Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1949)

420 Clini TOUGH SPLICES Sometimes with old or dirty film, it seems that no amount of scraping and other routine splicing operations will make the two parts adhere. In such cases a light application of cement should be made on both the scraped and the shiny ends of the film, allowed to dry, and then the splice made in the usual way with cement applied to the scraped end only. Jerry Fairchild Pasadena, Calif. FULL FRAME SPLICER? The recent Clinic item, Improved 8mm. Splices (October, 1949), from F. B. Harrison, of England, seems to indicate that comity between nations has not yet been carried down to the amateur movie level. Urging the advantage of a full frame overlap in 8mm. splicing, Mr. Harrison states in his last paragraph that "since no existing splicer is designed to apply pressure over an entire frame, this part of the operation has to be done manually." We in the Amateur Motion Picture Society of Albany, ACL, are not familiar with the situation to which Mr. Harrison calls attention. I, myself, have consistently used a Craig Senior Splicer which makes a full frame splice under pressure. This splicer has been advertised in Movie Makers on several occasions. John J. Ronan, ACL Albany, N. Y. Although the Craig Senior Splicer certainly was not designed to create splices with a full frame overlap, it is, by experiment, true that it can be used to do so. It is TWO-WAY CAMERA LEVEL, mounted on viewfinder balks danger of light leaks from installation. true also that all of the overlapping area can be held under mechanical pressure during this operation. This is accomplished by repositioning the right end of the film (following cutting) one frame beyond the splicer's cutting edge. The left end is then scraped and extended correspondingly, cement is applied and the splicer closed in the regular way. However, because of the standard width of the Craig overlap, the end result will be the same. The splice — whether overlapped normally or in the full frame manner — will still extend well into the frame. REFLECTOR STORAGE Other amateur filmers who use, as I do, the Kodaflector lighting units, will know that the reflectors are thin sheets of metal which, when not in use, can be dismantled and stored flat. That, in any case, was the designer's idea. I soon found, however, that in our house suitable shelf space was at a premium. Furthermore, I did not care for the task of reassembling and dismounting the reflector units each time they were used. Laying them on their sides without dismantling tended to bend them out of shape, and even standing them on their faces was not too satisfactory. My solution was to purchase screw eyes which were large enough to admit the rubber sleeves on the supporting shanks of the reflector assemblies. The screw eyes were inserted in a vertical line in an unused corner of the closet and the units were hung in them as shown in the photograph. This storage method keeps them free from dents and dust as well. Laurence E. Baty, ACL Salt Lake City, Utah LEVEL ON CAMERA I was heartily in agreement with Maury Kains, ACL (Gadgets for your Camera, May, 1949), in urging the importance of mounting a spirit level either on one's tripod or on the camera itself. As a matter of fact, although my Bell & Howell all-metal tripod comes equipped with a small bubble level on the head, I still found that my Filmo 70-DA was recording many strong vertical lines (such as church towers and the like) noticeably out of plumb. My answer was to attach a Starrett camera level directly to the camera Pictures, plans and ideas to solve your filming problems VERTICAL STORAGE of lighting units saves dismantling and protects them from dents. itself. As will be seen in the illustration, the attachment was made on the barrel of the tubular viewfinder. This assures that there can be no possibility of a light leak into the film chamber from the simple holes it is necessary to drill and tap. Oscar H. Horovitz, ACL Newton, Mass. DISC IN MIRROR What with all the interest there has been in recent issues of Movie Makers on synchronizing projectors with sound via the stroboscopic disc, I am prompted to tell you how I solved a small problem in this field. My projector called for installation of the disc on the hand turning knob, which was on the front of the machine. But with it there, I could not scan it from the usual operating position between projector and turntables. Solution : rig up a small mirror in front of the disc and scan it in the mirror, instead of directly. H. G. FlRESTEAD Duluth, Minn.