Educational film magazine; (January-December 1920)

WORK OF THE NATIONAL ^MOTION PICTURE LEAGUE In Response to Its Nation-Wide Educational Campaign for Better Pictures, Parents Are Demanding, Producers Are Making, and Exhibitor, Are Screening Photoplays and OUier Films of a Higher Standard By Adele F. Woodard PresidtDt. National Motion i'i<-tur«r League Conclusion LlliKAKItS are willing lo posl notices of matinees and churches will fur- nish chaperones and other workers. Speakers present the plans and purposes of the series of performances to parent's associ- ations, women's cluhs, churches and other welfare organizations. .\ genuine interest in turning the tide of juvenile attendance upon the movies into channels of good is secured, hefore any matinees are given. A committee of capable persons is formed to organize and supervise the matinees, which are given on Saturday morning or afternoon for little children, and on some day during the school week after school is dismissed, for the older children. The exliibitor is visited by a committee, who present the plan to him and secure his signature to the league's agreement. His interest is secured on the ground that aside from the prestige which the selection of his theater gives, and the publicity which is procured for him, he is able to make a proht financially. A keen sighted exhibitor always sees far more advantat,tt m the two first named benefits than in the financial profit. The exhibitor furnishes the operator, music, ushers, etc., and pays for the rental of films, which the committee assist him in selecting from the bulletins of the league. He may select from these lists any films, new or old. which can be arranged into a well-balanced program, but may not play any picture not on the lists oX this league. Failure to comply with this request must be followed by a withdrawal of the support of the committee. ■ Channels of publicity must be furnished by the committee, the most effective one being the distribution of circulars announc- ing the performances through the schools. Circulars have been approved by the board of education of New York City which are distributed in the schools by the teachers, to the children living in the vicinity of the theater where a performance is to be gi\en. This practically assures the exhibitor of his audience. It also gives the committee the power to extend or uilhdraw an assured audience. FiN.iNCED BY Its Membership The league receives no financial support from any department of the motion picture industry and has no connection with any of the several censorship boards. It is financed entirely by its membership. You should join the National Juvenile Motion Picture League because you owe it to yourself, your children, and other people's children to see to it that the entertainment furnished to boys and girls is pure, whole- some, and attractive. Each new member adds his or her name to the list of persons presented to the pro- ducers of ^notion pictures requesting clever, wholesome pictures for children, young people and adults. Individuals and clubs are urged to join. In this time of recon- struction and rebuilding, unprecedented elTort must be expended upon our children and young people who have necessarily been cheated of much of their heritage on ac- count of the preoccupation which the four years of war have made in the activities of parents. This neglect which our children are beginning to feel must be made up to them. Motion pictures can be an agency for good in the lives of our children. Let us select the-e pictures judiciously and then encourage our children and young people to support them by their attendance The league has lately announced the follow- ing plan of establishing local branches throughout the United States, thereby making the organization truly national and vastly broadening its scope, influence, and power: In ordtr to assist local comnuiimies in securing a better class of pictures, local branches are es- tablished.- These branches create and coordinate a demand for wholesome pictures locally and arrange definite bookings for them. The league thus secures a countrywide demand for the pic- tures receiving its endorsement. It seeks to encourage so strong a patronage as to make them more profitable to their producers, than pictures rejected by the league. A capable committee in all the pritcipal cities and towns giving definite support to this plan can furnish the impetus and permanency to the production of wholesome pic- tures, which the industry needs. Plan . The plan of local branches is three-fold. (A) A Children's Matinee and Family Pro- gram committee provides suitable entertainment for children, young people and adults, thus se- curing actual bookings for endorsed pictures, entertaining the family wholesomely and dem- onstrating that wholesome pictures are financially profitable. (B") A Membership Committee secures mem- bers for the league. All memners receive the weekly bulletins of endorsed motion pictiares. Increased membership means increased publicity for endorsed films. (C) A Reviewing Committee reports to the executive offices on all pictures seen in local theaters, which are considered suitable for the lists of the league. The reviewing board in New York City sees practically all pictures before they are released, yet the league desires reports from local committees in order that the standards may be kept truly representative of the entire country. * All localities are urged to establish a branch of the league. If there is no motion picture theater, the entertainments may be given in a church or school or other public building. The league supplies its local branches with detailed instructions for establishing and conducting enter- tainments. It also furnishes weekly bulletins of newly endorsed films, a cumulative list of'avail- able films endorsed during the last six years, and other helps for conducting the work in a sys- tematic way. Membership dues for local branches are ten dollars a year. The only way this enormous motion picture in- dustry can be affected is to erect alongside it an organization as powerful and as persistent as the industry itself. Individual committees working alone can make little impression. It is only by combined effort that strength and efficiency can be secured. The democratic way to secure the welfare of a community is to institute an educational cam- paign, presenting not only the need for improve- ment but a definite, workablfe plan of operation. The plan of the league is being tried in all parts of the Itniteil States—why not try it in your community? If possible, make your committee truly repre- sentative, by inviting into its tnembershin a member of the Kiwanis Club, the Rotary Club, the Women's Club, and the Parent Teacher Asso- ciations, also, prominent ministers, and the library and school officials. Send to the headquarters of the league the names and addresses of the follow- ing officers of the branch; Branch Chairman. Chairman of Membership Committee, Chairman of Matinee Committee, and Chairman of Reviewing Committee. Join your efforts to those of this national organ- ization and help secure for all. the benefits y..n wish to secure for your own community. f ' TWO ALASKAN FILM PIONEERS Even up in the Far North, in Rex Beach's .■Vlaskan countr\% the motion picture is de 28 livering its message from the silver screen Richard Suratt. of Wrangell. Alaska, stepped into the office of this magazine a few weeks ago and laid down a dollar for a year's sub- scription. He said that he was interested in scenics. travel pictures, and industrials, hav- ing made thousands of feet himself up in his own country. He promised to send the editor a full stor\ later. In the few movie theaters of Alaska, he said, most of the pic- tures shown are of the blood-and-thunder variety, but the taste of the rough frontiers- men is veering around lo educationals. in- dustrials, scenic, travel, and current events films. .\nolher film pioneer in that region is Wil- liam \^oodworlh whose exchange is on a boat in Ketchikan Harbor, .\laska, not far from the Arctic Circle. His shows are sent around various circuits by means of dog trains when the nights are cold and long. During the short summer the reels are shipped by boats which ply up and down the inland rivers of .\laskan Yukon Terrhory or along the shores of Behring Sea. This fall Mr. Woodworth hopes to have projection machines installed in fish canneries and other industrial plants so that shows can be held regularly in these places. These canneries will be organized into circuits and reel ship- ments booked for a whole circuit. CAMERON'S BOOK ON PROJECTION Bv George O. Ross Many persons who have had no experience in the operation of projection machines nor closely witnessed their operation are under the im-. pression that all that is necessary is to thread the film in the machine and turn on the current. This is far from being the case, because a cer- tain amount of knowledge is necessary to install and operate a projector properly. For that rea- son several books on the subject have been pub- lished. While most of the books are quite thorough, they are, as a rule, too highly technical to be used by any but experienced operators. It is the writer's opinion that a long felt want has been filled by James R. Cameron who has published and is now offering for sale to the pub- lic an Elementary Text Book on Motion Picture Projection, part of which is in question-and- answer form. The textbook is written in Mr. Cameron's characteristic style; it deals with the subject from A to Z and is written and illustrated in such a manner that the subject is readily understood by the amateur as well as the professional. The book is published by the Theatre Supply Com- pany of New York City, who also publish Mr. Cameron's Pocket Reference Book for PrO' jectionists and Managers. Both of these booKs should be in the hands of those who are inter- ested in motion pictures. When this country entered the war \[r. Cameron was placed in charge of reconstruction work at the American Red Cross Institute; he also took charge of the school of projection of the Community Motion Picture Bureau and the Y. M. C. A. Through these schools came men from all walks of life, most of them knowing nothing: whatever of electricity, mechanics, or optics. In order to facilitate matters and rush these students through quickly and with a thorough knowledge, he prepared a series of instruction papers deal- ing with the subject of projection. The results obtained through the use of these papers was so astounding that he was persuaded to publish them in textbook form. The value of the book was recognized from the first and after comparative ■ tests was adopted by the American Red Cross, Community Motion Picture Bureau. Y. M. C. A. Knights nf Columbus, and most of the army and navy hospitals and government training stations throughout this country and abroad. The sale of the books to these organizations exceeded 10,- OOi) copies during the first twelve months. The Inter Ocean Film Corporation have pur- chased the foreign rights to the book _and are having it translated into French. Italian, and Spanish.