Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1970 - 32

BOOK REVIEWS

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Thomas Watson

Film Making In The Schools. Douglas
Lowndes, New York, Watson-Guptill Publications, 1969, 128 pp., $8.95.

edition has added illustrations and text concerning the operatic and heroic costumes of
the theatre.

How To Make Movies: A Practical Guide To
Group Film-Making. Robert Ferguson, New
York, The Viking Press, 1969, 88 pp.,
$5.95.

For a first volume in the history of costume,
there are newer, more comprehensive, more
usefully organized and indexed, and better
illustrated volumes. However, both of these
books are worth considering as inexpensive,
useful additions to one's costume library.

These books, both written by members of
London's Homsey College of Art, are designed to serve as introductions to amateur
film-making for beginners. Both are in large
format and extensively illustrated.
Lowndes is most thorough and imaginative
in exploring "how still cameras, movie cameras and tape recorders can be used to extend powers of observation and comment
and to help young people develop an understanding of contemporary society." Originally developed as a weekend course for
children of 12 to 16 years, the approach
described here could serve equallywellwith
college students in courses or workshops
exploring the importance of the visible and
audible environment as a setting for human
interaction. Lowndes addresses his book to
the teacher, first describing basic purposes
and equipment, and then suggesting projects relating film to English, drama, social
studies, art, and music. He concludes with
a beginner's guide to film technique.
Throughout, the emphasis is not on film as
film, but rather on the uses of film and
other media as means for learning to see
and hear.
Ferguson's book is written for those who
might wish to form a film u nit but who lack
and idea of where to begin. He describes
the most suitable equipment, and then provides short chapters on scripting, shooting,
editing, acting, sound, and lighting.
Neither book relates directly to theatre technology, but those readers who are looking
for a simple introduction to film techniques
they might wish to employ in stage productions, or who are asked by students for advice on learning the elements of film, might
well wish to begin with these works.
Thomas W. Benson
University of California, Berkeley

A History of Costume, by Carl Kohler, New
York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1963, 456
pp, index. $2.75 paper.
Western European Costume 1/, by Iris Brooke,
New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1966, 142
pp, ill, index. $2.85 paper.
There are now on the market many inexpensive paperback reference works useful to the
theatre technician. Particularly noteworthy
are the many inexpensive reprints of books
previously out of prints such as these. A
History of Costume is an unabridged republication of the 1928 edition; while Western
European Costume II is essentially a reprint
of the 1940 volue, although the second

A History of Costume is by far the more
useful of the two. It is more comprehensive,
more profusely illustrated and more easily
used. It is also better bound and on higher
qual ity paper. The text is well organized,
the illustrations are numerous, and for the
most part, clearly reproduced. Most of the
chapters are divided by country and further
subdivided into men's and women's dress,
although these subdivisions are not always
consistent nor complete. An index is provided, although one wishes that it were
more comprehensive. The text is well written and easy to follow. The illustrations
are referred to frequently enough so that one
can find illustrated th e ideas being discussed.
There are photographs of the garments and
of live models in the actual costumes as
well as numerous line drawings and measured, detail ed patterns for many of the
articles of clothing. These latter are particularly helpful, although use of the metric
system for the measurements may add difficulty for some. Even for the entirely uninitiated these drawings frequently clarify
the pictures and the verbal descriptions of
the garments, and help to explain details of
draping and fit. The annotations related to
the illustrations are frequently very detailed,
with descriptions of co lor, measurements and
construction. One could only wish that they
were placed with the figures and not in the
front of the book since it is frequently necessary to refer back to the illustrations to
understand the detailed descriptions.
Western European Costume II covers European costume from the seventeenth century
to the beginning of the nineteenth century.
(Volume I covers from the thirteenth to the
seventeenth century.) It also contains chapters on the theatre of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries with descriptions and
illustrations of the theatrical dress of these
periods. The text has an easy style which
flows freely from period to period and
country to country. It would be enjoyed by
the general reader with an interest in the
history of costume. However, as a reference
it has distinct limitations. There is no explanatory material to accompany the numerous illustrations, and they are seldom referred to in the text. (Chapter I has thirtyeight figures and four plates; however, only
three of the figures are referred to in the
text-one incorrectly.) Thus one is continually frustrated in attempting to find verbal
clarification of the figures or plates or illustrations of the items of dress discussed in
the text. The lack of headings and the inconsistency of content organization make it

difficult to find a particular country or period
or item of dress without reading an entire
chapter. Treatment of the theatrical dress
would be of interest to anyone producing
plays from this period. However, the extreme brevity of treatment makes it little
more than a survey. Of greater value is
James Laver's Costume in the Theatre, also availale in paperback.
Junius Hamblin
S.u.N.Y. at Oneonta

Theatrical Set Design: The Basic Techniques by David Welker, Boston: Allyn and
Bacon, Inc., 1969. 349 pp., illus., $9.95
In the past six years, no less than five
books have been published which purportto
be the last word on the art of scene design. It is not difficult to find faults with
each one of them, when considering each as
a textbook for a specific course. It is unfortunate that the best sections of the various
books cannot be incorporated into one perfect text. In the final analysis, it is the individual instructor who must select the volume best suited to the concepts of his
course, and to refute or disregard those sections of the work which do not fit with the
concepts he wishes to teach.
David Welker's book must be considered in
terms of a text book and compared with
other recent texts in the field. It is not
"The best book on the topic available in
America" as its book jacket claims. It does,
however, contain some very useful sections.
It is well written, although obviously by a
historian, rather than by an artist. The text
reads easily, and the explanations are clear
and concise. However, some of the illustrations used as examples of quality design
leave something to be desired.
The book is organized into three parts with
fifteen chapters. Part one is concerned with
introductory and background material, such as
the role of the designer, functions of scenery, a brief discussion of lighting and shifting, and a good concise section on construction methods. A major omission in the first
part of the book is the lack of a discussion
on the uses of new materials-plastics, welded metals, etc.-which are becoming increasingly important to the designer.
Part two is concerned with the steps by
which a designer creates a scenic design.
Two sections in this part constitute the
most valuable segments of the book. The
first is a discussion of the effect of the
floor plan design on the movement of the
actors. Few other texts emphasize this subject sufficiently. The second important segment is a discussion of the designer's analysis and research into the design of period
furniture and decor. A check list is given by
which the researcher can analyzea particular
period. By way of illustration, an analysis
is done on the Victorian and Egyptian periods.
(concluded on p. 35)

I@IC] THEATER DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

FEBRUARY, 1970

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