The Cine Technician (1943 - 1945)

70 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN July— August, 1941 most of the many references to the film as an art-form which obscure the fact that film is primarily a science. It is true that this would make the book considerably shorter, but there's nothing to be afraid of in brevity — witness the W.E.A.'s pamphlet on The Films. I don't think you could find a better contrast to Dr. Manvell's book than this. In twenty pages it presents an admirable survey of the industrial and economic set-up ,the reasons and the arguments for and against the American and British monopolies, the relationships oi feature, documentary and educational films to the community and the technical considerations involved. The pamphlet is one of a series designed to help discussion-group leaders. It doesn't pretend to be exhaustive or to draw conclusions. It sets out to provide enough information to enable any intelligent person to discuss objectively his cinema-going and his opinions about the films he sees — and in this it succeeds completely. In fact, I can. only find two small things to criticise. One is the statement that " in this country the Association of Cine-Technicians is, for all practical purposes, a Trade Union." Why "for all practical purposes"? Perhaps the W.E.A. will tell us which of our purposes is impractical— it might help. The other criticism is of the list of recom mended literature on the last page. This is by no means comprehensive and omits many of the best books. Another omission is any reference to the availability of films through the free loan service of the Central Film Library. If the pamphlet is to be reprinted at any time these faults would be worth rectifying, to clean up what is otherwise such an excellent effort. It's a big jump from a threepenny pamphlet to a thirty shilling de luxe edition, for that's almost the category in which The Art of Walt Disney can be put. There's no conformity to war-time standards about it and you may wonder just exactly how Collins have managed to get away with it. The book is producted by Adprint, Lid., so it goes without saying that the colour reproductions are first-class, but in this case the line drawings and, I think, the printed matter have also been processed by Adprint with a very pleasing result. Anyone who likes a book Eor its appearance as well as what it says will enjoy this one, for the content is on a par with the presentation. Robert Feild is a Professor of Art, till recently at Harvard University. He has written a most detailed and informative account of the history and technique of the Disney product. There are chapters describing the production method, the Burbank plant and its organisation, the technical mechanics, how story ideas are developed and so on. But although his analysis is based on fch conception of cartoon films as an art-form, he, unlike Dr. Manvell and too many other writer?, avoids approaching the subject from the acadt viewpoint. He says in an early chapter: "Art cannot be evaluated statistically , nor mil any amount of technical analysis reveal the artist's purpose. If we are to understand how a Disne\ picture comes into being .... we must first of all try to discover what the artist is trying to do. Once that is clear, the rest becomes nothinp more than a study of methods .... (and) the more we knm about the methods the artist adopts to express his ideas, the more we shall be able to enjoy the idea expressed." It's refreshing to find someone, with this attitude when so many writers plunge into print without realising how far all the processes of production can affect the sesthetic value of the finished article. Processor Feild carried out his investigation into the methods of cartoon-film making so thoroughly (he spent a year in Hollywood doing it) that he has produced not only an analysis of the art of Walt Disney, but also a fully comprehensive textbook which makes extremely interesting reading. It would he silly to say that every film technician ought to get the book, because only a limited number of copies were printed and the London booksellers are already sold out, besides which it's expensive. But it's worth going to some trouble to borrow it it you can, for animation is a branch of film production which all too few of us understand, and this book contains a lot of information which will help us to appreciate the work and the problems of our fellow technicians eng;_ in it. R. K. Neilson Baxter How to Reform Parliament, by Robert S. W. Pollard. Forum Press. 2/-. We all know the interminable time it takes t get reforms through the Houses of Parliament, and indeed how often the Parliamentary machinery can lie vised by a minority of discontents t i prevent progressive legislation ever reaching the Statute Book. That there is a case for reforming Parliament no-one will deny. How it is to done is another matter. Mr. Pollaixl — who incidentally i A.C.T.'s solicitor — faces up in his book to all the difficulties and makes practical and sound proposals for overcoming them. His proposals merit serious consideration and will, we trust, pave the way to ensuring that actual lavmaking is as intelligently adapted to the aims of democrat as it ought to be. G.H.E.