The international photographer (Jan-Dec 1935)

Six T I, INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER December, 1935 16mm. The Story of Amateur Film Standardization By F. Hamilton Riddel 9.5 mm. 8mm. |HE average home-movie maker, who today enjoys the high quality and versatility of 16 mm., rarely realizes the immense amount of research and the many years of pioneering that ultimately contributed a satisfactory amateur film standard. For all practical purposes, this standard was established when the Eastman Kodak Company introduced 16 mm. film in 1923. Until that year no real film gauge existed in the purely nonprofessional field of motion pictures. Although for a great many years previous to 16 mm's introduction there had been many attempts to popularize motion picture making by the layman, trial and error methods had been of necessity the rule. There was good, even ingenious, equipment developed as early as the beginning of the present century. But the chief stumbling block to these very early developments, and to many subsequent ones, was a complete lack of standardization in film size. It was obvious that the professional 35 mm standard would not do for amateur motion pictures for two very good reasons— high cost and inflammability. On the other hand, it was imperative to duplicate, even improve, the other features of standard 35 mm and incorporate them in a satisfactory amateur film standard. The problem which was presented can best be understood J weenumerate the essential specifications necessary in the establishment of a standard for amateur use. COST. Since 35 mm film, costing approximately 10 cents per foot (from negative to positive print on the screen) and being projected at the prescribed rate of 60 feet per minute, made an average screen presentation a matter of several hundred feet of film, it can readily be seen such cost was prohibitive to the average amateur. A home-movie film must be afforded which, 'with less footage, could still record several minutes of action and at a price not far removed from that of still picture snapshots. ABSOLUTE SAFETY. As most 35 mm film was presented under ideal safety conditions of fire proof booth and trained operator, the high inflammability of the film base was not a serious drawback. Obviously, however, an amateur film would not, could not in most cases, be so exhibited. The amateur standard must be a noninflammable base film. Any doubt as to whether or not it was safe (as possible in 35 mm) must be dispelled; and like Caesar's wife, must be above suspicion. EDITING. Movie making being what it is, to which would b-; added the variances of handling by a layman, made it most important the new film could be cut and re-assembled after exposure and not left in continuity of shooting. For the same reason there are rubbers on lead pencils, film must be cut and edited, no matter how carefully it was originally photographed. SIMPLIFIED PROCESSING. Professional 35 mm involved the use of a negative which, after development, had many positive films printed therefrom. This required laboratory -work, handling and processing at least two separate lengths of film, which was expensive. Amateur film usage, on the other hand, would usually require only a single print. Hence the reversal method of processing, already known but not often used in 35 mm, by which the same film exposed in the camera was chemically reversed into a positive for projection, must be further improved and made available to the amateur. Handling only a single strip of film, instead of two, would further cut costs. STANDARDIZATION. An amateur film size must be adopted which, by mutual agreement as to basic qualifications, could be set up as an absolute standard for home-movie makers. Only with a set standard could amateur movies be popularized, and outfits exist without becoming obsolete due to varying film sizes. It is natural that during the critical period of development of amateur movies, which even then the professional 35 mm was experiencing, there was an independence of design and action by inventors. While this was entirely as it should be, it did cause a chaotic mass of ideas as far as film size was concerned. Mutual co-operation in regard to a film standard for the amateur was virtually non-existent. Motion picture images were put on glass plates, on paper narrow and wide, on endless film belts, and on 35 mm in every conceivable way. Over such a rocky road of mediums and varying widths the present standard has had to travel to perfection. Perhaps the earliest size produced was the split 35 mm. This gave a film 17.5 mm in width. Perforation remained the same, but of course was on one edge of the film only. There were 32 frames, double the professional amount, to each foot of film. Another variation employed 35 mm in its natural state. This film was exposed, however, so that two rows of frames ran the length of it, side by side. The equivalent of four feet of 35 mm professional screen time was obtained, in every foot of film, by this idea. It is altogether fitting that the great inventor, Thomas Edison, should have furthered the interest in home-movies with his contribution, the Edison Home Kinetoscope film. Edison employed a film only slightly less wide than 35 mm, having eliminated the usual side perforations of the latter. On this new film he placed three rows of frames, running full length of the stock, with perforations between the rows of frames. In projection, the first row of images was moved forward; the second, reversed; and the last moved forward again. The Kinetoscope film was safety type. Only library subjects, however, were available, as no camera was developed for making one's own films. Probably the most ambitious amateur film to put in an appearance on the market was 28 mm. Developed in France by the famous Pathe Company, 28 mm had single rows of frames as in 35 mm, but perforation was dissimilar. The usual four sprocket holes 'were on one side only, while the other carried single holes. This latter departure was Pathe's method for automatically keeping the film in frame during projection, and also acted as a ready identification of the company's film product. The film base of 28 mm was safety non-flam. Although an excellent film, it was so near 35 mm size that costs were not materially reduced, and therefore its use was restricted to persons of means. What appears to have been the first all around amateur size was that introduced by Movette. This film was 17.5 mm and on a safety base. Perforation holes -were round, instead of square, there being two perforations per frame, each side of the image. Personal movies could be taken and shown, but Movette did not attempt to supply any library subjects. Movette's success, though not lasting, nevertheless was considerable, as witness special process laboratories which) even today quote prices on reduction to 16 mm from old Movette 17.5 mm films. Coincident with standardization of 16 mm there appeared one of the last attempts at a special amateur size, an endless belt type, with individual frames running spirally about it. While this film 'was most economical, it had one great drawback, as it could not be edited. The pictures had to be shown as they were taken, without benefit of titles or editorial changes. Though there were additional developments going on among manufacturers, in many cases actual camera and projector models being ready for commercial introduction, which used certain size films already mentiond, when 16 mm appeared in 1923 these models were quickly abandoned and modified to accommodate the new standard, 16 mm. Such manufacturers have had good reason since to thank their lucky stars for these modifications, as time has proved the worth of the amateur standard. Since 1923 there has been a steady growth in home-movies and the list of available camera and projector models for 16 mm is endless. About the same time of 16 mm's inception, Pathe made another attempt, this time quite successful, at introducing a home-movie size film, namely, the well-known 9.5 mm Pathex, which had gained considerable vogue in France. Approximately equal to 16 mm in frame area, Pathex differed in that its single perforations appeared in the center of the film between frame-lines. 35mm. Eastman or Dupont Fresh Qray Backed Negative Price 2V2C per Foot for AMATEURS or PROFESSIONALS KINEMA KRAFTS KOMPANY 6510 Selma Ave. Hollywood, Calif. GLadstone 0276 Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.