International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1954)

cialized incandescent bulbs were produced to replace those which had been adapted from other fields. In 1934, lamps with large-diameter, mirror-type optical systems were replaced with stepped-prism condensers made along the lines of the wellknown Fresnel lens system (Fig. 5, 6 and 7). It appeared as though the industry was settling down to a lighting technique in which the incandescent bulb and the carbon arc were lighting tools available to the cinematographer depending upon his own interpretation of his artistic needs. The one exception was the clarion cry, "I want a lamp with twice the light and twice the penetrating power." The first major revolution was in the advent of sound. Now color stepped in for a go at it! Carbon Arcs to the Fore Technicolor, who had been strugling with a two-color process, announced that they were ready to launch motion pictures in the full color scale and that the white light of the carbon-arc lamp would be needed for the process. The announcement by Technicolor did not produce chaos in the industry as had the arrival of sound, because the studio people believed that color was something they could take or leave alone. Tec/in/co/or's ''Becky Sharp" The advent of Becky Sharp, Technicolor's first major three-color release in 1935, did cause a revolution in the studio-lighting field. The carbon-arc lamp was again to be the predominant studio-light source and FIG. 5. Stepped-prism, Fresnel-type lens inrroduced in 1934. Controllable beam spread of from 8 to 48 degrees. Introduced to the industry by Mole-Richardson Co., Hollywood. the unbalanced spectrum and comparatively low light output from a single unit of the incandescent bulb made its future appear quite bleak to many observers. The New Arclamps Some work had been done on the design of a new type of carbon-arc spotlamp and these were hurried into production. For floodlighting, an adaptation of the older carbon-arc floodlamps was made and later a completely new design was manufactured and replaced the earlier units. It was the heyday for the carbon arc. It would be necessary to throw away more than half of the energy from the incandescent lamp to make it match white light, so to all intents and purposes it was through insofar as use on color sets was concerned. But the cinematographer missed the soft diffusion, the small overall equip ment size and the fill-light quality he obtained from the incandescent lamp almost as much as he had missed the small source size and great power from one unit of the carbon arc in the early days of sound; so color filters were made and incandescent lamps found their proper niche in Technicolor photography even though the film sensitivity did not indicate their use as an economic value. The more restricted latitude [Ed. Note: Latitude is leeway in lightening or darkening the film during development, thereby compensating for errors in photography] and even the handling of color itself, made it necessary to apply greater engineering efficiency to motion-picture photography in order to obtain added dramatic effect which color itself could provide. For the successful introduction of three-color, motion-picture photography. Technicolor found it necessary to demand certain engineering requirements so that the finished product would provide this dramatic effect. Light Balance Extremely Imporfant In order to accomplish this result they supplied their own technicians to operate the three-strip cameras and contracted with a number of successful cinematographers to supervise the set lighting. As soon as possible, all cinematographers were made familiar with color requirements, one of which was the accurate control of light. The cinematographer still does much of his light balancing by visual means, but he also reads (Ed. Note: With an exposure meter.) the incident light in various areas and when he goes beyond the latitude of the system FIG. 6. Modern carbon-arc lamp equipment. FIG. 7. Modern incandescent tungsten lamp equipment. 42 INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST DECEMBER 1954