International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

Twenty-eight T h INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER May, 1934 SMALL FILM-IANA (Continued from Page 6) taking it except from the position of objects in the picture which he knows to be vertical or horizontal. This peculiarity permits a number of strange effects, the most common of which is that of a man walking up the side of a building, made simply by constructing a section of the side of a building in a horizontal position and making the man walk along it normally. It is also valuable in creating certain psychological effects resulting from the unusualness of abnormal camera angles. The screen is the film artist's canvas, and on it he can put any subject he wishes, can re-arrange this subject by choosing a particular camera angle and lighting arrangement, and compose it into a pleasing picture. He has the advantage over the painter, however, for in the same space he can immediately follow one picture with another and this with still another, and so on, without at any time the screen being blank, thus creating a combined effect which is not possible in any other pictorial art form. With this succession of moving visual images the film artist can readily build up any effect he wishes. He does not even need to regard continuity of time and space — he can jump from prehistoric times into the imaginary future and back again, or travel from the earth to a distant planet, all in a fraction of a second. The camera can likewise jump from a distant shot of an object to a full close-up without any intervening time — a feat which certainly cannot be accomplished in real life — or it can be moved from one place to another gradually. It is even possible to show two entirely separate events, which may have taken place at widely separate times and places, at the same time and on the same screen by means of double exposure and other trick effects, or to cause these separate events to dissolve one into the other without any abrupt change. The film artist can slow up motion to produce a lazy feeling or to analyze a motion too fast for the eye to follow ; he can speed up motion to produce the feeling of activity or to analyze motions too slow for the eye to perceive, as the opening of a flower ; he can reverse motion to create a comical effect or assemble broken parts into a whole ; he can stop motion suddenly at any point to note what is happening at that point. A scene can be distorted, diffused, or thrown out of focus at will to produce numerous psychological effects. In short, the film artist has at his disposal a variety of effects which is found in no other art form. The limitations of the medium are in reality characteristics which form the tools for the creative artist. A thorough knowledge of these characteristics and how they can be most effectively used will open an entirely new field for the amateur cinematographer. I have intended here merely to introduce the cine-amateur to this field, and in future articles I will go more fully into the many aspects that make up motion picture art. For the amateur who wishes to go deeper into the subject I suggest, besides books on photographic composition, three outstanding books: "FILM MANUSCRIPT" by Pudovkin, "THE FILM TILL NOW" by Paul Rotha, and especially "FILM" by Rudolf Arnheim, which I have used as a source for some of my material. These books may be a bit advanced for the amateur, but he cannot help but profit by reading them. They may even seem quite radical in some respects, but this will set the amateur thinking along new lines and get him out of the rut of mediocre, uninspired pictures. They will make him appreciate more fully the medium with which he is working, and realize its great potentialities, as yet almost untouched, thus helping and inspiring him to make pictures of which he may well be proud. B & H ANNOUNCES A NEW FULLY AUTOMATIC SOUND AND PICTURE CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION PRINTER The Bell & Howell Company has created a "new fully automatic continuous sound and picture production printer," which is now being exhibited and demonstrated to the Motion Picture Laboratories on the West Coast. This apparatus, which is the result of several years of experimentation by the engineers of the Bell & Howell Engineering and Research Laboratories at a cost of over $200,000, permits the simultaneous printing of both the sound and the picture records, and its fully automatic operation suggests its comparison with the automatic screw machine which has practically revolutionized machine shop practice and its economics. The following will outline some of the revolutionary features of this machine: 1. FULLY AUTOMATIC OPERATION: After being set up, the printer does not need any further attention except for threading it with raw positive stock. It runs in either direction so that the negative, after the initial threading, does not require further handling nor inspection. 2. LIGHT CHANGES: These are secured through the use of a film traveling matte running between the printing light and the printer aperture. A positive and instantaneous change of the light intensity without alteration of its spectral characteristics is thus obtained for each scene and, if desired, for any portion of any scene. The film traveling matte is inclosed in a dust-proof compartment together with the negative, and the handling of both (after the original setting) is therefore eliminated regardless of the direction in which the machine is run and the number of prints that are to be made. 3. PRINTING LIGHT: Standard 250-watt, 110-volt, T-20 monoplane filament bulbs on prefocusing base are used. 4. PRINTING SPEED: A speed of sixty feet per minute is recommended. The machine can be especially adapted for higher speeds if desired, in which case lamps of higher wattage up to 500 watts can be used if necessary. 5. PRINTING VALUES: The densitometry control of the printing light values is absolute for a predetermined development "gamma" which insures at all times the exact duplication of print densities for both the picture and the sound records. 6. CONTACT: Intimate contact of the negative and positive films is secured by air pressure. Two cushions of filtered compressed air are formed at both back faces of the films at the printer gate. This eliminates frictional contact of the films with the printing aperture and the anerture gate. 7. REGISTER: An improved main sprocket similar in design to that of the B & H Model D Printer insures perfect registration within maximum tolerable limits of film shrinkage. 8. CLEANLINESS OF FILMS: Combination compressed-air and vacuum units cleanse both the negative and the positive film as well as the film traveling mattes before entering and after leaving the printing apertures and prior to winding at the take-up reels. This double action assures perfect cleanliness. 9. TEMPERATURE CONTROL: The heat generated by the printing lamps is dissipated through an ingenious cooling system, which insures the proper temperature for all parts of the machine as well as a comfortable temperature for the printing room irrespective of the number of machines in operation. The cooling system also insures dust-proof lamp chambers. 10. LUBRICATION: A fully automatic lubricating system supplies the proper amount of oil to all working parts of the machine every two minutes. A minimum of personal attention is therefore required. Special precautiotis have been taken to prevent the escape of the lubricating material, especially at film-contacting or any external points. 11. DRIVE: The machine is positively driven throughout. All film guide rollers are of the dry ball-bearing type. The motor is of the synchronous type insuring constant speed. 12. BAFFLE LINES: A special printing head is provided to print (simultaneously with the picture and the sound records) two black baffle lines (or light shields) between picture and sound record and between sound record and film perforations. The key-number printing for both sound and picture records is done at the main heads. The above mentioned main features of the apparatus suggest by themselves the utmost accuracy and duplication of results in "release printing," as well as considerable economy in operation due to the almost complete elimination of the necessity of constant personal attention and time-saving factor which it involves. Several protection features have also been incorporated, rendering the printer entirely "fool-proof" and eliminating all possibilities of wastage. The machine cannot function if any of its parts are not in perfect order. The accidental "burning out" of a lamp, breakage of film, or any error in threading will lock the machine or stop it automatically, if the accident occurs while the machine is operating. Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.