From the Summer 1994 issue of the Operating Cameraman

Screen titles, prior to the computer age, were done "by hand". Hollywood title houses used a variety of techniques, some of which I will attempt to describe. I'm sure you are familiar with trailers of old films, thanks to television's American Movie Classics channel. Trailers, or "Previews of Coming Attractions" were major productions in themselves. Certain exciting or poignant production scenes were provided by the major studios; then dialogue, music, narration and titles were all melded together by the title house.

Customarily, motion picture titles were made from white letters painted on black cards that were shot on high contrast film (Eastman's 5363). Artists painstakingly hand-lettered titles in all styles imaginable. To achieve a feeling of shape and roundness, the artists would paint the workds with Plaster of Paris, building up the letters on sheets of glass so they could be cross-lit. Front light was used to produce the image, back light produced the matte. The camera was mounted on a horizontal bed with the title frame mounted vertically in front of it. The glass title sheets were then precisely registered on the frame.

With the camera mounted on a vertically arranged track, what we called a "downshooter", the camera could ride up and down to animate words or parts of words. We adapted the old Bell & Howell 2709B with a Bell & Howell movement and perforation registration pin. The table under the camera had a one-piece rectangle cut in the top to hold the animation frame. With twelve ordinary door bolts acting as pivot points for the frame, we could swing, spin and pivot the artwork in all directions. The effect was a title that could swing in from any direction, spinning one title into another. The camera moving down would produce a zoom or slow ride-in. MOving up would produce a rapid or slow pull away. An animated "write-on" could be made by shooting in reverse while painting out bits of the letters one frame at a time from right to left.

Camera speed, starting from single frame, was controlled by an ordinary fly wheel and solenoid. This method dates back so far that I cannot begin to guess its origin (though I suspect it was designed by Paul (Starr) Stoleroff who worked for the National Screen Service in New York City. Stoleroff later came out to Hollywood in the 1930s and opened a studio on Santa Monica Boulevard). Maximum camera speed was twelve frames per second. Each camera had an accurate frame counter since, to complete a sequence, it was imperative to be able to return to a specific frame on a roll of film.

"Roll-up" titles, commonly used for end credits, were fashioned from white letters painted on black cards. These cards were taped together end-to-end, then cranked through an old Anchor Brand rubber chamois wringer solidly mounted on a wall. End credits were generally shot at twelve frames per second, with the hand crank speed smoothly tempoed to the exact footage, to avoid jerking. As a rule of thumb, we calculated the average reading time on screen at ten frames per word.

With black cards, we were able to create all kinds of wipes. By backing up the film to partially exposed words, we could create "inside-out wipes", or turn one phrase into another. "Circle wipes" were done in a similar fashion. "Exploding titles" were shot forward. The title was shot in place for a few feet then torn apart and separated a little at a time until the entire title was out of frame. To reverse the process, and have the titles implode, it was necessary first to shoot the title forward for a few feet then close the shutter or cover the lens; the exact frame was noted, the film was advanced to a predetermined frame, and then the card was reassembled and photographed, frame by frame, back to the point when the shutter was closed.

End titles and some main titles that were to run over live scenes were composed in the optical printer with high contrast title units acting as a matte. A less expensive method used mainly for end credits, was to create a complete unit for a single pass of the camera. Here, the titles were printed or hand lettered on glass or cels that were placed over a single art backgrouind or series of backgrounds, then both backgroiund and titles were sandwiched under a glass platen to hold them in place. The trick was to dissolve one title into the next without the background art pulsating or "breathing" on the screen.

When a one, two, or four foot lap dissolve was desired, the shutter had to be opened and closed smoothly with the camera running at twelve frames per second. Any mistimed lap woiuld result in a disturbing dip in the density of the background image. A four foot lap dissolve required a sixteen frame pullback. A three footer required twelve frames. A two footer, six frames. And for a one footer, no pullback at all. Imagine trying to do this while the film is flying though the camera! As a result, most end credits used only one or two foot lap dissolves.

Very little screen time was allowed for titles. Many times the titles just popped from one to another. It was difficult to rund the camera at twelve frames per second and then stop on a specific frame. Some camera operators took quite a while to master the technique. Some never did. In fact, many operators would burn up a lot of film practicing before they would tackle a job to make sure their work would be good enough to leave the studio.

There were only a few studios in Hollywood that did this type of work during the 1940s. I was fortunate to work for two of the major ones: National Screen Service and Pacific Title & Art Studio. Pacific Title is still active, but National Screen closed down it's Hollywood operation about 20 years ago when "Hollywood" went abroad.

I now see some of these old trailers on AMC and think proudly to myself, "I did those wonderful titles." The good ol' days are just a memory.