DID YOU KNOW THAT ?

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 21 January 1939, Page 13

DID YOU KNOW THAT ?

Lighf that adds delicate effects to close-ups of Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy, Jeanette MacDonald, Rosalind Russell, and other beauties of the screen includes invisible light. Modern makeup. and the delicacy of colour-sensitivity of “super-panchromatic” film lead cameramen to use a little ultra-violet light, which cannot be perceived by the eye, in their lighting. It affects the photographic film, hence offers certain refinements with certain make-up shades. Dust on furniture isn’t dust, but a specially prepared powder which photographs as dust. Actual dust would not “pick up” in the lens. Likewise real rain is of no use in a rainstorm scene. It simply photographs as fog. Artificial rain, with larger drops than Nature provides, is necessary to give the correct picture. Old clothes are usually the product, not of age, but acid and sandpaper. A “Clothes aging department” is an important adjunct to the wardrobe. Experts fray, stain, and age costumes according to the age desired, from a slightly frayed cuff or collar to a set of complete rags. It is one of the most delicate and expert operations in studio practice.