Cinematographic annual : 1931 (1931)

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PROCESS PHOTOGRAPHY 225 common practice to produce these on an optical printer. Mere fades are often made chemically, however, because of the ease and rapidity of this process. Various applications have been found for the use of prisms and other reflecting surfaces in the production of effects. These may be used on the camera itself or subsequently in the making of a dupe on the optical printer. Sequences in which a ballet is dancing have been made to appear as though the dance were performed on a glass floor whereas the reflected image was obtained by the use of a prism or sheet of optical glass in front of the taking lens. In the optical printer several images from as many different negatives may be superimposed in a single composite by optical means involving the use of prisms for reflecting the respective images into the same plane. It must not be imagined that these processes are only used singly as often two or more are used to obtain the desired effect. The major problems encountered in this work are accuracy in registration of the images and equal accuracy in the timing of the action of multiple exposures so that the events take place in their proper sequence without overlap. Figure I in the paper by Waller6 is a chart illustrating the intricate attention to detail necessary to the proper timing of the events in such a sequence of multiple exposures. The developing of traveling matte processes to their present state of perfection has opened a large field to the producer. It might be mentioned at this time that a complete picture, "The Subway Express," made by the Columbia Pictures Corporation, was produced entirely by a traveling matte process. Two such processes are available at the present time. One of these, known as the Williams Process, has been described by its inventor, Frank Williams8. In this process the action is photographed against a black background. From the negative of this a duplicate negative is made which is intensified in order to produce a silhouette of the action. This silhouette is then used as a traveling matte in a projection printer during the printing of the background negative as it covers and leaves unexposed the space which is later to be used by the foreground action which is double exposed in from the original negative with a print from this negative as a matte. Several variations of this process are possible, either black or white backgrounds or colored ones in a connection with filters to secure contrast may be used. Inasmuch as it has been found that a spreading of the image occurs on the silhouette because of the full exposure given and the subsequent intensification and further because of the increase in graininess incidental to the multiplicity of duplicating processes employed, Mr. Williams has been engaged in a method of simplifying his process to overcome these difficulties. No information is publicly available at the present time as to the solution of these in the new process. Another traveling matte process which has enjoyed a great deal of favor is that commonly known as the Dunning Process. This process is the result of efforts on the part of Carroll Dunning and Roy Pomeroy. The original Dunning Process has been described previously9. The procedure has been modified somewhat so that at