Let's Go Stag! by Dan Erdman;

Author:Dan Erdman;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Figure 3.1 Bell and Howell’s Filmosound V model was produced exclusively for the armed forces during the war, but advertised to civilians via the amateur film press, promising that the new projector would be available to all upon victory. (Ad from Movie Makers, January 1943, page 3.)

Readers were constantly encouraged toward thriftiness, and enjoined to recycle what equipment they could for the war. As one 1942 editorial concerning the recycling of spools and reels put it:

At a time when saving is important for war purposes, it is the duty of every user of these supplies to see that they are used many times and that they are not thrown away …. Admittedly, it is inconvenient to put forth this effort, because we have become accustomed to a land of plenty. However, conditions have changed in the United States since December 7, and we must all determine to do whatever we can do, each in his own personal fashion, to conserve necessary material for war use. Certainly, it is important to us all, as movie makers, to make certain, as far as we can do so, that any shortage in these minor—but vital—items does not result from our unwillingness to bother about saving them.32

Exhortations of this sort occurred frequently during the next three years’ worth of issues; the flip side of these noble sentiments can be found in the equally plentiful articles dispensing advice to amateur filmmakers on how to improvise clever work-arounds in the face of shortages. While the amateur cinema community wasn’t about to give up shooting film, they had begun to realize that it would be necessary to take some creative measures if they wished to continue.

Interestingly enough, many of these articles focused on issues that were somewhat ancillary to the process of exposing celluloid. Difficulty in properly lighting shots (“Although flood bulbs are rationed, it is still possible to light interior movie scenes in the home and school, for there are many other sources of illumination which we usually neglect only because of the convenience and economy of flood bulbs.”),33 and especially the declining potentials for production of travelogues (due to rationing of gasoline and rubber) are addressed far more frequently than scarcity of film itself. Editorials did occasionally mention film shortages and quotas, but only did so to assure the reader that their sacrifice was for the sake of the collective struggle. One 1943 editorial made the general case for conservation of one’s resources, attempting to address but neither over- nor undersell the genuine crisis of supply that existed at the time.

Buyers of film should cooperate with cine and photographic dealers by refusing to ask for more than their fair share. If each film user will depend upon a carefully chosen dealer for his film supply and will refrain from buying a little here and a little there, conservation can be affected fairly. We all believe in fair play. Let us work with our manufacturers and dealers in self imposed film conservation!34

That the press should have

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.