International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1934)

82 THE CINEMA IN TEACHING using glasses. A cinema apparatus made in a special way allows us to render visible motive acts which would otherwise be unobservable. We cannot in the ordinary way perceive the growth of a flower or the opening of the folds of a bud. It is only possible by making references to intervals of time to establish the fact of the movement, that is its growth and development. By means of the accelerated running of the picture, it is possible to quicken these slow movments of flowers and plants without destroying their proper individual rhythm. A whole new world has been revealed by this discovery. Phenomena such as the growth or division of cells which up till recently it was only possible to study through single and casual images can be observed today as one complete event, the intermediate phases of which no longer require intellectual representation in order to be understood. The technical characteristics and the working of the accelerating process with other connected questions are treated in detail in a work by Kolle, Laubenheimer, VoLMAR. (Internationale Lehrfilmschau, October 1932). It is not true that films of this kind are only useful for demonstration purposes. Specialized cinema apparatus have become the starting-point for a whole series of biological researches, and have led to the study of a variety of problems, the importance of which is not yet sufficiently recognized. The use of the motion picture to obtain a better understanding of motive processes in the field of physiology and pathology of movements has proved an indispensable aid. The motion picture fixes the wavering process of movement, and the image thus fixed allows us to make an analytic study of its development. The comparison between diverse images observed in different places and at various times allows us to make valuable conclusions. This is the reason why the film was chosen as the means to classify the states of agitation in mental disorders which in general are very difficult to distinguish from one another. An accurate analysis of complicated motor phenomena has been made during the last few years in the clinic for mental and nervous diseases, of Frankfurt (Director : Professor Klesit). In proceeding with the classification of various images, it was possible to observe recurrent positions. The observations and deductions which it has been possible to make in the course of a number of years have rendered it practicable to perceive with a certain probability of correctness the hyper-cinetic psychoses capable of cure, (Motor psychoses and disturbances : Kleist), also cathatonies of a malignant nature and the exterior aspect of certain states of agitation. Numerous other problems have been treated in this fashion ; such as cases of paralysis, encephalitis and other morbid conditions having their origin in the brain. Similar or identical motor phenomena with those perceptible in endogenous psychosis leading to a study of cerebral psychopathy provide subjects for similar studies. In cases of mental diseases with symptoms of restlessness, it is generally sufficient to project a film of the case once or twice to recognize the characteristic motor symptoms, as well as for distinguishing expressive or reactive movements or paracinesis as well as for making observations of the irregular return of certain phenomena. When, however, we are not dealing with certain known motor characteristics or with determined developments of actions but rather with single irregular movements of similar aspect, we can only observe and register their characteristics and particularities by means of more minute cinematographic analysis. In order to differentiate between the various forms of restlessness and mental disturbance, it was necessary first of all to establish the type of the movement, its rhythm, the alternating phases, the course of the individual movements and the manner of their succession. In this the simple projection of the film is not enough. It is necessary to study in a slow motion projection the individual sucessions, examining them often, image by image, and comparing movements, attitudes and positions. In the case of very rapid motion, as in tremours or the tic, it has only proved possible to attempt the analysis after having slowed down the movements with the aid of the slow motion projector, because in an ordinary succession of images, the effect would be far from clear. By counting the number of the photograms, it has also been possible to establish the time and to determine the rhythm of the action as in tremours of the body. In any case, such precise form of research is required because it is impossible to classify determined groups and include them in definite phenomena in any other way. (See Hertz ; Amiostatic Phenomena of Agitation, Leipzig, 1932 Ambrosius Barke). When a complex of movements is formed from single and individual movements with small starts and tremours and when, moreover, these brief movements take place quickly, the human eye cannot appreciate the particulars without some assistance. The motor reflex actions due to fright (Strauss) the movements of the pupils, (LoWENSTElft) and the movements of nystagmus (miners eye disease) can only be analysed through a careful study of individual photographs. We cannot even observe and register the subtle particular differences of the tipyca