American cinematographer (Feb-Dec 1929)

June, 1929 AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER Twenty-one S. M. P. E. Convention as Seen by Editor Continued from Page 7 to us the distortions occasioned by variation in width of the scanning slit and by varying its position. Interesting is a very mild expression. A real treat was offered the Assembly by Mr. C. W. Hulett, who permitted his tonsils to rest and delivered his paper via what I would call an "Optical Phonograph." He just ran his reproducing apparatus film upon which his lecture was recorded on parallel tracks, eight of them on the same film, if I recall correctly. It was a lecture doubled with a practical demonstration. I don't want to comment upon this, because I want your imagination to soar a little bit. The Mitchell Recording Camera, equipped interchangeably for variable area and variable density sound recording, was introduced by a brief lecture, illustrated with lantern slides. The apparatus itself was on the floor, and I want to say that it appeared to be a very neat "job." A quick dash from the R.C.A. projection room to the Photophone Studios in Grammercy Park, where we enjoyed a delightful cafeteria style luncheon and authorization of roaming around the Studio where sets, lighting systems, camera, camera-booth, etc., etc., were exhibited. Our genial friend, Frank Ormston, who is in charge of the activity of this studio, acted as host, and any absentee who knows his good smile and thorough enthusiasm will, undoubtedly, miss not being present. Due to lack of space, the Convention had to be divided into two sections for this day, and while the section of which I was not part was spending the afternoon at the R.C.A. projection room, I followed the rest of the congenial crowd back to the Park Central Hotel, where I listened to Frank A. Benford, D. K. Wright, T. E. Finnegan, and R. B. Dickson, who, respectively, lectured on Mercury and Neon Lamps, Incandescent Lamps, Classroom Films, and on Fire Protection on projection apparatus. The official banquet was scheduled for that night, and so we donned our dinner regalia and assembled on the Roof of the Park Central. A list of those present and those mentioned officially or in conversation from table to table, would reveal the names of the realm of filmdom. I am going to punish you, Hal, by sending you a photograph taken at the banquet and let you pick out "Who's Who. So find Mr. Crabtree, the toastmaster; L. C. Porter, the President of the S.M.P.E. ; Mr. McGuire, the genial Publicity Director of the Society; Elms, who is greatly responsible for the 70 mm. film; and, last, but not least, King Charney, of the Hollywood Agfa. The usual speeches were most unusual at the end of the banquet, and as long as I live I will remember the splendid personality, fine voice, captivating smile, and ready wit of Mr. Lee DeForest. After satisfying the "inner-man" we gathered in front of the screen and admired the "Show Boat" — it was in the wee hours of the morning that Bessie Love was still yelling for her hat in the "Broadway Melody." A little dancing afterwards? — Of course! And so Thursday morn came. The Arrangement Committee had been considerate enough to call the meeting for 10 o'clock in the morning, and we all listened to Major W. E. Prosser talk on Motion Picture activities of the Army; we admired the fluency of J. I. Crabtree, who told us of some properties of Fixing Baths; and we conducted, under the leadership of L. A. Jones, a brief but interesting discussion on some Standards which were proposed and accepted by the Membership of the Society. Due to weather conditions, which forced the Paramount Studios to call on the stages the Companies which were scheduled to work outdoors, our visit to the Studio had to be cancelled from the program. This was an unexpected and sad occurrence, solely due to sound pictures. Prior to the Talkies, Paramount would have done its best to give us a show by keeping indoors as many companies as possible. Sound excluded the possibility of our being admitted in the studio. You know why — and how! So the afternoon was devoted to more papers, especially those the authors of which were not present at the Convention. J. I. Crabtree, who apparently is the official "remplacant" of absent authors, graced the resonances of the room with well cultivated tone values and brought to light, among other things, the extraordinary efficiency of our Karl Struss behind the battery of cameras used in "Coquette." The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was present in the form of a "compete-rendu" from Mr. Frank Woods. Dinner and the final re-union at the Bell Telephone Laboratory Auditorium, where the S.M.PiE. and the Acoustic Society of America were assembled in joint meeting. It was the first joint meeting of the S.M.P.E. with another society, and it was the very first meeting of the newly born Acoustic Society of America. The event was properly cheered and importance was added to it by the splendid lecture delivered by Dr. H. D. Arnold, Director of Research, Bell Telephone Laboratories. I assure you, Hal, that it was very worth while traveling a few thousand miles to listen to Dr. Arnold and to hear his remarkable demonstration. It would take a volume to describe the thoughts that this lecture awakened in my mind. I want to assure you, Hal, that sound is going to be mastered by men as men now master other physical phenomena. All in all, it was a very nice Convention — more than nice. It was imprinted with a stamp of Friendship and true collaboration that have characterized all the S.M. P.E. Conventions. Friendships were solidly bound — old ones wei'e renewed— new ones were created, and the dispassionate, frank, and sincere discussion of the problems which are faced by the technicians of the Motion Picture Industry will, as usual, bear fruit. After the Convention was over I retired to a secluded spot and buried myself in thought. I thought of the last Spring Convention in Hollywood, a mere year ago; and I thought of this Convention of 1929, and I truly marveled at the progress made in such a short span of time. I thrilled at the thought that I am even so small a part of this great scientific Industry of ours. Au revoir, JOE DUBRAY. A. S. C. Members Win Notable Honors Charles Rosher, Karl Struss and Roy Pomeroy, members of the American Society of Cinematographers, were signally honored on the night of May 16th, when, at the annual banquet of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, they were awarded prizes for their work during the past year. Rosher and Struss were given the award for the best cinematography of the year in "Sunrise." Pomeroy was given the first award for engineering effects in "Wings." Rosher being in England, Struss accepted the award for both. The prizes were statuettes of gold and bronze. A notable array of more than 400 screen world individuals were present at the banquet which was held at the Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood. William C. DeMille acted as master of ceremonies and made the awards. Recent Releases of A. S. C. Members "The Pagan" — M-G-M — Clyde DeVinna. "Love in the Desert" — F.B.O. — Paul Perry. "California Mail" — First National — Frank B. Good. "Honeymoon Abroad" — World Wide — Rene Guissart. "Saturday's Children" — First National — John F. Seitz. "Show Boat" — Universal — Gilbert Warrenton. "The Border Wildcat" — Universal — Joseph Brothorton. "The Hole in the Wall" — P-F-L — George Folsey. "The Red Sword" — F. B. 0. — Nick Musuraca. "The Duke Steps Out" — M-G-M — Ira Morgan. "Not Quite Decent" — Fox — Charles Clarke. "Yellow-Back" — F. B. O. — Phil Tannura. "The Squall" — First National — John F. Seitz.