The international photographer (Jan-Dec 1930)

One Hundred Twenty-four The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER June, 1930 The Larger Screen -BY Its seems inveitable that a large motion picture screen will come. But a larger, not a "wide" screen. The question is: What will its proportions be? Standard silent proportions were 3x4 and proved highly acceptable to cinematographic composition. Earth's surface ' eing "scratch" and most everything in if e attracted to it and at least held there n inertia if not moving, argued for the 'orizontal picture. And the horizontal ■"longation was a perfectly natural expression since horizontal motion plays a much greater part on the screen than vertical motion. Then sound breathed a larger life into the silent cinema and with it came many complications; for one: The picture proportions approached a square due to the encroachment of sound-track into picture area. This was an unfortunate transitional development, a temporary maladjustment that must eventually give way to a more natural expression. The enhanced 'illusion of reality' which sound gave to moving pictures was sorelv A. LINDSLEY LANE, Local 659 Among other complications the advent of sound in pictures gave rise to a new choice of subject-matter. The crude and untried mechanics of the different medium made necessary the use of subjects that would easily lend themselves and furthermore be effective. As part of this material came the musical comedy from the stage with its chorus of girls and boys. It was at the time of photographing the extended chorus that the small screen became so palpably inadequate, and brought to a focus the ideas circulating in the minds of executives and technicians that something was lacking in the pictorial part of the new medium as compared with good sound. Subsequently, wide film made its appearance, coming from a number of sources almost at the same time, varying in width according to the notion of the individual sponsor, and was shown to the public in two or three widths. To the observer the effect of the wide screen is startling: The characters and the background fairly exude vigorous standardized in the cities of medium and large population. As for the logical compromise in screen proportions. The classic mathematical proportions of dynamic composition* are based on the natural progression of proportions within living things — a sequence of natural form, expressing a feeling of contentment and a sense of finality. This sequence of 'form' is analagous to sequence of 'tone' and sequence of 'color,' both of which are scientifically understood and artistically applied. Thus, in sound motion pictures, if the medium as a composite entity is to be fully effective the individual physical constituents of form, sound and color paralleling each other must completely harmonize and prove equally effective. Necessitating, in this instance, a serious consideration of prime importance: natural picture proportions — the shape of the standard larger screen. The Greek proportions, at root 2, formed a 3x41/i relation. Root 2 is obtained by taking a perfect square, swinging its diagonal down to be the cramped by the flowing images within the ill-proportioned and boxed-in square recoiling upon themselves. The illusion of reality of the sound, when well done, transcended and tended to destroy the diminutive and constricted pictorial figures, impinging upon them an unreality and futility they had never expressed during their days of silent action. And once the novelty of sound pictures passed, the new unbalance became disturbingly apparent. So now the urge to perfected balance is seeking relief and satisfaction. A rebirth of vitality in the pictorial impression is imperative if a unity of 'soundpicture illusion' is to prevail. The square picture is obviously not in harmony with the flow of cinematographic composition, there being nearly always excessive height for the essential spread, this overbearing height aggravating the already shorter and smaller figures— smaller that they may go places on a narrower screen, as the larger figures went like places on a wider screen. The coming larger screen will give the figures broader scope of movement together with increase of figure size, thus fulfilling two prime requisites of the pictorial impression: vigor and intimacy: creating a powerful unity of picture-sound illusion of reality. action and vital intimacy. Great potential force and sweeping movement lie waiting for realization into a life of almost unbounded possibility and accomplishment thru the magic of the master director. But the fresh force and intimacy of the larger screen makes a definite requirement upon sound, which in many perspectives must be richer to catch up with the re-vitalized pictorial impression: The pictorial characters having become more real, so must their voices prove an integral, compelling part of them, and not a thin, weak echo that comes from far away. The aesthetic perceptions of man are limited physically. Were it feasible optically and mechanically to project a moving picture wide and high enough it would quickly pass beyond the very narrow 'angle of inclusion' of man's vision. At best a practical compromise must be established as standard: This being a spread of the maximum horizontal sweep commensurate with the minimum of eye movement. And it follows, the spread of the screen depends upon the size of the theatre and the distance of the audience from the screen. No doubt, at some future date, an especially favorable auditorium will be evolved for the presentation of sound motion pictures, and this will be base of a rectangle, retaining the height of the square as the height of the rectangle. As will be readily seen this proportion closely approximates the proportions of the old standard silent screen. But when the Greeks recognized this formula the factor of actual movement of the picture mass within its boundaries was nonexistent. Today that movement is the essence of motion pictures. It would seem, therefore, that the Classic proportions must be qualified by the new factor which, as we know, is pre-dominantly lateral movement. A relatively increased expansion of width to height follows naturally, though just how much depends on many human, optical, mechanical, and economic contingencies, one of the most fundamental being eye strain. The present day wide screen with its extreme spread causes undue eye strain to the observer and is consequently not an acceptable standard. Nor is it economically practical, since the majority of theatres are incorrectly designed to accommodate the extreme screen. The examples of wide screen we see today of 4x8 proportions are inconsistent with restful vision, also too self-conscious in their very squatty extent, thus precluding the ultimate in illusion and automatically eliminating them as a permanent stand(Concluded on Page 126)