The Moving picture world (November 1922-December 1922)

November 25, 1922 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 365 PRO J E CTION F.H.RICHARDSON Editor Travels It became both my duty and pleasure to attend the fall meeting of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, held in Rochester, N. Y., October 9 to 12, so loading my friend daughter, two suitcases and a gladstone bag into Nancy Hanks, the Go-Devil, I set forth. The route lay through Liberty, Binghamton, Owego and Ithaca, all in the Empire State. The first night we stopped in Liberty and, having satisfied the inner man, visited the one and only moving picture show the village boasts. One of its owners presided at the box office. He informed me that the company would soon erect a new theatre to take the place of the present one. This sounded good until I had viewed the "show." After that — well, I dunno! Due almost wholly to lack of screen illumination the picture was so dim that its details often could not be made out at all, and only during the projection of scenes having light photography could the picture be viewed with anything like satisfaction from midway of the house. Added to this trouble was a brilliant piano light to the left of the screen — a light of live times the power required to enable the pianist to read the notes. It literally bored 'nto the eyes of the audience. This set up a terrific eyestrain for those with eyes sensitive to such an outrage; also, l)y reflex action in the eye, it pretty well killed what little there was to be seen of the picture. In answer to a question I found that 25 mperes were being used. The condenser was very dirty. Correcting the above-mcnioned troubles will result materially to this heatre's benefit. Ithaca Just how one enters Ithaca from Owego n winter I'm sure I don't know. A sign at he top of a long hill ("hill" is right) warns : Put your machine into low. Don't depend )n your brakes." But once you negotiate he slope you find yourself in a beautiful ittle city, the business part of which lies )etween high hills. After supper we visited the Crescent Thetre and viewed an excellently projected ihotoplay in a very pretty and well-lighted uditorium. The picture brilliancy and inelligent auditorium lighting combined to liminate all eye strain. After the show I lund brother R. F. Dunis. I think the amei is spelled right. I sometimes have ifficulty in deciphering my own writing irhen it is done in semi-darkness. One clever stunt impressed me in the rescent projection room. The motor genrator set is of the horizontal type. It set p considerable vibration in the projection oom floor, on which it rested. This in turn caused an annoying hum. rojectionist Dunis hit upon the following Ian, which was in the nature of an expcrilent, but worked out 100 per cent, perfect, [e secured a heavy wire cable, cut two oles in the ceiling of the room, passed the ble up over the ceiling joists and attached s ends to the yoke at either end of the o^or generator, which now hangs susended about two inches from the floor and mis almost noiselessly, communicating no ibration to the walls, ceiling or floor. It runs in my mind that Dunis said he used the cable over two heavy coil springs, Notice to All PRESSURE on our columns is such that published replies to questions cannot be guaranteed under two or three weelts. If Quick action is desired remit four cents, stamps, and we will send carbon copy of department reply as soon as written. For special replies by mail on matter which, for any reason, cannot be replied to through our department remit one dollar. THE LENS CHART Are You Working by "Guess" or Do You Employ Up-to-Date Methods? You demand that your employer keep his equipment in good order and up to date. He owes it both to himself and to you to do so, but you owe it to him to lieep abreast with the times in linowledge and in your methods. The lens chart (two in one, 11x17 inches, on heavy paper for framing) is in sucessful use by hundreds of progressive projectionists. "Don't guess." Do your work RIGHT. Price, fifty cents, stamps. Address Moving Picture World, either 516 Fifth Ave., New York City, or 28 East Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 111. such as are used in freight car trucks, which same rest on the joist. Of this I am not sure, however. Anyhow the trick works, and is decidedly ingenious. All possible danger from breakage of the support may be removed by placing four blocks ot hard rubber under the frame, just low enough so they do not touch it. Should the motor generator from any cause fall no damage would result. Power's 6B projectors are used. Rochester In Rochester I experienced a new sensation. When I had finally decided to attend the S. M. P. E. meeting I wrote the Rochester projectionist local offering to address them on projection, if they cared to arrange a meeting. I had requested an early reply, but up to the time of our departure for Rochester no word had come, so I concluded the local was not interested. Imagine my surprise when, at the opening session of the S. M. P. E. a letter was read by its secretary from the Rochester projectionists' local, extending an invitation to the society to attend a lecture to be given by F. H. Richardson at midnight that night, in the Victoria Theatre. It later transpired that the local had experienced some difiiculty in securing a theatre in which to hold the meeting, and when that detail was finally arranged the local wired an acceptance of my offer, but the message arrived after I had departed for Rochester. The joke was on me. In company with some members of the society I, after some inquiry, located the Victoria, where a goodly number of projectionists were gathered, to whom I talked for an hour or more, and trust I accomplished at least some good. While in Rochester I, in company with other members of the society, went through the new Eastman Theatre, of which we have all heard so much. What I have to say concerning the same is both very pleas ant, and extremely unpleasant — pleasant because there is much to praise; unpleasant because sharp criticism is necessary, hence must be made. In conversation with several other members of the society I found my own view to be supported by their own impressions of what they saw. We were all impressed by the imposing beauty of the facade of the theatre, by its immense oval-shape lobby and by the truly splendid auditorium. These have all been described and re-described many times, and nothing I might say could add to what has already been said. It seems to me that a more impressively simple, and at the same time simply beautiful facade, lobby and auditorium could hardly be conceived. They all three appear to me to be entirely beyond just criticism. I wish to offer my congratulations to Mr. Eastman, heartily and sincerely, for the marvelously beautiful theatre he has caused to be erected. It is more of a temple of amusement than a theatre. It richly deserves all and more than has ever been said in .its praise. Lighting Good, Except — The theatre auditorium lighting was excellent, except — and the "except" is a very serious matter, for across the front of the orchestra platform, or dais, was a row of ten music racks, set exactly side-on to the audience. The sides of the music box of these racks were not to exceed three inches high, and the white sheet music was therefore in more or less full view of a very large percentage ot the audience. This means ten spots of white light, and my own eyes bore ample testimony to the fact that, while it was true that comparatively low power lamps were used, these spots were GLARE SPOTS — they were decidedly objectionable. Others said the same thing. It must be carefully borne in mind that what is an objectionable glare spot for one may not be objectionably so to another. Eyes vary widely in this respect. These spots did not exactly hurt my eyes, but they nevertheless were uncomfortable, and detracted from the beauty of what I saw on the screen. With a less brilliant picture the result would have been very bad indeed. But this is not all, for at the rear of the platform were SIXTEEN music racks facing the screen, with nothing to prevent their light from reaching the screen, and that it DID REACH IT I CAN PERSONALLY BEAR TESTIMONY. The front racks should have been set at an angle to the audience. Maybe the musician did not want it that way, but the audience DOES, and it is the audience who pays the musician's salary and supports the whole theatre. A musician who is willing to set up discomfort to two or three thousand people in order to be entirely comfortable himself, is not fit to play in a theatre at all. In addition to turning the music rack at an angle, its sides should be raised several inches — ten or twelve, I would say, with the interior of the side shields painted a nongloss black. The side next the audience may be decorated with artificial flowers, or otherwise. The racks next the screen present a more difficult problem, but one which CAN be worked out. I was told that some one — the