International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1957)

A complaint about print importations and a description of a projectionist-apprentice school are our overseas topics. From the British Viewpoint By R. HOWARD CRICKS WHEN BRITISH films are shown in your country, there is often some criticism on the score of print quality. We over here have always had the same complaint with a certain proportion of American films, and during recent months the Leeds branch of the Cinematograph Exhibitors" Association has become vocal on the subject. From Louis Mannix, a prominent member, I recently received a letter on the subject, which I passed on to the president of the British Kinematograph Society, who promises some action. I discussed the matter with the manager of a leading laboratory which prints a number of American films. First, he explained, he never receives a dupe negative, but a positive; the reason is that the rate of customs duty on a negative is five times that on a positive — any positive — a totally illogical position, due no doubt to the fact that the customs cannot differentiate between a release print and a master. This would not be so bad if the copy were made direct from the original negative; but in my friend's opinion, more often this print is made from the dupe negative, so that it is a thirdgeneration print, and the copy which the English exhibitor receives is a fifth-generation print. In addition, there is rarely any information provided on such matters as special treatment needed for individual scenes, or a gamma strip which would be a guide to the processing of the dupe negative. Who's to Blame? It seems to me that the complaint rests squarely upon the shoulders of certain American producers, who if they knew the rude remarks made about their product, would surely take steps in the matter, such as providing our laboratories with a first-generation master. In the 16-mm field of course, the problem is often solved by the use of .he reversal process, which, besides cutting out one printing operation for each positive stage, gives a cleaner print. Possibly reversal processing might be useful in the 35-mm field. I wonder if some similar difficulty is the cause of complaints in your country on the quality of British films? A CINEMA IN PACKING-CASES A few months ago I mentioned the name of Tom Harkness, manufacturer of the Perlux screen, which in the States is marketed as the "Uniglow." At his Elstree factory I recently saw a complete cinema structure loaded on to a truck for shipment abroad. This, his latest achievement, was a 750-seater which can be shipped for erection in a few days. The skeleton of the building is of welded steel tube ; CRAFTSMEN ABROAD Dr. Leslie Knopp, one of the group who formed the present program in England to recruit and train projectionist apprentices, is a former president of the British Kinematograph Society. With a Dr. Leslie Knopp background of naval engineering and many degrees, he is at present technical consultant to the Cinematograph Exhibitors' Association, providing technical advice on any subject to exhibitors. Serving many government departments, Dr. Knopp was instrumental in drafting the present theatre safety regulations in England. only 1^2 inches in diameter, it is sufficiently sturdy for the erectors to clamber about it to fix the covering. The height to the ridge is 22 feet, and to the eaves 13% ieet. The covering consists of opaque plastic, .02 inches in thickness; it overlaps at the eaves in order to provide ventilation without admitting daylight. The bottom edge is strained by powerful springs, keeping the material taut over the ribs, and allowing for shrinkage and expansion. The building can, if desired, be fitted with a sunshine roof: by means of winches, sections of the roof can be drawn back. At one end of the covering is a transparent panel, through which the projectors shoot, the projection room being built outside the main structure. An entrance vestibule is built on to the cover. A number of such theatres have been supplied to the Army Kinematograph Corporation, to which an important feature is that when a unit moves, the cinema can move with it. The largest to date, measuring 120 ft. x 40 ft., has recently been installed in Gibraltar. TRAINING PROJECTIONISTS Throughout the history of the cinema, the projectionist has had to pick up the rudiments of his job simply by doing it. Rarely has any provision been made for training him, even though today he may be in technical charge of equipment worth many thousands of dollars, and responsible for the entertainment of vast audiences. Nearly fifty years ago, our trade union, today known as the National Association of Theatrical and Kine. Employees, actually inaugurated training classes, and I have seen the diploma that was awarded. At various times other schemes have been proposed; our two major circuits run efficient training schemes. During the war I was in charge of the training of projectionists for the Army; in six weeks of intensive training we were supposed to equip a man to undertake the duties of a second projectionist in either 35-mm or 16-mm. However, apprenticeship has always been the foundation of British craftsmanship. Since the war, the Cinematograph Exhibitors' Association and the NATKE have jointly initiated a national apprenticeship scheme, which (Continued on page 31) 18 INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST SEPTEMBER 1957