Moving Picture Age (Jan-Dec 1922)

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MECHANICS of VISUALIZATION A Department Conducted by AUSTIN C. LESCARBOURA, SSifflmelan In this department appear each month discussions of the important materials of visual instruction — projectors, films, stereopticons, slides, screens, cameras, lenses, and other items of equipment on which the non-theatrical exhibitor should possess authoritative and impartial information. It should be distinctly understood that all expressions of opinion emanate from Mr. Lescarboura, and that Moving Picture Age takes no stand upon the opinions expressed in this department. First Strip Shows Various Accidents That Can Happen to Film, While Second Indicates How Tears Can Be Cut Out So That the Film Will Run through the Projector without Damage. Third Strip Shows How Film Is Cut and the Emulsion Scraped Off for Cementing, and the Fourth the Film Properly Spliced SPLICING PARTED OR TORN FILM FILM is delicate, it goes without saying. A certain number of repairs must be counted on, especially when it is remembered that the long celluloid ribbon is composed of many short lengths of film cemented together ; and due to the heat of the projection lamp, friction, bending, stressing, pulling, and other factors rising out of projection, these joints often give way and the film parts in the course of handling. Still, there is nothing formidable about cementing or joining film. A little care is required and the work must be neatly done, since an improperly made patch shows up on the screen, let alone its coming undone, with all the inconvenience that that entails. First of all, the parted or torn film should be cut immediately on the frame line, while the other end is cut % inch beyond the frame line. The latter film is then taken in hand, and the TA inch of extra picture or frame is carefully moistened with water and the emulsion scraped off clean with a safety-razor blade or special steel-wire brush made for the purpose. Remember, a good patch cannot be obtained unless all the emulsion is removed and the celluloid base is bared. Some form of splicing device or film press is a positive necessity, for the cementing operation partakes somewhat of the nature of a weld, since the film cement dissolves the celluloid of both pieces to be joined and causes one to flow into the other, so to speak, making them one piece of celluloid. Therefore, unless a firm pressure is applied the joint cannot be satisfactory. The author has found the simple' cementing press, shown in the accompanying view, most convenient for all-round work on standard-sized film. With this machine and the other accessories shown, the film being placed with the top or beginning of the reel at the left, the first step is to cut the left-hand film about 3/32 to Vi inch below the frame line. Then it is placed on the splicing press, emulsion side up, and the straight edge is brought immediately over the last frame line, or a short distance in from the end of the film. Then the previously slightly moistened emulsion can be removed with a safety-razor blade, knife, or special steel-wire brush especially made for the purpose, which guards against undercutting. Now we have the film with a clean ^'-inch or 3/32inch clear strip. This done, the film is held in place in the splicing press while the other end of film, the righthand piece, is cut through at the middle of the frame line. Film cement is applied on the bared portion of the first end of the film, the left-hand piece. The pins of the cementing press serve to hold ?What problems are handicapping you in your visual in* struction work? Mr. Lescarboura stands ready to answer by correspondence the questions of any subscriber pertaining to equipment, when the inquiry is addressed to him at the office of Moving Picture — _ Age and is accom *W panied by stamped , I addressed envelope • — The Editor. the two film ends in place, so that the joint may be properly made with the sprocket holes maintaining their proper spacing and alignment after the splice has been brought about. After applying the cement, the main hinged member is brought down on the two ends and locked in place. If, after three to five seconds, the press is opened, the surplus cement, still in semi-liquid condition, may be removed by gentle rubbing with a clean piece of cheesecloth. Quick movements, from applying the cement to and including the application of pressure, are recommended, as the adhesive quality of partly hardened cement is very poor. This work requires considerable practice before dexterity is gained. In fact, in the motion-picture industry girls are trained for just this kind of work. Unless care is exercised in making the splices, misframes or bad spots are the result. A dirty patch shows up large on the screen. Misframes are detected when the framing of the projector is thrown out of gear, and it becomes necessary for the operator to reframe the image so that the picture just fills the screen nicely instead of having the bottom of one frame and the top of the next showing on the screen at the same time. The foregoing instructions apply to standard film. Safetystandard and Pathescope films, however, are spliced in virtually the same manner. If the film is arranged in the same manner as we have just mentioned — with the top at the left of the operator — then the left-hand film is cut on the frame line of the nearest complete picture, bisecting the perforations. The cut in that part of the film to the right of the break should be made a scant 3/16 inch to the left or above the division or frame line of the nearest complete picture. The portion beyond the frame line, or the 3/16-inch strip, is moistened and scraped with a safety-razor blade or other tool. Cement is then applied, and the two ends, being placed in a special press which takes safety-standard film, are cemented together time without any particular difficulty. Slight variations of these methods may be made to suit individual taste and experience. The only requisites in this work are a reasonable overlap to insure a firm splice, good cement, and clean work and good pressure. n a few moments' BOTTLE OF FILM CEMENT PLATE GLASS REST FOR CUTTING FILM SAFETY RAZOR BLADE ...» A SUITABLE PROJECTION SCREEN DOES the motion-picture screen appear equally bright from all angles of view? In other words, does the screen appear too bright for persons in the center of the theatre or auditorium, and not bright enough for persons at the side? This is 18