International projectionist (Oct 1931-Sept 1933)

November 1931 INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST 35 GOLDE 3-ALARM A VALUABLE PROJECTION AID DESPITE the adoption of the Standard Release Print, with its uniform ■cue and footage markings, there still are projectionists who find it necessary to add their own cues to the film. The S'.R.P. was designed to eliminate such marking, and it cannot be denied that the trouble from this source has been reduced. However, the presence on film of individual markings — foil contacts, scratches, punchings, chalk marks, clicker patches, and even scraped frames — shows that the S.R.P. did not solve the <;hange-over problem for projectionists. It is generally held that the principal xeason for adding extraneous markings to film is fear — fear that the dots have teen missed or that some unforseen development will arise just before the cue markings appear. This anxiety on the part of the projectionist to maintain perfect continuity causes him to introduce visible or audible signals — which help him but greatly distract the audience. Patrons resent such interruptions, and their resentment is reflected at the box •office. Aside from the human equation already mentioned, there is the matter of variation in motor speed to be considered. Some projectors require several seconds more than others to come up to speed, and no standard markings can guide the projectionist as to when to start the incoming projector. Then there is another angle and this the fact that projectionists cannot be "standardized": one man's reflexes may be slower than those of another. There are also the censor's scissors which may have shortened the distance between cue marks or eliminated them. To guard against such contingencies many projectionists place marks at varying distances from the change-over cue. Such marks introduce another hazard, ioT the projectionist who receives a film Taearing the marks of five or six earlier showings, finds it almost impossible to pick out his own swiftly-moving marks, and is likely to come to the cue with a slow machine. Mutilation Rampant These are some of the things which theoretically should not affect operation Tjut which in practice often produce very lad results. Incidentally, it is a known fact that exchanges make a practice of shipping old and worn film to theatres which persistently return prints bearing damaging marks. This is done not in retaliation but as a matter of economy. To send a new unscratched print to such a theatre results in complaints from subsequent-run theatres. Projectionists should establishe a reputation at the exchange for careful film handling, as this -will insure receipt of better prints. Throughout this country there are many personally made devices for giving a change-over warning, but without exception such devices scratch or wear the film. If these devices were replaced by one which causes no abrasion of film and at the same time renders all markings un NOTES from the SUPPLY FIELD * necessary (even to the extent of reducing the size and number of S.R.P. markings), great benefit would accrue to the projectionist as an individual and to the exhibition end of the industry. Plainly, what is needed is a device that will tell the projectionist when to illuminate his arc, when to start his motor, and when to throw his change-over shutter. These three signals must be given in a manner that the projectionist cannot miss or mistake, no matter what may tend to distract him, and in a manner that will not distract the audience. The signals must be so timed as to suit the acceleration of the machine and provide for the reactions of the individual projectionist. Solving the Problem A device that meets all these requirements has recently been adopted by some of the country's leading theatres, and long tests therein have proven its worth and given indication that its use will soon be widespread in those theatres who de The GoldE 3-Alarm sire flawless projection. This device is the GoldE 3-Alarm. As is shown in the accompanying illustration, this device has three arms pivoted at one end, the free ends each carrying a roller. The pivot is mounted on the movable end of a bearing plate, which is also pivoted. The movement of this bearing plate is limited by a spring locking pin. The bearing plate pivot is held by a base plate securely fastened to the wall of the magazine. The roller on the free end of each arm may be micrometrically adjusted to greater or less distance from the pivot — in effect, shortening or lengthening the arm. This adjustment may be permanently set by means of a nut lock. The rollers ride on the diminishing roll of film in the upper magazine. One arm is adjusted to fall off the roll when it has so diminished that the change-over cue is one minute away. The second arm falls at a time determined by the projectionist but far enough ahead of the change-over cue to allow him to bring his incoming machine up to speed. The third arm falls as the change-over cue arrives on the screen. As each arm falls it clicks against the magazine, giving a sound that is clearly audible above the whirring of the projector but which cannot be heard outside the projection room. Thus the projectionist is not required to watch the screen — his eyes can aid his hands in making a smooth change, and no signals are necessary in either the frame or sound track. The audience is, of course, wholly unaware of the change. Projectionists reading this will immediately reason that, to operate the GoldE 3-Alarm successfully, reel hub diameters must be exactly uniform. That thought is correct. Two diameters are in general use: 5-in. and that of 2-in. Mention was previously made of a pivoted bearing plate limited in its movement. The inner limit of this plate adjusts all three arms of the 3-Alarm for a 2-inch hub; the outer limit sets them for a 5-inch hub. Thus the two standard hub diameters are provided for. There are off-standard hubs, of course, but these are in the minority. They may be used, however, by employing a method of building up the hubs to standard diameter which has been developed by for use with the 3-Alarm: to discover offstandard hubs, cut a length of film the ends of which will exactly butt together when it is wrapped once around a standard hub and test all hubs with this. Varying Terminal Lengths It will also be discovered that to make the 3-Alarm practicable, the distance from change-over cue to the end of the film must be alike in all reels. A check of more than 100 reels as they were shipped from exchange has shown that the number of reels in which this distance is incorrect is so small as to be negligible. Those that do vary are seldom more than 1 or 2 feet, which is well within the limit which makes the 3Alarm accurate. The rare cases of exceptional variation in either shortness or