Motion Picture News (Nov-Dec 1917)

December 8, 1917 ACCESSORY NEWS SECTION 4055 of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, as the writer desires to put in an application for membership. Wishing you much success in your efforts, and assuring you of our approval and co-operation, we remain, Very truly yours, SECTION OF MOTION PICTURE NEWS^ Devoted to the technical branches of the motion picture industry, containing records of the latest accomplishments in the mechanical and scientific field; projection helps, inventions and suggestions ; camera devices analyzed and commented upon; musical cue sheets for important feature pictures; improvements and innovations in the building and furnishing field. No charge is made in these departments for answering questions of any nature. Correspondence is invited. E. Kendall Gillett Editor Alfred S. Cory •• Technical Editor Standard Equipment THE following letter just received is of sufficient importance to publish, for it brings out one point overlooked in the editorial referred to in the November io issue — namely, the case of substitution of inflammable film in machines carrying special sprockets : Motion Picture News, 729 Seventh avenue, New York, N. Y. Gentlemen : The writer read your editorial in the November 10 issue of Motion Picture News, just received, entitled " Special Width Film," with much interest. The writer has been interested in various phases of the motion picture business for the past fifteen years, and since the introduction of standard film and perforation, has taken your attitude absolutely. Clever salesmen and managements in some instances have convinced individuals and also some schools and other institutions to buy such equipment, to discover their mistake later on, with possible disgust and detriment to the entire industry. This is the case in certain schools, who were practically presented with such an equipment through the sale of newspaper subscriptions, to find out later that the film library actually met about one or two per cent, of their needs. Incidentally we may mention that we have inflammable film to fit these very machines, of which we will be glad to send you a sample upon request. We have written hundreds of letters on this very subject, have spent weeks with numerous city authorities and underwriters, and came within an ace of taking part of this subject matter into court, which may yet happen, in order to assert our attitude and rights. Will you kindly put us in touch with the proper parties WHY fool ourselves? Why do everything possible to cripple our industry? Why not come out in the open and all work with the same tools ? Why try to sell the public something which is fundamentally wrong? Every man who uses pictures should be able to rent film from any exchange and not be at the mercy of one small producer whose product is so limited as to be practically worthless. ' The idea of safety and protection is based on theory only, for non-inflammable film can be made standard width just as well as inflammable can be produced for special sprockets. To be sure, it is a talking point for the promoter and gives the prospectus writer new fields in which to allow his imagination to roam unrestrained. YVe have heard of the wonderful libraries of educational and special instructional film which were to be produced for special projectors, but as yet they are almost as far from being practical realities as is possible. Some companies have started, some are still starting, some have offices, others are in a nebulous state, but on the whole they are, as anticipated, absolutely unable to fill the present needs. The brains behind these companies, however, would be of inestimable value to the industry were they to bend their energies toward making film of the standard width, so that all schools, institutions, theatres and others owning small or large projectors of standard requirement could take advantage of their product. THE Society of Motion Picture Engineers have gone into the question of standard sprockets most thoroughly and have recommended that those used on the recognized theatre projectors be adopted universally as standard. These men represent the active mechanical brains of the business and their attitude is beyond criticism in this matter, as well as in the matter of film width, which has already been discussed in the News. The sooner we recognize their recommendation the better for all of us interested in the progress of motion pictures. The question of inflammable or non-inflammable film is aside from the point in hand, as either can be manufactured so as to be interchangeable, no matter what the size or shape of the sprocket or the number of teeth employed thereon. We have all heard the old quotation, " You can fool all of the people some of the time — some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." This applies to the " special " mechanical phase of the picture business absolutely and the sooner it is realized the sooner we will have a unified industry working continually toward one common end. E. K. Gillett.