Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (1930-1949)

Record Details:

Title:
Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers
Date:
1930-1949
Publisher:
New York, N.Y. : The Society
Volume:
Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers
Leaf #:
00012
Language:
English
Collection:
Technical Journals
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
Prelinger Library
Sponsor:
MSN
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
The Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (SMPE)Êdocuments the technological progress of the film industry, highlighting technical developments in production and exhibition. Of special interest are articles about special effects, theater practices, lighting, and the introduction of the 16mm format. Initially titled "Transactions of the Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers."Digitized by the Prelinger Library and the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division.
Date Added:
July 19, 2022
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THE ROLE OF THE AMERICAN STANDARDS ASSOCIATION IN WAR STANDARDIZATION* J. W. McNAIR1 It may be a surprise to many of today's SMPE members that standardization was probably the most important reason for the founding of the Society. A reading of the early issues of the Transactions of the Society, following its founding in 1916, shows a preponderance of articles (now called by the more dignified title of papers) on the subject of standardization. To cite just a few instances at random, in the second issue of the Transactions there is an article on the importance of precision in the manufacture of cine machinery and film, and another article setting forth suggested standard dimensions for slitting and perforating 35-mm film which are substantially the dimensions in use today. It is interesting to note that one of the most comprehensive papers which Dr. P. G. Agnew, Secretary of the American Standards Association, has presented to date is one entitled "National Standardization in America," which was presented before the Spring Meeting of the SMPE in 1933 and appears in the October, 1933, JOURNAL. Much of the material contained in this article was repeated in a subsequent article by the same author for the Encyclopaedia Britannica. It has been said that the most standard thing in the world is 35-mm film. There is no doubt that a print of a 35-mm film wherever manufactured will, if made in accordance with existing standards and trade practices, project satisfactorily anywhere in the world. Dimensions have been "tied down" and in the case of 35-mm sound film, the Research Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has even suggested a recommended sound projection characteristic that has been used for more than 7 years as a reference in theaters. With such standardization and crystallization of trade * Presented Apr. 19, 1944, at the Technical Conference in New York. ** Secretary, ASA War Committee on Photography and Cinematography-Z52.