Cinematographic annual : 1930 (1930)

38 CINEMATOGRAPHIC ANNUAL the so-called "sonochrome" tints is becoming widespread. Probably the most distinguished example in 1929 was "The Taming of the Shrew." This picture used a single, uniform tint throughout to suffuse the picture with a warm Italian atmosphere. A table of psychological values for Sonochrome tints has been worked out on a scientific basis in the expectation that changing tints may be used — where natural color is too expensive — to influence the mood of the various scenes of a photoplay. Hyper-sensitization of panchromatic film, which increases the red and green sensitivity of the film three to four times, is a comparatively recent important development in the interest of greater speed. It is an interesting commentary on the scope of modern science that the technological aspect of the movies has kept abreast of the dazzling changes of recent years by providing film equal to every need. The manufacture of film is one of the most interesting large-scale industries by reason of the fact that, despite huge production, laboratory standards of quality and super-cleanliness are necessary. Variation of a tiny fraction of an inch in the thickness of film might mean scratches in projection, and the tiniest particle of dust dried into film in the course of manufacture might, under the magnification of the projecting lens, become a large blotch on the screen. Manufacturing surroundings that are free from dust and dirt are essential. Kodak Park's green acres are an effective barrier — a broad no man's land against the enemy of dust along the highways. The paved streets in the plant are not merely sprinkled, but are flushed at high pressure frequently. The freight cars that move through Kodak Park are hauled by steam locomotives that are fireless and therefore emit neither smoke nor soot. Interior surfaces of film-making buildings — walls, ceilings, and floors — are constructed of materials that can not disintegrate and cause dust. The air present in the various departments is washed and filtered to stop elusive particles. Vacuum cleaners in the hands of cleaning squads go over every inch of exposed surface several times daily. "Round" corners leave no hiding places for dirt and make easy the cleaners' task. Even the matter of clothing is considered. Street clothes may not be worn in certain departments, but instead are changed outside for laundered suits which go frequently into the laundry maintained at the plant for the purpose. Boots are exchanged for rope-soled shoes that will not by any possibility grind dust out of the floor surfaces. The base of all film is a cellulose product. Cotton supplies this necessary ingredient. Kodak Park uses more than 5,000,000 pounds of cotton in a year. As cleanliness and purity are of prime importance in all film-making, weeks are first spent in washing and drying the cotton which goes into the making of the transparent base. All vegetable gum and other impurities are removed with caustic soda in large rotary vats. For eliminating the moisture the cleansed cotton then passes through huge dryers. The next step in film-making is treatment of the cotton with a mixture of nitric and sulphric acids to render the cotton soluble later in alcohol. This changes it to what is technically known as "cellulose