Movie Makers (Jan-May 1928)

SILVER CRAFTSMEN on the r ~»V* SILVER :. / SCREEN " By Don Bennett SOMETIME ago Mr. Walter Kerst, technical editor of Amateur Movie Makers, indicated that he would like to see some educational films. I made arrangements for him to see "Fine Arts in Metals," a five reel picture made for the Gorham Company, Silversmiths of Providence, R. I. Now, Mr. Kerst is a very critical cinematographer, but when the last reel had been run off, he delivered himself of this comment, "That is the most beautiful industrial film that I have ever seen or heard of. It's wonderful.'' Of course I agreed with him and asked him if he thought that League members would like to see it in their own homes. He thought that you would and also thought that you would like to hear how it was made. It was suggested to the Gorham Company that they make this film available to owners of 16 mm. projectors. This proposition had never before been attempted, so far as I know, with either the amateur or standard film, but they agreed that it was a worth while form of distribution and authorized the making of a number of prints of the three reel version on 16 mm. stock. All the details of distribution have been arranged and Amateur Movie Makers has been selected as the medium for reaching the greatest number of amateurs. There is no charge for the use of this film except the actual shipping expenses. You can determine what this cost will be by applying to your local express agent or postmaster, for the rate on a package weighing seven pounds. On page 47 you will find a coupon. Fill it out and mail it at once. Sixteen Photographs by Stanley Educational Film Division BIRTH OF "THE VINE" A Scene from a Film Version of the Modeling of a Masterpiece WHEN the Gorham Company decided to re-create on the silver screen the beauty of Gorham metal ware, the work of craftsmen known all over the world for superiority of design and execution, the Stanley Advertising Company was honored with the assignment. When all preliminary arrangements had been completed, a production unit went to Providence. This unit included B. K. Blake, a director famous in the educational field, Frank Zucker, a cinematographer of note and an expert on lighting and composition, their assistants and a staff of electricians. A production schedule had been worked out beforehand which allowed the picture to be "shot" without disrupting the normal routine of the Gorham plant. Thousands of feet of film were made, showing graphically the creation of large and small statuary in bronze, and tableware in silver. The subjects range from a tiny statue, only eleven inches high, called "The Vine," by Harriet Frishmuth, to a life sized statue of "Bill" Hart and his horse, from teaspoons to silver waiters three feet in diameter. By a lavish use of dissolves, processes that require days to complete are shown on the screen in a few seconds. An instance of this is the modeling of "The Vine" where Miss Frishmuth starts with a lump of modeling clay and works it up to the finished statue. This required several hours but on the screen it is all shown in a few minutes. We follow "The Vine" through all its stages and see it finally as a wonderful piece of bronze statuary, now adorning the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York City. Another place where we shortened time was in showing the making of a sugar bowl. This starts as a flat sheet of sterling silver and, under the hands of the craftsman develops in form and design until it is a thing of beauty. The artisan, using hundreds of special hammers of different shapes and sizes, works this flat sheet first into a cup shape, then closes the mouth where the lid will be in the finished article, brings up the relief of the design, fills the bowl with pitch, then executes the delicate work created by the designer. This process actually requires three weeks but, by the use of the dissolve, it is shown on the screen in less than three minutes. The sheer beauty of his bowl, as it develops before the eye, holds one spellbound. The creation of a new series of silver tableware is shown in detail, specializing on the development of a teaspoon; first the plastilene model, then the handmade silver model, the making of the steel dies, the punching and forming of the blank, the impressing of the design by the steel die and the many polishings and scourings the spoon receives before it is packed. As the picture unfolds, we realize that the romance of the ancient crafts and guilds has not departed from our modern life because these Gorham Craftsmen are devoted to the same principles and methods that prevailed centuries ago, ever since man learned to work with sim