International projectionist (Oct 1931-Sept 1933)

June 1933 INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST 19 vice-president; Arthur Pitann, secretary; Roy Bedore, sales manager; Milton Kanter, advertising, and Alexander Newman, chief engineer. • Macy Engineering Co., manufacturers of public address equipment, is now supplying to the trade a catalogue of its products. Copies may be had upon request to the company at 1451 39th St., Brooklyn, N. Y. • A booklet entitled "A Complete Ref erence on Photo-Electric Cells" has just been issued by General Scientific Corp., 4,829 South Kedzie Avenue, Chicago. The booklet catalogues full information about G. S. C. Lumotron products, such as prices, discounts, terms, etc. Another section offers information of a technical nature, including types of cells, dimensions, characteristics and applicability to various types of sound picture reproducers. Copies are available to projectionists. For the Technical Library Motion Picture Projection and Sound Pictures, Fifth Edition, hy James R. Cameron and Messrs. Nadell, Rider and Dubray. Introduction by Dr. A. N. Goldsmith. 1,535 pages, 700 illiistratioiis, including glossary and index. Published by Cameron Publishing Co., Woodmont, Conn. Price $7.50. 5% x 8%. A monumental work, not only in size but for quality. Cameron b^s been writing motion picture technical books for eighteen years, but this, his latest work, is by far his best. This Cameron book is not about projection; it is projection. The book starts at scratch, and between its covers is encompassed the entire subject of visual and sound projection. It really is four volumes in one, with four acknowledged experts each contributing a section on his own particular specialty. The book naturally is intended for projectionist consumption, but its real worth is indicated by the fact that a novice may read it and glean therefrom sufficient information to have a workable understanding of projection in 1933; while the experienced professional projectionist undoubtedly will enjoy a review of the fundamentals of the art before going on to the more advanced data. The idea of utilizing co-authors, usually an experiment that just doesn't "pan out", has borne fruit in this instance. Projection is handled by Cameron himself; and then there is a great sound section by Aaron Nadell, whose work is well-known to and admired by many readers of these columns; there is an exposition of optics by Joseph Dubray that adds to the established reputation of this writer on the score of simple and lucid writing that makes for almost effortless reading; and last, but by no means least, there is a trouble-shooting section by John Rider which in itself is worth the price of the volume. One searches in vain for phrases with which to do justice to this remarkable compendium on the art of projection: to have it and read it is to understand projection. Cameron deserves the thanks of the projection craft, and of everyone interested in the art, for this invaluable contribution to projection literature. All projectionists, novice or veteran, owe themselves the privilege of owning this volume. Beg, borrow or steal the price — but don't be without this latest Cameron book. The Visual Fatigue of Motion Pictures, compiled and edited by Aaron Singer. A world-wide survey and summary on the effect of motion pictures on the eyes. 48 pages, indexed. Published by Amusement Age Publishing Co., 24 West AOth St., New York. Price $1.00. 5 a; 7%. Sailing uncharted literary seas, Mr. Singer has produced a unique and valuable volume. Infinitely more difficult than creative writing is the task essayed by this editor in ferreting out past and present opinion, together with a complete survey of the literature and a listing of research conclusions to date, relative to the effect of motion pictures on the eyes. That the completed work reflects a job well done is a tribute indeed to the persistence and ingenuity displayed by Mr. Singer. While concerned in the main with what might be termed a by-product of projection, this little book provides a jolt to those complacent individuals who think they are well posted on projection. Even an experienced motion picture technician doesn't think very hard on the subject of visual fatigue resulting from viewing motion pictures, but this book proves that many minds in many lands — nearly every country in the world is represented by an opinion — are giving the subject serious thought, the net result of which processes cannot fail to profoundly affect future practice in the motion picture field. The absence of opinions by practical projectionists does not alter the fact that this work is of intense practical significance. Any worker in the art, and projectionists in particular, will find in this book a fund of information that makes the purchase price insignificant indeed. It seems of great importance that as wide a distribution of this volume as is possible be obtained, so that succeeding editions, to be published each year, will become increasingly important and serve a mighty useful purpose. To Mr. Singer is due the thanks of the industry for an original idea. The Principles of Optics, by Arthur C. Hardy and Fred H. Perrin. 632 pages, 319 illustrations; completely indexed. Published by Mc-GrawHill Book Co., New York. Price $6.00. 6 X 91/4. Adroitly side-stepping the dry-asdust method of discussing optics, Messrs. Hardy and Perrin, faculty colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have done a magnificent job in this presentation of data relative to pure and applied optics. It must be stated that the work is a trifle "heavy" for those who have not had a good early optical training, despite the expressed and apparent intent of the authors to stress the practical applications of the data offered. For those who consider themselves well informed on the subject of optics this work is an indispensable necessity. To know the science of optics in 1933 one simply must have at hand the information spread upon the pages of this book. The keynote of the work is sounded in the preface: "Those who are accustomed to regard optics as an exercise in applied mathematics will be disappointed in the present treatment. . . . We trust that this lack of rigor is more than compensated by the greater emphasis . . . placed upon the principles themselves and upon the manner in which they can be applied". Thus the promise that is more than made good in succeeding pages. W. E. AUDITORY PERSPECTIVE To show the volume range possible with the new W. E. system of sound reproduction in auditory perspective, described in these columns last month, an orchestra played a selection at a constant level of loudness while the output of the loud speakers was varied from a level so low that the instruments could scarcely be heard, up to a loudness almost great enough to be painful. Throughout the whole range, the reproduction was faithful in all respects except the level of loudness; there was no distortion or noise to mar the perfection of the reproduction, and the wide range in volume was vividly impressed on the audience. The effect of limiting the range in pitch, or frequency, was illustrated by employing electric filters to cut out one octave at a time — first from the upper end of the range and then from the lower. The new apparatus reproduces faithfully about 9 octaves or from 35 to 16,000 cycles, compared to about six for ordinary radio reproduction. By this demonstration the audience had the opportunity of judging the importance of the complete range to the full aesthetic appeal of music.