American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

July 1934 • American Cinematographer 107 of Silent Camera Progressing by William Stull, A.S.C. the film at rest for a rather longer period, with a faster pull-down. A series of idling rollers through which the film is threaded tends to minimize the film-slap. A manually adjustable shutter is provided, with a visible indicating-dial at the rear of the camera. The customary four-lens turret is retained, as is the familiar Mitchell focusing-system. The finder is interconnected with the focusing movement of the lens, through a series of cams, so that the finder is focused and compensated for parallax automatically as the lens focus is changed. The motor-mount is integral with the right-hand cover of the camera; motors may be removed or interchanged by loosening four screws and removing this plate. Silence is secured by a layer of cork insulation between the double walls of the camera-case, and by rubber insulation preventing metal-to-metal contact between the camera and magazines, tripod, etc. As Mr. Rosson wrote at the time, this camera is satisfactorily silenf for most work except extreme close-ups, or scenes recorded at a very low volume-level. Recently, on improved model has been undergoing practical tests at the hands of Victor Milner, A.S.C, who used it on "Cleopatra," and Karl Struss, A.S.C, who used it on several sequences of "It Ain't No Sin." This latest model is essentially the camera just described, with some minor changes, such as the addition of an automatic dissolve, encased in an extremely compact outer housing, which insulates the entire camera acoustically. All controls — such as dissolver, shutter-adjustment, frame and footage counters, and focusing throw-over — ore extended outside of this casing, so that the device need be opened only when threading the camera. The magazines are enclosed in a double, hinged cover, wide enough to allow for their movement in focusing. The turret, however, has been dispensed with in favor of a single-lens design, with the lens mounted on the outer case. The focusing control is through a lever and scale at the rear of the camera, and lens and finder are interconnected as in the previous design, An interesting prism arrangement permits the Operative to view the focuscalibrations on the lens from the rear of the camera. The matte-box is hinged, and swings out of the way horizontally, to facilitate changing lenses. While larger than the regular camera, this device is still far smaller and lighter than any type of "blimp," and is said to show an excellent soundabsorption record. A similar device, experimentally produced by the RKO Studio, was recently described in the AMERICAN CINE MATOGRAPHER. In this case, the camera used was, of course, a "silenced" model of the pre-talkie Mitchell, and the housing was leather-covered rather than metal. Last spring, an experimental model of the Bell & Howell silent camera was shown in Hollywood. Externally, this model was a complete change from all previous Bell & Howell practice, though closer inspection revealed the fact that it centered around a silenced version of the famous Bell & Howell Stationary Pilot-Pin movement. As described in the AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER in March, 1933, this camera is of box form, roughly 10x12x18 inches in size, with standard Bell & Howell 1 000-ft. sound-proofed magazines on the top. The casing is double, with the inner casing which carries the movement literally "floating" inside the outer one. Both cases are sound-proofed. Much of the internal gearing customary has been eliminated, and what remains is made of noise-reducing materials, and in some instances cut most unconventionally. Direct drive is obtained through a built-in 48-cycle motor, whose armature is an extension of the camera's shutter shaft. The movement is a refinement of the Bell & Howell pilot-pin movement, silenced, of course, and film-slap is reduced by reducing the size of the loops and by the use of two main sprockets instead of one. The shutter is manually adjustable. A single-lens type of mount is used, the lens being fitted in a universal mounting, and placed in the outer case. The design of this mount pre-selects the proper cams for both focusing and finder-correction movements, so that a single scale is used for any lens or lenses. This scale, and the focusing control, are at the rear of the camera. Focusing is secured by an ingenious design in which the movement is moved slightly backward, while a ground-glass focusing screen and a system of reflecting prisms are inserted. The image is reflected across the camera and to the rear, where it is seen right-side-up and magnified. Continued on Page 116 The newest Mitchell Silent Camera