Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1953)

250 SEPTEMBER 1953 THE TEN BEST RULES ON the inside front cover of this magazine — and similarly in our issues for June, July and August — there are presented the official rules which govern ACL's selection of the Ten Best Amateur Films for 1953. Adjacent to these rules there also is presented a copy of the official entry blank. We believe you will find these rules and this entry blank as simple, straightforward and easy-to-follow as any in the entire field of amateur film competition. They well ought to be. For these rules have been drawn up and tested under fire during ACL's twenty four years of experience in conducting the Ten Best contest. In turn, each new provision has been added to our decalog only when practical necessity showed us the need for it. Thus it is this year with the addition of Paragraph 2 to our Rule 8. The ACL reserves the right (it states) to duplicate at its expense any film (either in whole or in ma)or part) entered in the contest, for non-profit distribiition or screening by ACL as ACL shall see fit. Do not let this provision perturb you. The Amateur Cinema League is not, after twenty seven years of protecting the rights of personal movie makers, suddenly going into the film "pirating" business. The purpose of this new provision is a simple one: it is to speed up the production by ACL of our Top of the Ten Best show for 1953. In 1952, when this widely popular magnetic movie was initiated, its premiere was delayed two or three months by the necessity of writing for the return of pictures wanted for duplication. It was time-wasting here, a bother to you. So this year, if we think your entry has a chance for the TTB, we'll duplicate it at once. And, despite this new provision, we'll be writing you personally for permission. So-o-o, let's dig out that entry blank and get your Ten Best picture on the way. The AMATEUR CINEMA LEAGUE, Inc Founded in 1926 by Hiram Percy Maxim DIRECTORS Joseph J. Harley, President Frank E. Gunnell, Vicepresident Walter Bergmann, Treasurer Arthur H. Elliott Fred Evans Harry Groedel The Amateur 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. Eight dollars a year. AMATEUR CINEMA LEAGUE. Inc.. 420 LEXINGTON AVE.. NEW YORK 17. N. Y.. U. S. A. James W. Moore, Managing Director John V. Hansen Harrison F. Houghton Roy C. Wilcox evitable in the staging of any big show. Basically, their attitude is that any piece of equipment, even the finest and newest, can sooner or later fail. Therefore, we leave nothing to chance against which we can humanly protect ourselves. For example, every last unit of equipment is assembled in duplicate and installed for immediate operation. Thus, at the Gala Show of which I write we had on hand two 16mm. arc projectors, two double turntables, two tape recorders, two (or more) amplifier components and two (or more) speakers— besides bagfuls of accessory equipment such as monitor headsets, strobotachs and the like. Furthermore, when a film's original sound accompaniment is on tape, we re-record it on a set of discs, and original disc scores are re-recorded in like manner on magnetic tape. Thus, on playback, we can shift almost instantly from dual turntables to the tape recorder, and vice versa, should the need arise. Also, we have found that with dramatic films, where the musical score is often tightly integrated with the action, we can insure more accurate synchrony of the key audio points and the picture by working from discs rather than from tape. For example, the superbly dramatic score of The Man With The Box (on this year's show) was re recorded from tape onto five separate discs, each one of which began with a key musical passage. Thus, since it is easy to start any record on time, it was almost impossible to miss these peak musico-dramatic moments. NEW PROJECTOR AND SCREEN Our technicians this year were equally demanding as far as the visual aspects of the Gala Show were concerned. First they rented a 4500 watt arc projector (to replace that installed in the booth) which was specially equipped with 3200° Kelvin carbons to preserve the color values of the Kodachrome films being projected. Second, to insure a maximum brilliance of image from this projector, the regular auditorium screen (of a beaded surface) was replaced by a new glass-fibred material which tke club secured on rental from the Raven Screen Corporation. This screen, which measured 15 by 20 feet in its masked limits, created a sparkling image which did not fall off in brilliance at the side seats to the same extent one must expect from a beaded surface. In general it was agreed by practicing movie makers and members of the lay audience that the combination of these two components may well have made the difference between our success and failure in putting on this show in a 2000-seat auditorium. A BRIEF INTERMISSION There were, finally, our brief intermission ceremonies — and when I say brief, I mean a total of ten minutes to the second. For this part of the program (as well as the picture projection and the sound reproduction) was rehearsed and timed with stop-watch accuracy. There came first a short (and prepared) word of welcome to the audience by President Eno on behalf of the MMPC. This was followed by the introduction from the big stage of the producers of six out of the seven pictures programmed— including Delores and Timothy Lawler, 1952 Maxim Award winners who flew East from Kenosha, Wise, as the club's guests.' The seventh and missing producer was Mathis Kverne, of Oslo, Norway, the creator of that universally loved cartoon, Muntre Streker. It has been suggested by a few perfectionists that omission of Mr. Kverne from our program was a serious weakness in an otherwise suavely-run Gala. We shall, in our plans for next year, have to keep this in mind.