A Film About Filmmaking

Transcript (Download)

Well, Holman says to John Henry, he says, what can you do? I can line a truck, carry a jackpot, take care and share a boat.

Lord, Lord, pick yourself up in the street.

You're John Henry said to the Holman, he says, a man ain't nothing but a man.

Hold that ding drill, beat me down, I'll die like a natural man.

Lord, Lord, die like a natural man.

Maybe you've thought of making a film.

If so, watching us make ours may help you.

Of course, each film has its own requirements, but you'll get an idea of the general steps you'll need to follow.

At the end of this movie, you'll see our finished film.

But first, here's my crew.

This is Bill, the cameraman.

I'd seen some still pictures Bill had taken and saw he had a good visual sense.

I thought we could work together well putting my idea on film, so I asked him to help me.

Debbie is the script girl.

I knew she was good at organization.

That's why I asked her to help.

We discovered that she was also the best film editor in our group.

But I should tell you how my film got started.

Of course, the film had to start with an idea.

One Saturday, Debbie and I took a drive and ended up on Maxwell Street.

I was impressed and excited by the sights, the sounds, and the people of the open air market.

It seemed like another world.

I was especially impressed by one old blind man who played the guitar.

People who passed by liked his music, and some of them dropped money into the paper cup pinned to his shirt.

I started to imagine what it would be like if a young guitarist who was an outsider wandered into this world of Maxwell Street.

How would the people react to him? Would they be hostile? Would he be nervous or embarrassed? Could he make money playing like the other musicians on the street? I decided what I thought might happen and developed a clear idea of what I wanted my film to be.

Then I wrote a synopsis.

It described the setting, the characters of the story, the clothes they wore, the props, and the action or plot of the film.

The next step was to divide each action into parts.

This action becomes clearer and more interesting when broken down further into a sequence of individual shots.

A long shot, a close -up shot, a medium shot, a series of close -ups, and a return to the long shot.

As I did this for each part of the action, I developed a shooting script.

When the shooting script was finished, I met with my crew and with John, our actor, to discuss the script and make preparations to start shooting.

Bill brought the equipment.

We made sure we had everything needed to shoot the film.

First, a good camera and lens.

We used 16 -millimeter equipment, but of course the procedures we followed are similar for 8 -millimeter.

Bill also got a steady tripod so the film would not turn out like this.

And a light meter to determine the proper exposure setting so the film wouldn't be overexposed or underexposed.

We made sure we knew how to operate the equipment and saw that it was working properly.

We also had to estimate how much film we would need, and we decided to shoot in color.

The next day, Bill and I went to the location.

We looked for interesting places, and Bill checked out the lighting conditions.

We got permission from the owner of a building to shoot from his roof.

We wanted to be sure we could shoot the film I had written or make any necessary changes in the script before we started shooting.

We didn't want to waste time, so we planned carefully.

The next day, we started shooting.

Debbie had gone through the shooting script and had grouped together all of the shots to be taken in the same setting, regardless of where they came in the script.

For example, we shot the opening sequence at the same time as the closing sequence because they had the same setting.

We worked as a team.

Each of us was responsible for a specific part of the job.

My main responsibility as the director was to be sure that the final film would be what I intended it to be.

I had to know what I wanted the actors to do and communicate this to them.

I also had to visualize how each shot would fit into the completed film, and I had to be aware of the continuity which would result from putting the different shots together.

When I planned to cut together two shots of two people from different angles, I had to be sure they were on the same side of the screen.

Otherwise, I'd get a jump effect I didn't want.

And when I planned to cut together different shots of the same action, a match cut, I had to be sure that the action in the close -up was performed the same way as in the medium shot, so that the editor would be able to cut the shots together.

I also took some extra shots I could use if I wanted to cut away from the main action.

Bill had specific duties, too.

The cameraman has to read the light meter, set the lens for proper exposure, and focus the lens to obtain a sharp image.

He has to frame the subject properly and work with the director to decide the best composition for the shot.

He also has to move the camera to follow the action.

The cameraman is responsible for putting on film what the director visualizes in his mind.

Debbie, as the script girl, had to keep the records of the production.

She kept track of which scenes had been shot, how many takes we made of each shot, and which takes were good.

She also kept a record of the positions and appearance of the actors and props, in case we needed to do any retakes.

Finally, we took our last shot and sent the film to the laboratory for processing.

Then it was time to start editing.

Debbie edited the film using basic equipment which included a pair of rewinds, a viewer, a grease pencil, a pair of scissors, a splicer, and film cement.

It is the editor's job to arrange the auto -sequence shots into the final film according to the director's specifications.

These may differ a little from the original shooting script because of changes that occurred during shooting.

Many times the editor uses only part of a shot.

For example, take that match cut you saw a shoot.

Here are the two original shots, the close -up, and the medium shot.

And here are the two shots, match cut together.

Finally, editing can sometimes correct mistakes made in shooting, and even with careful planning we made a few, like this error in screen direction.

These two shots don't cut together well because John is going in opposite directions.

To solve the problem, we used one of the cutaway shots in between.

So, that's how we made the visual part of our film.

And now, as I promised, here's the finished product.

Hello, little girl.

Where's Maxwell Street? Lord, Lord, pick that jail.

Here John Henry says, Hold on, a man ain't nothing but a man.

Just hold that finger and beat me down.

I like the natural man.

Lord, Lord, I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

I like the natural man.

Identifier

F.2005-01-0040

Date Of Production

1972

Abstract

An International Film Bureau production about a small film crew creating their film from the original idea to editing. Also shows the finished result, which is a short film about a young guitarist arriving on Maxwell Street in Chicago.

Log

00:00 - A man approaches a street performer, camera PAN to a film crew, revealing that they are actors. Voice over explains the process of making a film, illustrating the people involved and the steps of filmmaking using footage of the crew as they work and bits of the finished film’s footage. 03:44 - In a living room the crew looks at the script, inspects the camera, tripod and light meter and then go out to their location. The next day they begin shooting, the narrator explaining organization of shots and duties of the cameraman and script girl. 08:05 - In an editing room, CU on the equipment. Illustrates the idea of match cuts, continuity problems and cut aways. 10:13 - The finished film. A young guitarist wanders around Maxwell street, listening to musicians. He sets himself up and plays, receiving a quarter as payment which he later gives to a little girl. Extensive footage of Maxwell Street market, with MS and CU of vendors, goods, musicians and people going about their everday lives on a busy day. Full credits follow.

Run Time

0:18:03

Format

16mm

Extent

625 feet

Color

Color

Sound

Optical

Reel/Tape Number

1/1

Has Been Digitized?

Yes

Language Of Materials

English

Element

Print

Genre

Instructional
Educational

Form

Short

Subject

Processes and techniques
Motion picture production & direction
Flea Markets
Music
Musicians
City and town life

Related Collections

Subseries II: Collected Professional Films

Related Places

North America ➜ United States ➜ Illinois ➜ Chicago ➜ Near West Side

Distributor

International Film Bureau

Main Credits

Cheharbakhshi, Henry (is director)

Additional Credits

International Film Bureau (is contributor)

Cheharbakhshi, Henry (is contributor)

Cheharbakhshi, Henry (is writer)

Cheharbakhshi, Henry (is editor)

Krojh, Daniel (is cinematographer)

Participants And Performers

Davenport, John (is actor)

Tehrani, Hassan (is actor)

Novosel, Johnnie (is actor)

Checarbakhshi, Agnes (is actor)

Alexander, Atheana (is actor)

Cheharbakhshi, Henry (is actor)

Krojh, Daniel (is narrator)

Do you know more about this item?

If you have more information about this item please contact us at info@chicagofilmarchives.com.