Movie Age (1927)

PAGE 24 MOVIE AGE T. J. Major Named Head of One-Contract Division Well-Known Theatre Equipment Specialist En¬ gaged by National Will Train Men to Serve Theatre Owners. T. J. Major, until recently purchas¬ ing agent for the Balaban & Katz — Publix organization, has been retained by National Theatre Supply Company and placed in charge of the One-Con¬ tract Plan Division of the company, which includes the Engineering Division under the direction of Alvin Seiler, the National theatre equipment engineer. Mr. Major is one of the leading the¬ atre equipment specialists of the coun¬ try* having had supervision of equip¬ ment selection over a majority of the finest B. & K. houses, including the famous Uptown, Tivoli, Rialto Squai’e and many other playhouses of like cal¬ ibre. The National One-Contract Division has inaugurated a system of equipment research, and data will be supplied to architects covering every department of theatre construction and outfitting in which they may be or become interest¬ ed. The National Engineering Division services and the One-Contract Plan will function only through commissioned ar¬ chitects. No attempt has or will be made to serve in an architectural capa¬ city and all decorative schemes, plans and suggestions for either effect or ef¬ ficiency will be submitted to the archi¬ tect in charge of each project prior to final submission to the buyer. The importance of proper selection of furniture and furnishings adapted to theatre usage is recognized, and this factor has been given much considera¬ tion in the One-Contract department to the end that color harmony, beauty, comfort and durability may be assur¬ ed in the final completion of the Na¬ tional equipped theatre. Stage lighting, effect production, house lighting, flood lighting, projection — all the factors of modern theatre op¬ eration, including the new National Seiler Switchboards and other scienti¬ fically correct apparatus have been placed under Mr. Major’s supervision, and the result is a close co-ordination and a consultation process that binds together the several departments con¬ stituting the basis of the National One-Contract Plan. The result becomes apparent in the completed theatre. T. J. MAJOR Contrary to any assumption that might possibly be made in considering the National One-Contract job, the plan tends to reduce rather than increase the gross expenditure of the theatre owner. This for the reason that in con¬ sultation and cooperation with the OneContract Plan specialists, the buyer is saved the Vaste of unwise selection — he is assured of the intallation of the equipment best suited to his individual needs, and quite frequently it happens that what is actually needed is less ex¬ pensive than snap judgment indicates. The huge cost of over-sights discovered too late for rectification are evidence of this. Minusa Makes Screen 21 x 27 Ft. For Mexico A screen measuring 21’x27’ has been shipped to Mexico City by the Minusa Cine Screen Company. The screen is one of the largest ever made and it is the second largest made by Minusa. The largest screen ever made by Min¬ usa was installed in the Old Mill Thea¬ tre, Dallas, Tex. W. L. Schoening, pi*esident of the company, says that the largest seamless screen in the world is a Minusa, and is installed in the M & S Douglas Theatre in New York City. Intensiflector and Isolator, New Features On Ashcraft Lamps C. S. Ashcraft, head of the Ashcraft Automatic Arc Co. of Los Angeles, has announced the development and perfec¬ tion of a high intensity reflector arc which, it is said, increases theatre pro¬ jection 100 per cent. The Ashcraft In¬ tensiflector decreases the current con¬ sumption for the ordinary house from 125 amperes to 55 amperes. In order to protect the large concave reflector, which condenses 95 per cent of light emitted by the carbon crater, a novel device known as the Isolator is used which sets the reflector apart from the rest of the lamp. It consists of an aluminum housing or holder for the re¬ flector covered in the front by a large disc of heat resisting glass. A strong blast of air is forced into the Isolator by means of a blower. Without the use of the Ashcraft Iso¬ lator, Mr. Ashcraft stated that the re¬ flectors would have to be replaced at the rate of two or three each week. Authority Says Better Light Needed in Theatres “Motion picture theatres are too dark, and people are unnecessarily sub¬ jected to eye strain in poorly lighted auditoriums,” declares Guy A. Henry, director-general of the Eye Sight Con¬ servation Council of America. This is the opinion of a man who is not associated with the electrical in¬ dustry and who cannot rightfully be ac¬ cused of trying to promote his own sel¬ fish interests. He bases his opinions on a series of investigations just com¬ pleted. “The human eye,” he continues, “does not function to best advantage in the dark, or in looking at a fairly well-il¬ luminated object when the eye itself is surrounded by darkness. There should prevail as high a degree of gen¬ eral illumination as may be consistent with securing clear and easy vision of the picture. The illumination should be gradually reduced from the rear to the front and all light sources so modi¬ fied as to prevent glare.” Eldorado Installs Kilgen The Eldorado Theatre, Eldorado, Kas., has installed a Kilgen organ. This makes the seventh Kilgen installed in Universal houses in the Central States.