Motion Picture Herald (May-Jun 1946)

AUDIENCE BUILDING sound reproduction Ml ■ . ? SYNCROFILM "400 " SOUND HEADS In the Syncrofilm "400" Sound Head, never-satisfied engineers, through painstaking research, have attained a faithfulness of reproduction and snrioothness of perfornnance never before believed possible. The Syncrofiinn "400" brings to your theatre the kind of sound reproduction that builds regular audiences. And at the same tinne you're getting long, trouble-free operation and quality construction that only the most skilled engineering can provide. Learn more about the Syncrofilm "400" Sound Head. Write for your copy of "Sound Facts." Licensed under Western Electric Patents WEBER MACHINE CORPORATION ROCHESTER 6, N. Y. Export Office: 13 East 40th Street, New York City Cable: "Romos" A DEPARTMENT ON PROJECTION & SOUND REPRODUCTION EQUIPMENT & METHODS FOR THEATRE OWNERS, MANAGERS AND THEIR STAFFS "No other art or industry in the world narrows down its success to quite such a needle's eye as that through which the nnotion picture has to pass — an optical aperture — in the continuous miracle of the screen by a nnan and his machine, the projectionist and his projector." —TERRY RAMSAYE Conducted by GEORGE F. MILLER Chief projectionist and head of maintenance, St. Cloud Amusement Corporation, New Jersey; president of local 365, lATSE & MPMO He Doesn't Believe In Giving Away Our Secrets In one of our columns we commented on the policy of the management of the St. Cloud Amusement Corporation in New Jersey, of conducting tours of inspection to the backstage and projection room portions of the theatre for the benefit of local groups of interested persons. We recommended the plan and stated certain benefits that could be gained from it. But it has been brought to our attention that, like almost everything else, there are two sides to the question. LeRoy Nile owner of the Lakeside theatre in Rangeley, Me., doesn't agree and presents his reasons very convincingly as follows : "Last fall I ended a very pleasant association with J. Sherman Hoar, one of the pioneer motion picture men in Maine. At that time he retired after 35 years as a theatre owner and manager. "Mr. Hoar always stuck to the principles and ideas he learned 'way back in the days of the carbide light and the hand crank; and, although some of these ideas would be considered old-fashioned by more modern theatre men, he maintained that they Avere the backbone of showmanship. "One of his theories concerned the mystery of the moving picture. He always said that as long as the movie fans did not know what went on inside the booth, or what made the pictures move and talk, the moving picture would always be looked upon with awe and wonder. Every person who goes to the movies has a certain curiosity as to where the sound and music comes from and how the people can move on a piece of white cloth. Let the moviegoer find out how the projectors function and how the sound is picked up from a narrow ribbon of celluloid, and he will cease to look upon the moving picture with the same keen sense of wonderment he first had. It is this mystery that keeps the fans coming back for more. "Mr. Hoar always said that allowing someone to enter the booth and to see all that goes on there would leave the average person a little disillusioned and that he would never look upon the moving picture again as something 'supernatural.' "I have always clung to the ideas that Mr. Hoar gave me. My projection room is an inner sanctum to which everyone is not invited. Anyone with a sincere thirst for knowledge and a keen interest in the mechanics of the moving picture is always welcome to come in. But as for inviting groups of town officials or organizations which have absolutely no interest in the backstage workings of the theatre, this is definitely out as far as I -am concerned. I believe that the projection room should be reserved for the operator, manager and theatre staff, plus any radio repair man or electrician who wants to increase his knowledge of sound and projection. "I never lock the door on anyone who drops in, but I never volunteer any in FREE ADVICE CONCERNING YOUR equipment ' INSTALLATION This department is available, without charge, for appraisal of the efficiency of your present projection and sound installation, and for suggestions, if the conditions indicate them, for improving results. Since this kind of information concerns only an individual theatre, it is transmitted by mail. In writing for this service please supply all data directly related to projection and sound reproduction — make and model of the various items of equipment, markings on lens barrels, length of throw, size of picture, size of carbons, arc amperage, etc. If you plan to replace any item of the present installation, the characteristics of the new equipment should be explained. 36 BETTER THEATRES, JJJNE I, 1946