Reel and Slide (Jan-Sep 1919)

■■■wwn 26 REEL and SLIDE | Slides | 1 Questions on Lantern Slide Sub = | jects will be answered by mail if g 1 stamped envelope is enclosed in g 1 addressing this department. | There seems to be some controversy in certain quarters as to the relative value of stereopticon slides and moving pictures in teaching. Though it is true that the moving picture has won many people from the lantern, the writer has failed to find a wholesale movement in this direction. As a matter of fact, it would seem that erstwhile stereopticon users who adopt moving pictures simply add to their present equipment and find a definite use for both mediums. Perhaps this is due in a measure to the fact that there are many more slides available and there is a shortage of films on even the most common branches of church and school study. And while many teachers may use the moving picture when possible, I have found that they seldom consider it as a complete substitute for the slide and either combine the two on a given lecture or use films only upon occasions where good subjects are on hand for illustration of a selected text. Availability must always be a consideration in laying out a course of vital study, at least in these times. While there is plenty of film being made for class room work, it has only recently become available at the exchanges. The Paramount company and the Pathe company, as well as the Educational Films Corporation, are ready to serve schools and churches with any of their current or previous productions and this opens up an extensive library to the teacher. Also, there is the extensive Pathescope library of slow burning film to be had at the Pathescope branches. But the availability of the lantern slide has been in its favor and probably will continue to encourage the use of the stereopticon for some time to come. The writer recently investigated the views of a widely selected group of practical visual instructionists on the question in the introduction of this article and the answers have been varied and interesting. A general summary of views only can be given here. They include the views of ministers, Sunday school leaders, high school teachers, and special teachers: "In geology and metallurgy, upon which subjects there are scarcely any films, we have found the lantern slide to be the best medium. It seems to be able to present greater photographic detail. On the other hand, a film on mining was very effectively used here in connection with lectures on mineralogy, the points of which were brought out, in the main, by means of slides," writes a state university instructor in the Middle West. A rural school agent in Pennsylvania said: "I have found the slide of great value in purely educational work such as agriculture. I find the film most effective in travel and scenery subjects." A New York Sunday school superintendent had this to say: "Biblical film scarcely exists. * * * * there are many excellent slides on Bible subjects. We should prefer the moving picture when it is ready for church work. Until then we shall use the stereopticon." "For class room subjects requiring concentration," reported an Omaha high school instructor, "the slide is most effective." "By reason of its action alone," says a Wisconsin minister, "the film must stand pre-eminent as a teacher. Action attracts and holds attention; action is progress; action is' the order of the day. The slide must become auxiliary in the future but never useless." What types of illuminants may be used with the stereopticon? G. H. Answer: Electricity is desirable for lantern slide projection, but not necessary, as very satisfactory results can be accomplished using acetylene or some other independent form of illuminant. There are two forms, either of which would be satisfactory where electricity is available, one being the old standard, reliable arc lamp, which has been in use for a great many years, and the other the newly developed gasfilled Mazda incandescent lamp. Ampere for ampere of current consumption, the gas-filled Mazda lamp is more efficient than the arc lamp. In most cases it can be attached to the ordinary incandescent socket without the necessity of special wir mil ?— ASK US—? | i, ;!M Mi,. ,i:i:; ::!!; , ! 1 1 , ;. ! i ! i , . ! 1 1 . ;;;:'-,!; .i:: .ii, .,iii,: .mim ..mij.Mi!^ ^ mi:i .mh:., ;iii!;..ii! ...ii,',;,!;,..,!!!!,;,!:!:..!!^. .:M: ,i!;i:::!i::..;ii!,.;i:iiiiL:iu^iiir.? m (A. C. Derr, moving picture supervisor at Camp Dodge, made an address before the Superintendents' Club at Des Moines, Iowa, recently, after which he conducted a "Question and Answer Box," Reel and Slide reprints the discussion in this department as of particular interest.) Question: Question of repair of the films. That is one of the weak points I have found in the use of films. Where films are sent from one school to another, by the time they reach about the third place we find we are unable to use them. Answer: The films will break, sometimes because of improper adjustment of machine or inexperienced operator. It is not much of a task to patch a film. In five minutes I can instruct a person so that he or she can patch films very satisfactorily. That is a very minor objection. Question: Could those instructions be put in printed form so it could be put out to the school men? Answer: Yes. Mr. Roach: If any gentleman is interested in the mechanics of motion pictures, there is a hand book put out by the Richardson Co. which has valuable information as to kind of machines, films, etc Address Chalmers Publishing Company, New York City. It is intended primarily for operators and managers. It takes various machines and explains each one. These, however, are professional, not portable machines. Question: Are these machines you mention large enough to throw a picture forty or fifty feet away? Answer: Yes. These attach to lamp sockets and only pull about 354 or 5 amperes. At Camp Dodge I am putting on an 8-foot picture at 40 to 80 foot throw at the same brilliancy as a 12-foot with a 60-ampere machine. One pulls 5 and the other 60 amperes. Mr. Derr: There are many things that enter into the art of motion pictures. Any persons who wish to have any information on that line, I will be glad to help them any time. Question: Is it necessary to have slides in connection with the motion pictures? Answer: I would under all consideration try to combine the two. You can do some things with a slide that you cannot with a film and also with a film what you cannot with a slide, so it is well to combine the two. The camera will often take more and better detail than a film. I find that the two will go hand in hand. There is no machine made, and never has been, that works equally satisfactorily with slides and films both. The best thing I have found for the slides is this little Victor stereopticon made at Davenport, made for slides alone. Have that for slides and another machine for moving pictures. When you are running, don't run the pictures too fast. I have run them both for class room and for my Sunday evening services. I make one reel answer for an evening service. I want one to run 25 to 30 minutes. Don't make the mistake of getting more than 500 feet for the class room. That is all you need for one lesson. Mr. Roach: If people will give a motion picture machine as much consideration as they do an apparatus in their laboratory, there is no reason why they can't project just as good pictures as they find anywhere. I find the principal thing is to _keep_ the machine clean. If you keep it clean it will give you very little trouble. Mr. Derr: Many films leave film exchanges very poorly inspected, which cause endless trouble. I have had films come to me ready to run from the exchange and have had to make from five to fifty-four patches in a five-reel set. It is an easy thing to patch, but takes time, and they don't always take it. So always inspect your films before running them. What company produced "Little Lord Fauntleroy?" J. H. Answer: Metro Pictures Corporation. • • • I have heard of a special lantern slide made partly of wood. Can you tell me who makes it? Rev. K. L. Peters. Answer: This office has never heard of it. Maybe a reader can inform you. ing (usually required in the use' of an arc lamp) and as a rule it is entirely automatic, requiring no attention whatever. For certain purposes the arc lamp is more satisfactory than the incandescent lamp, but in the majority of instances the latter is to be preferred. The cost of operation is approximately the same, on the basis of a rated life of 100 hours for the incandescent lamp, the current consumption being lower in the incandescent lamp and the cost of the bulb being slightly higher than the cost of carbons required to operate an equivalent length of time with the arc lamp. * * ♦ What is the most convenient way for a small user to get . illuminating gas? A. B. O. Answer: If you have an automobile supply station or garage convenient you can usually make arrangements to borrow a presto-lite tank, and return it after you are through using it, paying only for the gas consumed. Sometimes it is impossible to make such arrangements, in which case you can buy a presto-lite tank, which you can exchange for a full one after it has been emptied, paying the difference in price, or you can purchase a generator and make your own gas, just as you desire. There are several different types of acetylene burners on the market, that which gives the most illumination being generally conceded to be the four-jet acetylene burner backed by a silvered reflector. * * * How much do stereopticons cost? B. M. J. Answer: The cost of a stereopticon, for either electricity or acetylene, ranges from $30 up for a good reliable machjne. The best machines for lantern slide projection are the dissolving instruments, which cost in the neighborhood of $100, depending upon the equipment. It is possible to purchase stereopticons all the way between these two prices. A good first class single machine can be obtained at a price in the neighborhood of $40. * • • A steadily increasing number of public libraries are acquiring slides on various subjects for distribution among churches, clubs and schools in their vicinities and in many cases, notably in Boston, this plan seems to have much to recommend it. It seems particularly the public library's function to supply well chosen educational subjects. In many cases these institutions are able to supply good original material from their prints and books on hand to cover a wide range of demand along literary, scientific and artistic lines.* This material, placed in the hands of a competent slide maker, often makes possible the availability of subject matter not within convenient reach of the average slide house itself. T S. B. Is Your Screen Right? THE best Proi jection machine ever made cannot produce a good picture unless the screen is right. There are elements entering' into the screen question which are unsuspected by one not thoroughly versed in the Motion Picture art — elements that affect the color-results of the picture. Its visibility from all angles, the amount of detail the picture shows, etc. Minusa Screens Among the experts, the Minusa Gold Fibre Screen is the standard by which all are measured. Before being installed, every factor is taken into consideration— distance, angle, current, projector, etc. — and a screen built that will give the very best results. Write for our booklet of screen facts. Supplies of All Kinds We carry a complete stock of motion picture supplies — slides — carbons — mazda lamps — projectors — etc., etc. Prompt shipments assured. Send for our latest Bulletin — ESCO NEWS. Exhibitors Supply Co. 845 S. WABASH AVE., Famous PlayersLasky Bldg., Chicago J