Movietone Bulletin (July 1928)

Use Good Reels ROM a western projectionist comes this letter: “Dear Mr. Richardson: Won’t you give me a bit of help? I want you to write my manager (name supplied) and tell him we should have reels in good condition to use in movietone projection. I have asked him to get a set of welded wire reels, but he has refused. Says the reels the film comes on are plenty good enough.” As requested I wrote his manager a personal letter, but for the benefit of other projectionists and managers I think it best to print the letter also, omitting the name and location. “My dear Mr. Manager: May I direct your attention to the fact that reels used to ship films should -never be used for projection purposes? In shipment, film packages are often subject to rough handling and since they contain considerable weight you will readily understand the possibility or even the probability of reel sides being more or less bent out of shape. “This might or might not do considerable harm, especially to sound films, in the course of projection, but in rewinding it is almost certain to. In most theatre projection rooms films are rewound at relatively high speed, which is in itself very, very poor practice, and when a bent reel revolves it is almost a certainty its side will strike the edge of the film at every revolution, bending it up or down, more or less, which effect may be greatly aggravated if the rewinder elements be in any degree out of line with each other. This latter, incidentally, is the case in a surprising number of cases. “Now even though the film carry silent pictures, the commonest kind of common sense tells us that this will be injurious, and may do very real damage to the sprocket hole track on one side or the other, or both sides if both of the reel sides happen to be bent toward each other at any point, as often is the case. “If the film carry sound, though, and its edge be bent up sufficiently far so that the metal rubs across the sound band, as well may in the case, it requires no stretch of imagination to see what that will do. Just one such abuse and it is not in the least impossible that a whole reel of sound film might be put out of commission. “It therefore is well that theatre managers equip their projection room with a complete set of high grade welded wire reels to use in projection, even though sound pictures are not used. If they are, then such procedure is all the more important. What would be paid for just one ruined reel of film would more than buy all the reels necessary. In the past it is almost a certainty that many, many reels of film have been damaged in your theatre, and badly damaged, too, by the use of shipping reels for projection, though it is true you may have been fortunate enough to escape payment for the harm done.” Watch Your Sound Lamps Movietone projectionists should make it their regular, invariable practice to examine the sound tubes every day. Don‘t do the “I-guessthey’re-all-right” stunt. If you do you’re not filling your job. You are not acting honestly with the exhibitor, because you’re neglecting an important function he pays you good money to perform. “T guess” leads eventually to trouble, not sometimes, but always. Don’t “guess”! Know that your sound tubes are all right, which means that there is neither any trace of discoloration on the interior of the globes, or any sagged filament. Watch your sound gates religiously. Be certain they are perfectly clean before you thread in a film, and the only way to know that is to make an adequate examination. A cleaning in time saves many a damaged or ruined sound band. FLICKERS If you’re looking for the lowdown on history, this is the inside dope on how Joshua made the sun stand still. The fact is it was a cinch. At that critical moment when he wanted the sun to stand still the first movietone was flashed on the screen. Joshua just pointed to it and exclaimed: “Look!” The sun looked and was so awe-stricken it stopped in its tracks and stood there gaping for hours. One way to find out who is boss is to start something. Another good way is to stop something— work, for instance. Be willing to learn. The only thing that profits by being set in its ways is cement. If your neck and shoulders are all sunburned, don’t do your work too well. The manager is apt to notice it and come around and slap you on the back. Don’t get the idea you’re worthless and of no earthly use to anybody. Everything counts in this world but a broken adding machine. Be patient—great things have small beginnings. When Columbus landed on this side he knelt down and kissed the ground. That was the first kiss planted in America. And now look what the damn thing has grown into. They were shooting a few final scattered scenes in the studio preparatory to assembling the picture. They had to have a slow motion picture of a man walking about in an interior scene. The cameraman discovered his batteries were down and he couldn’t possibly get the necessary speed to take a slow movie. They were in a hurry. So they took a shot of one of the office boys going about his regular duties. It was the most realistic shot in the whole film.