International projectionist (Jan 1961-Dec 1962)

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST h*++&+++++++*++**+++*+++++++++++*+*+++*+++++++++*++++4 MONTHLY CHAT *+++++++++++++*++++*+++++++++++++ Including a special Audio-Visual section relating to the operation and maintenance of A-V equipment in the educational and industrial fields. Volume 36 Jan. 1961 EAST COAST OFFICE 545 Fifth Avenue New York 17, N.Y. Murray Hill 7-7746 RAY GALLO General Manager MIDWEST OFFICE 4616 Washburn Avenue South Minneapolis 10 Minnesota No. 1 FRANK W. COOLEY, JR. Editor and Publisher RAY GALLO General Manager R. ENTRACHT Associate Publisher R. A. MITCHELL Technical Editor In This Issue Color Factors 4 By ROBERT A. MITCHELL Technical Editor Standard Color Hues 12 Letters to The Editor 15 News Notes — Technical Hints — Miscellaneous Notes INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST, published monthly by the International Projectionist Publishing Co. division of The Northern Publishing Co., Post Office Box 6174, Minneapolis 24, Minnesota. Editorial offices, 1645 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis 3, Minn. Subscription Representatives: AUSTRALIA— McGills, 183 Elizabeth St., Melbourne; NEW ZEALAND-Te Aro Book Depot, Ltd., 64 Courtnay Place, Wellington; ENGLAND and ELSEWHERE-Wm. Dawson & Sons, Ltd., Macklin St., London, W. C. 2. Subscription Rates: United States, Canada, and U.S. Possessions, $3.00 per year (12 issues) and $5.00 for two years (24 issues). Foreign countries: $4.00 per year and $7.00 for two years. Changes of address should be submitted four weeks in advance of publication date to insure receipt of current issue. Second-class postage paid at Minneapolis, Minn. INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST assumes no responsibility for personal opinions appearing in signed articles, or for unsolicited articles. Entire contents copyrighted 1961 by INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST PUBLISHING CO. Is Projection An "Art"? A FEW PROMOTERS who appear to be overly bedazzled by the products of foreign technology have taken up a new hobby, namely, lambasting this writer for "glamorizing" motion-picture projection into the "higher realm of fine art." IP is proud to be the target of this sometimes hotly phrased criticism. We can all agree that there is a world of difference between the fine arts of classical culture (painting, sculpture, architecture, music, dancing, poetry, and drama) and the "art" of the artisan and the skilled craftsman. But IP maintains, and will continue to maintain, that motionpicture projection is an art in addition to being a technological trade. What are the movies, and what is the theatre? The theatrical motion picture is primarily an attempt (and a very successful one) to provide a credible facsimile of human personality, human emotions, and the multifarious facets of human experience. The movies are thus infinitely more than mere pictures that move! Indeed, they might equally well be called emotion pictures. Now if the human element be removed from the screen, what remains will be an accurate sight-and-sound recording medium for use in the science laboratory and on the missiletracking range, but it would no longer be a medium capable of a higher function, namely, entering into and influencing in its pleasant way the life of the people. In no other field of human endeavor has the machine been so "personalized" as in motion pictures. Theatre movies are made by people and shown by people to be enjoyed by people. It can never be otherwise. The names of projectionists do not appear in the production credits; and the millions of moviegoers who thrill to the marvelous illusions summoned into lifelike reality by our art seldom know who we are or what we look like. But no matter: we are there, behind the scenes, the "unseen showmen" of the theatre, making all the magic possible by our untiring efforts and consummate technical skill. Without a projectionist, all of the artistry, brilliance of conception, and technical care that go into a fine film would remain unseen, unheard, and unfelt in dead rolls of motionless photographs and silent soundtracks. Just as the projector is the neck of the bottle through which all must pass, the projectionist is the key figure in a long chain of events which ultimately places all of the artistry of production into his hands to be vivified by the artistry of projection. Is the practice of projection merely a simple "repetitive" process no more complex than crating eggs, as our critics aver? There is more to projection than threading reels of film and making changeovers! Many a projectionist has spent long, lonely hours repairing a faulty unit under trying conditions, or perfecting a critical adjustment to obtain brighter, clearer, steadier pictures and more natural sound for the benefit of the public he serves. Not only that, but many a show has been kept running in the face of dire emergency by the quick action and technical knowledge of the projectionist; and in the days of dangerous nitrate films, his alertness has even saved lives. The novice "operator" who lacks the requisite competence soon learns to his sorrow that projector mechanisms, arccontinued on Page 14) International Projectionist January 1961