The Moving picture world (November 1924-December 1924)

November 29, 1924 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 463 It Could Be Done J. C. Shanley, St. Louis, Mo., asks : Dear Mr. Richardson: I am the owner ot two small-town theatres near this city. In both I have installed Mazda, with excellent results. In both cases I have a condition which calls for a large diameter projection lens, which compels the use of a very wide shutter master blade. Is there no way in which this could be reduced — the width of the master blade, I mean, without running into travel ghost? I know it seems impossible, but I have noticed through the years I have followed your work that you have found a way around a good many things which we all thought were impossible. One Way Yes, there is one way in which the diameter of the projection lens might be made a negligible matter, insofar as has to do with the rotating shutter, and that is by increasing the diameter of the shutter itself. Since the speed of the edge of the shutter blade determines the time it will take it to travel a certain distance, and since the lens diameter is a fixed quantity, it follows that if you increase the diameter of the shutter and locate the lens at the same distance it now is from its periphery, the time required for the edge of the shutter blade to cut across the light beam is reduced, hence the lens diameter becomes less important. Suppose you were to do this, carefully remembering that "this" is a perfectly feasible thing to do : Make a shutter blade two feet in diameter, retaining the relative proportions of your present shutters exactly. Be careful to have it perfectly balanced, which may be done by adding solder to the rim at the right points. Have a suitable ball bearing made for it, of a sort which may be bolted to the front projection room wall. Then, by means of suitable gears and shafts, gear it to the present shutter shaft of your projector — again not at an impossible thing to do. You must, of course, so locate the shutter bearing that the light beam will pass through its openings right close to its periphery. You MUST also have the blade made from sheet aluminum, and have it mounted on a bearing — a ball bearing. If you will stop and think for a moment, Friend Shanley, you will see that with such a shutter the effect would be about the same as using a lens one inch in diameter with your present shutter. Cost? Sure it will cost something to build it— maybe as much as fifty dollars for the two complete, but after all what is that if you get less flicker tendency and decidedly more screen illumination? As a matter-of-fact, but for the size of the shutter, and therefore its unwieldyness as a part of the projector itself, I would advocate the making of a large diameter rotating shutter in place of the present ones, whose only recommendation is the ability to "hang it on" the projector itself. Read and Ponder The following clipping from a daily paper was sent me by Brother H. Y. Ballou, Member L. U. ISO I. A., who now works in Hoi WELDED WIRE REELS For Sale by Howells Cine Equipment Co., 740 "Id »«.. Nt* York lywood, Calif. He sent this note with it: Dear Friend Richardson: Attached article was printed in this morning's Examiner. I have read it three times. Parts of it contain a world of truth. When you read it, have in mind the projectionist, instead of the woodworker. This short article fits every mother's son of us who project motion pictures; not only the highest of the high class men, but right down the line to those just breaking into the profession. Framed There are parts of it which should be framed and hung in a CONSPICUOUS place in EVERY projection room in this broad continent. It most certainly is a worthwhile article. With all of which I heartily agree, brother Ballou. The article is titled : "Thoroughness." It is by Bruno Lessing. In reading it, just substitute our profession and its terms for furniture, woods and the terms therein used, so that the first sentence, for instance, reads : "Karl Schmieg projects motion pictures and understands artistry in a screen image. He gloats and purrs with joy over an unusually well photographed production with as keen a delight as the collector of paintings experiences when he comes into possession of a Rembrandt." The BIG points in it are LOVE OF YOUR WORK AND THOROUGHNESS IN ITS DOING. The article reads : Thoroughness Karl Schmieg makes furniture and understands woods. He gloats and purrs with joy over a piece of unusually fine wood with as keen delight as a collector of paintings experiences when he comes into possession of a Rembrandt. He knows woods by their Latin names and by their local names and by their trade names. Professors in the forestry departments of colleges and universities consult him. He has the history of period furniture at his fingers' ends. One of his associates said that Schmieg could tell the difference between a Chippendale and a Sheraton piece blindfolded and without touching them — just by smelling and listening. And he can make any article of furniture with his own hands from the cutting of the log to the final touch of delicate varnishing. On his next vacation Schmieg is going to South America to visit some of his woods in their homes. There you have a man who is thorough in his work. It seems to be a rather rare quality these days. Of course there are other men just as thorough as Schmieg in their • various lines of effort but compared with the vast army of toilers In all industries, such men are very scarce. The invention of machinery did much to minimize the human factor in workmanship. The growth of many industries to such huge proportions that workmen were compelled to specialize in some one detail did even more. There is much slipshod work going on in the world and there are many workers who are more Interested in the number of hours they work than they are in mastering all the details of their occupation. Thoroughness in one's work, however, is a quality worth developing. A man who is ambitious to succeed is foolish If he does not first study all the details and all the ramifications of his present task. It also improves workmanship. Genius has been described as nothing else than a capacity for taking infinite pains. Alas, very few workers are geniuses! But, even beyond such reasons for being thorough, there comes a reward in the form of satisfaction that we have done our best and a diversity of Interests that we acquire by exploring and snooping along the lines that touch our own, out of which we can often derive real pleasure. The musician who does not know the history of music, the painter who knows nothing of how paints are made, the farmer who does not study the chemistry of the soil — such people belong to the kingdom of mediocrity. AND THEY USUALLY STAY THERE. "You want Phelco!" Smooth and quiet burning Bright light Steady arc Slow burning rate Long Condenser life Charles W. Phellis & Co. Incorporated 130 West 42nd Street New York SPECIAL ROLL TICKETS Your own special Ticket, any colors, accurately numbered ; every roll guaranteed. Coupon Tickets for PrlM Drawlnge; 5,000 Tor $T.00. Prompt shipments. Cash with the order. Get the samples. Send diagram for Reserved Seat Coupon Tickets, serial or dated. 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