International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1956)

exchanges, the utmost care must be taken. It is very probable that when acetate film becomes the absolute standard, fire prevention rulings as well as insurance rates will be relaxed. As prescribed by the commissioner, following is a list of points to be watched in the projection room: 1. No smoking. 2. Portable appliances at each projection machine: (a) Two pails of sand (b) One carbon tetrachloride extin guisher (c) One receptacle with self-closing cover containing water for film scrap (d) One receptacle with self-closing cover for paper, scrap, etc. 3. Electrical hazards: (a) Frayed or worn wires or cables (b) Improper sized fuzes (c) All wiring shall comply with the N. Y. C. Electrical Code and be approved by the Department of Water Supply, Gas & Electricity. 4. All furniture and fittings shall be of incombustible material; except the chair seats and tables and floor coverings, which may be of slow-burning material. 5. Shutters protecting window opening for each machine shall be arranged to close automatically in the event of fire, by operation of approved fusable and manual releasing devices. Shutters must be kept clear of all obstructions and in proper working condition at all times. 6. Self-closing doors to be kept unob structed and in proper working order. 7. Film storage in approved containers :and only in approved projection and storage rooms. 8. Projectionists to set up and follow an orderly procedure in the event of fire within the projection room, to keep fire from escaping outside the room. •An interview with Lieut. Thomas Leahy, division of fire prevention, who supervised the actual theatre inspections in New York City, disclosed that the most common causes of projection room fires are: smoking, faulty wiring, and improper use of receptacles. He emphasized that there should be no smoking where there is any film. Receptacles should be kept closed and the proper material discarded into them. Wiring and equipment should be checked periodically. Hot carbons should be placed into a suitable container immediately after use. All film should be examined for torn sprocket holes and other damage that may disrupt the free passage through the projector. Also, clothing should be kept outside the actual projection room. In addition, it was pointed out that the automatic fire shutters of projectors must be in perfect working order. There should always be water in the film scrap receptacle. Port Fire shutter operation should be flawless. Doors to projection rooms should be kept closed at all times, and no unauthorized person allowed to enter. The proper place for repairing film is the rewinding room, or else in a separate part of the projection room set aside for that purpose. When film is transported, it should be done so in I.C.C. containers. Projectionists should certainly familiarize themselves with the care and operation of the available fire extin guishers. One of the most common kind is the one-quart hand pump using carbon tetrachloride (CTC). Operation is very simple: it is held in one hand and pumped by a handle with the other; air pressure forces the fluid out in a strong stream. Care should be taken to prevent excessive carbon tet from touching the skin. Extinguishers should be inspected once a month and kept fully charged at all times. Very often the storage of film in theatres becomes a problem. Lt. Leahy supplied the following list of limitations governing the storage of both (Continued on page 31) How Superscope Prints are Made The "Superscope" anamorphic printing process is now being used by RKO sludios for some release prints. The advantage of this process is that it provides the studio with a relatively inexpensive method of providing both anamorphic and non-squeezed widescreen prints to theatres. According to studio cameraman. Wilfrid Cline, photography for Superscope requires only standard cameras, lenses and set lighting arrangements. This is in contrast with the special set requirements and heavier lighting equipment often needed when anamorphic camera lenses are employed. It is only in the making of Superscope release prints that changes take place. A system of printing lenses was designed for the Superscope process that can be installed on any laboratory printer for the purpose of taking a standard camera negative and printing it in any aspect ratio within 35-mm limitations. The process will turn out anamorphic prints from straight 35-mm negatives. If desired, this printer can also provide prints from big negatives such as those employed by Paramount for the VistaVision system. The three prints in the accompanying illustration show how the Superscope system works. At left is a standard contact print made from a standard camera negative. By masking this print top and bottom with the proper-sized aperture plate, it can be employed for wide screen projection. At center is shown a specially-masked print on which only the area of the picture to be used in making the anamorphic print appears. At right is shown a Superscope anamorphic print. This print has the unusual frame size of 0 715" x 0.715", making it absolutely square. Unused area of the print can be seen between the right edge of the frame and the sprocket holes. The expansion ratio of this print is 2 to 1, the same as CinemaScope. However, since the frame proportions are square, the result is a 2 to 1 picture on the screen, rather than the 2.5 to 1 picture provided b a CinemaScope magnetic print. Courtesy, American Cinematographer FIG. 1. Original scene as photographed with conventional Mitchell camera. FIG. 2. Composition used by laboratory in making Superscope print. FIG. 3. This is the resultant Superscope anamorphic print — area .715" x .715". 14 INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST • FEBRUARY 1956