The Motion Picture Studio (1923)

August ii, 1923 THE MOTION PICTURE STUDIO CALLOUS COUPLETS Said the producer to the crowd : “Falling ill is not allowed. And should you chance to drop down dead you’ll Upset our production schedule.” interesting picture. Mr. Forestier has done something of this kind in a series •of drawings at tSe London Museum ; but how much more vivid and memorable would a movie be! Producers' Responsibility “The films,” said a shrewd observer to me, “ will probably never improve so long as they make the effort to appeal to every one indiscriminately. Thev will have to specialise more. This seems to me to be true. I have an idea, also, that in the future of the kinema something rather more intimate may be accomplished. I see no reason why individual entertainment •should not become popular. k We have Mr Griffith making vast pictures out of his ow n head with energy and resource : whv should not our. authors prepare a two flours’ session? No one understands the potentialities of the film better than Sir J. M. Barrie, as people will discover wThen his version of ‘ Peter Pan ’ is readv : how delightful would be an entertainment arranged by him with nothing in it that was not wholly to his mind, even if it were not wholly his invention ! Here the kinema would be at its" most versatile. Most stories could be condensed — always, when possible, by their own authors.” We commend the last remark to Sir Hall Caine and other authors who seem to forget that a book can seldom be assimilated at one sitting, although a film has to be. Specialisation is, of course, inevitable: but the reformer always uses the word “ inevitable ” when he is speaking of a distant goal. There are many obstacles to be overcome beware pictures are made on anv other basis than their being a universal booking proposition. Probably some authors would be sorrv to see such a principle extended to the field of litera¬ ture. That being so, the film Industry, and especially the actual makers and creators of pictures, should receive the sympathy and cultivate the understanding < of all those who, like Mr. Lucas, are able to speculate helpfully and without pre¬ judice upon the future of the greatest in¬ fluence upon the minds of ordinary humanity since the earliest and sketchiest notions of reading and writing. To Kinema Artistes & others — PICTURE POSTCARDS SUPPLIED From your own Photo, in best glossy style:— One position, per gross ... 17/6 Two positions, Half gross of each 30 7 Single dozen . . . 3/6 Enlargements (Real w'Orks of art) size 15 x 12 on mount — each 10/6 Samples of all can be seen at THE PICTUREGOER SALON 88, Long Acre, W.C.2. The Birth of Kinematography Will Day’s Tabulation of its Origins A FEW months ago Will Day, that wellknown and popular pioneer of motion oiiw^graphv, delivered a fascinating lec¬ ture to the members of the Optical Society. In view of the recently revived interest in the earliest precursors of the various component 'arts and applications which go to make up the present-day mechanical efficiency, we reprint below some chronological tables which Will Day has incidentally copyrighted. Our readers, we think, can hardly fail to find them instructive and illuminating. Science of Optics and Early Portrayals of Life Motion. Chinese shadow shows, using buffalo hide figures on parch¬ ment screen ... ... ... 5000 B.c. Glass formed at Sidon by the Phoenicians ... ...ca.400 First lens formed by glass globe filled with water — Hero ol Alexandria Persistence of vision mentioned in writings of Lucretius ... 65 Persistence of vision mentioned in writings of Claudius Ptolemy 130 a. d. Alhazen’s writings on optics ... 1100 Bacon’s writings mention many items of applied optics ... 1260 Many remarkable optical appli¬ cations mentioned bv Leonardo da Vinci, born in ... ... 1452 Maurolycus’ writings in the early part of the 16th century Girolamo gives many interesting facts in his book written about 1550 Giovanni Battista Porta wrote his book Magica naturalis ... 1358 Dr. Dee’s work on optics ... 1570 Thomas Digges’ work on optics 1571 Francis Bacon’s work on optics 1626 Descartes’ work on lens grinding 1638 Galileo, Huygens, Manzini, James Hodgson, Smith, and Sir David Brewster ail pro¬ pounded important theories in their books on optics. The Optical Lantern. The ancient Priests and Magi used optical lanterns and lenses in Temples at Tyre and throughout Egypt, Greece, and the Roman Empire. Athanasius Kircher and Walgenstenius invented the optical lantern in its present form at the Jesuit College, Rome 1640 Zahn’s Artificialus telediopticus —the first published work after Kircher’s book ,4rs magna lucis et umbrae to give an exhaustive account and illustrations of the optical lantern ••• ••• ••• 1685 Professor Child invented the Biunial Lantern and Phantas¬ magoria • • ••• ••• i$01 The Polytechnic gave early . lantern displays ••• ••• 1838 The Coliseum, Regent’s Park, gave earlv lantern displays ... 1850 The Camera-obscura, the Camera, and Photography. Camera-obscura first suggested bv Friar Bacon ••• ••• ••• 1260 Leonardo da Vinci first gave illustrations explaining theory and application of cameraobscura towards the close of the 13th century. Camera-obscura written of and fully •described by Giovanni Battista Porta in his book ... 1558 Camera-obscura fitted with lens first mentioned by Daniel Bar¬ bara ... ... ... ... 1568 Alchemists in Middle Ages noted change of white chloride of sil¬ ver to black chloride. Germany wrongly claims inven¬ tion of photography for Dr. John Hermann Schultze ... 1727 First actual photography on paper invented by Thomas Wedgewood ... ... ... 1792 Sir Humphry Davy assisted Wedgewood and Introduced him to the Royal Society. Dr. Wollaston and Mr. Ritter, early experimenters in science of photography. Nicephore de Niepce, the origi¬ nator of the Daguerreotype 1814-27 Daguerre perfected and pro¬ duced Niepce’s invention ... 1829 William Henry Fox-Talbot in¬ vented the Talbot-type process 1833 Professor Far/iday and Sir John Herschel both carried out re¬ searches in the science of photography and read papers before the Royal Society ... 1839 Rev. J. B. Reade invented the ferro-prussiate process. Other clever inventors in the science of photography include Mons. Hippolyte Bayard, Scott Archer, Sir William Crookes, John Spiller, Sayce and Bolton, Dr. R. L. Mad¬ dox, and Clerk-Maxwell. Light and Its Application to Projection. Sunlight reflected by the aid of mirrors and used to project forms of images in the ancient Temples of Egypt and Greece. Candle and oil lamps were both used bv the ancients. Huvgens’ undulatorv theory of light. Sir Isaac Newton’s corpuscular theory of light ... ... ... 1672 Professor Gravesend first pro¬ duced four wick oil lamps for use in lanterns. Argand invented his atmo spheric oil lamp . 1789 Argand invented his atmo spheric gas lamp ... ••• 1808 Bude light invented ... ... 1810 Lieut. Drummond invented the oxv-calcium light ••• ... 1826 Electricity. irst records of electricity by Thales of Miletus Isaac Newton knowledge of electricity r Charles Newton, ount Alessandro Volta idre Marie Ampere rofessor Faraday, r Humphry Davy mentions boo B.C. 1675 A.D. 1745-1827 1745-1827 i8ox (i Continued on next page.) 13