Screen capture from Film Editing
English
00:15:00
400 ft
16mm
B&W
Silent
"Film Editing, an exposition of this topic, is a single subject in the series, You Can Make Good Movies, produced by the Harmon Foundation of New York and photographed by Kenneth F. Space. This film presents the successful use of a medium to explain its own working and is divided into two parts — first, the mechanical operations involved in editing and splicing and, second, the methods used to present simple cinematic ideas through cutting. The clear and well ordered presentation of this subject is noteworthy. The first part of the film is characterized by a number of excellent, unusually large closeups showing the operations of scraping the film, applying cement, splicing, etc. In one or two of these closeups, however, the significant action was partially obscured, as in the case of closeups showing the application of cement to a splice, where the cork at the end of the brush got in the way. In general, however, the presentation was very clear and well photographed. Other methods than those shown could have been employed to produce the same results, but, in an instructional film of this nature, it is taken for granted that only one method can be presented without confusion." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 636.
Discussed by Space in "Easy Film Tailoring" (Movie Makers, Jan. 1940, 16-17, 47). The article offers further editing instructions and numerous still images from Film Editing.
Produced by the Harmon Foundation, as part of the You Can Make Good Movies series.
Harmon Foundation Collection, National Archives (College Park, U.S.)
Amateur Cinema