The Film Renter and Moving Picture News (Jul-Aug 1922)

July 29, 1922. THE FILM RENTER & MOVING PICTURE NEWS (Technical Supplement). iii. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF KINEMATOGRAPHY. What our new Supplement will aim to do. ee ee T is abundantly clear that in the future of kinematoI graphy much closer attention will be paid to the technical side of the industry. —‘* Better Equipment ”’ will have its place in the sun equally with * Bigger and Better Pictures.”’ Indeed, to provide entertainment. of a satisfying character to the picturegoer, the former is an cssential adjunct to the latter. Both are necessary for success. A New Era. And with the advent of the new and_ capacious kinemas, now rearing their pretentions edifices in many of the larger centres of population in Great Britain, will hegin the new era in motion pictures in this country, in which the technical side is destined to play a part almost equally important as the program. Admitting that the picture is the thing that matters, its presentation must surely be the most momentous question which faces the management of the theatre, for the answer to it spells success or failure. Nothing but the best screening, with the most up-to-date equipment, can expect to gct over in these days. Importance of Better Equipment. But if audiences are critical of the projection and lighting, they are even more so of the adjuncts to the successful show, particularly the music. Putting aside for the moment the entertainment value of the program, and leaving for a future occasion the important matter of the technical aids to publicity—selling the picture to the public—we would briefly mention the importance of better equipment in relation to the seating of the theatre, and to the necessity for proper ventilation. Both these matters are of vital interest to the picturegoer, for the perfectly-ventilated kinema, with its wellappointed arrangements, comfortable seats, and smart attendants, are thoroughly understood and appreciated hy the regular patron. Indeed, if exhibitors desire to establish a clientele which can be relied upon to see most programs it is absolutely necessary that the seating should be comfortable and the ventilation perfect. Artistic Decoration. The patron, in an uncomfortable seat and with the theatre hot and stuffy, invariably loses interest even in the latest and best screen presentation, and the pay-box tells the tale at future performances. Then there is the further important matter of the artistic decoration of the theatre. and much ean be done in this direction to give the public very genuine pleasure and a lively anticipation of the good things to come. Too often it is noticed that ihe sereen. in particular, is absolutely bare of decoration ef any kind, and stares baldly at the audience between the items. Screen curtains are now very popular, since their manipulation has been placed in the hands of the operator. Astute managers consider an artistic sereen curtain as a really big house effect, and they are right. The Musical Setting. ; And how important to the suecessful showing of the program is the musical setting, and how wonderful is its magical influence in the finer moments of the picture. Good musie will often lift the commonplace feature into Google almost unanimous acceptance. Its effect in the presentation of the great super-pictures, and, when interpreted by the larger orchestras, competently led, is little short of marvellous. Without going into the broader questions cf the enormous scope of the kinema in the expansion of its musical side, or the possibilities of conveying, in this simple and direct way, the best and higher ferms of music to the masses of our people, we would urge that very much more attention should be paid to the musieal settings in respect to suitability and character, and that no pains should be spared to secure synchronisition and artistic treatment. That there is room for material improvement in the music in the kinemas of this country can be hardly doubted. It is one of the big reforms in efficiency that is somewhat overdue, and it is our intention to help in this reform in a practical way. A special section of our Technical Supplement will be devoted to the subject, and articles by prominent musical experts will appear in each issue. The opening article on another page has been specially written by Mr. Eugene Goossens, whose direction of the music at the recent pieture seasons at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, was somewhat of a revelation to picture-goers. Our Aim. With this issue our Technical Supplement makes its how to the trade. Its aim will be to aid and support this important section of the industry, and to stimulate its good work for the betterment of our kinemas by the exploitation of all that is new and efficient on the technical side. We shal! keep our public well informed of the new patents and, we might almost say, revolutionary devices which are advancing the industry bv leaps and bounds. We shall endeavour to show the inventor of such devices how and where they can be manufactured and marketed to the manifest advantage of the industry, and the attainment of high-grade efficiency in the theatres. A Word as to Exploitation. And just one word as to exploitation, While it is universally admitted that no advertising campaign can compel immediate results, there is not the remotest doubt, if the product so exploited be a good product, it pays, and pays handsomely, to extensively and continuously advertise it. The buyer who is cut for the best in the market knows that the concerns whose announcements appear regularly in the trade journals are bona fide firms with a sound proposition to advance, and are able to deliver the goods. What chance has the other man, whose product may be equally good, but whose publicity ix mainly confined to an occasional spasmodic mail campaign, with the go-ahead firm whose persistency and enterprise in booming his goods, through the medium of the trade Press, makes for success every time and all the time ? The manufacturer who shows his confidence in his product by advertising it thoroughly goes a long way in forging the link of confidence between seller and purchaser. And once that confidence is sceured it will be amply maintained,