American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1938)

September, 1938 • American Cinematographer 385 Canadians Pack Sports Arena to See Duncan Little's Film of Race By DUNCAN MacD. LITTLE You may be interested in this enlargement of a Brownie time-exposure showing the "theatre" in which I was called upon to give a show on the evening of July 30, at Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, writes Duncan MacD. Little, in a personal letter we'll take the liberty of printing. The camera used was a Brownie which cost my friend Tom Andrews either §1.69 or $1.89 many years ago, and which has been doing good service ever since in all parts of the globe except Australia. The film projected was "Voyageur's Trail," to which the Cinematographer awarded honorable mention last year, and which, in the valley of the St. Maurice, as perhaps you may believe, is considered as being practically the most important picture ever made. This building, which is the new sports arena, is approximately the size of Madison Square Garden without the galleries. Each block of seats on either side accommodates about one hundred and eighty or two hundred persons, and behind where the camera stood are seats for some eight hundred moi-e. The projector was set on the balcony in front of those seats (there is not a similar balcony in the back of the arena), and the "throw" was about one hundred and seventeen or eighteen feet, the screen being 22 by 16 feet, and a perfect picture was projected. The entire floor area to within ten feet of the screen was jammed, there being 1250 chairs, and as many persons standing as could be accommodated. In addition, boys, and even men, had climbed into the rafters, and according to the newspapers more than a thousand were turned away. The screen would shock any projectionist, amateur or professional, for it consisted of a rough framework of boards, on which was laced the mat from the boxing ring, and that was covered with cheap muslin that cost ten cents a yard. Crowd Was There When I first saw the building my thought was "Good Night! What are we going to do?" The next time I saw it, the crowd was there and had been there for almost an hour waiting for us to arrive to put the show on. In the meantime they had been amusing the throng with phonograph records through the loud speakers. We set up our apparatus as fast as possible, using my own double turn-table, and amplifiers and speakers, but on account of the crowd had to place the speakers alongside of the projector. The picture as it showed on the screen was truly remarkable, and Messrs. Bell and Howell would be proud indeed had they been present to see what their 130 Machine could do. Naturally we used the new 1200 watt lamp. In your last book I read that the new Arc Light Projector had been developed to take care of a required "throw" of one hundred and twenty-five feet. That didn't need to be it. The stock machine. Model 130, is fully capable of handling the job. We used the normal two-inch lens. It seems to me quite likely that you might wish to make mention of this exceptional test to which the machine was put, and if you do I wish you wculd add that we were loaned the machine by the Associated Screen News of Montreal, through the courtesy of Mr. Reeve of Bell and Howell, thereby saving us one bulky and heavy piece of equipment to be transported from New York to St. Maurice Valley. While in Canada for the canoe race I put on two other shows, both out-ofdoors, using a ten foot screen. One was to an invited group of about one hundred and fifty, and the other was a decidedly impromptu affair, but there were present six Indians who never before had been in civilization. It was too bad that of all the people present only one had my knowledge of the Attakamaegue language, for these Indians spoke no word of English or French, and their amazement and wonder at seeing themselves, for two of them were in the picture, were tremendous. Let me correct the above; one of these, old Charlie K-8-ishish, who had been in the race for the last two years, had learned two or three words and was able to say "Me like." And the Stills Are Still With Us (Continued on Page 378) movie field rather than a bare two years in that division so clear are his results. "Although our first publication and the colored motion pictures are both on the subject of the growth of plants in nutrient solution, our league is formed for the dissemination of all the latest developments in the field of plant science," writes Mr. Heron. "To reveal these astonishing achievements unusual opportunities are aff'orded the amateur photographer to acquaint the public with the progress of scientific culture. It is the intention of the league to foster such a program." We shall have more to say on Mr. Heron's pictures in the next issue. T At the August meeting of the Tri-City Movie Club in Moline, 111., on the 23d, we are kindly informed by W. W. Brubaker, Orrin T. Stribley talked on "Exposure," which was followed by open forum. Miss Georgia T. First showed a Kimm. Kodachrome of 1600 feet length, "Cine Wanderings in Alaska and the Canadian Northwest." The Camera Pictorialists of Los Angeles, Fred Archer director and Larry Lewin secretary, announce its Twentysecond International Photographic Salon will be shown in Los Angeles Museum, January, 1939, and in M. H. De Young Museum, San Francisco, during February, 1939.