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Creation of plate 24
About proportions (See
Portfolio plate 24)
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Two Projectors
A far more sophisticated technique for combining images is
preferred, because so many more exciting possibilities
exist. This method involves using two projectors, but
one has then an exciting way of blending any two
previously created pictures, with far more control!
The technique is simple, just project both images
separately on to the same choice of screen. However, these
images can now be positioned which ever way one might
wish, one image could be much larger than the other, also
by masking parts of each image, a different blend of the
two pictures can be created. This is how any parts,
of any picture, can be blended together and all the time
one can see exactly what is to be photographed.
Ideally, two identical projectors should be used, if
possible with zoom lenses. Should this prove impractical
then variations in performance of the second projector can
be allowed for, by masking the brighter of the two, just
in front of the lens to achieve the same brilliance from
both projectors.
To enhance the quality of the results one can achieve with
this technique, there is an advantage in obtaining a
screen designed for rear projection.
Image
Blending
Once the full potential of using two projectors is
realised, there will be a need for quite different types
of images, these are what are referred to as background
shots, in the advertising world. A completely new stock of
photographs will have to be taken, with blending potential
in mind, no matter how many pictures are available from
the past.
The main disadvantage of the sandwich technique is that
there is no allowance for selective shading, masking, or
changing colours of part of one, or the other image. One
has to accept the full influence of the one image on the
other as they exist.
Instead of sandwiching the two pieces of film, project
them separately at the same screen to overlap each other.
Now each image can be simply modified: The brightness of
one image, as against the other, can be controlled. By
masking and shading just parts, of each image, these can
then be blended. Colours of certain areas can be
adjusted with filters. The position of each image,
relative to each other, can be altered. Or even the
size, of one image as against the other, can easily be
changed. One of the images could be distorted,
reflected, or be changed in to a pattern by the use of a
crystal. The possibilities are quite staggering!
Best of all, the combined images are there to be seen all
the time, until the desired result is formed. There
is no need to rely on guesswork, as so many other special
effects seem to demand, with these methods no film really
should ever be wasted.
To demonstrate the different options let us start with
plate 24 Children's hour (above). The
portrait was projected, whilst a photograph of an old
clock (taken against a black background) in the
second projector, was aimed to overlap the portrait. The
advantage of scale has been used here, as really the clock
face was larger than the baby. This was easily done
with a zoom lens otherwise it could also have been
achieved by altering the distance between the screen and
the projector.
Sometimes there can be a problem of one image appearing
far brighter than the other. This can happen if one
photograph is denser than the other, or if one projector
is that much closer to the screen. This is a problem
that can be tackled two ways. The first method is to
mask close to the front of the projector lens, projecting
the brighter image, to darken it. The other way is to
double expose with the camera. Simply block the light
from one projector, expose the first image, then block the
other projector and take the second exposure, corrected
for the brightness.
Plate 23 (below) is only mentioned to demonstrate
how solid objects, such as the Churchill memorial crowns,
can be made to appear transparent. Projecting two
transparencies, each a portrait of Susan created the
plastic surgery effect plate 25 (below). These
were carefully aligned so that the two nearest eyes
exactly overlapped each other. It was then just a
case of carefully masking away the parts of each portrait
projected that was no longer required.
With two projectors it becomes possible to mix film
effects together in a way not possible before. It is so
easy to blend negative images with transparencies, in
colour, or black and white. Instead of
transparencies in both projectors, one of them could be
projecting a black and white negative, or a colour
negative just as easily.
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