Frank Beacham's Journal

"Crossing the Line" To On-Screen Confusion

The maxim "every picture tells a story" usually comes under challenge whenever an amateur videographer works without understanding the basic language of the moving picture medium. In this era of YouTube, such a lack of knowledge is more common than not.

Just as an understanding of grammar is an ingredient in good writing, there are conventions that audiences have come to expect when watching video or film. Rules, of course, are made to be broken by artists. Most of today's camcorder users, however, are not artists. Those who ignore the tried-and-true conventions of the motion picture process without understanding why are usually doomed to failure. 

Every video should tell a story. How the videographer selects the individual images and pieces them together in an edited sequence determines whether the story is effectively told or leaves the audience confused. 

A key consideration in creating a sequence of shots is to maintain clear screen direction for the viewer. That is, to keep everything--people and objects--facing the same direction as the camera switches shots. 

Though this may sound simple and obvious, it is a common problem that can cause the audience to become disoriented when the camera position is changed. 

All of us have seen reverse cuts when a person moving one way across the screen suddenly reverses direction; or when two people, facing each other, are having a conversation and suddenly one appears to be talking from behind the other. In both cases, the camera operator has "crossed the line." 

The so-called "line" represents an imaginary linear reference point drawn through a scene over which the camera may not cross without shaking the audience's sense of screen geography. The line can be referenced to movement, eye contact between subjects or any other area of interest in the scene. 

As long as the camera stays on one side of the line, it can move freely from shot to shot, and screen direction will be maintained. Though in theory this sounds like a simple rule to follow, in the real world of production, there are times when crossing the line is necessary. There are several ways to do so without confusing the audience. These techniques are essential to the videomaker's craft. 

One way to cross the line is to let the audience see the subject change direction on screen. For example, a motorcycle that moves toward the right of the screen, then turns and moves toward the viewer and then turns away and moves to the left clearly alerts the audience to the changes in screen direction. In this case, the camera never moved and the line simply changed with the on-screen action. 

Another way to shoot this same scene would be to have the camera move on a track across the line as it follows the movements of the motorcycle. Again, the audience sees the motorcycle reverse direction and keeps its geographic footing on the screen. 

A frequently used method for crossing the line is to place the camera exactly on-the-line for a transition shot. Examples of this can be found in one the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. 

The chase in The French Connection not only demonstrates how to cross the line by intercutting an on-the-line transition shot, but how the use of artful composition and rapidly sequenced camera angles can build suspense. 

In constructing this scene, director William Friedkin used knowledge that artists have known about picture composition for centuries: Objects placed in the right side of a rectangle communicate an exaggerated sense of power, while objects placed on the left create uneasiness and tension. 

 

Freidkin also knew that scientists have discovered that when we view a surface--like a television or movie screen--our eyes constantly move in a pattern around the screen. Our brain resolves that movement into a steady image. The director used this natural eye movement and left side discomfort along with some fancy cross-the-line footwork to create tension in this classic chase sequence. 

Gene Hackman, as Popeye Doyle, pursues a villain on a train. The scene begins with emphasis on the right side of the screen. Then the action moves to the left. Then a neutral shot—a shot made directly on-the-line—is introduced. It is Hackman behind the wheel of his car. 

 

This shot allows a reverse of screen direction. Then the scene gradually gets more tense, the action moving sharply to the left and the camera angle frequently crossing back and forth across the line. The human eye and the objects on the screen collide, inducing stress in the viewer.  

But as screen direction flip-flops back and forth, the audience is never confused or disoriented. The sense of time and place are always secure. This scene is a study in how crossing the line can transcend into an art form. 

The basic rules of crossing the line should be mastered by every video camera operator. Failure to do so highlights one's amateur status.

Drummer Sam Lay Turns 75

 

Some birthdays catch me by surprise, making it clear how much time has passed in our own lives. One of them is Sam Lay, the great blues drummer who just turned 75-years-old on March 20. Lay is a living history of music—from his days with the great Howlin Wolf to being a founding member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band to his star turn as drummer for Bob Dylan when he went electric at Newport in 1965.

Lay played with Little Walter’s band before joining Howlin Wolf. He stayed there until 1963 when he was lured away by the Butterfield band. He played in the studio on Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited recording. Later, Dylan wrote to Lay: “thanks for backing me up on what many say is the best album I’ve ever made.”


Later, Lay was drummer for the James Cotton Blues Band and he played in 1969 on Muddy Waters’ Father and Sons album. He also recorded with the great Willie Dixon. Later he formed the Sam Lay Blues Revival Band, and subsequently the Sam Lay Blues Band. He is now heard on more than 40 Chess recordings with some of the greatest names in the blues.

In the above photo, which I took at B.B. Kings club in New York City in August, 2005, Lay played with the Chicago Blues Reunion.

Sam Lay has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis, the Jazz Hall of Fame in Los Angeles, and the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. 


Happy birthday, Sam Lay. You have played with the best musicians of your generation. What a legacy!

Henry Butler Burns Up the Keyboard Merging New Orleans Jazz and the Blues

 

The single word used most by other musicians to describe Henry Butler’s performance last night was “scary.” Perhaps, it was due to the sheer speed and power Butler brought to playing the piano keyboard.

Moments after he began, everyone knew this blind musician—a human dynamo at the keyboard—was a master at musical diversity. He combined the percussive jazz piano playing of McCoy Tyner with the New Orleans style of his mentor, Professor Longhair. The result was explosive.

Dan Cipriano, the veteran playing saxophone next to Butler last night, said “I’ve been in this business a long time, but when Henry plays it’s downright scary. I had to tell myself to hold on and play it straight.” 

Henry Butler sat in the second week in a row with Jonny Rosch and his eclectic group of sidemen at the P&G Bar on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The result was a magic mix of New Orleans jazz with the blues. In fact, only a month ago, Butler played at the legendary Tipitina’s—Professor Longhair’s old hangout—in New Orleans.

Butler, who is also an accomplished photographer (and yes, he was blinded by glaucoma since birth), is a master of the baritone horn, valve trombone, drums and piano. He sang German lieder, French and Italian art songs and operatic arias at Southern and Michigan State Universities, earning a Masters degree in vocal music. He has studied with Alvin Batiste, George Duke, keyboardist for Cannonball Adderley, Harold Mabern and Professor Longhair. This man knows his stuff.

Butler, teamed with Blues Brother Jonny Rosch, make an extraordinary team. They should tour together. So did the team of sidemen—including Ira Seigel, guitarist for the Bacon Brothers; Lincoln Schleifer, bass player for Levon Helm; and Chris Parker, drummer for greats like Bob Dylan, James Brown and Miles Davis. 

This band could challenge the best anytime, anywhere. It was a night of killer music!

 

 

Right-Wing Texas Education Massacre is Just the Beginning of a National History Whitewash

 

So many are shocked this weekend by news that a group of right-wingers have taken the Texas education system hostage by demanding their dogmatic drivel replace history in textbooks.

Wake up, folks! Such a rewrite of actual history has been going since our nation was founded. In fact, U.S. history has always been written by the rich and powerful who want to shape events to their liking.  Sad to say you never got the truth in school. It was mostly propaganda!

When I was growing up in South Carolina, a place that can match Texas any day with right-wing nutcases, the state-approved history textbook actually said that blacks were prohibited from working in textile mills because the machinery lulled them to sleep. No kidding!

Of course, the reason blacks weren’t hired was racism, but the South Carolina textbook couldn’t admit the mill owners were racists, could they? The ultraconservatives in Texas wielded their power over hundreds of subjects this week, introducing and rejecting amendments on everything from the civil rights movement to global politics. It was whitewashing as usual.

Howard Zinn, the late historian, made an alternative history available to everyone and it’s now available to teachers who dare to use it.  It’s called A People’s History of the United States. There are different versions and one new edition is aimed at teenagers.  

There’s also a wonderful new movie, The People Speak, in which well known actors and musicians tell the stories of slaves, authors, politicians, poets, protestors and others who have shaped American life. Most of these people who actually changed the world fail to gain even a mention in school textbooks.

If you really want to learn or have your kids learn the truth, first turn off the television set.  Then buy Howard Zinn’s great book. Your eyes will be opened.

 

Maydie Myles Brings Amazing Authenticity to R&B Vocals

 

When I grew up in the deep South, I always knew there was something special about the gospel music in black churches. In later years, while a reporter covering the civil rights movement in Mississippi, I marveled at how the rousing music in black churches aligned so perfectly with actions of the protesters. I love the sound and can still listen to that music for hours at a time.

I was slow, but I came to understand that gospel music formed the roots of the blues, and the blues is the basis for rock ’n roll. This is why it was such a pleasure to hear Maydie Myles sing this week. She’s the real thing—a genuine product of the black church that formed the background for her to perform the music that she was born to sing.

She got started in a church pastured by her own father in Norfolk, Virginia by playing piano at age six. By age 11, she was singing gospel music. By 14, the pressure was on for her to turn professional.

Like so many young performers from the church, her parents wanted her to perform only gospel music. Maydie loved rhythm and blues, and sneaked out of her house on weekends to sit in with the R&B bands on Norfolk’s famous Church Street. She actually changed her name to “Debbie Taylor” so her parents wouldn’t hear of their daughter singing the devil’s music in a nightclub.

At 17, after much internal family strife, Maydie signed with Decca Records. Her career took off and she got national recognition on Billboard’s charts and appeared on TV’s American Bandstand and in clubs like The Peppermint Lounge. Later, Clive Davis signed her on his Arista label, where she recorded I Don’t Want to Leave You.

Maydie has recorded with the Holmes Brothers, The Blues Brothers Band, Jesse “Wild Bill” Austin and the late Cornelius Bumpus.  Last night, she dropped into the P&G Bar in Manhattan to sing with Jonny Rosch, her old Blues Brothers colleague.

 

Jonny Rosch, a member of the Blues Brothers Band, plays harp as Maydie Myles looks on. Rosch and Friends play each Tuesday at the P&G Bar in Manhattan.

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It was a smashing set, with Adam Rogers on guitar, Neil Jason on bass, Dan Cipriano on sax and the great Anton Fig on drums. Also joining her at piano was Tony Aiardo. Maydie laid it on, with her rich, soul-stirring voice filling the house. Her vocals were flawless, but it was her genuine life story that made her “soul sister number one.”

 

Maydie Myles and Tony Aiardo on piano. Photos by Frank Beacham 

What Were They Thinking? Library Tosses Rare Vinyl Record Collection

 

In a remarkably sad story, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library in Tennessee has sold its collection of rare vinyl record albums for $1 a piece. Some of the vinyl was valued at a thousand times as much. The library staff was obviously clueless of its value.

From the library, Chad Bledsoe, owner of Chad's Records in Chattanooga, bought a rare collection compiled by Library of Congress Folk Life Center archivist Richard K. Spottswood in 1976 for the Bicentennial. For only $13, he got a collection of American Folk music from the 1920's, 30's and 40's that inspired the best country, blues and rock musicians decades later. On Amazon, the same collection is now valued at $1500!

Each album in the set has it's own theme and title like War & History, Complaints & Protest, Migration and Immigration and Songs of Childhood. "It's definitely a one-of-a-kind find because I guess the only sets are in libraries," Bledsoe said.

Bledsoe's 13-record set came from the now-empty shelves of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library, where the vinyl was tossed out like yesterday's trash. Friends of the Library were selling the records through March 2 for a dollar each in the center of Northgate Mall.

Each of the albums contained a vinyl disc that was in remarkably good shape. They included a book that detailed the music, the lyrics and the story behind the songs as well as the life of the artists. Included were some of the earliest Grand Ole Opry performers on these albums, as well as performers like Wilmouth Houdini, Dutch Coleman, Bumble Bee Slim and others who blazed the blues and folk music trails.

"We had noticed over the last several years that the vinyl is not circulating like our CD’s are, or our DVD's, and what we wanted to do was make space for new items and get them into the hands of people who would really appreciate them," Cathy Royal of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library said. She didn’t have the time or resources to property maintain the vinyl that was now over 30 years old.

What a truly sad, sad story!