Motion Picture News (Jul - Sep 1930)

26 Motion Picture News July 5, 1930 Up-Trend in Equipment Quality Seen; Better Acoustics, Projectors on Way S. M. P. E. Finds Field Veering Toward Higher Technical Standards With the limitations originally imposed by talkers eliminated through diligence in production under pressure, the industry is forging ahead toward new and hitherto untouched levels in technical and scientific development. This is the conclusion drawn by the Committee on Progress of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers in its full-length report covering the fall and winter of 1929-30. The text has just been made public. The problems, of acoustics in theatres and studios is being thoroughly investigated, the report shows. Improvements have been made in cameras, printers, processing machines and projectors. Attention is being turned toward the importance of film storage. Rear shutter projector assemblies have reduced fire hazards precipitated by the use of high intensity arc lights. These are some of the highlights pointed out by the committee. The report is divided into the following classifications : I. PRODUCTION A. Films and Emulsions 1. New Materials 2. Manufacture .?. Miscellaneous B. Studio and Location 1. General 2. Studio Construction 3. Lenses and Shutters 4. Cameras and Accessories 5. Exposure and Exposure Meters 6. Studio Illumination 7. Make-up, Actors and Direction Technic 8. Trick Work and Special Process Photog raphy 9. Methods of Recording Sound C. Laboratory Practice 1. Equipment 2. Photographic Chemicals and Solutions' 3. Printing Machines and Methods I. Editing and Splicing 5. Titles 6. After Treatment, Cleaning, Reclaiming, and Storage II. DISTRIBUTION III. INHIBITION A. General Projection Equipment 1. Projectors and Projection. Sound Picture Reproduction 3. Projector Lenses, Shutters, and Eight Sources 4. Fire Protection B. Special Projection Methods i Portable Projectors ' Sti ii osi opic Projection 3. Continuous or Non-intermittent Projection C. Theatre Design and Installation 1. Screens 2. Theatre Tllumination 3. Theatre Acoustics and Construction IV. APPLICATIONS OF MOTION PICTURES A. Education, Business, and Legal Records it I ilius, h'ailiaaraphy. and Photomicrograph v C. Telephotography and Television D. General Recording, Miscellaneous Uses ', COI OR PHOTOGRAPHY A. G. net << B. Additive Processes C. Sublractivc Processes VI. AMATEUR CINEMATOGRAPHY A. General Equipment and Uses 1. Cameras '. Projectors 3. Accessories 4. Scenario-. 5. Films and Film Processes B. Color Processes VII. STATISTICS, PUBLICATIONS, AND NEW BOOKS The S. M. P. E. Report First installment of the report follows: A — Films and Emulsions Increased interest has been noted in the past six months in the subject of wide films. Of the widths proposed, 70 mm. and 65 mm. appear to have received the most consideration. The producing organizations fully appreciate the importance of the engineering problems involved in the introduction of wide film and are postponing definite action pending a decision of the sub-committee of the Standards Committee of this society, the personnel of which includes engineers from all the producers. A limited amount of production, however, has been undertaken on film 70 mm. wide. A feature, "Happy Days," and a newsreel were shown as a regular program, opening March 14th, at the Roxy on a screen 41 y2 feet by 22 feet.1 Several other theatres are also equipped to handle this type of film and at least four feature pictures are said to be in progress. The optical problems arising in the development of wide film have been considered by Rayton.2 Howell and Dubray3 discussed practical and artistic elements bearing on the selection of wide film standards. They proposed a three to five ratio of height to width, placement of the sound record to occur outside the sprocket holes, and rounded corners for the perforations. Jones4 made an exhaustive analysis of the sizes of the paintings of one of the old masters, Rubens, and tabulated the rectangular proportions for different forms of composition. A rectangle having a width to height ratio of 1.618 is considered by many artists to be one of the best shapes for a pictorial composition. Gregory5 has written on the early history of wide films. Color, Outstanding Development Sound motion pictures in color have come into still greater use and are regarded by several authorities as the most outstanding development of the year. Five processes have been exploited and the entry of a sixth process, both on standard 35 mm. film and wide film, has been announced.6 Definite advances in optical systems, processing methods, and the experience that follows production problems on a large scale have all contributed to a substantial improvement in the quality of color pictures. The bulk of -the raw film being used is coated on nitrate stock, although the hazard resulting from improper and careless storage of this stock has been demonstrated forcibly by the results of a number of serious film fires during the year which destroyed many valuable negatives. A large English firm manufacturing a non-inflammable support is reported to have found difficulties in applying emulsions to the base and has decided to sell the uncoated product on the open market." A raw film factory with a daily production capacity of 60,000 meters is reported to be in operation in Tiflis, Russia.8 About the usual large number of patents have been issued relating to cellulose acetate compositions, indicating continued attention of the manufacturers to this important development. In view of the limited interest in the details of these, reference to the patent numbers has been omitted from this report. The references can easily be found by consulting the issues of the "Monthly Abstract Bulletin," published by the Advances in Optical Systems Credited with Aiding the Standard in Color Kodak Research Laboratories. A few patents have appeared dealing with methods and machinery used for roll coating' of film support.9 Protection has been granted the idea of incorporating a light sensitive material in a cellulose xanthate or viscose film base.10 Patents of interest dealing with emulsion manufacture describe a device for double coating a film support, the incorporation of a hygroscopic substance in an emulsion to accelerate subsequent development with gases or vapors, a process for coating an emulsion to equal thickness on uneven bases, and the addition of protein substances to emulsions to enhance sensitivity.11 Of particular interest is a German patent which disclosed a process of light sensitive emulsion manufactured without the use of silver salts.12 Certain compounds capable of undergoing stereo-isomeric changes under light action are mixed with gelatin, collodion, or cellophane, and coated as a photographic layer. It one of the stereo-isomers is colored and the other is colorless, an image is produced immediately on exposure. Study Characteristics of Film The addition of a sound record on motion picture film in conjunction with the picture has increased the necessity for a more thorough understanding of the characteristics of film. Toward this end, Schmidt13 has contributed a paper discussing the photographic relations of density, transparency, and contrast of negative and positive films having variable density sound records. At the Toronto meeting, Jones and Sandvik14 dealt with the photographic characteristics of sound recording film giving the results of practical tests on several different emulsions. Sensitometric characteristics, resolving power, contraction, and growth of images were discussed. Conklin15 has described the use of a set of transparencies which may be superimposed on a sensitometric (H. & D.) curve for rapid determination of the characteristics of the emulsion under investigation. Patents relating to sound film emulsions dealt, among others, with the following methods : The preparation of a tinted film having a narrow uucolored strip along one side on which the sound record may be printed ; several patents by Gaumont cover their method of making sound records reproducible only by ultra-violet rediation.18 The importance of pitch measurement in film perforation has been treated by Carson17 in the Journal of this society. Several patents18 have been taken out on methods of reinforcing the edges of film strips, on anti-static layers in film, and on edge printing. B — Studios and Locations The major portion of the motion picture studios in the United States had been equipped Eor sound recording by the end of 1929 and new studios built by the leading producers. The trend is toward large sound-proof structures that may be opened into one another for large exteriors, long shots, and reviews. Two huge sound stages have been completed in Hollywood recently by two producers. One of these stages is 150 feet wide by 500 feet long and live stories high; it is divided into four parts and when opened will house a set occupying