Practical cinematography and its applications (1913)

200 PRACTICAL CINEMATOGRAPHY might be termed a "range compensation." This end was achieved by making the figures of varying sizes, according to their distance from the marksman, so that a target of varying size was presented. Thus in one case the man would appear in the foreground of the picture and be of relatively large size, corresponding to the target he would offer at a distance of 100 yards. Then he would be shown somewhat smaller to represent 500 yards, and so on, until at the higher distances he offered a very small target indeed. From the military point of view the incidents were made as exciting as possible, and closely analogous to actual war conditions. As a case in point, the man on the screen would be shown behind cover, and aiming directly at the man on the firing line. His movements could easily be followed. He would be seen to expose himself slightly to sight his rifle and then to fire. The effect upon the marksman firing at the target was thrilling in its apparent realism, because he un- consciously developed the feeling that he had got to shoot first, and straight, or he would be hit. The self-recording system enabled him to judge whether he had got his shot well home, while the judge could decide whether the marksman or the photographic enemy had fired first. The judicious selection of subjects for portrayal upon the screen undoubtedly served to develop