International projectionist (Oct 1931-Sept 1933)

After prolonged and intensive investigation into every phase of projection room operation and maintenance, the National Research Council, Canadian Government subsidiary, has completed its work and presented its findings, a complete exposition of which is offered herein. This report is fraught with tremendous significance to the art of projection in that it reflects the first serious attempt by an impartial and exceedingly well-informed group of men to provide the answer to the question as to what really constitutes efficient and safe projection room operation. The thanks of the entire projectionist craft are due those aggressive Canadian projectionist units which, through cooperative effort of a kind heretofore unknown within the craft, succeeded in focussing attention upon the importance of their work in the theatre and by so doing emphasized the importance of their members as craftsmen. — Editor. PROJECTION ROOM REGULATIONS AND PRACTICES THE Rkil-ORT OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA THE investigation covered by this report was undertaken at the request of the Prime Minister of British Columbia, as stated in a letter of August 4, 1932. A complete statement of the matter to be investigated was submitted by the Provincial Fire Marshal of British Columbia on October 14, 1932, in the following terms : "Representations have been made to the Government of British Columbia by theatre owners, managers and others engaged in the motion picture industry, that the regulations now in force in this province requiring two licensed projectionists where two or more cinematograph machines are used in a theatre, are unnecessary and are placing too great a burden on the industry. Further, that the standards of examination for projectionists are too high and in excess of safety requirements. "In support of the above it is stated that in view of the rigid requirements for the construction of the operating room and the up-to-date equipment used, that the employment of two licensed men is unnecessary, in that one man is thoroughly competent to do the work. They state, further, that under present regulations a heavy burden is placed upon them as they are forced to pay a high salary for work that could be well and safely done by one qualified projectionist. "With reference to the question of examination, they submit that the standard is so high that competent men cannot pass, and as a result the operating field is now controlled by a few picked men who are able to demand exorbitant wages which the theatre owners are compelled to pay. "As the administration of the Act governing the construction and operation of motion picture theatres is one of the duties of the Fire Marshal, I was asked' by the Honorable Attorney-General, Minister of the Department, to report on the above with such comments and recommendations as I cared to make. "Pursuant to this I made certain investigations and tests and submitted my findings to the Minister together with the recommendation that the whole matter be referred to the National Research Council, and that they be asked to make tests and submit their findings to the Government together with such recommendations as they feel will meet the requirements of public safety, having in mind the fact that a very large percentage of the patrons of our theatres are women and children." . . . The need for the investigation arose out of the fact that certain features of the moving picture business are associated with fire hazards on account of the inflammable and explosive nature of the film, requiring special regulations with regard to the projection rooms and the consequent necessity for careful supervision during presentation. Scope of Investigation As the industry, in so far as it relates to sound pictures, is very new and in a state of development, the committee considered it necessary to get a true picture of the actual conditions by correspondence and by visits. Correspondence was entered into with the following: Dominion Fire Commissioner; Provincial Fire Marshals ; International Fire Prevention Association; the technical experts of film manufacturing and equipment firms ; manufacturers of safety de • International Projectionist is indebted to William P. Covert, second vice-president of the International Alliance, for his cooperation in making available for early publication the accompanying report of the National Research Council of Canada bearing on projection room regulations and practices. [12] vices; U. S. Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C; Fire Marshals active in fire prevention work; Fire Commissioners, Safety Councils, and Theatre Inspectors of a number of states and cities in the United States; insurance companies; Society of Motion Picture Engineers; the authors of more recent books on motion picture projection; the P'rench National Research Laboratory; the British Home Office, the International Labor Office of the League of Nations. Written evidence was also submitted by the projectionists' unions and exhibitors' organizations. The more recent literature on motion pictures and safety devices was reviewed. In addition, theatres in Vancouver and Ottawa were visited to see machines in operation. Certain experimental work was also carried on. In view of the technical nature of the investigation public hearings were not held. The investigation was conducted wholly from the point of view of public safety. A summary of the information gathered follows: 1. Motion Picture Film and Its Products of Combustion Motion picture films now in common use consist of a light-sensitive layer (a suspension of silver compounds, or when developed of metallic silver, in gelatin) upon a support, one-tenth to two-tenths of a millimetre thick, of a special type of celluloid, consisting of about 15 parts of camphor and 85 parts of nitrocellulose. Nitrocellulose contains enough oxygen to support its own incomplete combustion, and when once the film is ignited, it continues to decompose and to pro