business. It may seem a long way from a Korean battlefield to the campus of Iowa State. But how far is it? How far for the two thousand Air Force cadets at Ames? It's as close as your neighbor's boy who's a mem- ber of the military science program at college. Scenes like these might be in the future of many of the students here on campus. The majority of them.are perfecting skills which may someday protect their lives and yours. SHOT NO. 1. 2. VIDEO AUDIO DISSOLVE 2, LONG SHOT OVER STUDIO AUDIO: RIFLE FIRING SHOULDER OF SARGE SCORING The dissolve helps tie the idea of aerial gunnery to rifle practice by visually 7 showing both scenes simul- taneously for a brief period of time. The shot helps orient the viewer to the studio by showing all important parts of the scene in one shot. The physical relationships of sets, props and performers are shown. 90 mm lens has sufficient depth of field to keep the entire scene in fairly sharp focus-—a wider lens would include too much background around the target, making it too small to identify. TAKE 1, FIRST TEAM MEMBER (NUMBER 1 FIRES) AS HE FIRES A.closer shot of parts of the scene helps satisfy the viewer's curiosity to see more clearly what is going on. This begins a pattern of closer shots within the overall scene aimed at l. 2. /// / @ FLOOR PLAN ”I! (ll! 9% 90 mm SHOT l / O" / ’ # V 90 mm SHOT 2 lO SHOT NO. VIDEO E U H O clarifying what is happening and emphasizing how the event occurs. 3. TAKE 2, SAME AS SHOT l SARGE: ANNOUNCES SCORE Repetition of the first, orientation, shot helps clarify the action. The viewer sees again the whole. 4. TAKE 1, SECOND TEAM MEMBER (NUMBER 2 FIRES) FIRES Again repetition to help clarify the event. Also shows the pattern of one man after another in team.firing. 3, 6/7/ FLOOR PLAN ' V IQ * 90 mm SHOT 3 SHOT N0. 5. 6. 11 VIDEO TAKE 2, ONE SHOT SARGE IN 3/4 PROFILE This shot adds variety to the shot pattern. The audience sees the sarge's face, thus helping clarify what he is doing (scoring). Angle of shot makes a dynamic two-dimen- sional composition by having the table cut the frame diagonally. The angle also sets up the scene for the next shot which completes a move- ment to the front of the performers by matching the sarge's position roughly to that he will occupy in the next shot. 135 mm lens allows camera placement well out of range of the other camera. Also, narrow-angle lens lets the background appear slightly out of focus, hence emphasizing the sarge who is in sharp focus. TAKE 1, WIDE FROM FRONT This shot completes an almost 180 degree reversal from.ehot l. The target AUDIO ANNOUNCES SCORE SARGE: STUDIO SOUND: UNDER FOR NARR: This is the Air Force rifle team practicing. 5. 6. FLOOR PLAN g 50 mm SHOT 6 SHOT 5 SHOT 12 VIDEO has been established within the set, and now the audience must be able to see better what is going on by having a front view. The Sarge and team.members. are kept in physical relationship in each frame to avoid confusing the audience during this rever- sal. ' The wide-angle 50 mm lens keeps foreground and back- ground in sharp focus, thus showing clearly the facial features of the performers. It also makes a wide shot possible from a position close to the team members. (As it must be due to the control room protruding into the studio.) AUDIO Out of the two thousand men participating in the Air Force Reserve Officer's Training Corps, known on campus as Air ROTC, these five men make up the number one Air Force rifle team in the nation. The William Randolph Hearst Rifle Match was held in February. This team.was named national champion of the Air Force Division. They won with a record of nine hundred fifty two shots out of a possible one thousand. This is a typical practice session for the team. FLOOR PLAN SHOT NO. PAN l3 PAN LEFT TO INCLUDE NARR. Reveals the narrator for the first time as part of the scene. He has been talking from.the booth because the loud rifle sounds in the studio would drown him out-—the audio equipment must be kept at low level for such sounds to avoid harming it. By panning to the narr. it is possible to introduce him in relationship to the rest of the set and performers as if he had always been a part of the scene. He has now been introduced and can pro- ceed to talk to the other performers directly. Plac- ing him to the left lets us introduce him.as needed because that part of the set has not been seen before. Also, the team members can AUDIO STUDIO SOUNDS: UP FULL (NARR. MOVES FROM ANNOUNCE BOOTH TO OFF CAMERA POSITION IN STUDIO) (NARR. GETS UP FROM CHAIR AND MOVES TOWARD CAMERA SLIGHTLY AS HE TALKS) NARR: Good evening, I'm Harry Upton. It’s this kind of work that makes for champions-amental discipline, physical con— trol. The same factors that make the defense of our country secure. A prize-winning team.is com- posed of three things- the men, the rifles, and practice- lots of practice. PAN G (o) _ FLOOR PLAN SHOT NO. PAN 7. 14 VIDEO get up and moves) their new position off camera-thus avoiding an awkward shot of 5 people moving at once. PAN RIGHT WITH NARR. Panning keeps spatial continuity thus letting the audience know just where the men are now standing. It also gives one more look at the set as the narr. walks by it. Notice that the camera leads the narr. as he moves, leaving open space ahead of him. The audience is inter- ested in where he is going, not where he has been. By leading him they can see what is coming ahead of hum and are satisfied. TAKE 2, CLOSEAUPS OF EACH MAN, PAN LEFT TO RIGHT The audience wants to see each man close up, thus is satisfied with this shot. Panning keeps spatial continuity, showing the audience that they are standing side by side. This visual connection also E U hi 0 Let's meet the men first. (NARR. MOVES TO WHERE MEN ARE STANDING) Hi. We've been watching you practice for the last Now intro- few‘minutes. ductions are in order. Cadet Thomas H. Cosgrove Cadet Burwell Block Cadet Robert Davis Cadet Wayne Mathern Cadet Richard Hendrickson. PAN FLOOR PLAN 15 SHOT N0. VIDEO reinforces the team.associa— tion of the individual mem— bers. 8 in. lens allows the close- up shots from a fair distance, which is necessary due to the shot cam 1 has at the beginning of the pan and the time available for cam 2 to get in proper position for the close-ups. Depth of‘ field is such that the features of the individuals stand out against an out-of- focus background. The shot is framed wide enough that one person appears as the other dis- appears during the pan-thus leaving no "dead spots.“ 8. TAKE 1, NARR. AND COUPLE OF TEAM MEMBERS Lens change from 50 to 90 mm is necessary to end up with the shot wanted after pan. ring to the Sarge. The 90 allows inclusion of a couple of team members with the narr., thus maintaining continuity of space by show- ing that the narr. is still standing by the team. There is really no need to see the entire team as the men shown A E U H O These are the men of the team-—but there's one more man who holds the team together. Their teacher, coach and trainer-— Master Sergeant George H. Muehlbach. 8. FLOOR PLAN 00000 9W \\K 4. 'L"" 90 mm SHOT 8 SHOT NO. PAN 16 VIDEO represent it adequately. PAN WITH NARR. TO TABLE AND SARGE-TIGHT TWO SHOT Tight two shot allows the audience to see the Sarge's face clearly. Again the pan keeps strict continuity and saves more abrupt camera changes for effect later on when the team.will be firing. 90 mm lens is necessary to get the desired shot withb out crossing the mat. It is versatile and allows for dollying later on with a minimum of focus problems. e :3 P4 0 Hi Sarge. Do you always do the scoring for the team? SARQE: No, not usually. Sometimes during practice, that's all. NARR: Well Sergeant, I told our viewers it takes three things to make a team-men, rif les , and practice. I'm.going to ask you to take over here and tell us about the special rifles used-—and then show us how your team shoots. PAN :g’ FLOOR PLAN // 00 0 00 >34 / "~‘\ ""'* 5,1 *Llfi .' We \ flwfiqfit.w.finilz an 14.j‘ SHOT N0. 9-cu 9-CS 17 VIDEO TAKE 2, CLOSE-UPS ON GUNS TAKE 1, COVER SHOT, SARGE AND TOP OF TABLE TO SHOW WHAT HE IS DEMONSTRATING This system of using one camera for a cover shot and one for close-ups is a standard method of covering demonstrations-—especially when they are not fully scripted and rehearsed. Possible mix-ups caused by not having a shot ready on time are eliminated because the director can always go to the cover shot. The system aids the perform- er«-—especially amateur—-—by having one camera on his face for him to talk to and one on the demonstration for him to favor the rifle toward for close-ups. He need not worry about what the cameras are doing so can concentrate on his presenta- tion. 135 mm lens is good for close-ups because it has sufficient depth of field to keep a 3-dimensional object in focus while the possibly disturbing background is out of focus. It is also easier AUDIO SARGE: AD LIB ABOUT GUN (ARMY ISSUE RIFLE) (CUSTOM GUN, MID ON PIVOT) (REAR SIGHT) (FRONT SIGHT) (BARREL) (TRIGGER) (ADJUSTORS ON BARREL) 9-CU Follows FLOOR PLAN Demonstration 135 mm 8 in. 90 mm SHOTS 9-CS if ee e SHOTS 9-CU 18 SHOT NO. VIDEO AUDIO to keep focus while panning from one end of the gun to the other than it would be with an 8 in. lens (the other commonly used close- up lens). At the same time the camera (2) is in posi- tion to make changing to an 8 in. lens for tighter shots possible (as might be needed to show gun sights, etc.). 10. TAKE 1, BECOMES TWO-SHOT AS NARR: Guess that proves, NARR. MOVES BACK INTO FRAME (SAME AS SHOT 8 AFTER PAN) doesn’t it, that a marksman PAN PAN TO FOLLOW PERFORMERS AND works with a precision TRUCK LEFT TO ORIGINAL CAMERA POSITION rifle. Again continuity of space is Now, how about the kept by following the per- formers while they move. different firing positions. Thus their new position is knownto the viewer. (NARR. AND SARGE MOVE TO The truck left moves the FIRING LINE) camera out of the firing line for what follows. SARGE: There are four main positions-the prone, kneeling, sitting, and standing. Team.members waiting 10. 1' u FLOOR PLAN to be called in A 0 OO _. \ 0 O .- ’ ‘ \ I a— "\ ‘ Narr. N K PAN \ , Sarg \\\ : PAN fl I \ 90 mm \ \‘ SHOT 10 . ‘ \\“Truck l9 SHOT NO- 2.12%.? SLEEP. PAN PAN TO INCLUDE COSGROVE AS Cosgrove. Front and HE ENTERS AND FOLLOW HIM AS HE DEMONSTRATES POSITION center. SARGE: AD LIBS THROUGH POSITIONS PAN FOLLOW COSGROVE TO PRONE (PRONE) POSITION ll. TAKE 2, WIDE SHOT TOWARD (TARGET FOR RESULTS) TARGET, KEEP PART OF TEAM MEMBER IN SHOT This shot reorients the viewer to the target. The team.member in the shot forms a bridge between shots, making it clear where the target is in later shots which show only the target. PAN e FLOOR PLAN / O O O 455/0 0 PAN \ Q ' k \ \ 5:22 \ ~ e \I \ \ \ ____A- ‘§§. 11. E w See page 20 7 SHOT 11 20 OH Homm «H 90mm NH Homm EB ca .— “ini- .ouon aonm saga msauam on 0800 anon—E08 amen. AAA A 1" NH Homm nH 90mm .nw ON MA Homm .aw w .Anu HHEWOMM I. was 21 SHOT I O NO. VIDEO AUDIO 12. TAKE 1, COVER ACTION AS (KNEELING) SECOND TEAM MEMBER TAKES POSITION TO FIRE 13. TAKE 2, LOOSE SHOT OF TARGET (TARGET FOR RESULTS) 14. TAKE 1, COVER ACTION AS (SITTING) THIRD TEAM MEMBER PREPARES TO FIRE 15. TAKE 2, CLOSER SHOT OF (TARGET FOR RESULTS) TARGET LAN 12. G FLOOR P K See Facing Page 13. 14. c;____ / I ; 15. SHOT NO. 16. 17. 22 VIDEO TAKE 1, COVER ACTION AS FOURTH TEAM MEMBER PREPARES TO FIRE TAKE 2, CLOSER SHOT OF TARGET ‘ Camera 1 covers the action of the team members and lets the audience see the various firing positions clearly. It also keeps a long shot available in case of "goof ups" during this ad—lib section of the program. Camera 2 covers the results of the firing. In the shots with the 20 in. lens the audience can even see the lead hit the target. Such a long lens is needed to get a tight shot from a distance without being in the line of fire and without keystoning badly. The sequence of shots from 11 through 17 builds for excitement by becoming in- creasingly tight. Timing camera takes from the man getting ready to shoot to the target for his re- sult can add to the excite- ment. Ideally the take should fall at the moment M (STANDING) (TARGET FOR RESULTS) 16. 17. FLOOR PLAN See page 20 SHOT NO. VIDEO of firing-but this is near impossible because of the bullets' speed. The takes must be timed so that the audience sees the result every time, however, To give variety and build toward the final shots fired, it would be useful to begin the sequence by cutting to the target a few seconds before the shot is fired-and then decrease the time lapse for each subsequent shot. Thus the audience waits for results at first, and then sees the results at almost the perfect time (when fired). Cutting back and forth between the team.members and target more often than after each shot (and therefore more rapidly) would add to the excite— ment-—but would violate the basic structure of the pro- gram.since target firing is basically a matter of slow and steady actions rather than frantic move- ment. Thus the device of quietly waiting for each shot is appropriate, and at the same time achieves the effect of excitement. AUDIO 24 SHOT NO. VIDEO AUDIO 18. TAKE 1, COVER SHOT, INCLUDE NARR: Four different ways NARR. AS HE ENTERS AGAIN to fire at the target 50 yards away. 19. TAKE 2, CLOSE-UP OF TARGET and bull's-eyes most of (SAME AS SHOT 17) the time. That is quite a record. This close-up emphasizes once more the quality of shading done by this championship team. 18. FLOOR PLAN / fir Sarge ///> + Narr. 19‘. [7‘ \ 20 in. snor 19 90.. D SHOT 18 SHOT NO. 20. 25 VIDEO TAKE 1, COVER SHOT, WIDER THAN SHOT 18 The narr. is back in this shot, and is placed near the Sarge and team.members who are still in the firing area, thus maintaining the continuity of action within the program. From here the camera follows the narr.to another area of the set for the Hearst trophy award ceremony. 50 mm.lens makes it easy for the cameraman to keep focus as he follows the narr. and provides for whatever may happen during the awards. AUDIO 20. \‘550 \\\\«s 2N3 FLOOR PLAN CL___. \\x 50 mm SHOT 20 26 There was more to this program-namely an award ceremony in which the team and coach got a national trophy for marks- manship. But for purposes of this example of camera plotting we'll stop here to make some comments about the director's job in televising the event. The director tries: (l) to make the action of the pro- gram and the structure of marksmanship firing clear to the audience; and (2) to get the audience involved in the excite- ment of the event. To make clear where each thing happens the director starts with a wide (orientation) shot showing all the significant areas of the set and the relative positions of the performers. Each shot which follows explores a portion of this larger scene. To keep the physical relationships straight the director includes points of reference in each suceeding shot. (In shots 1 through 6the Sarge and the team members appear from different camera angles, but their relative positions are kept clear by showing all of them in shots 1, 3 and 6.) The orientation shot is repeated during the program to refresh the audience's memory about the total layout (shot 11, when the team begins to fire again). (A different sort of relationship is established by using a dissolve from.the fihm to shot 1. In this case it is the relationship between two closely associated elements (aerial gunnery and rifle marksmanship) which is being estab- lished. Spatial continuity is maintained also by using pan, trucks and dollies. When the narrator walks from his chair to the team 27 and then back to the Sarge the director has the camera follow, thus showing the entire scene in detail with its parts being related to each other. A.trucking movement is used to help effect the transition from.behind the Sarge to in front of him—- a mmve which reverses angles 180 degrees and could confuse the audience if it didn't see the turn as a single movement. Physical relationships must be maintained, but the director must also use close-ups. Television’s small screen and low definition cannot transmit enough detail to satisfy the viewer’s desire to see what's going on if only wide shots are used. But also, close-ups are used in sequence by the director to visually reinforce the pattern of the program. The routine of marksmanship firing is underlined by a series of shots showing one man fire, the scorer marking the score, the next man firing, etc. If this was an actual contest it would be more appropriate to hold on a close-up of the man firing to see his reaction when the score is announced. But in this program.it is more important to show how the routine Operates by isolating each step of the procedure in a separate shot. (If time allowed enough shots to be fired by one man from one position, then it would be possible to make both points by following the complete action a couple of times and then holding for the reaction shot on the next round.) Each cut from shot to shot is motivated by the structure of the program.(firing routine). Each new shot shows another step in the routine. 28 The excitement of the routine can be visually emphasized at the same time (by using the same techniques). The elements of the program whch are isolated in close-ups are given added force by this isolation-—the camera shot directs viewers'atten— tion to that element. Going to successively tighter close-ups, increasing the pace of cutting between cameras, and composing shots with strong diagonals are three techniques used in this example to increase the visual excitement of the event. The director must introduce visual excitement at the proper time-in this example when the team is firing. During the opening sequence and during the sequence alternating from marksman to target the pace of cutting is increased (increased from.the more leisurely coverage of the interviews and Sarge's explanation of the rifle). The faster pace is effective be- cause it contrasts with the panning and dollying sequences before and after. There is, however, a limit to how much the pace can be increased without violating the structure of the event. Rifle marksmanship is not a contestcf speed, but one of steady nerves and precise actions-—the climax coming when the bullet hits the target. Thus it becomes even more important to look at the pacing of the utal program when planning the sequences coming before and after the firing-that is, planning a slow-down at one time so that the naturally limited speed-up will contrast sufficiently to be effective. Instead of increasing pace during the firing sequences the shots are tightened increasingly. Each time another man fires the shot is tighter and each time we go back to the target 29 it has grown in size. Again there is a natural limit to what can be done. Extreme close-ups might be more dramatic than looser mediumpshots, but in order to show how the team functions the marksman and his gun must be shown working together. It is the relative increase in successive shots which gives the effect of mounting excitement. Two-dimensional composition within the shots making up a program also adds excitement. Generally lines at an angle to the horizontal or vertical create visual excitement. While the Sarge, behind a table, marks his team's scores and while the team fires them are strong angles in the shots (shots 2-6 and 11-20). Again contrast with what has come before adds to the force of the shots-—the firing sequences being contrasted with a head-on approach to Sarge's rifle demonstration and the intro- duction of team.members. (Practically speaking, the camera angle also makes it easy to keep the cameras off the rifle rangeJ Other practical considerations also enter into the director's camera plotting for this program. With amateur talent it is a good idea to keep movements simple-the fewer positions and movements a performer must remember, the more likely he is to be in the right place at the right time. In this example the team members have two basic positions: on the mat for firing; and just to one side of it for the introductions and while wait- ing to fire. The coach sitsbehind a table and stands by the mat. The narrator, with some television experience, moves throughout the set and helps tie the elements together as the camera follow him. 30 Camera movement is also simplified, thus relieving the crew and director from unnecessarily complicated maneuvers. Such simplification frees the director and crew to plan and carry out the refinements of shot composition, sequence, and pacing which make the program clear and exciting to the viewer. EXAMPLE II SWISS CHEESE This program from the "This Is Iowa State" series was telecast over WOI-TV, Ames, Iowa, on November 24, 1953. The author of this thesis directed the program as an undergraduate at Iowa State University. EXAMPLE II SWISS CHEESE This program originated with a man who knows cheeses. Coming to the United States from.Denmark at age 14, Dr. verner Nielsen is now head of the Dairy Industry Department at Iowa State University. Somewhere along the line he spent some time performing on the stage, and during the past few years he's ‘ been on television in several capacities-—ranging from.a teller of Danish folk stories to an expert on dairy products. This the director knew before reading the script-—a script written by Dr. Nielsen. A first reading of the script tells the director what elements he has to work with. There's the performer (Dr. Nielsen» a map used to place the origin of Swiss cheese, several small cheeses to be shown, and a demonstration of cheese-making to be done as a laboratory exercise. While noting these elements the director also determines what general points must be made by the program. The informa- tion in the program.includes background on Swiss cheese and what makes Iowa State Swiss a particular kind of cheese, a demonstra- tion of how it's made (on a small scale), and some quick hints on how to serve it. The character of the program is what the director must next find out. By studying the script, talking with the perform- er, and using previous knowledge of the performer several things 32 33 can be noted. The program is an informal, almost straight- forward, presentation about Swiss cheese. What the performer says, how he says it, and how he uses his props will make the program interesting and effective. The visual techniques the director will use must fit the performer's style and support his speech and actions-—right down to the jokelines in the script. At the same time the director is dealing with material put together for a television program (as opposed to the pre- structured event in AFROTC RIFLE TEAM)-—giving the director more freedom to arrange the visual elements of the program for effectively supporting all the humor and vitality of the performer and his subject. 34 P Patterned flats Plain flats Stand on nd of table Map I e Plain flats C Table ‘2' Shelves (for cheese display) BASIC FLOORPLAN "Swiss Cheese" SCALE: 1/8 in. 3 1 ft. SKETCH DRAWING OF SET SHOT N0. 1. DOLLY 35 VIDEO FADE IN 1, CU HALF OF SWISS CHEESE The shot catches interest by giving an unusually close look at Swiss cheese- coupled with Nielsen's question. SUPER SLIDES, TITLES The super allows almost un- interrupted continuity, thus helping to hold the atten- tion initially gained. Cutting to a completely different picture would in effect interrupt the idea planted in the quick open- ing s DOLLY BACK TO INCLUDE NIELSEN The dolly, rather than a cut to another camera maintains continuity-strongly associ- ating the cheese with the man who makes it. Furthermore, the slower device (dollying rather than cutting) fits the pace of the program—dwhich is relatively slow and easy. It is more like an old friend visiting and talking with the AUDIO NIELSEN: Did you ever wonder what made the holes in Swiss Cheese? THEME AND PROGRAM INTRO. THEME: UNDER AND OUT NIELSEN: Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is verner Nielsen again. A few weeks ago I had the privilege of tell- ing you about an interest- ing activity and product 1. DOLLY FLOOR PLAN ' a 90 mm ‘1’ 0 3’, SHOT l PM: SHOT NO. PAN 36 VIDEO audience than it is a "show"' or pitchqman presentation. PAN LEFT AS NIELSEN MOVES TO MAP The map and camera are placed so that a pan frames up on the map and Nielsen. The map must be specially drawn so sufficient detail shows with- out going closer. Precise details on the map will in- terest few viewers, so an outline is sufficient. AUDIO of Iowa State, namely the Iowa Blue Cheese. Tonight I am going to tell you about another combination of science with practice at Iowa State-and I shall attempt to solve what may be a mystery to many of you, namely how we make holes in Swiss Cheese. The prototype of Swiss Cheese was made in the valley of the River Emme, high in the Swiss Alps- hence, the name Emmenthaler Cheese. Here it is made in large, open copper kettles, each containing 1500-2000 PAN SHOT N0. PAN PAN 37 PAN WITH NIELSEN AS HE MOVES FORWARD AND TO CAMERA.LEFT This move marks-the transi- .tion from the map. It also, without dollying the camera, brings Nielsen into a closer shot for his joking line about size of cheeses—-thus underlining the fun he has delivering the line by showing his facial expression clearly. PAN TO FOLLOW AND CENTER ACTION AS NIELSEN PICKS UP CHEESE In the frame the performer is confonming to the needs of the visual presentation by holding his prop within an already established frame. Notice the shot variety up to this point. Nielsen has been steadily growing larger as the program progresses. This visual variet1,‘ghigh PAN PAN um U D L e, V“) ‘ FLOOR PLAN AUDIO pounds of milk. A single cheese weighing 150 to 200 pounds is made from all this milk, Now that is quite a hunk of cheese and somewhat cmmber- some to move about. Several modifications of Swiss cheese have been made in various parts of the world- And this is the version which was developed here at Iowa State. 'We call it Iowa Swiss Cheese. It is a small cheese and weighs about five pounds. From the stand- point of flavor, it is almost Cheese Case SHOT NO. PAN 38 VIDEO seems to occur naturally in the program, has been intro- duced by the director in order to help capture and hold attention. PAN RIGHT WITH NIELSEN AS HE MOVES TO THE TABLE, THEN DOLLY OUT FAR ENOUGH TO SHOW THE TABLE TOP. So far the action has been handled on one camera. The pattern of starting with a close-up within the set and moving around the set showing new parts of it as needed and finally ending on a long- er or cover shot is one way to stimulate audience atten— tion while making clear the physical relationships and actions of the program. Each AUDIO a type in itself. Would you care to see how we make it? Of course we really should go over to the Dairy Industry Building where we both make and sell it, and I suggest you do that some day anyhow. Tonight we will just go through the motions as best we can here in the studio. PAN ‘2’) FLOOR PLAN V DOLLY 90 mm.‘\ PAN ‘ L. \~ SHOT NO. 39 VIDEO new item shown renews atten— ‘ tion, by giving something new to look at and to understand. The loosening up in the final camera movement prepares the audience for a change, which comes in the next shot. It also shows the demonstration items on the table, making it clear where they are when a close-up is taken. ' 90 1:- lens not only allows for a fair amount of camera movement and panning without losing focus, but also is apprOpriate to this program as it is the "normal" TV lens. A wider lens (such as the 50) would distort perspective in the set, making it appear ‘much larger than it is and should be for this program. E U H O It all begins with some high-quality whole milk which we pasteurize: That is, 2. TAKE 2, CLOSE-UP, BEAKER_OF MILK ON TABLE we wamm it to 161 degrees F A.take at this point rein- for 15 seconds. We do that forces the fact that atten- tion has shifted from back- in order to destroy those ground material to the demonstration. The close-up bacteria in milk which might guides attention to the new subject forcefully by being interfere with those we the first abrupt visual change in the program. really want to grow. 2. W E9 Z... SHOT NO. 40 VIDEO NIELSEN ADDS BACTERIA MOVES IN BEAKER OF ALREADY CURDLED MILK, REPLACES FIRST BEAKER This device in effect cam- presses time. By moving one beaker out and the other in it is clear to the audience that there is only a matter of time between the two. A dissolve from one beaker to the other would indicate the same thing, but would not be in character with the straight-forward presentation of the program. The close-up camarawork is simplified by having the performer do all the moving of props. He can also control the timing of such changes-—his timing being excellent. TAKE 1, MEDIUM CLOSE-UP AS HE HOLDS CURD KNIFE UP This shot takes the audience back to the "personality" as he relaxes from.the tech- nology of his demonstration a bit and has some fun with the subject. ' .4292 Next we add to the milk a culture of acid-producing bacteria and a small amount of rennet which causes the milk to curdle. Now, up to this point we could make most any kind of cheese from this curdled milk, but here is where we take off toward our goal- a cheese with holes in it. Look at this string instru- ment. You can almost play a tune on it. It is actually called a cheese l \\ FLOOR PLAN 90 mm / SHOT 3 SHOT NO. DOLLY 41 VIDEO The shot must show facial expression to emphasize his delivery. The knife is held up, rather than shown in close-up, because it is not small or. complicated enough to warrant close-up inspection. It can be seen and comprehended in this wider shot. DOLLY BACK AND SHOW TABLE TOP It is necessary to see the demonstration as he returns to it. Showing it in long- shot sets the scene for the close-up to follow. TAKE 2, CLOSE-UP BEAKER AND ROD STIRRING This close-up underlines the humor of the lines. It is in sharp contrast to see the beaker and rod while hearing about 5 or 10 thousand AUDIO harp, but is better known as a curd knife, because with it we cut the coagulated milk into small particles. This is necessary in order to separate the whey from the cheese. The small curd particles are then agitated vigorously for an hour or so, and at the same time the combined mass of cheese and whey is heated to 106 degrees F. That takes a lot of stirring if you are working with five or ten thousand pounds of milk, but in the factory we DOLLY 4. 6)’ A/ < FLOOR PLAN 90 am: if}: ‘\ ‘~ ._~. ‘\ snow: 4 \ SHOT NO. PAN PAN 42 VIDEO pounds of cheese and whey. It should be good for a chuckle. This contrast is visually emphasized by taking to a shot showing the beaker in greatly differing scale (from the preceeding shot)., variety in the program is introduced, also, by using a different technique on the joke line (ie. instead of seeing Nielsen, seeing the demonstration in close-up). CENTER UP ON NIELSEN'S HAND AS HE PRESSES CURD PAN TO CU BEAKER WHERE CHEESE IS SETTLING Panning at this point adds to the viewer's expectation of finding out what is important. The transition to the explanation is slower than it would be in a take, thus helpigg_to build AUDIO use mechanical devices. As the stirring goes on the curd particles become firmer and finally the cheese- maker decides by pressing a' small amount of curd in his hand that they have had enough and he stops the agi- tation. Now comes a very important part of the process. The cheese is allowed to sink to the bottom of the vat and is gathered here PAN PAN FLOOR PLAN SHOT 4 Continues 43 SHOT N0. VIDEO AUDIO importance in the answer when into one big rectangular we get there. block. It is extremely imp portant that this operation be performed while the cheese is still submerged in the whey. Why?, you will ask. 5. TAKE 1, MCU NIELSEN AND HAT Recognize this? This is a The relatively large prop Panama hat. They tell me gives the director another chance to return to the that down in Ecuador where performer...especially for his joke about genuine the genuine Panama hats Panama hats. come from.they weave them DOLLY DOLLY TO CU PANAMA HAT under water while the fiber Moving to a tight shot of the hat sets up the next shot is still wet and pliable. by focusing attention on the hat rather than on the per- That is the reason for their former and the hat. quality and ruggedness. 5. FLOOR PLAN DOLLY 90 mm " saw 5 i\‘0 DOLLY N. SHOT 6. VIDEO DISSOLVE 2, CU BEAKER Dissolving from the hat to the beaker of cheese relates the two items visually as Nielsen is pointing out the. relationship aurally-thus the director is emphasizing the point of the prop. TAKE 1, LS NIELSEN AND DEMO TABLE TOP The demonstration is moving on to another point, and the director underlines it with a camera change. Further, the shot introduces variety following the relatively static beaker shot. AUDIO Well, by the same token it is necessary that the whole operation of gathering and pressing the curd for Swiss cheese be done while it is still submerged in the whey. If any of the cheese was exposed to air before hand it would not fuse together properly and we would not obtain the typical Swiss cheese holes. However, once thecurd block has been formed we can remove the whey. Here is a block of freshly made curd as it might appear in the end of a cheese vat. 6. 7. SHOT NO. 8. 9. 45 VIDEO TAKE 2, CU'S ON CUTTING CHEESE AND PUTTING IN HOOPS PANNING TO KEEP UP WITH THE ACTION. This is a continuous process, done at one tbme, so it is covered that way. This helps to set off the sequence of shots which follows and indicates lapsed time. DISSOLVE 1, CU ON CHEESE BEING TRIMMED The dissolve is used here as a standard device for indicat- ing a lapse of time. AUDIO We cut this block in as many sections as we want to make cheeses and place each of them in a cheese hoop. This is like fitting a square peg in a round hole, but the cheese is soft and in a short time it will assume the shape of the hoop. We then put a cloth around it and stack the hoops in a cheese press. The cloth around it acts as blotting paper and helps to draw whey out of the cheese. After four hours the cheese is removed from.the press, the edges are trimmed off, 9. FLOOR PLAN I (s 8 in. SHOT 9 SHOT NO. 10. 46 21.11122. AU.D.I_9. the cheese returned to the hoop without pressure and placed in a cold room.over- night. DISSOLVE 2, CU CHEESE The next day the cheeses FLOATING IN BRINE are placed in a tank of Again the time passage is emphasized. salt brine, and they are A 135 mm lens is used so the camera will be in close allowed to float in this and looking down into the brine dish-dwhich is not brine for two days. During glass. this time the cheese takes up the necessary amount of salt. Salting is important for several reasons and one of them is that it helps to make the cheese mass elastic so that the eye formation will proceed more easily later on. 10. / FLOOR PLAN ' ‘6 Q: 135 mm SHOT 10 SHOT NO. 11. DOLLY 47 VIDEO TAKE 1, MEDIUM LS This take marks another progression in the demonstra- tion-—not, however, one labeled as to time such as , the two previous steps were (hence a take instead of dissolve). DOLLY IN SLOWLY ON NIELSEN AS HE TALKS This is a relatively long sequence with no props to break it up-slowly moving in on the performer gives a feeling of something happening without being so noticeable as to detract from.what is being said. By the time he names "propionic acid bacteria" we should be close enough to give the viewer a chance to read his lips and perhaps catch the word. AUDIO Next comes the curing, and like in all other cheese it consists of the break-down of the milk proteins into simpler substances which are palatable and easy to digest. But in Swiss cheese something else takes place. Nest of you are familiar with breadmaking. You prepare a dough, add yeast or baking powder and set the dough in a warm place. The dough swells and when you bake the bread it is full of holes. It has an open texture. Almost the same thing takes place 11. DOLLY “!5” FLOOR PLAN “" 90 mm SHOT 11 SHOT NO. 12. 48 TAKE 2, ECU CULTURE IN TUBE Assuming the viewer stands a good chance of seeing what he's talking about the director is doing all right- if there's little chance, the comments by Nielsen should be changed to cover it._ No sense talking as if people can see something when you know they can't-it only makes them unhappy. AUDIO in Swiss cheese except that we use neither yeast nor baking powder. Instead we use some selected bacteria which we call propionic acid bacteria. Here is a culture of these organisms... you may be able to see the colonies grow in a long streak down through the medium. Notice they do not grow on top but submerged in the tube. They grow in the absence of air. Each time we make a batch of Swiss cheese we add a few hundred cc's of a culture of 12. FLOOR PLAN 8 in. SHOT 12 E V% 49 SHOT NO. VIDEO AUDIO these organisms to the milk. During the making process they are trapped in the cheese where air cannot get 13. TAKE 1, MCU NIELSEN to them and just as soon The transition here is from as we put the cheese in a the bacteria themselves to what they do in cheese to warm curing room they begin the next step in the cheese- making process-curing. A to work. different shot at this point indicates that we're going to see what they do. l4.A NIELSEN HOLDS UP CHART Here is what they do. l4.E TAKE 2, CU CHART Out of the milk sugar and Nielsen holds up the chart, milk salts they make pro- thus keeping the performer associated with everything pionic acid and calcium which happens on the program. The close-up is held long propionate. Very small enough for the viewer to 13. FLOOR PLAN 90 mm SHOT 13 and l4.A 8 in. ‘C%;’ 14.1! 9 SHOT 14. v l>:\/ . 14s I i...— 2.... Jr 1" v 3‘“ SHOT N0. 15. 50 VIDEO understand its unfamiliar temms and action. TAKE 1, MS NIELSEN Nielsen is not only through with the chart but is ready to move to more items to demonstrate the point. AUDIO amounts of this substance are responsible for the sweet flavor which is so characteristic of Swiss cheese. The by-product of this reaction is carbon dioxide which, of course, is a gas. It wants to escape, but it can't get away. It is trapped inside the cheese. Instead it gathers in small bubbles here and there in the cheese, and as more gas is formed the bubbles grow larger and larger. And that is the beginning of the holes. 15. Same as 13 FLOOR PLAN 51 SHOT NO. VIDEO AUDIO PAN PAN AND TRUCK LEFT WITH Let's see what happens to NIELSEN AS HE MOVES TO THE "CURING ROOM" AREA the inside of the cheese as it sits in the curing room. 16. TAKE 2, CU CHEESE Here is a cheese just a week old. Notice it has a completely closed texture. PAN TO NEXT CHEESE Here is another cheese about a month old and here you will notice how the holes, or eyes, are beginning to appear. PAN W 16. 52 SHOT NO. VIDEO AUDIO l7. TAKE 1, MCU NIELSEN These first weeks of This shot completes a curing are an important return to the personalized one-camera technique used period in the life of a at the beginning of the program. Nielsen's movement Swiss cheese. In a.manner to another part of the set started the return, and of speaking they are the following the close-up necessary to show detail in formative years, and just the cheeses (shot 16) this shot does the rest of the like parents watch their job. Again, as in the open— ing sequence, Nielsen makes children grow, so does the his own close-ups by holding items up near his face. cheesemaker follow the development of his product in the curing room. Do you know how he does that? HOLD HOLDS CHEESE UP Well, first of all he can observe by the swelling if any holes have formed. And, believe it or not, he may also be able to hear by the 17 . t 9 FLOOR PLAN v 90 m SHOT 17 l \ g HOLD SHOT NO. HOLD TILT 53 HOLDS UP SUCCESSION OF 3 CHEESES In addition to bringing the cheeses into the shot, it gets them nearer the micro- phone so the audience can hear too. TILT T0 TABLE TOP AS HE CUTS It is possible to maintain the one camera technique and still watch every step of the performer’s action by following the cheese as he puts it down to cut, and back up for his comments. AUDIO sound of the cheese when he taps it whether it is open or closed. Just like a woodpecker sounds out his tree. Listen, how flat this sounds. This is somewhat better. This one sounds quite hollow. I wonder what it is like inside? Let's cut it: what do you say? here it is. Nice, Yes sir: round, smooth eyes and... HOLD TILT & FLOOR PLAN SHOT N0. TILT TILT 54 VIDEO TILT UP AS NIELSEN LIFTS CHEESE This tilt back is a natural movement because Nielsen lifts the cheese to smell it. The viewer gets to see this cheese-lover as he mmkes his final touching case for Swiss cheese. TILT DOWN TO THE TABLE AS NIELSEN PUTS THE CHEESE DOWN AND SLICES SOME TO GO WITH CRACKERS, ETC. AUDIO a wonderful aroma. You know, in real fine, well-cured Swiss cheese we sometimes find a little drop of moisture in some of the eyes. Very ap- propriately we call them tears...but they should be tears of joy, for such a weeping Swiss cheese is a great delicacy...no matter how you choose to eat it. Serve it on crackers. Put it on a piece of pie. Or make it Swiss on rye. TILT TILT FLOOR PLAN 55 SHOT NO. VIDEO AUDIO TILT TILT BACK UP AS NEILSEN You can be sure of one of TAKES SOME SWISS AND RYE the most exciting epicurean treats. DOLLY SLOW DOLLY TO WIDE SHOT AS THEME AND ANNCR.CLOSE SUPER SLIDES, TITLES, ETC. FADE T0 BLACK THEME OUT TILT x FLOOR PLAN Gt) ‘\ -— - ) DOLL?K l _ \. DOLLY \ [ ‘\ 56 This presentation was designed as a television program, giving the director freedom to arrange the set and to plot per- former movement to fit the visual design he had determined would give logical progression to the material and emphasize the character of the program. In this way it immediately contrasts with the AFROTC program for which the arrangement had to simu- late a regulation firing range and the cameras cover an es- tablished firing procedure. Camera and performer movement in the opening sequence attracts the viewer's attention to the screen and the attention is refreshed by introducing something new to see and comprehend every few seconds. Each point the performer makes is emphasized by visually isolating the prop connected with it. The shots focus attention on the cut cheese, then the performer, the per- former and the map, the performer and the whole cheese, and then the performer and his demonstration table. As each prop is used it leaves the scene and a new one takes its place. The viewer is oriented to the set by seeing each section of it during one continuous movement-ending on a wide shot. This is a standard alternative to the pattern used in AFROTC where it starts with a long shot and moves to a series of close-ups. "Me and the camera and the folks..." says Jimmie Durante. "Swiss Cheese" is also a onedman show. The director planned to build a one-to-one relationship between the performer and the audi- ence (the camera) by doing the opening sequence on one camera. The performer is the center of the program, with his props coming _ __J 57 into the picture in close association with him. Nielsen and the map make a two-shot, and he holds up the cheese as if it were a second head. The sequence emphasizes the personal essay char- acteristics of the performer's script and delivery by creating a smooth, easy-going pace. It is difficult to keep this relationship going during the demonstration because a number of close-ups are needed to make the demonstration clear. The director does his best by keeping the performer from behind the demonstration table. By shooting all wide shots from the end of the table the performer is always "open" and without the table barrier between him and the audience. The entire program could have been done with the performer seated behind the table, bringing in the props and visuals as they were needed. But it would make the program unnecessarily dull. The broad physical movement around the set, the elimination of a table barrier, and the variety of panning and cutting techniques used give the program a visual vitality which is needed to match the performer's verbal vitality. Cut to a close-up of the beaker-—and the programfls emphasis has shifted from background information to a demonstration. The director times the cut to forcefully switch the viewer's atten- tion at the proper moment. The force of the cut is increased by the drastic change in scale-from a wide shot to a tight close-up. Close-ups are necessary to show the audience what is happening during the demonstration, but the director also continues to emp phasize the performer by using wider shots when possible. A 58 wide shot is used when he holds up the curd knife and when the performer logically centers the verbal conversation on himself by noting that genuine Panama hats come from Ecuador. Physical movement during the demonstration is on a small scale. The curds form.and are stirred, the performer demon- strates points with a Panama hat, and the camera shots change as they cover the action-—but the performer stays in one part of the set. It is logical to carry out the demonstration in one place as it is necessary to maintain visual connection between the various ingredients of Swiss cheese. The curing room is a different place, a different concept. At this point it is logical to move to another part of the set. And it is possible to return to the personalized one-camera technique because the rest of the props are big enough to be seen in a two-shot. This return to the original technique completes a pattern for the total programP-from.strong emphasis on the performer to increased emphasis on what he is showing to a strong emphasis on the performer. This pattern places the demonstration, which actually has no practical application for the viewer, in perspective...the perspective of history-and the prospective good eating as the performer applies cheese to crackers, pie, and rye. EXAMPLE III SALESMANSHIP The program from which this example is taken was broadcast over WOI-TV, Ames, Iowa, on October 10, 1957, as part of the "This Is Iowa State" series. The author of this thesis was not at Iowa State University at that time, so is familiar only with the script for the program. EXAMPLE III SALESMANSHIP How to be a good salesman, and how to avoid being a bad one, is the theme which the script writer worked with for this program. He presented the director with a program using drama- tized illustrations and interviews with a salesmanship expert. The section presented here is one of the dramatized illustrations, used primarily to introduce some of the tech- niques used in dramatic productions. This problem begins, as it often does for the director, with the script as he received it from.the writer. 6O SHOT NO. 61 VIDEO FADE UP ON DOORWAY, SALESMAN WALKS UP, KNOCKS. AFTER A SHORT PAUSE THE DOOR_OPENS. AEELE MUSIC: BRIEFLY MUSIC OUT WIFE: Yes, can I help you? SALESMAN: Hello honey. No you can't. I'm here to help you, to help you save one hundred dollars. WIFE: How can I do that? SALESMAN: Ah, that's my secret for the moment. Let me say, though, that if you can spare me a minute of your time, I will show you the most stupendous, the most colossal, the most... well, words can't describe what I have here to show you. Now, if you will just let me step into your living room, I'll let you in on my big secret. STARTS THROUGH THE DOOR. WIFE BLOCKS HIM...SHE TRIES TO SHUT THE DOOR. WIFE: Well, I'm not sure SHOT NO. VIDEO 62 A2222 I'd be interested. Thank you anyway. SALESMAN: (WITH FOOT IN DOOR) Just a minute there, honey. Aren't you inter- ested in saving one hundred dollars? Or maybe even two hundred? I have a special introductory offer for my product that will practically force me to give it away. WIFE; (TRYING TO SHUT DOOR AGAIN) No thank you, I said. SALESMAN: (HOLDING DOOR OPEN) Cutie, you're missing the chance of a lifetime, I'm telling you. WIFE; (CALLING OVER HER SHOULDER) Harold, would you come here and get rid of this man? SALESMAN: This is the last chance, absolutely the last J. .1 l- .‘Ill.'fllilu"z.i. NE at 5 SHOT NO. 63 Elam chance I can offer you this tremendous value before I have to give it to your neighbor. Think of it, a saving of over four hundred dollars. HAROLD: What is it you wanted, dear? WIFE POINTS AT SALESMAN AND STARTS TO SPEAK. SALESMAN: (BACKING AWAY FROM DOOR) Oh, how do you do, sir? Well...thanks for your time, Ma'm. I'll be going now. Good bye. SALESMAN CLOSES DOOR, WIPES BROW 64 Disregarding, if he can, the quality of this drama the director must, as always, work to make the incident clear and at the same time convey its mood. Drama, generally, depends more heavily upon the mood or character of the event than it does on the detail of what happens- in contrast to most informational programs which basically de- pend upon putting across some body of fact. Thus the director may well begin by determining the character of the program at each point in its development and then see that the actions fit it and are clear. In this "Salesmanship" script two questions about the character of the event and how actions fit or don't fit are raised. First, do the tactics used by the salesman suggest that he might be trying to force entry and attack the wife? Secondly, would this aggressive and insensitive salesman "wipe his brow and sit on the steps" after being chased out of the doorway? When questionable points such as this arise the director discusses them with the writer and producer and if necessary makes changes to clarify the action. (In this case changes were made at both points in order to minimize the possibility of misinter— pretation by the viewer.) The rest of the director's analysis of this script will be evident from the notes accompaning each shot. 65 Window with drapes Neutral cyc “as-I BUShG EasyxogT ble and lamp Chai Door #% Exterior Interior wall flats wall flats BASIC FLOOR PLAN "Salesmanship" SCALE: 1/8 in. = 1 ft. SHOT NO. PAN 66 VIDEO FADE IN 2, INDOOR SCENE, HAROLD IN CHAIR READING, WIFE CLEANING FLOOR PAN WITH.WIFE AS SHE MOVES TO CAMERA.LEFT. FOLLOW UNTIL FRAMED ON DOOR, THEN HOLD AS WIFE MOVES OFF TO CAMERA RIGHT This scene establishes the "home" atmosphere and "busy housewife" idea. It is important to introduce Harold at this point because the dialogue that follows could be interpreted as a salemman attempting to force entry and attack the housewifeJ With her safety established by the presence of Harold, the audience is free to concen- trate on the message of sales- manship as is intended in the script. 50 mm lens has sufficient depth of field to show all significant details in the set. Its perspective charact- eristics also make the room appear larger (and therefore more real) than it really is. The 50 mm lens also allows the camera to be close to the scene, making it a shorter dis- tance for the wife to walk in AUDIO UP FULL MUSIC: p order to leave the frame. 1. PAN FLOOR PLAN SHOT NO. 2. DOLLY 67 VIDEO DISSOLVE 1, OUTSIDE OF DOOR AND ENOUGH WALL AROUND IT TO HELP IDENTIFY IT AS OUT DOORS This establishes the scene from outside. . The dissolve indicates that there has been a change in space-—in this instance from inside to outside the house. SALESMAN WALKS INTO FRAME AND KNOCKS ON DOOR DOLLY IN TO WIDTH OF DOOR AS SALESMAN KNOCKS This dolly in is a tightening of the situation. The audi- ence is expecting something to happen, and this is a visual clue that it is about to begin. 50 mm lens is used to allow a rapid movement in at this point. So far not much has happened in this program, the pace quickens now and a hint is given as to the operating speed of the salesman. E U H O CROSS FADE FROM MUSIC TO SOUND IN STUDIO-—KNOCKING FLOOR PLAN 68 SHOT NO. VIDEO AUDIO DOOR OPENS WIFE OPENS DOOR WIFE: Yes, can I help you? This action makes it a two SALESMAN: Hello Honey. No shot, showing the wife's reaction to the salesman’s you can't. I'm here to opening gambit. As yet she should still be courteous and help you. To help you save listen to hLm. one hundred dollars. WIFE: How can I do that? 3. TAKE 2, TWO SHOT FROM INSIDE SALESMAN: Ah, that's my The viewer gets a firSt good secret for the moment. Let look at the saleaman's face. The shot is still fairly no say, though, that if you loose to allow for a build up to tighter shots as the can spare me a.minute of pressure builds. - your time-just one small minute-—I will show you the most stupendous, the most colossal, the most...well, words can't describe what I have to show you. DOOR f FLOOR PLAN OPENS . SHOT 2 3. Continued SHOT NO. 4. 5. 69 VIDEO TAKE 1, TIGHT TWO SHOT DOLLY IN TO MAKE IT TIGHTER The wife is seen as she begins to react to the salesman. The tight shot heightens the crowding feeling expressed by the salesman. By dollying in even tighter-—to where the salesman begins to be cropped—q the feeling can be pushed even further. TAKE 2, TIGHT ON SALESMAN FROM BELOW EYE-LEVEL The sudden take to a tight one shot of the salesman empha- sizes the fact that he is applying the pressure now. A below-eye-level view of him helps make the point that he is a domineering sort of per- son. 7 90 mm lens allows the camera to be in close enough to effect the low-angle shot. (The vertical angle possible depends upon how close to the subject the camera can be.) SALESMAN: Elsie. Now, if you’ll just let me step into your living room I'll let you in on my big secret. WIFE: Well, I'm not sure I'd be interested. Thank you anyway. Just a minute' there, honey. Aren't you interested in saving one hundred dollars? Or maybe even two hundred? I have a special introductory offer for my product that forces me to practically give it away. 4. 5. FLOOR PLAN /// 50 mm SHOT 4 DOLL 90 mm SHOT 5 SHOT NO. 6. FRAME 70 VIDEO AUDIO TAKE 1, MEDIUM TWO SHOT WIFE: No thank you, I said. This looser shot contrasts the SALESMAN: Cutie, you're wife-who is dominant because she is facing the camera-— missing the chance of a with the salesman as seen in the previous shot. She is lifetime, I'm telling you. still able to say "thank you" to this guy-—being a level- headed and reasonable person even though at the breaking point. ' FRAME TO SHOW HAROLD (FOCUS ON HIM) STILL SITTING, AS WIFE PUSHES DOOR WIDE OPEN WIFE: Harold. . . would you This door business is a way come here and get rid of of solving the two-camera limitation. With a third this man? camera there would be a shot of Harold in the chair. The wife, by calling his name, has given direct motivation for such a cut. This substitute is a little less emphatic, but gets the idea across. 90 mm lens requires a little focus adjusting to show Harold clearly-thus putting the foreground a little out of focus and emphasizing him!- A wider (50 mm) lens would distort perspective in such a way as to make it appear FRAME FLOOR PLAN SHOT NO. 7. 71 VIDEO that Harold is too far from the door to logically hear and respond to the call. TAKE 2, TIGHT ON SALESMAN (AS IN SHOT 5) The audience is returned for the desperation pitch-again the tight close-up makes the audience feel uncomfortable about the guy. This shot also makes the audience wait to see what Harold is going to do. The audience is made to wait for a few moments while the salesman runs on. Suspense is built toward what could be called the climax of this sequence. The resolution of this conflict could be held back longer by picking Harold up rising from the chair after this shot and carrying him in silence to the door-thus not following what seems logical, that he gets up while the salesman is making his pitch. This is not done here because the conflict is really not important enough to warrant such treatment. Gaming rid of a salesman is not a serious enough matter to carry the technique without it be- coming obvious. AUDIO SALESMAN: This is the last chance-—absolutely the last chance I can offer you this tremendous value before I have to give it to your neighbor. Think of it! A savings of over four hundred dollars! 7. FLOOR PLAN 90 mm SHOT 7 SHOT NO. 8. 9. 72 11% A1132 TAKE 1, MEDIUM SHOT, WIFE AND HAROLD: What is it, dear? HAROLD WIFE: (POINTS AT SALESMAN Harold is in position for AND STARTS TO SAY SOMETHING) action now-—the audience gets to see what he will do. . SALESMAN: Oh, how do you do The shot indicates that it is now the wife and Harold against sir. the salesman as the-two are shown facing him. 90 mm lens is used to get the right framing from a position which will allow a quick chang for the next shot on camera l-u» a change requiring only lens rack and not camera repositionA ing. TAKE 2, THREE SHOT "£11. o .811. e ewello e o The longer shot relaxes things thanks for your time, M'am. as the salesman is persuaded to go without any specific l I'll be going now. Good action by Harold. The pressur is off, and the loose shot bye. indicates it. The audience gets its last look at the salesman‘s face- this time in "defeat." 8. 9. FLOOR PLAN 30-2 SHOT NO. 10. 73 VIDEO TAKE 1, WIDE SHOT ON OUTSIDE OF DOOR AS SALESMAN TURNS AND LEAVES The take is motivated by the salesman's turn.~ The audience sees the wife and Harold shrug or something and then close the door-ending the sequence as it started on the closed door. ' FADE TO BLACK AS DOOR CLOSES AUDIO MUSIC: UP BRIEFLY AND OUT ON FADE TO BLACK lO. FLOOR PLAN I ungn Salesman Door closes leaves /' / <:J750 mm SHOT 10 74 Drama is not an easy thing for amateurs to make convincing, “as is evident from.this example. But the director dealing with dramatic material proceeds in much the same way regardless of the script's quality. The treatment of this example does not pretend to catalog all of the visual techniques used in drama, although many of the techniques are used primarily in presenting dramatic productions. For example, the tight, low-angle shot of the salesman adds to the viewer's comprehension of this domineering and aggressive salesman (shot Q, and would not likely be used in the "Swiss Cheese" program. The salesman's intentions (as presented in the original script) were clarified by adding some visual business. The director points out what is 22£_happening, thus leading the viewer's attention to what is happening (poor salesmanship techniques). The added business has to fit logically into the program.and must also attract and hold the viewer’s attention. Movement attracts attention, so the director has the wife move around the room, sweeping the floor. By covering this move- ment in a medium shot the director: (1) builds and refreshes the viewer's attention and interest by panning to show new parts of the room in sequence; (2) firmly fixes Harold's position in the minds of the viewers; and (3) ends the sequence by concen- trating viewer attention on the door to motivate the next shot from outside. None of thses things could be accomplished as well by covering the action in a angle, static long-shot-—or for that matter in a sequence of closer shots using two cameras. 75 Another example of action planned for clarity appears when the wife walks out of the opening shot to camera right. An exit to camera right implies to the viewer that the wife is still in the room and therefore is the logical one to answer the door. If she had moved out camera left it would have implied that she had gone from the room making it more logical for Harold to answer the door. The director may use probable viewer reaction to the program as motivation for visual change, or he may use visual change to lead the viewer toward some specified reaction. To illustrate the first instance: when the wife turns and calls to Harold there is direct motivation for the director to change his shot-to show the viewer how Harold will react. Usually this sort of motivation requires the director to respond and satisfy the viewer’s expectation. The second case-—leading the viewer to react to the ma- terial in some given way-is more complex. Knowing in what direction the program is going the director selects visual tech- niques which will lead the viewer in that direction. In fact, without this guidance the viewer might go in some other direction, or at least might not be taken there as forcefully. Thus as the salesman increases the pressure of his sales pitch and becomes more domineering, the director leads the viewer toward a stronger reaction by cutting to low-angle and extremely close shots. The viewer accepts such shots easily because they fit the program’s development, but at the same time the viewer tends to react more strongly because of the shots used. Timing is especially 76 important here, and the director must pick the proper moment for cutting to new shots by following the "emotional" develop- ment of the program as well as the content of the lines being spoken. The viewer can be led, but only when he is ready for it within the total development of the scene. That every visual change must be motivated by something which happens within the program is a basic television produc- tion rule. The motivation may be aural comment, physical movement, or in some cases predictable mental reaction of the viewers to what is happening. The general rules of presenting drama on television are many and well worth extended study by the student who wishes to increase his ability to direct programs of all types. For, when properly done, all television programs have their moments of drama, their peaks of excitement, and a clbmax of some sort. CONCLUSION CONCLUSION The television director has two basic objectives. He must make the content and action of the program clear to the viewer, and he must involve the viewer in some sort of intellectual and/or emotional reaction to that content and action. All communication must be clear, but since television is fleeting in time it is all the more important that programs be easy to understand. The television viewer cannot go back and read over what he missed, it must be clear to him the first time. If the viewer understands the program, he will be involved to some extent. It is the director’s job to increase this in- volvement through the programis visual images-to lead the viewer to some intellectual or emotional reaction to the program, Clarity and involvement are the objectives. The processes by which the director achieves these objectives is the subject of this thesis. A first process is that of analysis-—ana1ysis of the script, the performer(s), the objective or objectives of the program, the mood or character of the program, and the structure of the program. The director must know what is important in each part of the program, and he must see how these parts relate to make a meaningful whole. 78 79 Based on his analysis of the program, the director next calls upon his knowledge of television's visual communication techniques to plan the production. It is during this process that the director decides how to make the program clear and how to involve the audience in some reaction to it. He plans the settings, lighting, cOstumes, visuals to be used, and of prime importance, how he will use his cameras. He plans what will be seen in each shot and how the shots will be joined to— gether to achieve the program’s purpose. There are many production techniques available to the director-dmany camera techniques he can use. Not all of them are mentioned in this thesis, but enough are used to make the following summary serve as an indication of the kinds of pur- poses with which the director is concerned. Making the Program Clear The principle for making the meaning of a television program clear applies to all forms of communication. The whole must be broken into a series of separate statements, and then the proper relationships established between these statements. One can communicate only by conveying one idea or making one impression at a time, but then one must put these impressions together-—add them up into larger units of meaning. In writing one breaks the material down into phrases, clauses, and senten- ces, then relates them to each other with prepositions and con- junctions, and then groups these larger parts into paragraphs 80 and chapters. This cutting apart and tying together runs throughout the whole process, even with the larger units one must mark the boundaries between them and yet show how they fit together. In television the smallest unit statement is what is seen in a given frame at a given moment. Here the director's decision is: what visible element or elements convey the meaning at this moment? For instance, early in the "AFROTC 'Rifle Team" program the point can best be made with wide shots to establish the event-1ater in the program.close-ups of the marksmen and the target make the points more effectively. Even within a single frame the director must make judg- ments about the relationships between the elements included in the shot. He must know if the elements are opposed or allied, as when the salesman and the housewife stand opposed in Example III. In this case the shots are set up to emphasize Opposition by cross-shooting from behind one per- former into the face of the other. The director must also decide about the relative importance of elements included in a single shot-he must know which element to emphasize and how to do it. A long lens is used for close-ups during the cheese- making segment of "Swiss Cheese" to throw background elements out of focus (due to the short depth of field of such lenses) and keep the important element in sharp focus, thus emphasiz- ing its importance. The target is de-emphasized and the marks- men emphasized in the opening long shots of the marksmanship 81 example by keeping the target relatively small within the over- the-shoulder shots. Similar emphasis on the important element can also be achieved by facing the principal element more directly into the camera than the subordinate elements. Individual shots within a television program are related in a time sequence, making it necessary for the director to relate each shot in understandable terms with the one which precedes and follows. At its simplest level this means that the audience must be "geographically" oriented so it won't be puzzled by the entry of some element that it didn't know was involved in the action. Hence the director often starts with a wide, orientation, shot and then proceeds to a series of close-ups within this larger scene. The audience knows where things are and is not puzzled by what the close-ups reveal. Often, re-orientation shots are re- quired during the program to introduce new elements into the total scene or just to refresh the viewer's memory about the scene. A variation on the wide-shot to close-up pattern can be called the orientation pan, where the camera pans across the scene, showing the relationship of elements within the total scene as it pans (as in the "Swiss Cheese" example). Another kind of relationship with which the director is con- cerned is that of relating the elements in successive shots. This may be a matter of contrasting one element with another, as the extreme close-up of the salesman contrasts with a looser shot of the housewife, or it may be a matter of associating the elements, as when going from a Panama hat to Swiss cheese curd. There is 82 considerable variety in transition techniques, the quickest being a take from one camera to another. This immediate transition depends prtmarily upon the content of the related shots. Other transitional techniques tend to relate shots by the device used as well as by content; thus, a dissolve from one shot to another associates the two shots by having both on the screen simultane- ously for a brief period of time. There is also the technique of staying on a single camera and letting the performer move (as Dr. Nielsen does in "Swiss Cheese"), thus maintaining physical and ideological continuity and allowing for gradual transitions between areas of the set and topics being covered. The director also works to relate shots by maintaining con- sistent treatment within an episode. Several more or less con- sistent shots are interwoven in some kind of rhythm.to let the viewer know he is witnessing a unified scene or episode. To do this, the succeeding shots of a subject are from a consistent direction, as in the cheese-making demonstration, where both camp eras are relatively close together, making long shots and close- ups come from the same direction. Subjects are also related by size-dwith equally valued subjects being shown in consistent sizes, such as the shots of the marksmen in "AFROTC Rifle Team," which maintain relative sizes of these individuals and thus the emphasis on each individual. Change in angle or size is usually accomplished by progressive steps, from long shot to medium shot to close up, or by panning, dollying, or trucking to effect the change. The "AFROTC Rifle Team" example progresses from long shot 83 to close up, while the truck and pan are used in "Swiss Cheese." The unity of scene achieved by consistent treatment is usually within an episode of the program, although it may follow through the entire program. In most cases the program is broken into episodes or scenes, with each maintaining some sort of unity and becoming joined to another episode or scene. Each episode is marked off and the viewer is let know that another is starting. To this end Dr. Nielsen moves from a dis- play area to a separate demonstration table, and back to another display area-—thus putting into episodes the various related but separate portions of the program. Visually it is the physi- cal movement of the performer and the changing setting that marks off these episodes. The more sharply drawn the program content transition is, the stronger the visual transition must be. Following the salesmanship drama, the director fades to black and then back up on a discussion set for what will follow, thus making a very strong visual transition from.one scene to another. 84. Involving the Audience in an Intellectual ‘ or Emotional Reaction The director's devices for leading the viewer to involvment in the program are also numerous. At the most elementary level the director uses techniques which will attract and hold the audience's interest and attention. A changing visual image captures and holds viewer attention. Things happen on the screen when the housewife moves about the room cleaning in "Salesmanship." And sometimes things are planned to ensure against periods when things don't happen, as when the director places the rifle team members close enough together that a pan from one to another will not cross over "dead" spots. The‘ director holds back some things within the set, not showing everything at once, so there will be new things to show later. At times the director builds anticipation by using separate shots for action and reaction, for action and consequence. The marksman fires his shot, the director delays taking to a close-up of the target to make the viewer wait a moment before he sees the result of the shot. One shot shows the action, the other the consequence. A panning shot, as in "Swiss Cheese," leads the viewer to anticipate the new elements which will be introduced into the shot. And another technique calls for showing an object from a distance before showing it from up close, thus making the audience guess what it is for a few moments. The impact of action can be emphasized by making that action grow or deveIOp in significance. The close-up of a Swiss cheese starts a program, and then the action develops as the 85 camera dollies back to show what comes next, and the action con- tinues to grow as the camera pans and trucks with Dr. Nielsen as he moves from one object to another. A series of close-ups can be used also to build action, to build the impact of a sequence- as in the "Salesmanship" example where a sequence of close-ups of the housewife and salesman is used. The impact with which a visual impression-visual change—- strikes the viewer can be regulated by the director. Cutting from a wide shot to an extreme close-up, for example,is a tre- mendously forceful change and will strike the viewer with consid- erable impact. In the examples of this thesis the most forceful technique used is in cutting from medium two-shots of the salesman and housewife to close-ups of the salesman. Other "impact" techniques, not illustrated in this thesis, include fast zooms and swish-pans. The faster a zoom or pan is, the more visual excitement is generated. The more rapidly the director cuts from.shot to shot, the more the excitement. So the director also regulates the degree of excitement within a program by his timing. Speed is a relative thing-relating to the pace of what precedes and follows—- hence the firing sequences in "AFROTC Rifle Team" are exciting compared to the slowly moving rifle demonstration and award cere- mony. The viewer relates to what he sees on television (the per- former and object) by how he sees them on the screen. A low- angle shot of the salesman relates him to the viewer in a particu- 86 lar way-makes the salesman dominate the viewer. In "Swiss Cheese," care is taken to keep the performer out from behind the demonstration table to avoid setting up a physical, and psycho- logical, barrier betweenthe performer and the viewer. Using the same principle, the director can "bring the viewer into the scene" by placing the cameras in the "line of fire" of a scene. For example, the salesman and housewife confront each other through a door and the director uses over-the-shoulder shots to place the viewer where the expressive power of each performer in turn can impinge on him most directly. As stated before, these techniques do not represent all of those available to the director, but they illustrate the processes by which he arrives at his camera plotting. Final Observations In addition to the objectives of making the program.material clear to the viewer and helping it to affect him intellectually or emotionally, camera plotting is of course influenced by practi- cal considerations. Limits are imposed on the director by his studio equipment and facilities. He must do the best he can with what he has and use his imagination to accomplish the "impossiblefl’ Because television moves from.shot to shot continuously and must be edited as it goes, the director is wise to do the program as simply as possible. To preclude errors, he should eliminate complicated camera movement, rapid lens changes, tricky lighting and so forth unless there is adequate gain in clarity or force of presentation to outweigh the production risks involved. 87 The director should also eliminate any techniques which are simply the product of his restlessness or his need to exhibit technical virtuosity, independent of the material to be communi- cated. In directing an interview program, for example, a good director does not cut rapidly from camera to camera unless the program content is at least mildly exciting and active. Technique alone cannot save a dull program. And overworking a device or using it at inappropriate moments only dulls itseffectiveness when it is used properly at some other thme. What device to use, and when, and why, are the important considerations. The ability to watch the clock and monitors, punch buttons, and call off the cues does not alone a director make. He earns his title to the extent of his skill as a communi- cator who understands the structure and purpose of the program content and so interprets it in terms of sight and sound that it will accomplish its intended effect upon the television viewer. The final test of a director's success and skill rests with this viewer-—his understanding of and his reaction to the program. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Arnheim, Rudolf. Film as Art. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1957. A most practical and understandable book written by a psychologist who studied film as a viewer. Written in 1933 and revised in 1957, this book offers insight into the effects that certain techniques have on the viewer. Boyd, Alfred K. The Technique of Play Production. London: G. G. Harrap and Company Ltd., 1934. This book offers a very useful introduction to dramatic production on the stage, much of which can be applied to television. Bretz, Rudy. Techniques of Television Production. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1962. The most useful and comprehensive book covering the tools of production, and how to use them, Bretz is a standard reference work. Feininger, Andreas. The Creative Photographer. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1955. The non—technical aspects of still photography presented in this book demonstrate principles of single frame compositional creativity. Lewis, Colby. A series of papers prepared for television production classes at Michigan State University. East Lansing, 1956 to 1963. These papers represent the most useful and comprehensive material available on television production techniques. It is to be hoped that a book containing this material will soon be published. 89 9O Livingston, Don. Film and the Director. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1953. There are better and more complete books on the subject, but this one is useful because its lbmited scope makes the organization of material clear. MUndt, Ernest. A Primer of Visual Art. New York: Pellegrini & Cudahy, 1952. A most useful introduction to composition, texture, etc. this small book includes exercises for the beginner. Reisz, Karel. The Technique of Film Editing. New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1958. This is an excellent book covering all of the usual film techniques, and some of the unusual. The storyboard- script analyses are particularly useful. "Ifi'fiflifififlhufifiMjflfifllfllfijflflfiES 31293