The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

March, 194) Page 119 c::rfmona ins iJ\odua£.x± Another Source of 2 x 2 Kodachrome Slides Two distinct services in 2 x 2 Koda- .hronie Slides have recently been made available by the BUxrk Color Productions, 1404 N. Fuller Avenue. Hollywood, Calif. The first is a series of unit-sets of slides on selected topics for classroom purposes. The originals were taken by Dr. Block liimself and the duplicates are made by liis own process which achieves extra- jrdinarily fine reproduction of Kotla- rhromes. The unit-sets contain from 15 to over 80 slides each according to sub- ject. Among the subjects available are the following: Farm .Animals (34 slides), Making Bread (24). Growing of Oranges {17). Wholesale Flower Market (23), Harbor .Activities (37), The Junkman (22), Horses (i7). Pets (20), Baby Pets (26), The Zoo (85), The Circus (41), etc. The slides are furnished either in cardboard or glass mount, and at prices very reasonable for such work. .■\ special 25% discount is allowed to schools. We have enjoyed examination of scores of Dr. Block's slides. They are of exceptional, pictorial quality and beau- tifully mounted. The second service is that of sui)plying duplicates for the customer's own orig- inal Kodachromes. More and more teach- ers throughout the country arc using their own or the schcxjl's miniature cam- eras to gather original material for teach- ing purposes. The problem of getting sat- isfactory duplicates from these originals is often troublesome. We have seen num- erous examples of Dr. Block's duplication of Kodachrome, comparing originals and duplicates side by side. The startling fact is that the duplicate frequently betters the original, correcting color distortion that results from an expo.sure less than per- fect. .'\lso the Block service can often improve originals by enlargement. In many a Kodachrome, better balance or composition can be .secured by selecting the core or major interest of the picture and enlarging it to the 2x2 slide dimen- sions. Many unsatisfactory originals be- come excellent slides under such treat- ment. Bausch & Lomb at War With the award of a third star on February 3 by the .Army-Navy Board of Production .Awards for outstand- ing performance, the Bausch & Lonib Optical Company issued a new book- let, titled "Bausch & Lomb At War," which is a pictorial presentation of some of the record on which the awards were based. Each star represents six months of outstanding performance in producing optical equipment for the armed forces. Some of these optical instruments are shown in the sixty illustrations— height finders, range finders, battery commander's telescopes, binoculars, searchlight mirrors, stereoscopic train- ers, photographic lenses, mapping equip- ment, gun sights, aviator's goggles, spotting scopes, aerial navigation sex- tants, mobile optical shops for field service, and microscopes and refrac- tion equipment for the medical services. The book is a case history of one of the country's most important indus- tries at war—the fourth war in which this 90-year old company has actively participated. Motion Pictures— Not for Theatres (Continued from pat/c 96 ) put up $100 each, the sum to consti- tute a revolving fund for building a religious films library. The running expenses would be paid for by renting the library to the churches, members of the association to receive theirs at a discount. Simple indeed. Graham Patterson and several others were equally trusting. If Will Hays resented the possible implications of Graham Patterson in 1923, he held no grudge in September, 1929, when he called the conference of social, religious and educational leaders to consider ways and means to develop the "public welfare uses" of the screen—-what a happy phrase that is! As a member of the formid- able religious committee served Stan- ley High, then editor of the Christian Herald. The committee, comprising thirty-three distinguished ladies and gentlemen, found it expedient to divide its studies of the Catholic and Protes- tant film situations. The Protestants completed their survey first, and in 1930 their report was published at Boston, where Professor Howard M. LeSourd, chairman of the committee, was situated. The Protestant work was accom- plished first by acquiring as complete a list as possible of ministers who used films in their churches, making a total of 1,426 to whom were sent question- naires. Replies came from 576, and upon their information the committee arrived at its findings. It was con- cluded that 64% used pictures in Sun- day evening services, and many also in midweek services and on occasions in Lent. Seventeen had discontinued their Sunday shows after trial, and eighteen had finally stopped all use of films on various grounds, including those of safety, opposition of local theatres, lack of worthy pictures, un- satisfactory equipment—and expense. Many other statistics of interest and value were presented, and then fol- lowed some general conclusions which Free Films Source Directory—pub- lished by the DeVry Corporation, 1111 Arniitage Avenue, Chicago, 112 pp. 50c. This new publication lists some 1300 films available free to non-theatrical audiences from many sources. Among the new free subjects listed are current wartime films on the Armed Forces, Wartime Production, Shipbuilding, .Aviation, Vocational Training, etc. Each film is described and classified as to subject. must have been slightly embarrassing to the Hays organization. They were premised upon the state- ment that, as the church hesitated to purchase equipment until it might be assured of an adequate and continuous supply of picture material, it behooved tlie motion picture industry to provide the pictures, permit churchmen to edit them, and set up experimental non- theatrical exchanges in New York, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago and Los Angeles, the number ultimately to reach twelve in the United States and Canada. The churchmen, on their side, were willing to give certain help, but declared that they could not raise money to finance committee expenses, and therefore recommended, through the committee, that the industry do that, also. In short, the committee was (|uite satisfied of the worth of films in all phases of religious work— to bring the dwindling congregations back into the pews, and in church schools and missionary education—but it could not afford to pay for the service, and felt that it was only fair that the wealthy motion picture indus- try should underwrite the job. The entire report is a rather remarkable document. It deserves to be read for its own sake and to its full extent. I believe that I have sketched enough of it here, however, to show why the survey has not led to a forced devel- opment of religious films in America. Churches, though, constitute a group in the non-theatrical field which is clearer-cut than most others—easier to api)rehend, that is. The clergyman generally knows, without being per- suaded, the tremendous force of screen entertaimnent. He probably already has film equipment of a kind. And be- yond requiring a wholesome picture, he may be satisfied, as a rule, with- out expensive, tailor-made product. Indeed, being a naturally resourceful person, he can procure "free" films from the Government, the Y.M.C.A. or one of the university extension libraries, and, by his own, personal interpretations, can make them convey inspiring messages. (To be continued)