The Film Daily (1926)

Page 12 Exhibitors Daily /{et)i« Good Protection Sense Means Additional Dollars By P. A. McGUIRE Powers Division, International Projection Corp. "Mac Observes" in the March 30th issue of the Exhibitors Daily Review that there will be plenty of competition this year and "that the exhibitor who forgets he is in the picture business will lose money. Good pictures only count. The public won't spend money or waste time on poor product." Although he merely says "good pictures," I am quite sure that what he really means is "good pictures properly projected." Over and over we have said "Better Projection Fays" and to make our point we have told our story in a variety of ways. But "Mac" does it so beautifully for us in this issue we are going to quote liberall} from vvhai he says. "There will be more 'shopping' than ever before. The 'shoppers' all congregate where the big picture is showing. The poor picture gets the overflow. But no money. It's a surprising fact that there are thcjusandi of people who don't attend a picture show a year. Millions that don't go once a month. Picture audience is comparatively small. Biggest problem this year is to enlarge picture audience. Convert the 'once-a-monthers' into 'once-a-weekers.' " Applies to Projection All this is splendid and every word of it applies to projection. There is a tendency on the part of exhibitors to join Chambers of Commerce, Boards of Trade, and in other ways show that they look upon themseh-^s as business-men as well as showmen. This is fine. That is what they arc and how they should regard themselves. As good merchants they will want to get the best "possible merchandise and deliver it' in the best possible shape. Projection is the final delivery of the goods to the patron. If the projection is defective, everything that the producer, actor, director and cinematographer have striven for has had its value decreased. The exhibitor, however, will have no difficulty in finding out what is wrong. Some of the leading exhibitors of this country will carefully watch the picture which is being shown and noting some defect will practically abandon every other activity until the projection is improved. Jacob Fabian is one of these men and on a number of occasions has said with an emphasis that left no doubt and produced the right kind of results, "I want good projection. I don't care v/hat it costs. I want good projection," and he gets it. Exhibitors do a good deal of wor rying about what is going on in Washington, their state Capital, Hollywood and Wall Street, and I do not doubt that at times they are justifieti n giving full consideration to the matters associated with these places. Frequently, however, thcie things are utterly beyond the control of the exhibitor as an individual, while right in his own theatre and own town things are going wrong which are of immediate and vital importance. There is nothing connected with the motion picture theatre which is more directly under his control than projection and yet the exhibitor seldom gives this his full attention. It has been fairly well shown that less than fifty cents a day will keep projection equipment in good condition and yet many exhibitors refuse to devote this trifling sum to the improvement of screen presentation. For the price of a couple of seats an exhibitor can keep his patrons satisfied with the added incentive of winning new patronage by local recognition of his efforts. Better projection depends upon having good men, good working conditions and good equipment and the exhibitor who is willing to expend a reasonable amount of time and money to secure these will soon prove to his complete satisfaction that "Better Projection Pays." Projection Alignment The alignment of projection apparatus is of vital importance to good projection. When every condition is satisfied, a line from the carbon points, through the center of the condensers, gate (mask) and lens, if projected, should strike the exact center of the screen. Here is a suggestion by which any operator may arrive at the perfect alignment of his apparatus. First remove condensers and lens (lea\ing the jacket), close the gate, and put the mask in the center position— presuming the projector is not a fixed optical center. Then cut a disc of cardboard slightly larger than the end of the lens jacket. Bore a small hole in the exact center and thread through a piece of fine string, making a knot on the other side. Thread the string through the lens jacket, mask and condenser cases to the carbon points. It will be immediately noticeable if the lamphouse wants raising or lowering, or projector head. The string must be kept taut, and the carbons closed. This aisle light, which is placed on chairs to illuminate the floors and thus guide patrons in stepping through the aisles in the dark, is an excellent safety appliance. It is distributed by Exhibitors Supply Co., of Chicago. This excellent orchestra light is proof against any light coming from the orchestra pit on the screen. The illumination is solely confined to the music stand, with no chance of escaping rays seeping through where they don't belong. The Liberty Music Stand Co., of Cleveland, handles this device. How To Locate a Grounded Coil Only those thoroughly familiar with electrical apparatus should attempt to undertake the difficult feat of locating a grounded coil. The armature should be removed from the field and set on a trestle, and a current should be passed through the armature from any one of the ommutator segments to the shaft. A compass should be held near the conductors, and the needle will be deflected in a certain direction, due to the flow of current. If the armature is slowly turned around, till such time as the compass needle revprses this will ind'cate the proximity of the grounded coil. Low insulation resistance between the core and the armature winding is generally caused by moisture, and often a vapor may be seen arising from the armature. The remedy may be achieved by baking the armature in an oven at a temperature of 200 degrees l-'ab,n heit, or by running the machine unloaded for a few hours and sending a small current round the windings. Short circuiting of coils is usuallv accompanied by heavy sparking. A smell of burning may be caused by copper dust, or oil on bits of solder lodged between the commutator arms. Watch Your Step It might be of interest to many exhibitors to know thflt despite the fact ihat you issue warnings to your incoming patrons to watch their steps as they walk into the dark theatre, should an accident occur because of the dark or badly lighted aisle, the exhibitor is nevertheless held responsible at law. Marr-Colton Radios Organ Instruct! The Marr-Colton Organ has an arrangement with Stai WFBH to broadcast a program i organ recitals and edifying talks o the use of the organ from the Wa ners Theatre Studio, every Fri4 night between seven and eight P. ; John Hammond, noted organi plays and directs these progno which includes interesting talks of ! expository nature aimed to exphi the functions of the various con ponent parts of the instrument. U Hammond's remarks are clothe human-interest, thus detracting not whit from the entertainment favj ofthe program, and at the same offering shrewd observations on to derive the broadest possibilities e utility and expression that the orgi affords. ' Overheating Causes In the Armaturi The most common causes that rt suit in over-heating of the armatnt are overload, grounds, eddy curreii! in the conductors, short circuits i the coils, sparking at the cotpij tator, heat conducted from the ings and insulation. If the exci heating is uniform over the armature, the machine is overli Should one or two of the cf'' be overheated, the trouble is due a short circuit in the winding, li the core is hotter than the coils, tb trouble is due to excessive eddy cu: rents in the laminations, caused b the core rubbing up against one (: the pole faces, or it may be cau<t! by a number of the laminations beiw short-circuited, the slots having bes; filed too much when the core TO built. Heating due to eddy currentii either in the armature core or in tk conductors, cannot be remedied 1' the operator. The maker of the michine should be notified. Test iti!' be made by running the generator o: open circuit and the rise in tempera' ture noted. To test for a ground in the wine ings, first disconnect the generatcf rom the circuit and then run it : normal speed. Using an ordinar test lamp, touch the opposite brushf to make sure you have thevoltap Then connect the lamp terminals V tween the generator frame and ih poles. Should there be a ground tl» test lamp will either glow or ligl' The cause of the ground can then I" located and removed. 1 m {>■■■ Biit •8f! 111. ;;o imi Miller Bal m .N'tWK St., ?,iwei A, Irecil E, N'. M jec 'See kii m n See .tdi Clean Lenses .ITI '"roll \'. Elect ff. Fniil Xi Ksil! .\Vi lit! m m ■'^ Oi rhi on i?e m "te m Pi 'See Pf( Every day take a soft rag and clei' your projection lenses and the CDi (lensers. By keeping the condenSer "lean you secure a better light an by keeping the projection lens cle: you will secure more light and sharper picture on your screen. Cl^: your condensers and projectiii lenses every day before starting yoo show and you will note that you »| get much better results. It only tak<| a few minutes. B^ sure and nev'^ touch the surface of your lenses w"' your hands. Take the entire projei tion lens apart once a month. Rejfl any lens that has any discolor. Wh? ever you do never get any oil on V lenses or the condensers: 4