The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

January, 194) czrfmona tnz iJ\oduazx± New "V" Filmosoiuid Projector Bell & Howell Conipaiiy, 1801 Larcliinont Ave., Chicaxo, have an- nouiieed a new projector model, the "\'" Kilniosouiid whieh they state is every inch a B & H projector in quality and performance in spite ol restricted use of critical materials. A new sound head of welded sheet steel has been substituted for the cast- ing formerly employed. A carrying case of waterproofed fir provides the extra strength required for the slight additional weight of substitute materials. Die castings, formerly of aluminum, are now zinc. A larger carrying handle has been designed with an automatic spring to i)revcnt the liaiidle from resting over the lamp- house vent when the machine is in operation. Gear case ventilation has been im- proved with the result tliat oil vapor is now exhausted through the cooling system to i>revcnt the formation of Bell & Howell "V" Projector oil film on optical components of the projector. Other improvements include a loud speaker of more efficient construction and special treatment of all con- densers and resistors to reduce the eflect of humidity. Amplifier temper- atures are lower in this model, as a result of improved sound head ven- tilation. The new "V" Filmosound is available now only to our armed forces—but it is indicative of the better "things to come" from Bell & Howell crafts- men, when peace is restored. Death of Bell & Howell Official Charles Alvin Ziebarth, 61, secre- tary of the Bell & Howell Company, died November 27 at his home in Wilmette, Illinois. Mr. Ziebarth was a pioneer in the motion picture equipment field. Of German parentage, he came to this country when two years old, and, with his parents, settled in Davenport, Iowa, where he received his early schooling. In July, 1909, he joined the Bell & Howell organization as a tool maker. In 1910, he accepted a position with the American Film Company, where he remained as superintendent of laboratory until he returned to the Bell & Howell organization in 1918 as superintendent and works man- ager, a position which he has held, in addition to being secretary of the corporation, since that time. His rich background of practical experi- ence in photography and as a film laboratory technician played an im- portant part in developing manu- facturing methods in the production of motion picture equipment. Mr. Ziebarth was an enthusiastic amateur movie maker. His natural color films of bird life probably rep- resent the finest motion pictures of this kind that have ever been made. SlideiUnis for Training Shipfitters The expansion in the shipbuilding industry resulting from the war effort has necessitated a speedup in the training of shipyard workers. To facilitate this training. Photo and Sound of San Francisco is producing a series of silent or reading slide- films on shipfitting. Subjects covered include tools and their uses, assembly of various ship parts, and blueprint reading. The completed series will total around eighty slidefilnis of from ten to forty-five frames each. Thirty- five of the films are now available for distribution. Supplementary study guides accompany each production. The program has been undertaken with the cooperation of the Richmond Shipbuilding Corporation and the II. .S. Maritime Commission, and it is hoped that it will aid materially in training shipyard personnel mojc ipiickly and more efficiently. New York Advertising Club Honors Bray The Fighting Film Forum of The New York Advertising Club, at the first of its Monthly Study group luncheons, had as a Guest of Honor, Mr. J. R. Bray, President of Bray Pictures. Mr. Bray made the first films ever used in Army War training. At the outbreak of World War One, he placed his motion picture studios and his patented animated technical drawing processes at the disposal of the U. S. Army. The Bray Studios produced over one hundred subjects that were effective- ly used in training officers and men of the World War One Army. From a speech presented at the lunch- eon on behalf of Colonel Melville V. C,il- lette, it was leanied that many hundreds of training film subjects pnxluced by the Photographic Section of the Signal Corps are now utilized by the Army in training, and that it has resulted in re- ducing the training time by over 40%. The Chairman of The Flighting Film F-orum, Mr. Francis Lawton, Jr., him- self a pioneer in the field of educational and industrial films, asserted that the Page 35 Army motion picture training film pro- gram serves as an illuminating example of how films could be used, much more extensively than at present, in industrial training, clerical instruction, sales di- rection, dealer stimulation, product dem- onstration, and consumer selling. Mr. Bray .said he believed tliat the great use now being made of films in service and school training will impart such an impetus that the industrial and educational picture will be one of the Motion Picture industry's most im- portant peace-time functions. Teaching Unit on Safety Informative Classroom Picture Pub- lishers of Grand Rapids, Michigan, announces the addition of a unit on "Safety" to its series of teaching pic- tures in the Social Sciences. Twenty- four black and white line drawings constitute the unit, size ^Y^ inches by 11 inches, printed on bristol board. As is the case in all the Informative Classroom Pictures series, each picture in this teaching unit is carefully and painstakingly prepared to provide sub- ject matter that explains or clarifies some vital element in the study of the subject presented. Four factors are uppermost in producing the pictures—good drawing, correct per- spective, interesting and informative composition. Each picture is original and authentic representing the situa- tion accurately. Safety in the streets, on country roads, in play and sports, in camping, fire prevention, first aid in wounds and asphyxiation, are some of the subjects covered in the unit on "Safety." Concise text material, sug- gested activities and a bibliography accompany each drawing. For further information on this and other units in this series of teaching pictures, write to Informative Class- room Picture Publishers. Edison Tried It. Too (Concluded from page 18) reduction to form a "library." All of the small rolls, each perhaps fifty feet in length, were shipped by mail from the studio premises at West Orange, New Jersey. The ingenious tin can containers were perhaps four inches in diameter, their covers opened or closed by turning thumbscrews in the middle. Unhappily, the time for such facil- ities was not ripe. It soon became apparent, indeed, that hotne and school movies were still far away in any practical sense of volume. Then in December, 1914. a roaring fire razed the West Orange establishment taking all the Home Projectors in stock and most of the library reels with it, pro- viding the needed excuse to dismiss the Home Kinetoscopc project as "just another of those things." In the lingo of most of the great research laborator- ies concerning experimental projects which misfire, it went back into the "doodle box." Only, to end as we started, with a paradox, this one did not miss fire—the West Orange fire. I just thought you'd like to know.