Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1952)

190 JULY 1952 IMPARTIAL . . . CONSTRUCTIVE JUDGING a local club contest, it becomes increasingly apparent, is a delicate and difficult operation requiring, for its successful conclusion, the patience of a Job, the wisdom of a Solomon, and the diplomacy of a Disraeli. That such is the situation most probably has been the case for a number of years now. But — to make a clean breast of our innocence — we have become acutely aware of this problem only within the past twelvemonth or two. For, as one wisp of smoke blended more visibly with another, we were forced reluctantly to the age-old conclusion that "where there is smoke there is fire." Now this conclusion has been climaxed within the past six months by reports of unrest in contest matters among members of citywide and even state-wide associations of amatevir filmers. We have not, we must confess, any immediate answer to this problem on the local level. Too many unknown factors, including the personalities of those involved, enter into the equation. But here at ACL there has been evolving within the past two years a surprisingly successful palliative of ruffled feathers. To wit: send your club contest to the League for judging. The enthusiastic acceptance of this system has been indicated in several ways. First, there have been letters of somewhat amazed appreciation from first-time users of this service. (tcI was both astonished and gratified at the length of your letter reporting your judgments of our contest films . . . We have received more constructive criticism than in any previous year of our contest.") Second, there have been letters requesting, rather wistfully, a repeat performance of ACL contest judging, after a successful first-time experience. ("There have been times when, after all the prizes were out, someone still thought that his film should have won. There was none of this last year when you judged our films, and everyone especially liked your impartial suggestions . . . We wonder if we could ask the same service again.") And finally there are the facts and figures. For our records show that in the year 1950 the ACL judged annual contests for eight clubs across the country, with a combined 8-and-16 footage total of 18,375 feet. In 1951, the number of clubs served in this way was doubled at sixteen. And the footage total had soared to 99,575 feet! Sounds like somebody's satisfied. So if you're having club contest troubles, you might want to give our impartial, constructive service a try. THE AMATEUR CINEMA LEAGUE, Inc. Founded in 1926 by Hiram Percy Maxim Joseph J. Harley, President Walter Bergmann, Treasurer Arthur H. Elliott Fred Evans John V. Hansen DIRECTORS Frank E. Gunnell, Vicepresident James W. Moore, Managing Director George Merz Stephen F. Voorhees Roy C. Wilcox The Amateur Cinema League, Inc., sole owner and publisher of MOVIE MAKERS, is an international organization of filmers. The League offers its members help in planning and making movies. It aids movie clubs and maintains for them a film exchange. It has various special services and publications for members. Your membership is invited. Six dollars a year. AMATEUR CINEMA LEAGUE, INC.. 420 LEXINGTON AVE., NEW YORK 1 7, N. Y., U. S. A. ing quotes are hers — she combines charmingly with her truly outstanding films. HARRIS B. TUTTLE, FACL It is quite possible that Harris B. Tut tie has written or spoken more words on photography in general and amateur movie making in particular than any other man living today. For since 1927 (when his first piece appeared in Movie Makers), Mr. Tuttle has given over 1000 lectures before camera clubs ; he has published more than 75 articles in countless photographic magazines, and he has written innumerable pages of technical material for the Kodak Sales Service booklets — at which work, in Rochester, N. Y., he has been engaged as a consultant since 1940. It may be, also, that Mr. Tuttle has exposed more amateur film footage than any other movie maker. For one thing, as an associate for five years of John B. Capslaff in the development of the reversal film process, he got off in 1920 to a fairly early start. Later (in 1927 and for eleven years thereafter) he supervised the making of all 16mm. and (from 1932) 8mm. demonstration films used by the Eastman Kodak Company. Since Kodak decided that all such pictures in the Kodacolor, Kodachrome and 8mm. media must be originals, a staggering amount of film must have moved through Mr. Tuttle's cameras. Furthermore, Mr. Tuttle became interested in 1921 in medical photography and soon was to make the first surgical record films on 16mm. monochrome stock. He pioneered (as they were developed) the use of Kodacolor and later Kodachrome in the medical movie field, and he has up to the presenl produced more than 1000 medical subjects. In 1919, Mr. Tuttle became a founder member of the Kodak Camera Club, with which group he is still associated. He is an honorary member of the Ama teur Movie Club of Rochester and of countless other cine and still clubs across the United States. He has been a member of Amateur Cinema League since 1936. Honors in recognition of Mr. Tuttle's contributions to photography have been legion. He was named a Fellow of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers in 1932. an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society in 1940 and to its Fellowship in 1945. In the same year he became an Associate of the Photographic Society of America, and he was raised to its Fellowship in 1949. The Biological Photographic Association tapped him as a Fellow in 1948, while in 1950 he was elected an Associate in the Oval Table Society of New York City. Mr. Tuttle is married, the father of two children (a son and a daughter) and the grandfather of three. His hobbies are woodworking, contract bridge — and movie making.