International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

Eight The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER October, 1934 loll/worn But you You By Earl Theisen Over at Paramount in Harry Cottrell's Still Department is a new photographic device for glossy prints. It consists of a large drum of highly polished chromium. As the drum revolves the prints are automatically pressed in contact and, before the drum has made a complete revolution, the prints are dried with a high gloss. In order to get this speed of dryin the drum has an internal steam jacket, the steam being maintained constantly by a controlled gas jet. The device which is operated by one man can turn out two hundred and eighty prints an hour which is four times the number by the old method of ferrotype tins. And, of course, there is no bother of polishing and laying the prints to dry as is necessary by the old method. The great demand of newspapers (I believe Paramount Studios send photographs to about three hundred newspapers daily), necessitates a speedy method of turning out glossy prints. I just read a seven page account of the research work that went into "Cleopatra." With all the research those researchers had accumulated, the fine technical staff and the good cast, one would expect a masterpiece — a film to go down in history among the great pictures. "Cleopatra" should have been the biggest picture yet. It should have been a "spectacle" with a soul, but was it? Speaking of directors. The list of Hollywood's best directors includes Lubitsch, Von Sternberg and De Mille. Personally I include Van Dyke and Capra in that list. These two directors are accurate and true to the social codes, yet they add life and zest to their films. Van Dyke's "Eskimo" never grossed big money, of course, yet a finer picture of the Eskimo has never been made, and the studio did not lose by making it. Every person who saw the picture will never forget the thing and will always understand a little the problems of the Eskimo and his customs. Frank Capra who made "It Happened One Night," along with miles and miles of other good films, needs no further praise. Victor Schertzinger, the director of "One Night of Love," is convinced that the ways of radio are indeed strange. Recently he appeared on the air waves and, being a composer, he played several of his own numbers. One of the numbers he wanted to play was the theme song of his picture, "One Night of Love" which he composed himself. "Sorry," said the radio production manager can't use that song." "But I . . I wrote it," stuttered Schertzinger. mean-mean I can't play a number I wrote myself?" "It's a restricted number and you can't play it without the permission of the Composer's Society," insisted the radio fellow. "However, if you will wait until after your own program, Rudy Vallee will be on the air and he's going to play it." Mr. Schertzinger asked for a glass of ice water. A camera that will bounce has been invented ! Two Bell & Howell Eyemo Cameras fell from about 60,000 feet and are only little damaged. In the recent ascension by the National Geographic Army Air Corps Stratosphere expedition which began at Rapid City, South Dakota, and ended, as a result of a forced descent at Holdrege, Nebraska, the two cameras fell with the gondola a distance of eleven and one-half miles. Captain A. W. Stevens, U. S. Army, together with Major W. E. Kepner, and Captain O. A. Anderson, of the flight personnel, had intended to take movies of the stratosphere. No movies were taken. The Eyemo, a light camera, was chosen. One camera was equipped with a 6-inch lens and the other with Scinch lens, so either large or small pictures of whatever happened to be found could be taken. The photographing was to be done through a porthole in the gondola. The porthole was fitted with pieces of optical flat glass through which the cameras could photograph. The cameras were automatic so the pictures could be taken without the attention of an operator. The film taken along was sensitized to infra-red to be used in conjunction with deep red filters. This was necessitated because the atmosphere at that altitude could not be penetrated photographically. In fact, the eye can't see through the depth of atmosphere to observe the earth from that altitude. By infra-red rays it was the hope to penetrate the atmosphere and photograph the earth from different altitudes. Regarding the condition of the cameras, one was practically undamaged, while the other had a number of dents and is minus a lens. It is thought the lens penetrated the ground on striking the earth. When a cartoon Silly Symphony is photographed in color, three negatives are taken. One for each of the three colors, red, yellow, and blue-green. From these three negatives, the color cartoons are made. Walt Disney and his staff paint the cartoons in the color desired and then the three negatives are taken which photographically record the color values. The three negatives each record the amount and extent of its particular color. On the yellow negative are all the yellow objects ; on the red are the red ones and so forth. From the three negatives are made three prints on a special stock which is called a "matrix." This matrix is then dyed to represent the color of which it is a record. The yellow matrix is dyed yellow and bears a record of all the yellow objects, etc. The three matrices are then individually printed on a master positive. One after the other of the three is printed in register on the same film which when completed represents a combination of the three colors in the originally painted cartoon. The International Photographer is the best magazine buy in the motion picture industry at $2.00 per year. 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