The Nickelodeon (Feb-Sep 1909)

July, 1909. THE NICKELODEON. 19 A Ne^v Process of Coloring Films By David S. HulfisL THE colored film has the most interest of them all. The high art films, the comic films, the instructive industrial fihns, and the beautiful travel films with their revelations of scenery heretofore hidden to all of us but the moneyed traveler, all of them lose interest to the average patron of the nickel theater when compared with a "colored" film. The audience literally "sits up and takes notice" when the first scene of a colored picture film flashes upon the screen. The little theater in the residence district has but to advertise upon his billboard, "Colored Film Tonight," to increase his door receipts. Every patron wishes there were more of them, and wonders how the coloring is done. The coloring of films by hand is an expensive and altogether rather an unsatisfactory process; the coloring of films by machinery has been kept from the knowledge of the general public ; these two facts together have kept the number of colored pictures down to a pretty small supply. The production by an inventor residing in Paf-is, France, of a machine for coloring long strips of moving picture film may tend to increase the supply of colored pictures which will be oflfered to the public, and the issuance of a patent to him will enable the public to gain some little knowledge of the methods employed in the work of coloring films by machinery. The patent is illustrated by a drawing which shows the principle of the machine for coloring the films. The drawing is reproduced in the illustration accompa n y i n g this article. In addition to the structural parts of the machine, and the film to be colored, the drawing has upon it a number of labels, or numerals, indicating the diflferent parts of the machine, and the film, etc., so that the dififerent parts may be pointed out by number. The principle of coloring is that of stenciling the color upon the film. The method of making the stencil is not revealed in the patent. It seems sufficient for the inventor to say that he uses a stencil, and to leave it to the imagination of the reader to produce the stencil. One of the requirements of the machine, therefore, is a stencil strip, which shall be as long as the strip of picture film, and which shall have cut in it holes corresponding to the parts of each of the little pictures which are to receive a coloring of one color of ink or dye. If the film is to have several colors, as usually is the case with a good hand-colored film, it seems necessary to have several stencil strips, one for each of the colors, and to use them one after another, until all of the colors have been put upon the film, one at a time. Having the stencil and the film to be colored, each in a roll, the roll of stencil is placed in the machine at i"? and the roll of film to be colored is placed at 24. The ends then are taken through the guide blocks 2~,, the stencil band being shown by the dotted line 2 and the film to be colored being shown by the solid line j. These are passed then together over the large roller or drum i. Just above this drum there is a short endless band or ribbon 21. This, the inventor tells us, should be of velA'et, so that it offers a soft brushlike surface which is well suited to pass through the holes in the stencil band and touch the film to be colored, which lies just underneath. The band 21, which is really an ink brush, runs over three rollers, and runs in a direction opposite to the direction of the film and stencil band, the directions of the movement of the parts being shown by the arrows close to the different bands ; thus there is a considerable brushing eft'ect between the inking band and the film to be colored wherever a hole in the stencil band permits the brush-band 21 to get through to touch the film. This charges the film with ink or dye, coloring it in every spot where color is desired, that is to say, everywhere that a hole has been made in making the stencil band 2. The supply of ink is taken from the tank 50 and is carried first upon a short belt 2'/; it is taken from the belt 2y and put upon the inking ribbon 21 by the revolving brush 26. The whole device is driven by a belt, and runs continuously, tho teeth upon the drum i keeping the stencil band and the film to be colored traveling constantly at the same speed identically, and keeping them always in reg'ister. The coloring of a picture film always increases it popularity with the theater patrons, and this machine which offers promise of an increased, number of colored pictures for our theaters in the future should be welcomed as a decided step in advance, and as a very acceptable addition to the moving picture industry. New Machine for Coloring Films. Will Test Pictures At a recent meeting of the directors of the Film Exhibitors' Association of Ohio, it was decided to hold the next reg'ular meeting of the organization at Cedar Point, Sandusky, ]\x\y 14 to 18. The organization, which was only recently organized in Columbus, has been enlarged considerably by the addition of new members from all over the state. Chief among the items of business which will be taken up by the convention at Cedar Point will be the exhibition of films in a specially constructed hall, by both the Motion Picture Patents Company and the independent film manufacturers. The purpose of the exhibition will be to show the delegates to the convention the merits of the rival films. The Michigan Film Exhibitors' Association also will meet at Cedar Point at the same time, and the two organizations Avill be affiliated. A national association mav eventuallv be formed.