c. Information may be lumped together in an essay-type description of the
coverage or broken into outline form with individual subheadings, as shown
below.
Either method is acceptable as long as all pertinent items are
included.
(1) Who. Give names of persons prominently shown in your film. When a
group is shown, such as a team, squad, platoon, etc, captions need not include
each person.
Just identify the group and perhaps single out the leader for
listing by name, hometown, etc. Be sure to have correct spelling. If in the
military, include hometown and occupational specialty as well as a brief
summary of subject's background. Be sure to include any noteworthy happening
in the life of your subject(s).
(2) What.
You must identify and provide pertinent nomenclature and
facts
concerning
equipment,
machinery,
materials,
structures,
bridges,
installations, and prominent landmarks or other terrain features. These items
are captioned whether they are part of the main action or just incidentally
appear in the background of your scenes.
(3) Where.
Give the location of your story or assignment.
If the
location is a prominent or well-known place, just name the town or city and the
state or country in which it is located. If the location is not well known, be
more specific.
Give the name of the town and its approximate distance and
direction from one or two well-known cities, or from any prominent terrain
features or landmark.
(4) Why.
In many captions the "why" may not exist.
Why pertains
primarily to particular operational procedures in which an explanation of why
this thing is being done in this particular way is a vital part of the story
being told.
(5) When.
The date is already given in the caption heading, but here
you may add the time of day. Include time belt or whether standard or daylight
saving time. The time may be particularly important on aerial coverage and in
some types of intelligence coverage.
(6) Show. This item also may not apply in some film stories. However,
if a film story is supposed to show how something is made or how some process
is done, then it would be advisable to supplement the footage with a step-by-
step description of how the entire operation, or any specifically vague portion
of the operation, is accomplished.
This is particularly important when the
film scenes, in themselves, do not fully explain the "how."
d. If your captions are handwritten, be sure to print all names, whether
persons, cities, or towns.
Additional material such as maps, freehand
sketches, bulletins, brochures, etc, may be attached to your captions.
2.
The motion picture photographer makes notes on a photographer's caption
book (Form 3315, fig 3-3) at the time the film is exposed. These captions are
cross-referenced to external marks on rolls of exposed film.
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