The motion picture projectionist (Nov 1929-Oct 1930)

36 Motion Picture Projectionist June, 1930 As The Editor Sees It MC The ipth I. A. Convention EMBERS of the International Alliance have been looking forward to the Thirtieth Convention at Los Angeles. For it is at this meeting that many questions of great importance to the welfare of the general membership will come up for discussion and settlement. We are of the opinion that the Thirtieth Convention will be productive of much good and, possibly, a few surprises. Concerning the latter, however, we prefer not to essay the role of a prophet but to content ourselves with reporting in detail in the next issue the work actually accomplished. I. A. members may be sure that their best interests will be the primary consideration of the delegates. We can think of no more appropriate time than the present to direct the attention of projectionists to the splendid work performed by the I. A. General Office year after year, in season and out. We wonder just how many times during the year the rank and file of Local Unions look beyond their own provincial interests and give a thought to the parent organization which is in a large measure responsible for the present fine condition of many Local units. The work accomplished by the General Office so faithfully, so consistently, isn't one of those things that "just happens." On the contrary, it is a result of many hours of hard work by the appointed officers. It seems to us that it would be of decided benefit to all I. A. members to give an occasional thought to the work performed by the General Office and to be deeply grateful to those men who are serving them so well — often at great personal sacrifice. A proper understanding and appreciation of this work undoubtedly will serve to make a better Local Union member. And one of the best means of demonstrating this appreciation would be to faithfully discharge one's duties in such a manner as to lighten the labors of both the General Office and the Local Union. A detailed explanation of this process is hardly necessary. To return to the 30th Convention, we wish at this time to congratulate the General Office officers for their superb work during the past two years; we wish to extend our good wishes to the many fine craftsmen who will assemble at Los Angeles as delegates ; and we wish to congratulate the West Coast district which has been doing things in such excellent fashion of late as to merit the honor of playing host to the 30th Convention. TCWide Film Waits on Sound, Color HE expected activity in the wide film field has not materialized because of a number of reasons. First and foremost is the fact that no standard width has as yet been agreed upon by the various organizations interested in this development. We admit to a misstatement in a recent issue where we said that 68 mm. had been agreed upon as standard. No such agree ment was reached. A sub-committee of the S. M. P. E. has been working on the problem of wide film standardization for the past three months, but numerous conferences with producer representatives and technical men failed to produce the answer. It now looks as though 70 mm., the Grandeur size, will be adopted as standard. But there is another reason for the unwillingness of producers to go ahead with work on wide film. Several leading producers are said to have expressed the view that they would much prefer that sound and color be put on a more satisfactory basis technically before proceeding to wide film. Warner Bros, are reported to have had an experimental wide film projector made up but are simply marking time pending developments in the fields of sound and color. Under these circumstances it is probably to the advantage of the motion picture business as a whole that production work on wide film be held in abeyance some little time yet, during which period all hands may concentrate on the twin problem of sound and color. DC A Showdown on Patents OWN in Wilmington, Delaware, as these lines are written, is being waged a legal battle which is regarded as the last move in the chess game of sound motion picture patent rights which has been in progress now for more than three years. The defendant in the present suit is the Stanley Co. of America, exhibition organization ; and the plaintiff is General Talking Pictures Corp., distributors of De Forest Phonofilm sound apparatus. Because the suit involves certain patents in which they are keenly interested, Western Electric has aligned itself on the side of the defendant and has marshaled a glittering array of legal and technical talent for the fray. The circumstances attending the suit are propitious for a final settlement of the issues involved : The law firm of Darby & Darby, counsel for the De Forest interests, is an old hand at sound picture patents, and Dr. De Forest himself is present at the trial. Western Electric is represented by the best counsel available. And, to round out the almost perfect setting for the event, the trial will be presided over by a judge who is fully cognizant of all developments in the art. This, then, is the picture. The Reis slit patent, owned by De Forest, is the basis on which the battle will be waged. Readers of this publication will remember the exhaustive discussion of slits, slots, and orifices which appeared in these columns not so long ago, from which an accurate idea of the lineup at the suit may be had. The outcome of this suit is of extreme importance to the motion picture industry, for if De Forest wins, he will be in a position to exact royalty from every sound motion picture apparatus now installed. Such action would precipitate an upheaval in the amusement world. . . . May the best man win and thus put an end to this constant bickering over patent rights.