Agfa motion picture topics (Apr 1937-June 1940)

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Academy Technicians Discuss New Films j HE Technicians' Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences met on the evening of January 19th to witness demonstrations of * the latest developments in motion picture raw film stocks. The meeting was held in the Projection Theatre of the Paramount Studios, with Gerald Rackett presiding in the absence of Technicians' Branch Chairman Major Nathan Levinson, who unfortunately was ill. Outstanding features of this meeting, in addition to papers relating to recent developments in sound recording stocks, were discussions and demonstrations of the Agfa Ansco Corporation's two new motion picture film stocks, Agfa Supreme, and Agfa Ultra Speed Pan. Dr. Meyer Gives Technical Data Technical descriptions of the two new films were given in a paper presented by Dr. Herbert Meyer, President of C. King Charney, Inc. Following Dr. Meyer's paper, Wilson Leahy, West Coast Technical Representative of the Agfa Ansco Corporation, presented a brief paper dealing with the practical aspects of using these two new films on production. He accompanied his remarks with the projection of several demonstration reels photographed on the new emulsions. Studio interiors, comparing the new Supreme film exposed at f:4 with conventional Superpan exposed at f:2.3, were shown. Night street scenes photographed at normal apertures and camera-speeds upon the new Ultra Speed Pan were also shown, and proved striking demonstrations of the tremendous speed of this new emulsion. Production Scenes Shown Through the courtesy of the Paramount Studio, and Mr. Farciot Edouart, several Transparency Process scenes made on the new Agfa Supreme negative for use in Cecil DeMille's production, "The Buccaneer," and Ernst Lubitsch's production, "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife," were shown. Through the courtesy of RKO-Radio Pictures and Mr. Vernon L. Walker, several comparative test scenes utilizing Agfa Supreme with the projected background process were shown, while production scenes in which this new film was used in filming dance numbers on a large set for "Radio City Revels," furnished another indication of the advantages offered by this new type of film. Mr. Leahy commented that while the scenes shown were all that were possible in the limited time allowed by the meeting, there had been many other equally noteworthy scenes made upon the new films in the course of current production. In point of fact, although the new films were only announced in December, before the end of 1937 more than 18 feature productions, made by half a dozen different studios, had utilized either Agfa Supreme or Agfa Ultra Speed Pan negative. Page Twenty-two