International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1951)

Soviet superiority in all technological fields. Indications that this second need is being met with increasing success on the other side of the Iron Curtain may well be viewed with alarm by the Western world. The implications are both economic and military. Among other recent East-German successes in motion picture technology we find simplified stereophonic sound systems, experimental stereoscopic movies, improved soundhead optics, wide-latitude color processes, specially perforated filmgate runners which "cushion" the film and prevent deposits of wax and emulsion, and cameras and projectors of new design. The well-known Agfa Film Corp., now resuscitated and completely Sovietized (as is everything else in East Germany), gushes forth an output of raw stock which is nothing short of prodigious. A new projector by Ernemann (the Model 10) is soon to have its debut — an incidental reflection of technical know-how of the highest order — and an increase of East-German steel production from 500,000 to 6,000,000 tons per annum in the past four years. American Manufacturers' Concern These developments should gravely concern British and American manufacturers of theatre equipment because the Eurasian equipment may be superior to Western makes in quality and performance. It will certainly be lower in cost, especially to exhibitors in dollar-short countries. America has already lost its supremacy in the production field. Is history to repeat itself in the technological field? The answer to this question will not be long in coming. The time to make much-needed advances in American and British projection technology is NOW! Five years from now, three, or even one year from now may be too late. Whether or not "movies are better than ever" is a matter open to dispute; but it's a safe bet that movies are no better than the quality of the projection that puts them on the screen. The best productions — films that the theatre-going public wants to see, and to see at their best — are being sabotaged daily in thousands of theatres by antiquated and run-down projection and sound equipment. Faulty Projection Widespread Faulty screen illumination, picture flicker, fuzzy images, and sound suggestive of Edison's talking machine reign malignantly in countless neighborhood theatres, the mainstay of the film industry. Rotten projection, like rotten pictures, means rotten business at the boxoffice ! Now, the real rub is that these per sistent gremlins cannot always be banished by the simple expedient of replacing old equipment with new. The new may be nothing but a rehash of the old, a factory-fresh materialization of prewar— yes, even pre-sound — concepts of design. There are excellent projectors, lamps, and sound systems, to be sure; and for every theatre there is a "best" make and model of projection equipment. But could not, should not, the "best" be superseded by a "better"? Is the best really good enough to meet todays exacting patron requirements, to meet standards of projection higher than those commonly considered official, to meet competition in the entertainment field, to meet the stiff competition offered by equipment of Eurasian manufacture? This competition will soon be in evidence on the foreign market. And just as foreign films are enjoying an increasingly warm reception by intelligent American audiences, the possibility that foreign-made theatre equipment will infiltrate into the Americas on its own merits actually exists ! Canada and South America are already fertile fields for such an invasion. American Conservatism Noted The writer has expressed the opinion several times in the past that many manufacturers of theatre equipment have shown themselves strangely, even unreasonably, reluctant to institute substantial improvements in projector design. Such improvements have been made, of course, and in the United States by every projector manufacturer. On the whole, however, a conservatism prevails which makes the real advances appear minuscule when viewed against the protracted periods of time required for their development and commercial introduction. For example: how many projector manufacturers have seriously considered replacing the orthodox 3-to-l intermittent movement with a 5-to-l movement in order to take advantage of the flickerreducing 3-blade shutter? Have exhaustive tests been conducted with the buckleeliminating curved picture gate? Then, too, the use of bulky and heavy sound "heads" separate from the picture mechanism can be criticized on very logical grounds. Motion pictures are no longer run "straight silent." Why, then, are picture mechanisms constructed as "silent" machines without integral soundreproducing components? Such attachments add very little to the total bulk of a projector mechanism, as the German Ernemann VII-B, the Dutch Philips, and the American DeVry clearly demonstrate. A very desirable simplification results. Screen Light Distribution As important as any possible improvement of the projection process is the attainment of screen illumination which is uniform (from 90 to 95% side-to-center distribution) and is reasonably free from discolorations. This problem has been recognized as mighty important by projection engineers in Germany, but not in the United States and Great Britain. The work and opinions of Zeiss engineers simply cannot be laughed off or brushed aside as of no consequence. Three distinct methods of obtaining uniform screen illumination have now been presented in IP. First, the Ventarc optical system specially designed for a (Continued on page 34) '"The Ventarc H. I. Carbon 'Blown' Arc: a New Concept" by Dr. Edgar Gretener; IP for July 1950, p. 13. "Uniform Screen Light Distribution; Elliptical Reflector Mirrors" by Sam Glauber, Dr. E. Gretener, and R. A. Mitchell; IP for September 1950, p. 13. 3 "Optics of the Projection Arc-Lamp"; IP for February 1951, p. 5. Projectionist Examination Questions Based on Examinations by Leading U. S. Municipalities 1. A rheostat is rated at 1250 watts and has a resistance of 2 ohms. This rheostat may carry, at rated conditions, how many amperes? 2. An imaginary straight line passing through the exact center of a lens or of all the elements of an optical system is called ? 3. In a 35-mm projector running at 90 ft. per minute, how many frames of film pass the aperture in one minute? 4. What per cent of the stamped rating is the actual rating of a link fuse? 5. A projector carbon having no core is called ? 6. What is "voltage drop"? 7. Give the allowable carrying capac ity of at least five different sizes of wire with which you are familiar. 8. What is the resistance of a wire that has a S^-volt drop when carrying 45 amperes? 9. How many amperes are flowing in a wire with a resistance of l/25th ohm if there is a drop of 2 volts in it? 10. Describe the method by which dry and brittle film may be cleaned and moistened. 11. What is the maximum currentcarrying capacity for a 7-mm Suprex positive carbon? For an 8-mm? 12. What may cause the repeated pencilling of the negative carbon? INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST April 1951