International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1955)

By C. E. KENNETH MEES A Research Triumph: The Story of Black-andWhite Filmf The steady improvement in the motion picture screen image over the past 50 years has to a large extent, been made possible by the successful efforts of the Eastman Kodak Co. and other companies to develop better negative and positive print films. The story of these efforts is appended. THE PRODUCTION of motion pictures involves a combination of the theatrical art and photographic technique, and its history has depended upon the development both of the theater and of photography. I have been asked to give you an account of the development of the films used in making motion pictures, and in doing so I must call attention to the close relation between the methods used in the production of pictures and the nature of the films which have been available. This account deals only with the films manufactured by the Eastman Kodak Co., a record of which was available to me. A number of other manufacturers have played an active part in the development of the industry and have made a variety of films. The Lumiere Co., of Lyons, France, made film at a very early date in connection with the development of motion pictures by Auguste and Louis Lumiere and later sold a considerable quantity of motion-picture film to American users. Early Film Manufacturers In 1918 the DuPont Co. commenced the manufacture of motion picture positive film and have since made a range of films for motion picture purposes. The Agfa-Ansco Co. manufactured motion picture positive film, and their successors, the Ansco Division of the General Aniline and Film Co., have been active in the supply of film to the industry. This account of the development of motion picture films deals only with the films which produce monochrome, or black-and-white, images. The beginning of motion picture t Condensed from the "History of Professional Black-and-White Motion Picture Film," Journal of the SMPTE, Oct., 1954 production in the United States was associated with the first production of transparent film, made for use in Kodak cameras. In 1887, W. Dickson was working in Edison's laboratory in West Orange, N. J., on an instrument to be used with the Edison phonograph to reproduce motion as well as sound. In this instrument very small images were photographed in a continuous spiral on a cylinder, as sound is recorded on the phonograph cylinder. In September 1889, Dickson sent an order and $2.50 to George Eastman for a roll of film 35-mm in width. This film was used in a new type of kinetoscope for taking motion pictures on a continuous strip of film which was standardized at a width of 1% inches, with four perforations to a frame along both edges, the film which in essence is that used today. Dual-Purpose Emulsion The emulsion was that used in the Kodak cameras, and at first this film was used for making both negatives and prints, but in a very short time a special film was made for positive prints. It gave more contrasty and brighter prints and, being of lower speed than the camera film, it was easier to handle in printing. In 1916 only two motion picture films were available — a negative film for use in the camera and a positive film for making prints. The negative film was sensitive to blue, violet and ultraviolet light, and it was necessary to expose it outdoors by daylight or in studios by the use of arclamps. Thus, motion picture studios found California, with its abundant sunshine, a convenient location, and a number of excellent lighting units using arclamps were developed, at first to supplement and later to replace sunlight. In January 1917, a change was made in the basic emulsion of the negative film which was known simply as "motion-picture negative film" until, owing to the introduction of other films in August 1925, its name became Motion-Picture Negative Film Par Speed. Print Identification Markings As new films were introduced, it became necessary to use some identification for the type of film other than rather indefinite names, and the Eastman Kodak Co. adopted the practice of assigning type numbers to the films, using new numbers not only for new kinds of films but for new varieties of the same kind, the old type being continued on the market for the convenience of customers until it was effectively replaced by the new. The type numbers constituted to some extent a code. Thus, 1 indicated a film on nitrate base; 2 in the second place indicated a negative film. Par Speed negative film was therefore assigned Type 1201, and its emulsion continued essentially unchanged until it was discontinued in July 1942. Panchromatic Negative Film As early as 1913, experiments were being made by Eastman on the production of a panchromatic negative film. The first panchromatic film was made for use in the Gaumont process, an additive procedure of color cinematography in which negatives were made simultaneously through three lenses equipped with suitable filters, and the pictures were projected in register by a three-lens system. This process was introduced by Leon Gaumont in France, and Mr. Eastman decided to consider its introduction upon the American market. Gaumont made his panchromatic film by bathing negative film in dye solutions, but this process is very prone to give spots and other defects. Our experience with the Wratten panchromatic plates had shown that there was no great difficulty in sensitizing an emulsion to make it panchromatic. The real difficulties lay in the condi(Cont'mued on page 36) INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST JUNE 1955 15