International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1938)

opinion and co-operation did. How much better it is to have the friendship of the theatre-going public before we need it, rather than waiting until the last minute when trouble strikes and then try to accomplish in a few weeks or days that which common sense tells us requires months and even years. • Contacts Mean Advances Public relations programs, to a greater or lesser extent, have been a part of the normal proceedings of a number of our larger I. A. locals, some of which have achieved outstanding success. Is it mere coincidence that some of the locals with successful publicity or contact departments have the highest wage scales and superior working conditions? No attempt can be made by officials of one local to point out what another local should do. But the writer personally believes that a most effective method of improving public relations is to attain a favorable spot in the local newspaper and stay there. If it should become necessary for the officers of any local to make the supreme sacrifice of going out and kissing babies and laying corner stones in order to secure favorable publicity, let us remember that many a politician has achieved success by doing just that. A few outstanding public contacts deserve attention. The Local should be on good terms with the governing body of the city, such as the mayor and city council. In this, a Local which has its membership listed as 100 per cent registered voters will have made an excellent start. Co-operation in civic affairs will assist in cementing a bond of friendship. There is no reason whatever why locals should not have a representative among the membership of their city's most important service clubs such as the Kiwannis, Rotary, or Lions, especially since these organizations are frequently on the front pages of the newspapers. They offer a fertile field for sowing the seeds of proper understanding and cooperation with organized labor. • Law-Enforcement Contacts Friendship with the police department is not to be sneezed at, especially if it becomes necessary to establish an extensive picket line. Many a law enforcement officer's voice has been lowered by the knowledge that passes to a local theatre might be forthcoming. Close association with welfare agencies offers an excellent means of favorable publicity (social climbers have been doing it for years). Many locals have given unselfishly of their time and funds so that under-privileged children not only be furnished with the necessities of life but also see an occasional movie, the film being donated by the theatre and the projectors and services by the Local. Members might be surprised at the wealth of personal satisfaction and public appreciation which they will receive by interesting themselves as a group in an orphan asylum or children's home and assisting in presenting an occasional show. • School, Church Fields Fertile Schools, both public and parochial, also offer a fertile field for the publicity department. Parochial schools are much easier to contact than might be expected, inasmuch as the Catholic clergy from the Pope down to the priests and nuns have taken a militant stand in defense of organized labor's rights. Not only can the Local offer assistance to the visual instruction department of schools, but by close co-operation in the service and maintenance of their equipment they can prevent school projection rooms from being used for training non-union operators or the presentation of unfair attractions. Sports should not be neglected as an activity: handball, bowling, or soft-ball teams furnish valuable publicity and will develop a spirit of co-operation among the members themselves. The business agent of any local whose members are interested as a group in some form of outside activity — whether it be welfare work, politics, education, or sports — will find that the same united front necessary therefor will prove useful in maintaining a united labor front. There is another important activity of vital importance to projectionists everywhere and that is the Society of Motion Picture Engineers. Our organization as a whole is outstanding in its poor representation with this body. Each year vital decisions, many of which concern the welfare of our own members, are made by the Projection Practice Committee, which, instead of being composed of outstanding projectionists and theatre technicians, is largely controlled by chain circuit executives and those, who, while sympathetic to our organization, lack the real understanding to properly aid our members. There are, of course, a few outstanding exceptions on this committee. The I. A. members, few as S.M.P.E. Projection Committee Recommendations are Cited as Proposed American Standards THE appended recommendations of the Projection Practice Committee of the S.M.P.E., including the table relative to screen sizes, have been cited by the Standards Committee of that body as a proposed American standard. Favorable action by the American Standards Assoc, will validate the proposals. Projection Lens Height. — The standard height from the floor to the center of the projection lens of a motion picture projector should be 48 inches. Projection Angle. — Should not exceed 12 degrees. Observation Port. — Should be 12 inches wide and 14 inches high, and the distance from the floor to the bottom of the openings shall be 48 inches. The bottom of the opening should be splayed 15 degrees downward. If the thickness of the projection room wall should exceed 12 inches, each side should be splayed 15 degrees. Projection Lens Mounting. — The projection lens should be so mounted that ■the light from all parts of the aperture shall traverse an uninterrupted part of the entire surface of the lens. Projection Lens Focal Length. — The focal length of motion picture projection lenses should increase in K-inch steps up to 8 inches, and in V^-inch steps from 8 to 9 inches. Projection Objectives, Focal Markings.— Projection objectives should have the equivalent focal length marked thereon in inches, quarters, and halves of an inch, or in decimals, with a plus ( + ) or minus ( — ) tolerance not to exceed 1 per cent of the designated focal length also marked by proper sign following the figure. S.M.P.E. Standard 35-mm. Projection Screen Sizes Size No. of Screen Picture Width (Feet) Picture Height, Feet Inches Size No. of Screen Picture Width (Feet) Picture Height, Feet Inches 8 8 6 0 25 25 18 9 9 9 6 9 26 26 19 6 10 10 7 6 27 27 20 3 11 11 8 3 28 28 21 0 12 12 9 0 29 29 21 9 13 13 9 9 30 30 22 6 14 14 10 6 31 31 23 3 15 15 11 3 32 32 24 0 16 16 12 0 33 33 24 9 17 17 12 9 34 34 25 6 18 18 13 6 35 35 26 3 19 19 14 3 36 36 27 0 20 20 15 0 37 37 27 9 21 21 15 9 38 38 28 6 22 22 16 6 39 39 29 8 23 23 17 3 40 40 30 0 24 24 18 0 22 INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST