American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1948)

IF YOURS is a small typewriter titler, you can make a scroll device out of a round Quaker Oats box. Thrust a heavy wire through ends for an axle and rotate it. back of title card holder. • TO TINT short lengths of movie film, or develop title films, use a gallon jug for your film drum. Wrap film around jug. then insert it in larger container partly filled with developing solution. Secure ends of film to jug with scotch tape. • FOR EASIER threading of positive film on camera spools in dark, when a red safelight is used, paint a line on edge of slot in core of spool with red or white paint. Also paint a line on edge of spool flange to indicate position of slot. • EMERGENCY threading light for your pro¬ jector may be made from a small pen light tied to a snap clothes pin. Pin af¬ fords clamping light to projector, thus releasing hands for threading film. • TO REMOVE fuzz that collects on edges of film aperture during screening of a picture, blow it away, without stopping projector, using a small hand syringe avail¬ able at small cost from your drug store. • FOR RAPID rewinding of movie films, at¬ tach a sewing machine motor to your editing board so edge of reel, mounted on rewind, rides on motor pulley. Use regu¬ lar sewing machine motor foot switch to control speed. • FOR QUICK identification of wound and non-rewound reels of film, use white leaders, and black tail pieces after the end title. Thus, a white leader indicates beginning of film; black, the end. • TO SHOW MOVIES to bed-ridden shut-ins, project movies on ceiling of room, using a mirror set before projector at an angle of 45°. • LABELS will adhere to darkroom bottles and film cans if made on strips of painter’s masking tape. • TO KEEP film taut, while subjecting it to dye fade solutions, make a support from a length of wire about 12” long. Bend wire at ends to form hooks to fit in sprocket holes. Insert film thus mounted in a narrow bottle filled with fading solu¬ tion. Are You “One In A Million?” You are if you shoot amateur movies. Eastman Kodak Company reveals that more than 1,000,000 Americans today are regularly using 8mm. and 16mm. cine cameras. Today it is estimated that there are more than 1,100,000 families in the United States who own amateur movie cameras. In the 16mm. field there are an estimated 325,000 cameras in active use; in the 8mm. field the total reaches an es¬ timated 775,000. Approximately 950,000 families, or nine out of ten owning movie cameras, also own a motion picture projec¬ tor of some type. In addition, 16mm. movies, both silent and sound, are today playing an ever more important role in education, sales, and sci¬ entific and industrial research. Spurred by the tremendously successful use made of training films by the armed forces during the war, it is estimated that approximately 1/3 of all sales of amateur size movie film and equipment are for other than amateur movies. The first quarter century of home movies — during which movie making on 8mm. and 16mm. films has grown to an internationally popular hobby and an im¬ portant aid to education, science, business, and industry — will come to an end July 5. On that date, in 1923, the Eastman Ko¬ dak Company placed on sale in New York City the first complete 16mm. motion pic¬ ture outfit — including camera, film, and projector — and announced the first ama¬ teur film processing service which made possible movie making for everyone. The reversal film — in which the image on the film was reversed from a negative to a positive during development — was the prime factor in making home movies economically practical. Prior to its intro¬ duction, amateur movie makers used either the regular 35mm. film, some split from 35mm., or 35mm. with two or more rows of pictures. Some of the film widths were 35mm., 28mm., 22mm., 21mm., 17.5mm., 16mm., 15mm., 11mm., and 9.5mm. To add further to the con¬ fusion, perforations varied in size, shape, and location. Another deterrent to ama¬ teur movie making was the high cost of film since it was necessary to use both a taking, negative, film and a projecting, positive, film. The quality of the finished amateur print was often, in those day, not too good because of poor developing and printing equipment and/or inexperience on the part of the individual doing the process¬ ing. Graininess was also a problem, espe ( Continued on page 249) • FIRST CINE KODAK was this boxy number operated by hand crank. It afforded focusing directly on the film by means of tubular throughthe-camera finder extending to back of camera. Same model was subsequently pro¬ vided with an electric motor operating off re-chargeable batteries. By 1925, smaller streamlined Cine Kodaks re¬ placed this “Model A’’ and in 1932, Eastman Kodak in¬ troduced the first 8 mm. cameras and film. Today there are in regular use more than 1 ,000,000 8 mm. and 16 mm. movie cameras. Onethird of latter are said to be in use in professional and scientific fields. 240 July, 1948 American Cinematographer