Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1949)

65 WIPE BOTH SIDES We all know the importance of wiping off the excess cement from a splice the moment it has been completed in the splicer. This is easy to do on the upper surface. But, by the time you have done that and then turned the splice over to get at its under side, the cement there is usually dry. Because of this. I have recently worked out a system for wiping both sides at the same time. Heart of the system is a large hole cut through the editing board between the two cutting edges of the splicer. The positioning and function of the hole will be seen in the left photo, in which the right hand plate of the splicer has purposely been left out of splicing position for a clear view. In use, the hole permits the application of "Q tips" or cotton swabs on both the upper and lower surfaces of the splice simultaneously, as shown in the right hand picture. George Merz. ACL Clifton, N. J. BLOW THAT DIRT My experience has been that no mailer how carefully you wipe out or brush off the gate of your projector, there may still be a few tiny bits of lint or dust remaining to mar the projected image or damage the film. As a final gate cleaning routine, therefore, I recommend the use of the familiar air syringe used by dentists in drying out a cavity before filling. The tiny, curved tip of this instrument reaches nicely into the gate and blows away the last vestiges of dust. The syringe can be purchased from dental supply houses and even in some drugstores. Oscar H. Horovitz. ACL Cambridge, Mass. PORTRA ON VIEWFINDER Reading about Terry Manos's and William Berger's device of adding a plus 3 Portra lens to the eyepiece of the Bolex visual focuser leads me to tell you how I have made use of the same lens for some time. I made an adapter to fit over the viewfinder eyepiece of my Bolex H-8. Used with the regular 12.5mm. lens or the 7.5mm. wide angle attachment, the plus 3 Portra provides a crisp, clear view of the scene being filmed. For telephoto wrork, I slip the Portra lens off, since it seems to blur the image with this focal length lens. Jean F. Schweizer Irvington, N. J. VELVET ON PAPER For all those filmers who would like to use velvet or felt as background material in their titles, there is good news in a line of velvet surfaced papers recently put out by Devoe & Raynolds, the paint and art supply people. The papers come in black, red, green, purple and two shades of blue. The black, of course, will be especially popular for all double exposed Pictures, plans and ideas to solve your filming problems CONTRIBUTORS TO The Clinic are paid from $2.00 to $5.00 for ideas and illustrations published. Your contributions are cordially invited. Address them to: The Clinic, Movie Makers. 420 Lexington Avenue, New York 17. N.Y. Please do not submit identieal items to [itlier magazines. title work, where white letters have to be filmed on a matte black background. With the price of velvet at several dollars a yard, I have found these papers a real boon. R. J. Douaire, ACL Chicago, 111. COLORS ARE SAFER If for any reason you temporarily join a film with Scotch tape, it is much safer to use a bright colored type (such as those used for gift wrapping) instead of the transparent kind. In this way, there is no danger of overlooking a join, which I found out is easily — and sometimes disastrously— done with the clear stock. Charles F. Teed, ACL Sidney, N. Y. FUNCTION of hole cut in editing board, to that both sides of a splice can be wiped at once, is shown with right splicer plate over. ACTUAL USE of the hole in splicing routine is shown above, with the right plate now in operating position. Swabs can be used several times.