Movies for TV - Early Television Foundation

218
FUNDAMENTALS
title will appear to emerge from cloudy water. This can also be
done in a pond or pan if no stream is available.
Animation for titles is performed in just the same way as the
animation of cartoons and since that is described elsewhere only
the mechanics of timing are mentioned. Timing is the greatest
difficulty, but even so it need not present any complications if it
is remembered that in one second twenty-four frames of film are
seen on the screen. That means twenty-four different pictures or
changes of scene per second, unless it is desired to make the motion
very slow and smooth and use two frames for each change of
position; then it will be twelve changes per second. The important
thing is to plan the title in advance so that every movement is
already known before the filming starts. It must be decided how
long the title is to be on the screen ; to this must be added the time
required for the letters to take position. If the title has four words
and twenty-five letters and is to be on the screen for six seconds,
then six times twenty-four or one hundred forty-four frames will
be exposed and up to that number of changes of position may be
made. So when it is decided how many changes are required, it
will be known how much work is involved. Under the heading of
animation, map work should really be included since the use of
maps for any purpose almost invariably entails a small amount
of this type of work. Unless the map is to be only a static illustra-
tion of where a place or thing is, it must have some life in it. This
can be done in a number of ways.
For motion along the line of travel, a map choose a clean,
uncluttered print of the map, for excessive detail will only destroy
the value is mounted on the animation table or even in the titler.
A series of exposures of one frame is made; after each exposure
the heavy line which travels along the route followed is extended
a fraction and the next frame shot. Thus the line appears to extend
itself automatically. Other refinements, such as name plates, etc.,
will suggest themselves.
Finally, the creation of well-known real special effects will
be described to close this chapter. The combination of this chapter
and the chapter on editing and splicing should be sufficient to set