Proceedings of the British Kinematograph Society (1931)

Mr. SERLE : What is the portion of light required for this process against-the normal black and white photography in the studios and operating boxes? Mr. THORNE BAKER: As regards the studio work, first of all we have a number of artistes down for our experiments, and have always very closely examined them as to their own feeling about the light, and in all cases it has been that it is “‘ no stronger than at Elstree.’”’ We were asked by Lord Rutherford to photograph the recent procession at Cambridge of famous scientists in their full robes. We took two or three hundred feet at 3.20 without sun and it was perfectly exposed. That was using F2/5; that will give some idea of the fact that extra light is not necessary. Mr. WILLIAMSON: Mr. Baker has shown us that the original base is milled and coloured before the emulsion is applied and before sheets of base are cut into strips ; what effect does that have upon sound tracks, either variable area or variable density. You showed also a slide with a green sound track, but it was not shown whether the green removed the milling or left it there. Mr. THORNE BAKER: In making the film after the green coating has gone on we put it in a machine which runs a series of stripes in bitumen which protects the sound track. When the printed film is run through the benzine bath the benzine removes the bitumen and leaves the green coating underneath; it has been suggested that owing to the fineness of the matrix it would cause no harm to the sound itself. We have made records with the variable area and variable density methods, and we find that reversal does not affect the quality of the sound. Mr. EveretcH: I would like to ask Mr. Baker if he has photographed with this process anything with parallel lines or horizontal and vertical lines together ; I have in mind such a thing as the top of a tower with battlements. The reason I ask is that some years ago someone I know was experimenting with a like process and the thing which decided him to give it up altogether was that he could not get a good photograph of a tower with battlements, these registering as sine curves and not as straight lines. Mr. THORNE BAKER: I should imagine there was some unfortunate co-relation between the outlines and the matrix. Mr. EvELEIGH: No, he took it at various angles. Mr. THORNE BAKER: I think the best illustration is that in photographs of gardens where you get notices like ‘‘ Please keep off the grass ’’; the print is sharply defined in the present process. Mr. EveLeicH: He did not refer to that, but such things as battlements ; he got a perfect sine curve and whatever he did he could not get rid of it. Mr. Hopcson: I notice that some of the shots on the screen seemed absolutely stationary ; with other shots the screen seemed to travel from the left to the right. I should like to have that explained if possible. Another point, one of the bathing girls reading a magazine; from where | am sitting I could see the print of the magazine was not black and white at all, but red and green definitely picked out. Mr. THORNE BAKER: I cannot offer any explanation of the fact that in some pictures the lines seem to travel across, but that is one of the points that will be eliminated by the use of the finer screen. With regard to the printing appearing red and green, it is because its size is a multiple of the matrix; but that is a coincidence which only rarely happens. Mr. Hopason: The green predominates exceedingly. Mr. THORNE BAKER: The general idea about that is that the under-exposed shots are either too green or too blue, and the over-exposed either too bluish or slightly pink, but I think it is only right to confess that some of our pictures are picked from various shots taken during various stages of our progress ; as regards outdoor work we are dealing with compensating filters, and I think some of the colour values are rather influenced by that work not having been quite finished. Mr. WILLIAMSON: I noticed an early shot of a man with a blue velvet costume, and the man’s coat seemed to change considerably. Mr. THORNE BAKER: Yes, but they were different colours and different men ; one was taken in Cambridge and the other in Nice. Mr. Ross: In regard to exterior shots there are rather heavy shadows ; will you say whether you have taken that with natural shadows ? Mr. THORNE BAKER: These pictures were taken in the South of France in December and January when the sun was rather low, and the shadows would be much heavier than in the summer time. 9