The Film Daily (1933)

1918 Film Daily "New Deal" Edition 1933 65 as the difficulty encountered in obtaining uniform de•lepment. Tube machines generally caused streakiness, ue to poor circulation of developing solutions; because le solutions moved in an upward or downward path in le same direction the film proceeded creating little or a cross circulation. These machines operated at a very ow speed, the maximum speed obtainable being about 5 feet a minute. Increased speed necessitated more lotage in the developing solutions, or larger and more ibes. This prevented compactness in design. About 1918 the Carlton Brothers completed for the aiem Motion Picture Laboratories a wooden tube type achine. This machine was bought by the Vitagraph aboratories, who later sold it to Warner Brothers. This achine, which is still in use, with a few alterations, as the forerunner of the Duplex tube machine. The Duplex motion picture laboratories began building te Duplex machine about 1919 or 1920. In this machine, iriations in development time were accomplished by ssening or increasing the amount or film in the developg solution. )RIOR to Kalem or Duplex, the horizontal, or Erbograph, type of machine was designed and constructed f Mr. R. C. Hubbard, then of the Erbograph Laboratories, his machine carries the film in a flat, horizontal spiral trough trays of developer, fixing solution and wash ater. Unlike the vertical types of machine, which have idden turns of film, the operators have easy access to II the film at all times, and in case of breakage can rpair the film without causing excessive waste or loss f time. The Spoor-Thompson machines date back to 1915, or arlier, although they were not offered for general use ntil later. These are smooth spool tank-type machines perated at variable speed, and a large number of them fere in later years installed in laboratories and are being sed under leases granted by the Cinema Patents Comany, a subsidiary of Consolidated Film Industries, Inc., lie machines which have been greatly improved being ow known as Cinema machines. Following the establishment of the fundamentals for lachine design, improvements were made permitting safe peeds for processing motion picture positive film up to 00 feet per minute. The best present day machines are of the sprocketless r friction drive construction. Experiences has proven hat the sprocketless machines give less wear on the erforation, minimizing breakage and film waste. In the meantime, printing and handling equipment was eing greatly improved. The Bell and Howell continuous rinter made possible a printing speed of 65 feet per linute, and permitted light changes without stopping the ilm. The Duplex printer soon followed. This was a step rinter, having automatic light changes, and providing or printing two negatives simultaneously. The Bell nd Howell Splicing machine reduced splicing to a rapid, emi-automatic operation. The DeBrie step printer ound favor in some quarters. But the draftsman still reigned supreme in the laboatories until the coming of sound. "A good eye," and "experienced judgment" were considered the requisites of successful laboratory work. Sound forced recognition of the value of MEASUREMENT in photographic processes. What followed is too recent history to need repetition here. Developing baths are now stabilized chemically, contrast is determined sensitometrically, printing lamps are standardized photometrically, density is determined by machine, and the laboratory has become a factory on the mass production basis. The product is completely standardized, and the quality higher than achievable by the best craftsman methods. In tracing the commercial history of the motion picture laboratory, we find it closely interwoven with the history of the producing organizations themselves. Space does not permit detailed tracing of that history. Suffice it to say that at the present time the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Brothers, Paramount and Fox organizations maintain their own well-equipped and efficient laboratories, practically all of which have installed scientific control system as mentioned above. ♦ JUST before the World War, non-producer owned w' laboratories began to offer their services to independent producers. Since that time, the independent laboratory has been a large factor in the film industry, not only in a technical way, but also from the economic standpoint. The film laboratory, which receives and holds the only tangible product of the studios — the negative — and which manufactures the prints which are the only means of marketing the producers' output, must naturally assume banking and credit functions. One organization in particular has made itself a very important place in the film industry, largely because it has perceived the necessity of offering services of this kind. In tracing the history of Consolidated Film Industries, Inc., we must go back to 1914, when the present management entered the film laboratory business under the corporate name of Hedwig Laboratories, Inc., occupying small quarters on the 4th floor of 729 Seventh Ave., New York. At that time many small film laboratories, none of which were outstanding, were fighting for existence. Facilities were inadequate. Finance was scarce. Quality of product was poor, and due to limited volume of printing, prices were too low to net a profit. Little progress under this setup could be expected. ^N ACCOUNT of the unsettled conditions in the film ^S laboratory business during its formative period, the larger producers, determined to safeguard and secure their own position, continued to maintain their own developing and printing plants. The management of Consolidated Film Industries when confronted with that situation, decided that if developing and printing were to be controlled by independents they must work together to correct the existing evils. As a starting point in this direction, the Allied Film Laboratories Association was formed. Allied improved the general situation somewhat, but the independents, still with limited printing volume, low prices and no profits, were difficult to en gage in any definite policy. Therefore, the Association idea was abandoned. After many months of negotiations, Consolidated Film Industries, Inc. was organized, and included the Republic Film Laboratories, Inc., Commercial Traders Cinema Corporation, The Erbograph Company and the Craftsman Film Laboratory, all of New York City. The policy of the new organization was to build larger film laboratories, install more adequate and upto-date equipment, stabilize prices, if possible, and turn out a satisfactory product at a fair profit. In other words, Consolidated was to lay the foundation for the film laboratory branch of the industry along businesslike and permanent lines, and to reestablish the confidence and goodwill of the Producers. Consolidated's first expansion West was to acquire the Standard Film Laboratory, which gave it representation in Hollywood. No further acquisitions were made until 1926, when the Rothacker Film Manufacturing Company of Chicago was acquired; also the G. M. Laboratory of Long Island City. The Rothacker acquisition gave Consolidated a one-half interest in the Rothacker-Aller Film Laboratory in Hollywood. Complete ownership was acquired in 1927. Other film laboratories acquired from time to time were the Hirlagraph Motion Picture Corporation, the Universal Film Manufacturing Co., both in Fort Lee; the Pathe Film Laboratory in Jersey City, N. J. and the Bennett Laboratory in Hollywood. Millions of dollars were needed to acquire all these plants. Many could not meet the standards set by the Consolidated organization and were scrapped. Consolidated was now expanding rapidly — too rapidly for private capital to finance, and therefore an issue of preferred and common stock was offered to the public and $6,000,000 was raised. Consolidated then became a publicly, instead of a privately owned corporation. ♦ IN 1928 and 1929 the volume of printing done by ' Consolidated was increasing steadily. At times it was impossible to meet the demand. Consolidated plants operated day and night. The idea was then developed that sooner or later Consolidated would be compelled to concentrate its operation in fewer locations in order to increase efficiency, lower costs and introduce to the film laboratory business a greater protection of life and property. Therefore early in 1930, work was started at Consolidated Park, in Fort Lee, New Jersey, on what was to become, after two and a half years of preparation, the world's greatest film laboratory, capable of turning out more than two and a half million feet of release printing per day. "The Views and Films Index" of 1906 took pride in reporting "progress along particularly mechanical lines" when it mentioned a laboratory having an output of 1,000 feet per hour. Today, FILM DAILY can casually mention outputs more than one hundred times as great. Is it possible that some commentator in 1960 (writing in THE FILM DAILY, of course) will find today's figures equally amusing? Or will the next era be one of concentration on the artistic and economic angles of this business built on shadows? Perhaps we had better bring this installment to a close, and mark it: TO BE CONTINUED IN 1960. • THE FILM DAILY YEAR BOOK • IS THE STANDARD REFERENCE WORK OF THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY