Educational film magazine; (19-)

greater cities. To facilitate prompt deliveries sub-offices will be established in the larger towns of these zones. The Pictorial Clubs of New York, with offices at 33 West 42nd Street, has been incorporated to serve as the central agency for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Officers of the com- pany are: William L. Lee, president; M. Louis Caton, vice-presi- dent; Andrew J. Regan, vice-president; Harry T. Hatcher, secre- tary and treasurer; and Karl R. Henrich, assistant secretary and treasurer. Mh ninii PHOTOPHONE FILMS VOICE AS WELL AS SPEAKER A SWEDISH invention called the photophone is said to photograph the voice as well as the figure of a speaker and reproduce both synchronously. A description of the instrument, written by W. Bayard Hale, was printed in The London Times recently. There is neither disc nor needle, nor any of the characteristic appliances of the phonograph about it, says Mr. Hale. It actually photographs the voice. The vocal recording machine is equipped with "a delicate dia- phragm of rock crystal," upon the back of which "falls a slender shaft of light, which "is reflected into the camera." When the crystal diaphragm is agitated by a speaker's voice, the ray of light is reflected into the camera at a constantly changing angle,, with the result that it writes on the film "curves corresponding to the sound waves which are agitating it." This film is the photographic record of the voice. To convert this record into vocal sounds the projecting ma- chine employs the substance known as selenium, "which pos- sesses the curious property of resisting the passage of electricity, in proportion to the degree of light in which it is bathed." The film is projected upon a selenium cell incorporated in an electric current. "As the current passes through it, this cell controls and modifies its strength to an exquisite degree, as there falls upon it the flicker of the lights and shadows of the sound film. The electric current, as it emerges from the selenium cell, is vibrating in precise correspondence with the vibrations of the light-waves, and with the sound-waves of which they are a reproduction." The current, amplified, is conducted to the horn of a loud-speaking telephone, from which the speaker's voice issues. The synchro- nizing of the voice and its accompanying motion pictures is accomplished by exposing and projecting both films, the visual and the vocal, from a common shaft. Mr. Hale writes that he witnessed a thoroughly satisfactory demonstration of the photophone in the Experimental Labora- tory of Brevik, near Stockholm, and that he has been told of "new and enormous possibilities of amplification, which sug- gest the possibility of lighthouses which shout their names over sixty miles at sea." Sven Aison Bergland is the "leader of a band of inventors," who have been working on the photophone for twelve years. CHINESE FILMS TO REGENERATE CHINA 'T'O reclaim China from opium, gambling, superstition, ig- norance, and prejudice against foreigners is the avowed object of the Wah Ming Motion Picture Company, of 304 Mar- chessault street, Los Angeles, California, under the management of James Leong, said to be the only Chinese supervising director in the film industry. "The picture show is to take the place of the village tavern with all its influence for evil," declares a statement recently issued by this company, "and the Chinese are to be educated and morally uplifted by means of pictures they can understand— pictures made by Chinese for the Chinese, but employing Ameri- can methods and seventy per cent American players until such time as Chinese actors and technicians may be developed to take their places." The first photoplay production is Lotus Blossom, written by Mr. Leong and starring Lady Tsen Mei, Chinese prima donna. The picture will first be shown in this country and later in China, with Chinese titles. For the present four special features a year will be the schedule. W* ^ PRIZMA WINS PATENT CASE THHE patent office interference, obtained by A. Hernandez-Mejia in 1918, with the Kelly patent owned by Prizma, Inc., was on January 3 finally decided in favor of William V. D. Kelley, technical adviser of Prizma, by the unanimous decision of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia. The cause of the controversy relates to methods of making double-coated positive motion picture film in natural colors, and the product itself. u FOX OPENS EDUCATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL DIVISION NDER the direction of Herbert E. Hancock, formerly head of Fox News, with general supervision by William Fox, president, and Win- field R. Sheehan, vice-president and general manager, the Fox Film Corporation has launched an educational and industrial division. This will be wholly independent of the-company's amusement enterprise. The announcement states that separate staffs of directors, scenario writers, librarians, technical men, artists, animators, and clerical force will be employed. The film library of Fox News is said to contain more than a million feet of negative from which hundreds of informational subjects may be obtained. The industrial division has already produced several pic- tures, it is stated. All of the exchanges in this country and branch ofiSces abroad have been instructed to cooperate with the New York headquarters. About 300 cameramen in various parts of the world will serve these new divi- sions. It is believed that many valuable new educational and industrial film subjects and much helpful exchange service to non-theatric.il exhi- bitors will result from this vetnure on the part of one of the ohlest old- line theatrical organizations. MOTION PICTURES FOR CHURCHES SCHOOLS, CLUBS, Y. M. C. A's., etc. Alwayt Use an Edited Picture Program EDITED PICTURES SYSTEM 71 West «Srd Street New York City UNIVERSAL SEEKS SUPERINTENDENTS' CO-OPERATION TN increasing the sales of his historical chapter-plays which include the Winner! of the West series, Carl I^aeminle of Universal has adopted the plan of sending a letter, a color map of Africa and a press book to 7,000 school superintendents In the country. The letter is a straightforward message advising of the educational values of these pictures, dealing especially with a description of With Stanley in Africa and the press book ably backs it up with examples of advertisements, stories about the players, and a synopsis. Tell the advertiser you read hit ad in Educational 26 WRITE FOR ^^° NEWSPAPERS Easily learned. Our 2a Lesson Coun* Tl/r \ (^ \ n^ T IVr 17 C '" Journalism covers every phase of IVL I\ \T J\. Ll X il JCi tj newspaper, niafrazlne and trade jour- nal writinif under competent instru<v tors at a total cost to you of ONLY $S.0». Big demand for news writers. Bar-n $8.00 In $10.00 per daj/—men or women. 2.1,000 publications In America need your services. An opportunity in every town. Remit by checl< or money order and begin earning money at once. THE WALHAMORE INSTITUTE, Dept. 60N, r.ar»y»tte Building Philadelphia. Fa. Film Magazine — it means belter service lor V(m