International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1947)

Experiment in Screen Masking By ROBERT ALLEN MITCHELL PROJECTIONISTS cannot help but notice, when examining film, that the frames printed on the film usually have rounded, rather than square, corners. This is due to the shape of the standard camera aperture. In the old days nearly all projectors were furnished with round-corner apertures, but the difficulty of masking screens with corresponding rounded corners brought the squarecorner aperture into vogue. At the risk of evoking loud guffaws from those who consider rounded corners "old fashioned," I here relate an experiment I carried out in a small seasonal house last summer. I hope the skeptics will consider carefully the outcome of these tests. The first step was to provide rounded corners for the picture and to note the audience reaction. I substituted roundcorner aperture plate for the squarecorner ones in the projectors, and I masked the screen to match the projected round-corner frame. (I used dead-black cardboard for the rounded corners, but black velour-covered plywood will be used for permanent installation.) Sharp Cutoffs Banished A test run of film with the new setup left no doubt as to what reaction to expect. The result was gratifying, to say the least, The screen not only looked better with rounded corners, but the boundaries of the screen image (that is to say, the edge) practically vanished to the mind's eye as one watched the picture. The reason why a round-cornered screen seems less definitely restricted in area than a square-cornered one is undoubtedly psychological, but the effect is too great to be ignored. From what I could learn from patrons, I am convinced that a round-cornered screen makes it much easier for the spectator to "lose himself" in the story being told by the film. This effect was observed even in patrons who were not directly conscious of the exact shape of the picture framing! The next step in the experiment was to remove the round-cornered screen to gain the attention of the audience, making it slightly more difficult to become absorbed in the screen drama. The important result of the experiment is this: rounded corners augment the dramatic illusion of the picture; square corners operate against it. Urges SMPE Investigation I suggest that the SMPE investigate this matter and, if tests establish the above result as fact, to adopt the roundcornered screen as the American standard. I further propose that the radii of the rounded corners be 1/16 the width of the screen, and that the round-cornered screen whose height and width are in Round-Corner Images Long Tabu in Field MR. MITCHELL'S advocacy of round-cornered screen images focuses attention on a question that is being given increasing attention by serious workers in the art. The trend to date has been toward the abrupt cutoff of the screen image, via masking, with the corners being the least important aspect of the problem as viewed by psychologists, architects and others. In fact, several opponents of the present screen image, format are flatly opposed to any masking of the screen image, their idea being that instead of a sharp cutoff of light at the masking edge there should be employed some means for effecting a gradual diminution of light all around the image. Chief proponent of this idea is Ben Schlanger, noted theatre architect, who has long been concerned with the psychological aspects of screen images in terms of lighting and form. There is no question but that current, almost universal masking and aperture practice is designed to sharply confine screen light, with masking and square corners utilized to heighten the sharp cutoff. Significantly, Loew's Theatres, for many years the foremost major-circuit proponent of rounded screen image corners, has but recently completed the task of switching over to square corners. In fact, round corners were seen in recent years only in the Loew theatres, so pronounced was the preference of projection supervisors for square corners. LP. should like to hear from the field on this topic. masking and to restore the square-cornered apertures. Dissatisfaction was immediately expressed by many patrons, especially those who attended the theatre rather frequently. The sharp, square corners stood out like four sore thumbs, and they competed (in a psychological way. I suppose) with the picture itself Greetings to the Projectionists from the Cameramen of the eleven Western States CALIFORNIA WASHINGTON COLORADO UTAH NEW MEXICO OREGON MONTANA NEVADA WYOMING IDAHO ARIZONA HERBERT ALLER, Business Representative Hollywood Local No. 659, I. A. T. S. E. the ratio of 3:4 be known as the "standard motion picture quadrilateral". Identical Corner Curvatures There are, to be sure, a few theatres that have always employed round-cornered apertures and screens — but all too few. Projectionists who wish to adopt the "standard quadrilateral" in their own theatres are cautioned to exercise great care in cutting the corners. All four should be identical in curvature, and the curves must be absolutely smooth. The material used must match the screen masking in color and "deadness." Ar stated above, the radii of the rounded corners are best when 1/16 the width of the screen; thus the corners for a screen 16 feet wide should be curves of one foot radius. Round-cornered apertures must be used in conjunction with the screen masking. Republic Votes Stock Dividend The board of directors of Republic Pictures Corp. recently voted a regular quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share on preferred stock, payable January 2, 1948 to stockholders as of December 10, 1947. INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST December 1947 25