Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1931)

84 FEBRUARY 1931 Amateur clubs ARTHUR L. GALE SiaiTI ■ Under the patronage of Their Majesties, the King and Queen, the Amateur Cinema Association of Siam has recently been organized. The association, which includes all of the amateur cameramen in Bangkok, capital of Siam, has as its purpose the exchange of ideas and experience among members and the improvement of amateur movie making technique within the kingdom. A monthly magazine dealing with amateur movies is planned. The council of the association is made up of members of the Royal Family and amateur movie enthusiasts among Siam's nobility. Prince Purachatra, Minister of Railways, is the vice president. His Majesty, King Prajadhipok, is himself an able and active amateur movie maker with many reels of well photographed and well planned films to his credit. He is an Honorary Life Member of the Amateur Cinema League Latest news of organized group filming activities while Prince Purachatra and several other members of the Association's council are also League members. New members are joining rapidly and the Association promises to become one of the best organized and most active of all national amateur motion picture groups, ranking with those of Germany and Japan. Three Cities ■ At the last meeting of the Metropolitan Motion Picture Club in New York City it was decided to challenge the Amateur Movie Club of Hartford, Conn., and the Hudson County Cine Club of Jersey City, N. J., to a three cornered interclub contest. Both the Hartford and the New Jersey clubs have accepted the challenge and the largest of amateur movie club contests to date is now under way. Each club will submit its four best films, regardless of subject matter or exact length, and its one best Kodacolor film, each club having previously selected these films in a competition among the club members. The Metropolitan Motion Picture Club is already prepared by its recent club contest and the Hartford and Jersey City clubs are now selecting the films to represent their cities. Acting on the committee to represent the Metropolitan Motion Picture Club in making arrangements for the contest are George A. Ward, chairman, Ur. George L. Rohdenburg, Miss Grace Clarke and the club secretary, ex officio. Other committees and details regarding the contest will be announced later. Featured on the program of the last meeting of the Metropolitan Motion Picture Club was a talk by Carl L. Oswald on title making and the mechanics of editing and splicing. The program was concluded with a screening of members' films among which were two well planned short subjects. From Burbank come stills of Artkino's "Power of Suggestion" Portland ■ The last meeting of the Portland Cine Club of Portland, Oregon, was exceptionally well attended. On the program was the projection of European travel films taken by Stanley Lang, The Double Cross from the League Club Film Library and Shooting Your Home Town, a film study of Portland made by Lewis M. Bailley, screened as an example of city filming. An open forum ended the meeting. Porto RiC0 ■The amateur producing unit in San Juan, P. R., led by George R. Mercader, has formally organized as the El Morro Players. The comedy, A Midsummer's Day Dream, in which Adele Behr played the leading role, has already been completed and the El Morro Players are now planning a second production. A tropical storm presented unusual difficulties in the making of the first film, as a sandy beach, used in the earlier scenes, was washed out. Considerable work was necessary before the setting could be used again. Headlines and ilenn MacPherson