If, on the other hand, the director merely wishes to emphasize at
certain points in any scene the facial expression of his players, as
affected by the humorous, startling, or other emotional "business"
incidental to the plot at that point, and if the surroundings of the
character or characters may be indeterminate without detracting from
the value of the scene, the player or players may be brought _nearer
to the camera_, and the close-up may even be made with the subjects
posed against a plain, dark background. This method of obtaining the
close-up is frequently resorted to, and, it may be said, is not always
truly "artistic," if seriously considered, inasmuch as it tends to
detach the character from the surroundings of the scene, and make the
result more than ever in the nature of a figure in the spot-light. We
have seen many pictures, particularly those with female "stars"
featured--as, for example, the Mary Pickford pictures--in which the
action of a scene would be broken several times, and the head of the
pretty "star" shown photographed against a plain, very dark
background.
The third method used in the studios is one which actually changes a
wide-angle view into a close-up without breaking or interrupting the
action in the slightest degree. This is accomplished by mounting the
camera on a specially built platform on wheels--on a truck--which as a
rule is operated on wooden tracks previously prepared to suit the
action taking place in that set or location.
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