The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

July-August, 1952 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN 87 unaided eye to detect his real attitude." Ever since then the Muybridge jmotographs have been hailed as the first accurate representation of a galloping horse. History does not record what Lieutenant L. Wachter, of the 7th Regiment of Cuirassiers of the French Army, said when he first saw the Muybridge photographs. They must have seemed familiar, for in 1862 he had written a book on equitation " Apercus Equestres," in which he had discussed the question of the gallop in detail. From his close observation of horses, he had deduced the position of the feet. He sketched ten pictures of a horse in gallop and then " put them to test on the phenakistoscope, and I saw my horse gallop in the mirror." The phenakistoscope was a toy in which the illusion of motion was produced. Drawings were made on a slotted disc, which was made to revolve opposite a mirror. Looking through the slits, the observer saw one picture after another, but so rapidly that — through the phenomenon of persistence of vision — they appear to blend and recreate motion. Wachter's hand-drawn pictures correspond exactly to Muybridge's photographs. It is tempting to suggest that someone in California — could it have been Governor Stanford himself? — knew of Wachter's work on equitation and suggested that Muybridge attempt to make a sequence of photographs. BOOKS " Timon of Athens," rarely performed in London, has been given a lively though dubious interpretation at the Old Vic. Above is a Fuseli drawing of Timon. BRITISH STANDARDS 1952 YEAR BOOK: (British Standards Institution, 24 Victoria Street, Westminster, London, S.W.I, price 7/6). The 1952 edition of this most valuable reference work has just been published. It contains a complete list of the 1,800 British Standards current at 31st March, 1952, with a brief description of the subject matter of each. A subject index simplifies reference. The Year Book also gives particulars of the membership of the General Council and of the Institution's Divisional Councils and Industry Standards Committees. These Industry Standards Committees, 59 in number, each represent a major British industry through whom the work of drafting British Standards is delegated to some 2,200 Technical Committees and Sub-Committees. In adition, 20 Special Committees, some of an advisory category, are also listed. A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE MOVIES. By Deems Taylor, Bryant Hale and Macelene Peterson. Allen and Unwin. 25s. Contains over seven hundred stills covering the development of film-making in America from the earliest days. A useful and stimulating collection, the book suffers from the attempts made by the writers of the text to be witty and bright about their pictures. Manners, modes of acting, primitive equipment, costumes provoke the commentators to howls of hilarity. Why? OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED: Kine Year Book for 1952 (Odhams, 21/-). The indispensable handbook to the industry, with its complete guide to studios, trade organisations, equipment manufacturers, cinemas, films produced, and people in the industry. It is hard to imagine the film trade without the Kine Year Book. Congratulations to our colleagues at Kine for the high standard they maintain in the production of this book. In Good Company (Longmans, 12/6) is Mary Field's account of the children's entertainment film movement over the years 19431950: technicians will be interested in her narration of the problems met and the answers found. Useful for its information about children's films in other countries is The Entertainment Film for Juvenile Audiences, by Henri Storek, published by Unesco (H.M. Stationery Office, 7/6). From Unesco comes also Nevvsreels Across the World, by Peter Baechlin and Maurice Muller-Strauss (H.M. Stationery Office, 10/6), a study of world newsreel organisation. Film and its Techniques, by Raymond Spottiswood (Faber and Faber, 42s.) is a thorough-going exposition of film making likely to be useful both to beginners and to experienced technicians, with its 500 pages of closely packed, brightly written information, its diagrams and drawings, and useful glossary. PEP have issued a report. The British Film Industry (PEP, 18/-), which will be reviewed fully in our next issue.