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16-mm sound motion pictures, a manual for the professional and the amateur (1949-55)

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HISTORY 133 ness or the base thickness is somewhat problematical in view of the many practical machine design and manufacturing problems that would be raised by such a change. Current commercial practice is "frozen" to the use of coated films of roughly 0.006-in. thickness for 16-mm sound motion picture purposes. History When the original emulsion position problem was first considered in connection with 16-mm standardization a number of years ago, it was the belief of the majority concerned that reversal original films of amateur and related origins used for direct projection would be of primary importance in 16-mm. Accordingly the present standard emulsion position was agreed upon. Since, in a camera, the emulsion on the film faces the lens of the camera, the emulsion would face in the same direction (toward the lens of the projector) because the identical piece of film was used in the projector that was exposed in the camera. Original reversal film failed to materialize as the sole source of 16-mm films, and when sound made its appearance in 16-mm films optically reduced from 35-mm entertainment and like films, all reduction printing equipment for copying 35-mm to 16-mm was adjusted to produce only prints of standard emulsion position. A relatively large volume of optically reduced prints appeared, and, since the time of their first appearance, almost all such prints have had the standard emulsion position because all optical reduction printing equipment and processes since used have been similarly adjusted. As films were improved and the costs of 8-mm films and equipment progressively lowered, the cost of 16-mm film and equipment seemed high for strictly casual amateur uses. 8-mm film and equipment quality has since advanced to such a degree that amateur interests have to an important extent transferred to this medium, while 16-mm today is developing as a professional medium. We must, therefore, consider the question of emulsion position in the light of the fact that most 16-mm sound films produced from 16-mm originals are of nonamateur origin. Emulsion Position in 35-Mm Practice When 35-mm negative is threaded in a camera, the emulsion of the film faces the camera lens. After development, when the negative is contact-printed, the emulsion of the print stock is exposed to the print