Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1914)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 28s Child Operator — Eighty Years Old. VV. L. Augustine, Crescent Theater, Decatur, 111., writes thusly: Each week I am lucky enough to make connection with a Moving Picture World, and immediately turn to your department for ideas which are as valuable to the exhibitor as to the operator. After eighteen years on the road, in various ventures, my wife and I finally grew tired of living in a trunk. We therefore bought a well-located lot in a suburb of this thriving city of 40,000, and on that lot now stands a brick and concrete theater, seating 530. Business was good from the start and still continues so. But much of the credit must be given to our operator, who in point of gentlemanly qualities, loyalty and carefulness cannot be surpassed. I hereby challenge the country to produce a man who is the equal of Col. Will L. Smith, veteran musician, Swiss bell ringer, and band leader, dating from 1854 to the present day. This grand old man is now past eighty, and is usually the first person on the job each night. That his work in the operating room is satisfactory is proven by the fact that each night autos from distant parts of the city line up in front of The Crescent, the word having gone forth that we show the best pictures in Decatur. Since the building of The Crescent two more suburban theaters have gone up, and more are projected. Decatur now has eight moving picture theaters; the Empress shows pictures between vaudeville acts, and the Power's Opera House shows pictures on dark nights. A remarkable congeniality exists between Decatur exhibitors; a manager can borrow anything, from a carbon to a compensarc. And now a word in regard to slides. By cutting 14 inch off the long way of a postal card phetoplate (Hammer preferred), 25 cents a dozen, an excellent slide can be made by cutting through the emulsion with a phonograph needle mounted in a stick. These slides do not need a cover glass, and for durability cannot be excelled. The clean cut white letters against a black background are very pleasing. In closing let me say that my sincere wish is that the Projection Department may live long and prosper. I am indeed surprised that you have told me about Mr. Smith, when you know that I am opposed to "kid" operators. A man ought to be old enough to have acquired some discretion and mental poise before he is placed in charge of an operating room. Joking aside, however, my compliments to Col. Smith. I would like to have his photograph, standing or seated beside his machine, if it can be managed, for publication of course. As to the slide scheme, it has been described in the department before, but quite a while ago. Personally, I think the gelatine slide is, everything taken into consideration, best. The outfit put up by the Utility Transparency Company is a very practical one for making slides for temporary announcements of various kinds. New Reel. Mr. H. J. Troxell, of Pennsylvania, writes as follows: I want to ask your opinion of a moving picture reel, patent for which is pending, description of which you will find below. I started out as an operator and I know the many difficulties which confront them. I believe I have constructed a reel which will benefit both operator and manager. First, on the reel of today the film-catch on the hub of the reel is usually more or less loose. It is very hard to catch the film under the spring, working, as one must, through the holes in the side of the reel. My reel has a piece of tape fastened to the hub which extends to the outer sides of the steel discs, with the film-catch placed on the tape on the outside of the discs. This makes it easier to thread up and. at the same time, if the film lead is short, as it often is, it will lengthen it about a foot, so that the title of the reel can be shown. Second, the sides of the reel are solid, as the holes in the side are not needed, the reel itself becomes a shipping case merely by placing a casing around its circumference instead of placing the reel in a tin box as the express rules require. But sometimes my reels come three in one tin box. In my case each reel must have its own casing, and the paper or rubber band, which is placed around the reel to keep the film from rewinding, is not needed, as the casing will hold the film in place, and there will be no paper or rubber bands tearing or slipping down on the hub and making it necessary to rewind the entire reel. Third, if we receive a single reel from Philadelphia by express, the charges will be 35 cents and for our regular three reels 55 to 65 cents. Now with my reel and casing, tlie reel will not have to be placed in the tin box when shipping, and can be shipped by parcel post for about half the cost, as one reel could be sent for 35 cents, making a saving of about 20 per cent., or $60.00 a year, which I believe would be a consideration. If your invention can really be made to serve as a combination reel and shipping parcel, and the postal authorities would receive the films according to your statement, why certainly it might be a great thing, but I regret to say that I am obliged to move over into Missouri on this proposition. You demonstrate to this department that you have the proposition you claim to have, and we certainly will give it our unqualified approval; but in this case we would have to have something more than a picture in proof. In fact, we would not only have to see the device itself, but would be compelled to demand a look at the documentary evidence that it is approved by the Postal Department or the Interstate Commerce Commission for the shipment of films, or at least by one of them. Personally I do not believe the postal authorities will allow films in the mails. Now, my dear sir, this is not a knock, but just a plain statement of what I would be obliged to demand in a case of this kind before I could give your device the approval of the Projection Department. I hope you have "the goods.*' If you have, proceed to demonstrate that fact. Shutter Blade Matters. H. A. Carver. Mdundsville, W. Va., writes: With regard to the matter of which James Solar complains, December 20 issue, the same being the short focal length lens and outside shutter; I had the same trouble, and this is the way I remedied it. I am using a Motiograph with number four projecting lens. The words in titles streaked both ways. I was using a threewing shutter and 56 amperes of no volt, 60 cycle current. I removed the three-wing shutter and made a two-winger, but I made the main blade one-fourth inch wider than the one on the Motiograph shutter, and made the interruption blade exactly the same size as the main blade on the Motiograph shutter. This did away with the streaking and gives a flickerless picture when running about fifteen minutes to the reel. I am also using an UrbanSmith Kinemacolor machine, and am running black and white pictures five days a week, and Kinemacolor the sixth. Was troubled with too much interruption through the shutter and flicker blade, so I removed the flicker blade and perforated it, and it has improved the light 20 per cent. Am using 60 amperes on it through a choke coil, and the picture is great, but of course I have to be very careful not to cross the alternations with it. I hope this will help out some other operator. As to the rays spreading on lenses of less than 4^ e. f., why all I have to say is, let one of them get up against one of those lenses, and they will say: "Oh gee, I guess we still have something to learn." The brother was reasonably careless with his writing and I don*t know if I got all that doped out quite right. As I understand the matter, however, he evidenced a very complete knowledge of the functions of a shutter when he removed the trouble on his Motiograph. He did it in exactly the right way too. Brother Carver knows what a shutter is for and how it acts and that is more than a great many operators know, when it comes right down to brass tacks. I am not familiar with the Urban-Smith Kinemacolor machine, but I presume what friend Carver did was the right thing. I suppose what he means by being careful not to "cross the alternations" is that he must so regulate his speed that his shutter blades won't synchronize with the alternations of the current. Come again, brother, but be a little more careful with that pen scratching of yours. Who Wants Him? I have the name of an operator whom I have every reason to believe is a really high class man. He belongs to the I. A. T. S. E., is willing to start on a reasonable salary, say $25 per week, and demonstrate his ability. If the manager decides later he is worth more money to the house, all right. I would not publish this except that I have very good evidence that this man is a thorough electrician, and, while I have not personally seen his work, I believe he is a man who will produce high class results. If that is true then he is worth from $25 to $30 to any high class theater. His address will be supplied upon request. Now five or six hundred operators need not immediately get busy writing the editor, asking htm to do the same for them, because he won't. This, I believe, is an exceptional case, and for that reason I am taking an exceptional action. The Right Spirit. A. B. Arnett, Midway, Ky., sends in 25 cents for the questions and says: It is understood that should you not receive enough applications for the questions to justify the expense you will return the remittance. I will, however, ask that you take your time in this matter, for I feel sure that you will eventually secure enough, and I do not care to miss a good thing by being impatient. A sufficient number of applications has been received, brother Arnett, but it may possibly be as much as a month from this date before I begin sending out the questions. You show the right spirit and good sense in not demanding an immediate return, which would not, in any event, be possible. You will receive the questions in due time. Bad Conditions. Janesville, Wis., sends 25 cents for a copy of the questions and says: I have benefited many times through the department, and it has my highest praise. Am operating at the Apollo Theater, the only house here running first class vaudeville. I get a fairly good picture under somewhat trying conditions, due to the building of the operating room a great deal off center — in fact about ten feet to the left. I feel sometimes as if I would like to have the man who made the plans for the house by the neck while I argue with him, and secure a promise that he will never attempt to plan another operating room location. It is to your credit, brother Breuning, that you get "fairly good results" under such conditions. Possibly if the matter be properly laid before your manager he might have the operating room moved, even though at some expense. In the long run it would pay him to do it, unless for some structural reason it is impossible.