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

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Members and the Journal Overseas Echoes of the impact of the SMPTE and the Journal come back to us from overseas now and then — and we should record them, just as we have been able earlier in this Journal to record the exchange of bases for international standardization. A recent letter from Vernon Jarratt, Manager of Mole-Richardson (Italia), Rome, prompts some quotation and notation about the Society in Italy: "What I have noticed is the considerable increase in the circulation of the Journal in the three years that I have been a member. This is probably more noticeable to someone like myself who is in constant touch with the various technical heads than visible in your list of subscriptions, as a good deal of the 'circulation' is the literal circulation of a copy that travels from office to office and from desk to desk. "When Mole-Richardson opened here in 1948 the technical side of the industry was in a pretty primitive state all around, as indeed is obvious to anybody who, from a purely technical point of view, considers the films such as Rome Open City, Four Steps in the Clouds, Paisa, and the other films with which Italy first made its postwar name. This was partly due to destruction and looting during the war, and partly to the Fascist policy of autarchy which threw the Italian industry very much back on its own resources. "One incidental result of this was rather amusing. When we brought in the first 'Brutes' in 1949 most cameramen refused to touch them, insisting that they could manage quite well with the 150-amp arcs to which they were already accustomed. One or two of the more enterprising (who, incidentally and not surprisingly, are also members of the Society) broke the ice, however, and the rest rapidly followed. The difference was very noticeable when, last year, we introduced Compact Source (mercury-cadmium) equipment for the first time. Although this represents a much bigger technical difference from previously existing equipment than the Brute, which is after all only a larger carbon arc, the Compact Source equip ment was accepted with much less resistance. Now, and thanks certainly in part to the Journal, there is a much livelier interest in technical developments." Mr. Jarratt's letter prompted a few moments research which revealed the following thirteen members with addresses in Italy. Baume, Alessio, Manager, 16mm, Metro Goldwyn-Mayer, Italy. Mail: Via Camil luccia 71, Roma, Italy. (A, 1947) Carrara, Enrico, Vice-President, Cetra Records, Corso Pesihiera 10, Torino, Italy. (A, 1949) Cambi, Enzo, Consulting Engineer, Cinecitta Studios; Lecturer, National Research Council (Italy) and Leghorn Naval Academy. Mail: Via Giovanni Antonelli 3, Rome, Italy. (A, 1950) Corradi, Amerigo, Tecnostampa, Via Al balonga 38, Rome, Italy. (A, 1950) Dalle Rose, Demetrio D., Manager, Western Electric Company of Italy, Inc. Mail: Via Oglio 9, Rome, Italy. (A, 1946) De Renzis, Francesco, Manager, Westrex Co. (Italy), Piazza Lovatelli 1, Rome, Italy. (A, 1945) Innamorati, Libero, Dr. Ing., Centro Speri mentace Cinemato-Grafia. Mail: Via Sa trico 43, Rome, Italy. (A, 1936) Jarratt, C. V., Manager, Mole-Richardson (Italia), Via Dell'Arco Di Travertine, No. 57, Rome, Italy. (A, 1949) Marzari, Antonio, Cameraman, Shorts Producer and Director, Veneziana Cortometraggi, S. Marco 557, Venice, Italy. (A, 1947) Monteleoni, Giulio Cesare, Ispettore Tecnico, Soc. Ferrania. Mail: Via Crispi 10, Rome, Italy. (A, 1948) Portalupi, Piero, Director of Photography in Motion Picture Production, Lux Film. Mail: Viale Bruno Buozzi 83 int F, Rome, Italy. (M, 1952) Robecchi, Franco, Sound Engineer, Titanus. Mail: Piazzale Metronio 1, Rome, Italy. (A, 1948) Trentino, Victor, Motion Picture Sound Engineer, 2 Via Ipponi, Rome, Italy. (A, 1945) Zambuto, Mauro, Technical Director, Scalera Films. Mail: Italian Films Export, 1501 Broadway, New York 36, N.Y. (M, 1952) 359