Film year book (1935)

stantially lowered the dues of the other classes of membership, thus making available all of the advantages of society membership at a very reasonable cost. The response was tremendous and during the year the membership of the Society practically doubled. This increase in membership more than offset the reduction in dues with the result that the Society is in very satisfactory financial condition, having better than balanced its budget for the first time since the beginning of the depression. Administrative changes including the establishment of Engineering, Editorial, Convention and Financial Vice-Presidencies now permit more intimate correlation of the corresponding groups of committees than has heretofore been possible. SEMI-ANNUAL CONVENTIONS The increased vigor of the Society was evidenced at the Spring Convention held at the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall, Atlantic City, April 23rd to 26th, and the Fall Convention at the Pennsylvania Hotel, New York. So many excellent technical papers were presented that it was sometimes necessary to run parallel sessions. These papers dealt wtih the full range of motion picture engineering problems including lighting, photography, color, sound recording and reproducing, projection, exchange and laboratory methods, sixteen millimeter and special problems. SECTION MEETINGS Supplementing the semi-annual conventions the Society sponsors monthly technical sessions in three regional sections, having headquarters in Hollywood, Chicago and New York. These sections enable frequent participation in technical papers, programs on the part of members who are unable to attend the conventions. Since all Society members are automatically members of the sections the latter have shared in the membership growth of the Society as a whole. PUBLICATIONS Organized in 1916 by a handful of pioneers who realized the importance of exchanging technical information as a means of progress the Society early began the publication of Transactions. These were replaced in January, 1930, by the present Journal of the Society and together they form the most comprehensive library of motion picture engineering and technique in existence. During 1934 the Journal, although still handicapped by financial limitations, continued its former excellent work, presenting articles by prominent engineers and researchers in the industry and also the reports of the Society's technical committees. STANDARDIZATION A very important part of the Society's contribution to the motion picture industry consists in the activities of its several technical committees which serve to correlate methods and practices and assist in the standardization of apparatus to the great benefit of the entire industry. Of great importance in this field is the activity of the Standards Committee, composed of some twenty engineers who represent, collectively, almost every branch of the motion picture industry. During the past year this Committee revised and re-edited the Standards booklet covering film dimensions, sprocket dimensions and layouts of sound and picture apertures for both thirty-five and sixteen millimeter films. The booklet was incorporated in the November, 1934, issue of the Journal and will presently be reprinted in booklet form for general distribution. The work of the Society in the field of standardization is about to be extended through the formation under S.M.P.E. sponsorship of a sectional committee on motion picture standards as a part of the American Standards Association. Its membership will include representatives of other related engineering societies, including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and of prominent manufacturers, producers and consumers or their respective trade associations. OTHER TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES The eight other technical committees have also been active throughout the past year, as evidenced by their reports presented at the semi-annual conventions and published in the Journal. One of the primary functions of the Society being the dissemination of information regarding current developments in the industry, the work of the Progress Committee is particularly important. The carefully prepared and comprehensive report of this committee, together with its appended bibliography, which was published in the June issue of the Journal, comprises a very important reference source for every worker in the motion picture engineering field. The Projection Practice Committee and the Exchange Practice Committee have actively studied the possibilities of increased reel lengths which offer possibilities of improved projection and enormous savings in film footage, although not without rather difficult problems in exchange practice. The Sound Committee has begun the preparation of a sound yard stick, reference to which, it is hoped, will presently eliminate the wide variation in sound quality which occurs from studio to studio and theater to theater. JOURNAL AV^ARD AND PROGRESS MEDAL During the past year the Society established an annual award for the best technical paper published in the Journal. The first award was to P. A. Snell for his paper entitled "An Introduction to the Experimental Study of Visual Fatigue." 691