International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1931)

— 54 examination of all the copies of films for which permits are demanded, and when they do so this is only so as to make sure that there is perfect identity between the scenes contained therein. The competent authorities only in a very few instances examine the films from the point of view of the hygienic exigencies of sight. The most recent instance of this sort to our knowledge occurred in Hungary, where, in 1929, according to official information communicated to the Rome Institute by the President of the National Censorship Commission, the authorities prohibited the exhibition of a film that was regarded as pernicious to the sight. In the March number of this Review, and again in the article on " A Time-iimit to Film Censorship Certificates ", we pointed out the serious social injury caused by the absence of any such time-limit under nearly all censorship systems. We might add that the social damage goes hand in hand with damage to the eyes. The concessionaries of films are usually entitled to reproduce a given number of positive copies from each negative. The unlimited opportunities afforded them by the censorship permits induce them to send the films round again and again ad infinitum from the large to the small centres. When the copies are in such a bad state that they can no longer be presented to the public of big cities, they are packed off to out-of-the-way places to do their damnedest both socially and ocularly. It is therefore essential that the control exercised by the police authorities and experts in this field should be supported by legislative enactments limiting the duration of permits or, at any rate limiting (by a stamp to be applied to each copy project ed on the screen before the title of the film itself is projected) — except in very exceptional cases — the age of the copy that is about to be shown. All this applies to films that are to be shown in public cinema halls. In the case of those belonging to school collections, on the contrary, or to official, semi-official, or private bodies and organizations, the control of this point would rest more properly with the technician-operator in charge of the projection, and ought not to be hampered by any financial considerations which may excuse, if not justify, the resistance of public cinema managers. The second point that emerges from the enquiry is closely associated with the first, so far as the possibilities of control are concerned. Apart from the efficacy of expert inspection in the projection cabins, to check the condition of the apparatus, it should be noted that, although in point of technique we have attained to a normal projection velocity of 20 to 24 images per second, there is still in fact an imperceptible intermittence between the images, which may, in the long run, cause fatigue to the eyes of a person of normal sight. In addition to this, the intermittent projection causes a state of nervous tension which is altogether detrimental to the exact observation of the pictures. These defects might be corrected and the perforation of the films avoided (thus lengthening their life) by a system of continuous-movement projection with optical compensation, which, by getting rid of the shutter, would practically ensure unintermittent projection. From the technical standpoint, there are a number of continuous-movement projectors, but few of them are practical in the using. This is especially true of the big apparatus required in large public cinema halls, where few have so far worked satisfactorily.