The Nickelodeon (Jan-Mar 1911)

134 THE NICKELODEON. Vol. V, No. 5. run at a reasonable rate of speed than three poor ones run so fast that the people fairly fly around. On the other hand you cannot run the machine too slow if you are using an automatic fire shutter as it is liable to drop and shut off the light from the screen. Most machines run a foot of film to each turn of the crank. If the crank is turned from sixty to seventy turns per minute the machine will run that many feet of film per minute. This gives you from fifteen to eighteen minutes for one thousand feet of film. For ordinary scenes this is about the correct speed. Chinese Musicians for Chinese Pictures Six Chinese musicians were among the attractions at a municipal concert in the Auditorium at Denver, Colo., recently. They supplied native music during the presentation of moving pictures, which consisted of views of China. The Celestials appeared at the entertainment at the invitation of Mayor Speer. Conductor Bellstedt lost some weight in trying to teach the Chinese to conclude playing at the moment the pictures stopped. But musicians cannot be made over in a minute. It was necessary for them to play the piece to the end regardless of the pictures, which did not hold out as long as the music. "One of the musicians had a fine dishpan," said Captain S. L. Phillips, commissioner of highways, to Mayor Speer. "He managed to make pretty good music out of it. "I also liked that fellow who played a squeaky wind instrument. He was an artist. His music would have made a well man better. But the effect of the rrvpving pictures was enhanced by the Chinese music. They haven't as many notes as we have, but they get there just the same when it comes to music." The concert was one of a series in which Japanese pictures were given with Japanese music, Scotch pictures with Scotch music, etc. Motion Pictures of State Fair Secretary Brueggerhoff, of the Louisiana State Fair, is negotiating with the Industrial Moving Picture Company of Chicago with a view of having moving pictures made during the next fair, for the purpose of advertising the state's resources throughout the country at the various lands shows and other gatherings of a like nature. The Industrial Moving Picture Company states that the pictures taken of the fair will be circulated throughout the country free of charge after the films are made, and as this cost is not very heavy, it is certain that this company will be engaged for the purpose. It is the purpose of the State Fair association to have pictures made of the interior of the different buildings, showing the exhibits and the crowd of sightseers, and also pictures of the live stock and poultry exhibits. This will show the state fair just as it is, and will be one of the greatest methods of advertising the state that could be devised. Another Minister Converted "The church is no longer considered the gateway to heaven or the wall against hell. It has gradually become nearly as much an educational as a religious institution. I have tried stereopticon lectures, and they are as much out of date as the old style of preaching about the fires of hades. Now I am going to start showing moving pictures." With this statement, Rev. Clark S. Thomas, pastor of the First Universalist church, Elgin, 111., told of his plans to convert a part of the church into a place of amusement for his parishioners and the public in general. Mr. Thomas has already secured a motion picture machine. "When motion pictures first became popular," he said, "the nickelodeon was shunned by good people as a place of cheap amusement, where shows of a questionable kind were given. Today we have to recognize the moving picture machine as a great educator." Milwaukee Regulations Milwaukee moving picture theaters of more than one story are to be of noncombustible materials throughout, if an ordinance submitted to the city attorney is passed. There are to be three exits and as many more as there are aisles. No more than ten seats in a row are to be allowed. Aisles are to be at least three feet wide and are to lead directly to doorways. No heating apparatus is to be allowed on the stage. The booth in which the lantern is to be installed is to be made of two inch noncombustible material and closed except for doors and vents. All wires are to be in conduits. Draperies and mirrows are to be dispensed with. If the ordinance is adopted it is to be part of the new building code. Moving picture houses now in existence are not to be affected materially, but all newbuildings are to comply with the new provisions. Moving Photographs The oft-expressed wish to see ourselves as others see us has been granted by the invention or rather the adaptation of the moving-picture machine. The machine is of French origin invented by M. Lucien Rieffel, of Paris, and it brings cinematography within reach of the amateur. The machine does not aim at reproducing elaborate scenes, but it takes animated portraits, and thus enables anyone to keep a lasting record of his friends, not a rigid portrait, but one which gives familiar and characteristic gestures and with the very appearance of life. The outfit consists of two pieces of apparatus, the photographic and that for the direct inspection or projection of the positive discs, the succession of which produces the illusion of motion. Theater Law Will Be Enforced The chief state factor}.inspector of Pennsylvania, John C. Delaney, has announced vigorous enforcement of the act of 1909 relating to moving picture theaters, the constitutionality of which was upheld by the Supreme Court recently. The decision was handed down in the case of the A. L. Roumfort Company, managers of the Hippodrome, of Harrisburg, which brought an injunction suit to restrain Delaney from compelling it to widen its aisles, etc. Judge Kunkel refused the injunction and the higher court sustained him. The Idippodrome was ordered to comply with the original order, and Delanev says similar action will be taken everywhere.