The Film Daily (1930)

THE j^E2S DAILV Sunday, January 12, 1930 Academy Surveys Achievements of 1929 REVIEW ACTIVITIES OE COAST PRODUCTION BODY Conciliation The Conciliation Committee with the con ciliation policy of the Academy as one of the cornerstones of the institution is based on the principle of mutual understanding and is not compulsory in its operation. Complaints may be filed by any person or company in the production industry against any other person or company in the industry whether members of the Academy or not. Each complaint is first considered by the Secretary, who may endeavor to effect an amicable adjustment without reference to a committee. Frequently such adjustments are secured even before formal filing. Should no settlement be reached the case then goes to the Executive Committee of the Branch to which the complainant belongs or would belong if a member of the Academy. For example, matters involving actors go to the Actors' Executive Committee, questions regarding stories and writers go to the Writers' Executive Committee, and so on. The Executive Committee to whom a matter is thus referred then proceeds to examine the complaint together with the response, if any has been received, and endeavors if possible to bring about an adjustment. Failing in that, the Executive Committee refers the complaint to the Conciliation Committee of the Academy, composed of one representative from each Branch. The Conciliation Committee may then make further efforts at conciliation or may proceed to a hearing of the facts, after giving due notice to each party to the controversy. In the language of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Academy, it may hold such hearing "if no answer be interposed on the complaint alone." To insure absolute freedom from prejudice it is provided that when a member of the Conciliation Committee "be either complainant or respondent or be employed by or in partnership with any person, firm or corporation appearing either as complainant or respondent, such person shall be disqualified to sit on the Conciliation Committee." His place is filled by appointment of the President, from the Branch to which the disqualified member belongs, with the approval of the Executive Committee of such branch. Of the 30 cases during the past year which could not be disposed of without formal filing of complaints for action by the Executive Committees or the Conciliation Committee, 21 were disposed of and 9 were pending December 31, 1929. Of the 21 cases dis posed of 19 were favorable to the complainants. Merit Awards In token of their achievements having been judged the most outstanding in motion pic tures during the year 1927-28 awards of merit are annually conferred by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences upon a selected group after careful consideration of all feature pictures and judgment and decision by competent boards of judges. The Academy trophy is a statuette in gold-bronze. For achievements during the year ending July 31, 1928, these awards were presented to the following at a dinner on May 16, 1929: First Awards Emil Jannings, for distinguished performances in "Way of All Flesh" and "'The Last Command." Janet Gaynor, for distinguished performances in "Seventh Heaven," "Street Angel" and "Sunrise." Frank Borzage, for distinguished achievement in directing "Seventh Heaven." Lewis Milestone, for distinguished achievement in directing "Two Arabian Knights." Ben Hecht, for distinguished achievement in writing the original story for "Underworld." Benjamin Glazer, for distinguished achievement in adaptation of "Seventh Heaven." Joe W. Farnham, for distinguished achieve ment in writing titles of "Telling the World" and "Fair Co-Ed." Charles Rosher, for distinguished achievement in cinematography of "Sunrise." Karl Struss, for distinguished achievement in cinematography of "Sunrise." William Cameron Menzies, for distinguish ed achievements in art direction of "The Tempest" and "The Dove." Roy J. Pomeroy, for distinguished engineering achievements in "Wings." Paramount-Famous Lasky Corporation, for production of outstanding photoplay, "Wings." Fox Film Corporation, for artistic quality of "Sunrise." Special Awards Warner Brothers, for producing "The Jazz Singer," marking an epoch in motion picture history. Charles Chaplin, for his versatility and genius in writing, acting, directing and producing "The Circus." Honorable Mention Richard Barthelmess, for his performances in "The Noose" and "The Patent Leather Kid." Louise Dresser for her performance in "A Ship Comes In." Herbert Brenon, for directing "Sorrel and Son." King Vidor, for directing "The Crowd." Ted Wilde for directing "Speedy." Lejos Biro for writing "'The Last Com mand." Alfred Cohn for adapting "The Jazz Singer." Anthony Coldeway, for adapting "Glorious Betsy." George Marion, Jr., for writing titles of "Oh Kay." Gerald Duffy for writing titles of "The Life of Helen of Troy." George Barnes for cinematography of "Sadie Thompson," "The Devil Dancer" and "Magic Flame." Rochus Gliese for art direction of "Sunrise." Harry Oliver for art direction of "Seventh Heaven." Nugent Slaughter, for engineering effects in "The Jazz Singer." Ralph Hammeras, for engineering effects in "The Life of Helen of Troy." Fox Company for Seventh Heaven." Caddo Company for The Racket." Paramount-Famous-Lasky Corporation for "Chang." Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for "The Crowd." The awards for the year ending July 31, 1929, will be announced early in 1930. Board of judges from the different branches have been passing on the nominations submitted by the Academy membership. Seven awards will be conferred as follows: 1. Actor — Best performance or performances, talking or silent, with special reference to character portrayal, comedy or dramatic rendition and speech and diction, if em ployed. 2. Actress — Best performance or perform ances, talking or silent, with special reference to character portrayal, comedy or dramatic rendition and speech and diction, ii employed. 3. Director — Best achievement or achievements in the art of direction, talking or silent, comedy or drama, with special reference to character developments, originality of treatment, coordination of sound or audible speech, if employed, and excellence of craftsmanship in directing as a whole. 4. Writer — Best achievement or achievements in writing for the screen, silent or talking, original or adaptation, with special reference to construction, originality of treatment, character development, theme, consistency, dialogue, and general excellence of the whole. 5. Cinematographer — Best achievement or achievements in cinematography with sjjecial reference to photographic art and quality. 6. Art Director — Best achievement or achievements in set designing with special reference to art quality, correct detail, story application, and originality. 7. Production — Best motion picture production, silent or talking, drama, comedy, or musical production, with special reference to quality, public appeal, general excellence and all elements that contribute to a motion picture's greatness. Technical Administration The Academy serves as a clearing house for the collection of technical data in the motion picture production industry and information on non-competitive subjects and their distribution to the industry in general. The work of the Technical Bureau of the Association of Motion Picture Producers, Inc., was taken over by the Academy early in January, 1930, and supplemented the Academy's previous technical activities. In the organization of the Producers-Tech nicians Joint Committee a number of the technical activities of the Academy have been grouped under special and responsible direction in keeping ^ith the importance and re sponsibility of this phase of service to the industry. The Producers-Technicians Joint Committee includes: Irving G. Thalberg, Chairman; Sol Wurtzel, M. C. Levee, Fred W. Beetson, Walter L. Stern, Nugent H. Slaughter, H. Keith Weeks, William Sistrom; Lester Cowan, Secretary, H. o. Knox, Frederick M. Sammis, J. T Reed, J. A. Ball, Gerald F. Rackett, F. E. Pelton, Frank Woods The three initial projects being adminis tered directly by the committee include: (1) investigation of present devices and perlec tion ot an improved device to silence tht motion picture camera; (2) analysis of sound picture set materials and construction from the acoustical standpoint; (3) continuation oi the research sponsored by the Academy into improved studio lighting and tests and survey of efforts to silence the studio arc lamp. Other projects will be taken up as these are completed, the policy of the committee being to concentrate on problems of immediatel> practical significance. Much of the work ol the committee is being assisted by coopera tion of Electrical Research Products, inc., RCA Photophone Corporation, and other equipment companies. Correlation of Theater and Studio Practices For the first time during the past year the Academy services were extended to the problems immediately affecting motion picture the aters as well as studios. Correlation of important difference in prac tice between studio camera apertures and projector apertures used in theaters was ac complished during the past year through a committee representing the Academy Tech nicians' Branch, the American Society ot Cinematographers, Chapter No. 7 of the Amer ican Projection Society, and the Pacific Coast Section of the Society of Motion Pic cure Engineers after a nationwide survey. It was recommended that as a temporary measure all studios and cinematographers using sound-on-film methods should compose all vital portions of the picture within a rectangle 0.620 by 0.835 inches marked on the ground glass of the camera. It was also recommended that theaters which make a practice of re-establishing the full screen pro portions of sound-on-film pictures do so by the use of an aperture whose size would be 0.600 by 0.800 inches on the basis of pro jection on the level, the horizontal center of the picture coinciding with the horizontal center of the S.M.P.E. Standard Aperture. Upon the publication of this resolution the major Hollywood studios adopted the mark ings, which were also made standards of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers at the convention in Toronto. A committee appointed in the fall of 1929 studied the makeup of leaders and reel as sembly in an effort to bring together the best features of present practice which varies widely among studios and exchanges. Speci fications drawn with a view to their value to the producer and distributor, adaptabilitji to laboratory practice, and general utility to projectionists will be presented for standardization in the industry early in 1930. Lengths of the various sections of the leader and changeover cues will be made standard. A committee is studying the practical as pects of the problem resulting from the fact that screen illumination in theaters, studios, and laboratories varies to an extreme degree. The committee's work will be guided towaty,' securing minimum conditions of illumination efficiency within the reach of the largest pos sible number of motion picture theaters so that the density of prints may be adapted to these conditions and the quality of projec tion throughout the country improved. SOUND HAS PROVEN Publications In addition to the publications for the membership two general books have been au-^^ thorized by the Academy and are now in^^ process of editing and publication. A volume^^ to be titled "Outline of the Motion Picture" intended for general circulation and also as an educational textbook is based on lectures deivered at an Academy sponsored course in the University of Southern California and will be published jointly by the Academy and the University. The Academy's Technical Digest is heins issued in the form of serial papers and will also l>e issued in book form. Based upon lectures in the Academy's School in Fundamentals of Sound Recording and Reproduc tion for Motion Pictures, it contains articles by the principal sound experts on various aspects of sound recording by both disc atio film methods. College Affairs || The auspices of the Academy's College Af-'' fairs Committee have been extended to es tablishment of several desirable contracts he tween universities and the motion picture In dustry during the past year. Possibly the most outstanding of these was the introducion of the firs courses in appre elation of the motion picture in major Amer ican Universities. With the cooperation of the College Affairs Committee and Academy members who delivered twelve of the lee tures. the course, "Introduction to the Photoplay" was introduced into the curriculum of the University of Southern California. Assistance of the Academy was later ex tended toward a similar course at Stanford L'niversity. A delegation representing the Academy took part in the exercises at Stanford Univer sity which marked the semi-centennial of the early researches in photography of mo tion conducted by I.eland Stanford and Ed ward Muybridge, Academy Sound School With the completion of the tenth lecture demonstration before the fourth section o. students, the Academy School in Fundamen tals of Sound Recording and Reproduction for Motion Pictures came to a successful end December 16. In the four sections of the school, 565 studio employees had been giver, two months and a half of competent and an thoritative Instruction by the leading sound j experts in the industry. Attendance in tlie four sections, to which enrollment had been limited, continued at an average of approximately 100 students throughout the course, and the interest and expressions of satl= faction from the students and studio exe cutives testify to the success of the school. The first of its kind in the motion picture industry, and a pioneering step in industrial self-education, the Academy School had its nflicial origin in a meeting of the Producers Branch July 31. This meeting, under the chairmanship of B. P. Schulberg, offered the recommendation to the Academy Board thnt a course in technical instruction be made available to studio employpp= Extension of this educational work within the production industry is projected for the coming year. Preview Service Committees representing national organiza tions are previewing new productions almost daily in the Academy's projection theater hy arrangement between the Motion Picture Pro ducers and Distributors of America, Inc.. and the various organizations. Those now participating are the Parent-Teachers Association. Women's University Club, D. A. R.General Federation of Women's Clubs ami American Library Ass'n, International Fed eratlon of Catholic Alumnae, and Y. M. C. A.