British Kinematography (1950)

8 BRITISH KINEMATOGRAPHY Vol. 16, No. 1 rods should be mounted on the back frame. To assist in the transport of the film it is probably worthwhile, especially when a large number of tanks are to be used, to have driven rollers over each tank position, and the final pull-off roller should then be slightly overdriven through a clutch so as to maintain a slight tension in the film. Fig. 8 shows a considerably refined machine built, for special effects work, along these modified lines by Weyers Bros. Ltd., to the specification of Mr. W. Percy Day of British Lion Studios. In this machine each tank is water-jacketed and thermostatically controlled and the air agitation system is built in. The author is indebted to Messrs. Weyers and Mr. Day for permission to refer to their machine. DISCUSSION Mr. J. G. Craig : Could Dr. Levenson give us some idea of the probable cost of this machine ? The Author : The cost depends on how you propose to build it. You could build if yourself for perhaps a few hundred pounds ; if you have the machine constructed by an outside firm, it would cost considerably more. Mr. Langley : If one built the chassis of this machine, and wanted to cover every type of black-and-white processing — what is the minimum number of tanks required ? 1 am thinking of the possibility of using the one chassis for developing negative, positive and duplicating stocks, as the occasion arises. The Author : First it depends upon the output you require. If the time is not important, then you would want about three tanks for washing, two for fixing, and then you would want about two for each developer, if you wanted to have more than one developer ready in a tank. It has been suggested to make a developing tank another 1£ in. or 2 ins. each way in section larger so "that we could put four loops into the tank — two sets of three bobbins above and two sets of two bobbins at the bottom of the tank. This would serve for positive developing, and another for negative, and a fixing tank on the same lines. With the same assembly of loops, but with separate washing, you have a machine with four tanks. Mr. Honri : Is it similar to the plant that is installed at M.G.M. British studios ?. The Author : No, that is a separate processing machine — much bigger, and a more permanent apparatus than this. Mr. B. Honri : It seems to me it is something more than an experimental apparatus. I would say it is a developing plant capable of dealing with negative development outside the range of the normal commercial processing machines. Mr. R. H. Cricks : Are you able to use spray development, as in the M.G.M. machine ? The Author : One could, by means of a separate developing tank. We have used the machine for such diverse work as processing film, taking out scratches, cleaning film, and not so much for continuous work. BOOK REVIEWS Books reviewed may be seen in the Society's Library THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF ACOUSTIC PRINCIPLES. D. J. W. Cull urn. E. & F. N. Spon Ltd., 165. 200 pp. This is one of the Architectural and Building Series, published principally for the architectural profession. The clear and simple explanations of the many problems of sound, both wanted and unwanted, make it, however, very useful reading for many members of the kinema industry and not only those connected directly with sound recording or reproduction. Many useful reference tables and graphs are given, although one notes with regret that the only table of absorption coefficients included is a reprint from 1942, in spite of the work done by the Sound Insulation and Acoustics Committee of which Mr. Cullum is a member. It must, however, be appreciated that in a book covering so wide a subject certain matters must inevitably be incompletely covered. The author is in agreement with the advice so often given relative to entering into litigation ; according to his penultimate chapter the answer would appear to be " Don't do it ! " Geo. E. Burgess. PAINTING WITH LIGHT, by John Alton. John Alton presents an authoritative book on lighting with a wealth of interesting illustrations. Photographers, both amateur and professional, should find a great deal of valuable information here which has the merit of being up to date. My criticism, if any, is that Mr. Alton has tried to cram too much into too little space, sacrificing important details of photographic lighting, and floundering a little out of his depth in romantic theories which seem rather out of place in an otherwise intensely interesting book, which could only have been written by an experienced director of photography. F. A. Young.