Motion Picture News (Sept-Oct 1918)

October 5, 1 9 1 8 Devoted to the technical branches of the motion picture tndustry, 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 tn these departments for answering questions of any nature. Correspondence is invited. E. Kenball Gilleti — — Editor Alfred S. Goby Technical Editor Theatre Conservation THE new draft is making many changes in conditions and the methods of conducting business, and will make still more. Men are being lsot to the industries of the country who could have been ill spared a year or two ago. Young men or men of mature age are being called in to fill the gaps which are opening up every day. Many industries, flourishing before we entered the war, are closing their doors and suspending all activities until it is over. The condition is serious. It is one with which we cannot take chances. We must look at it as it is and plan for any contingency which may arise continually, figuring that the strings of necessitv will of necessity be drawn tighter about us than at present seems possible. This is the case to-day with the owners and managers of Motion Picture Theatres. A couple of years ago it was not a case of hunt for a man to fill a certain place, but merely a matter of choosing any one of a dozen who could be obtained without thought or trouble. Now we find that things are different. Our door man leaves us and we are at once " up against it," for we must have a man of a certain type. Fill the place? Yes, but not as we did. It now takes time, for there is no chance of selectin as in the past. It is (Equipment Service) 2229 almost sure that some girl will take the job, and make good. They are doing it every day. Ushers are no more, or if they still exist in places they are becoming few and far between. This is one of the positions in the theatre which can be filled by girls, and probably just as satisfactorily as by the men whose places they have taken. Properly uniformed they present a better appearance as a rule than the men who are at once released for heavier work, where they are far more appreciated and needed. In the operating booth it is a different story. Here the man must stay, though rumors are current of women gradually fitting themselves for this most important work. It is our opinion that this is a step in the wrong direction, as the position must be filled by some one of quiet nerves and not by a woman who nine times out of ten is excitable and who is apt to faint or run should the film ignite. A man should always be in the booth. The one most noticeable place where men can be spared in the larger house is the orchestra. In the past we have found many houses with from five hundred (500) seats up employing orchestras of three pieces and over. This music may be efficient and pleasing, yet it is not conserving the country's man power, though this can be conserved without impairing the drawing power of the house. We have to-day musical instruments which contain all the effects of the large orchestra, and when properly operated are as efficient for picture playing as any form of picture music. Many houses have already recently adapted them and more are following suit. One manufacturer told me the other day that his output had fallen to one-third of the normal, whereas the theatre demand had more than doubled. This is significant, though it is bound to happen with two million men in uniform, and what is more the condition will be worse before it is better. There is no doubt that every Motion Picture Theatre is essential to the country. This is acknowledged by the Government, yet we must realize that just because this is the case we are not given the right to overlook the various forms of conservation which we might put into play. It is up to every theatre man to cut down. He should feel it his duty to release all the men possible for duty elsewhere. Make CONSERVATION your slogan. E. K. GlLLETT.