American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1924)

Tiwenty-ticu AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER December, 1924 JACKSON J. ROSE PICTURIZES FANTASTIC INVENTION (Continued from page 6) could go without question as an acceptable "fake." But the creation of that fake involved just as perplexing a photographic problem as is brought forth in an attempt to work out the actual invention itself. Benny Zeidman, assistant general manager at Universal City, stipulated that it couldn't be expected that the invention be worked out so that it would appear as the real thing on the screen. Jackson Rose, however, thought otherwise. He believed the thing could be done without resorting to dramatic suggestion, as in the old days when all that the audience could see of the picture that the artist was painting was the back of the canvas. Much Experiment Both Rose and Ted Sloman, who directed the production, are ardent radio fans, and they worked hard on the idea before they accomplished the design decided upon. They realized that the model should look something like a radio and phone cabinet combined, and many models were constructed and discarded before the final one was adopted. Kull Aids All of the experiments were done at night, Rose having had the co-operation of Edward Kull, A. S. C, who helped de sign a special prismatic filter which was used in the device. Rose did not unfold his plans until his cinematographic results had an opportunity to talk for themselves in the projection room. Naturally, Zeidman was surprised. Rose's presentation of the fantastic invention could not have been more realistic if an actual invention of this sort had been photographed in operation. The story was driven home with a sincerity that could hardly have been expected otherwise. By the thorough direction of Sloman, every time Forrest Stanley, as the hero-inventor, spoke to Virginia Valli, the heroine, or other members of the cast, which included George F a w c e 1 1 , Holmes Herbert, Margaret Livingston, and William Mong, the countenances of the player spoken to looked out at the audience from the absolute confines of the prismatic reflectors attached to the phone. So perfect is the synchronization that the image in the prisms can be switched as rapidly as another character speaks into the mouthpiece on the sending end of the apparatus. The accompanying illustrations which are taken from Rose's negative show, with allowances for the loss of detail due to the process of reproduction, the outcome of the A. S. C. member's achievement. The characters in the illustration are Forrest Stanley and Virginia Valli. PLEASE REMEMBER that the address of the A. S. C. and of the American cinematographer is the Guaranty Building at Hollywood Blvd. and Ivar Avenue. ^Communications directed to that address will avoid serious delay that has attended sending to prior address. AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, Guaranty Building, Hollywood, Calif. Enclosed find $ for one year's subscription to the American Cinemaro grapher, to begin with issue of 1925. Name Address