Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1952)

282 OCTOBER 1952 COME OUT OF THE BARN THIS being a respectable family journal, patronized (we are sure) by respectable family people, it would be our last wish to suggest that we are a devotee of horse racing. The plain truth would be quite the opposite. For we have not, we can assure you, ever set foot in a horse park or paddock. We do not know a parlay from a daily double. And we doubt if we would recognize a bookie, even if Sen. Kefauver should point one out. We're just not interested. We are interested, however, in a certain column on turf affairs which crosses our path daily in a New York morning newspaper. We read it with a despairing delight in the writing — which is infused with grace, wit and artful literacy. We read it also for the shrewd wisdom which so often seems to illumine the folklore of horse racing and breeding. There is an old saying, for example, among horse owners and trainers that "You can't win a race in the barn." With ACL's twenty third annual Ten Best contest rising to its climax this month, such a saying strikes us as wisdom of the first order. In other words, you can't win unless you compete. We urge our members and readers not to be overly modest or skeptical about the comparative quality of their filming efforts. Come on out of the barn, all of you, and get into the race! THE AMATEUR CINEMA LEAGUE, Inc. Founded in 1926 by Hiram Percy Maxim Joseph J. Harley, President Walter Bergmann, Treasurer Arthur H. Elliott Fred Evans John V. Hansen DIRECTORS Frank E. Gunnell, Vicepresidenl James W. Moore, Managing Director George Merz Stephen F. Voorhees Roy C. Wilcox The Amoteur Cinema League, Inc., sole owner and publisher of MOVIE MAKERS, is an international organization of filmers. The League offers its members help in planning and making movies. It aids movie clubs and maintains for them a film exchange. It has various special services and publications for members. Your membership is invited. Six dollars a year. AMATEUR CINEMA LEAGUE. Inc.. 420 LEXINGTON AVE.. NEW YORK 17, N. Y.. U. S. A. Do your own developing [Continued from page 268] plane. If they fail to do so, it will be impossible to form a rectangular rack. Now you are ready to form the film separators. With a pair of pliers break off several comb teeth so that they are approximately V2 inch long. If necessary, file the base of each comb tooth so that it will fit snugly into one of the % inch deep grooves. Then cement a tooth in the midpoint of each groove by applying a few drops of plexiglass cement with a very small brush. After all the film separators have been cemented in place, next assemble the rack by cementing the cut flat surfaces at the end of each round rod to the ends of the square rods so as to form a rectangular rack. Take care that each corner joint is cemented at exactly a 90 degree angle. Then snap two large rubber bands lengthwise over the rack to keep it under constant pressure while the cemented joints are hardening. Lay the whole unit on a flat surface and allow it to set overnight. After all joints have set completely, the teeth should then be filed down so that they are well rounded on the tips and uniformly Vs inch high. FASTENING THE FILM A means of fastening the film to the rack is provided by making mounting hooks on the rack to which the film can be attached with rubber bands. These hooks, also made from plastic comb teeth, are each V2 inch long. The lower hook is cemented at right angles to the film separators in a % inch deep groove sawed parallel to the filmseparator grooves and just 5/16 of an inch from the base end of one of the round rods. Fig. 7 shows a closeup of the lower mounting hook in relation to the film separators. Mounting hooks also must be placed at the upper ends of both round rods. Their location is in the very last film separator groove of each round rod. Place two in each groove so that one hook protrudes in each direction from each side of the rack. Thus, in addition to providing a means of attaching the film to the rack, these two sets of upper hooks also will prevent the film from scraping against the tank walls, for their protrusion will keep the rack itself away from the tank walls. To prevent the film on the lower portion of the rack from scraping the walls, cement two pieces of plexiglass on the under side of the base of the rack near each of its ends. Such strips may be bits of scrap plexiglass which should also protrude % inch from each side of the square base rod as in Fig. 7. ACCEPTS FULL SPOOL The rack described above will accommodate one 8mm. camera spool of film less its leader film. To facilitate winding the film onto this rack, a loading stand such as the one illustrated in Fig. 8 will prove helpful, though not absolutely necessary. For its construction nearly any scrap wood about Vfc inch thick will do. Dimension it so that your plastic film rack will rotate freely on bolts fastened at the top of the two upright supports. Note in Fig. 8 how a % inch diameter bolt about IV2 inches long fastened to the vertical portion of a 2 inch, right-angled steel bracket serves as a spindle onto which the camera spool of film can be placed while winding the film onto the rack. A simple loading stand indeed — but well worth the hour to make it. With the completion of this loading stand you have all the equipment needed to make home movie developing a fun-filled hobby in itself. In preparation for this fascinating pastime, send away now for a few rolls of bulk movie film. Several mail-order photo firms cater especially to home processing fans by stocking a wide variety of emulsions which are sold without a processing charge. For your first few attempts you will be wise to start with orthochromatic film which, insensitive to red light, may therefore be handled under a red safelight. Thus, until you gain experience, you can load your rack with film and develop it without groping blindly in the dark. After you have become proficient at handling ortho film, then will be the time for you to try the much faster panchromatic films which must be handled in total darkness. So order that film now and be ready to discover next month, in Part 2 of this article, just how easily you can develop your own movie film right in your own home.