Reel and Slide (Jan-Sep 1919)

REEL and SLIDE 35 The Idea Developed in Prizma Pictures By H. G. STOKES, Service Manager of Prizma, Inc. During the past few months there has quietly come into the motion picture industry a new idea. It has come in, not as a crude, undeveloped attempt at improvement, but as a lusty, practical achievement ready to take its place with other great accomplishments. The development of the Prizma process of color motion photogW. V. D. Kelley traPhy is the result of J the accumulated efforts of a group of men standing high in the financial world who have given of their resources in order that a new process might be developed that would bring about a distinct advancement in the art and science of making motion pictures. In the development of this idea, an experimental laboratory was established and technical experts in the field of optics, chemistry and color motion photography were employed to work out the solution. To provide subject material for experimentation and to provide negatives around which could be built subjects of high entertainment and educational value, eight camera men were engaged and trained and sent to different parts of the world to secure subjects. In the meantime, in the experimental laboratory in Jersey City, a staff of experts under the direction of Mr. William Van Doren Kelley worked night and day to overcome one by one the almost endless number of large and small technical problems that had to be solved in order to make possible a motion picture film that would re-create on the screen Nature as she actually appears to the human eye. A finished Prizma film has photographic emulsion and images on both sides and colors can be seen by holding the film in the hand. The film is projected in any standard projecting machine at the normal rate of soeed of 16 pictures per second and no attachments or special lighting arrangements of any kind arc required in projecting. In making Prizma pictures all scenes are photographed in specially designed cameras built in the Prisma laboratories. The scenes are taken through a series of color filters which register the actual color values in the negative. The negatives for Prizma films are made on panchromatic emulsion, which means that it is sensitive to all colors, thereby differing from the usual black and white negative, which lacks red and orange sensitiveness, and these negatives are developed in total darkness. The material used for positives is a cellulo'd base, covered with a sensitive emulsion on both sides. It is printed with all of the pictures representing the greens and blues on one side. On the opposite side all of the pictures representing red and orange are printed. The reds and greens are in register opposite one another as are the oranges and blues. After development and further chemical treatment, the images appear in their natural colors and are ready for projection. The coloring is produced by the aid of dyes, the film being treated so as to absorb the dyes selectively. One development that is of particular interest is the method for rectifying the various degrees of luminosity of color. In order to overcome the tendency of various colors to dominate the picture to the exclusion of other colors and to insure projection of pictures that showed the actual colors as they appear in nature, it was necessary to invent an equalizer which stabilized the degrees of luminosity and insured Prizma pictures having the naturalness of actual scenes as they appear to the human eye. In viewing Prizma pictures on the screen several interesting advances in the art of making motion pictures are noticeable. Prizma pictures have a depth and a stereoscopic appearance induced by the color that in some instances gives a remarkable relief. So true to life are they that shadows passing in front of the sun and causing different degrees of sunlight on the negative are clearly registered in the film and bring out the actual colors and light values as they were present at the time the picture was taken. To use an expression of one exhibitor, "Prizma pictures always seem to have sunshine in them." Another exhibitor expressed it in a different way when he said, "When I see Prizma pictures I do not get the effect of looking at a picture as I do with the black and white. Rather I seem to be looking into the picture." Prizma, Incorporated, is now rapidly enlarging its plant facilities in order to meet the demand for prints that was created after the first showing, and it is expected that in a short time all sections of the country will be able to see this latest achievement in the motion picture industry. Mr. Kelley, who is principally responsible for the development of the Prizma processes, has been an investigator and a student in the field of color motion photography for nearly 20 years. After much experimenting the incandescent lamp used in the Premier Pathescope has been changed for another, perfected by the Edison Lamp Works. The new bulb operates at fourteen volts and four amperes and gives a screen brilliancy several times greater than the old style lamp. The Project-A-Lite Transformer is absolutely dependable for Motion Picture Projection purposes. It is accurate in its performance and reliable in its service. Insures positive regulation of amperage. The Project-A-Lite is now being used with Powers, Simplex and Motiograph projectors and is giving real satisfaction. One Transformer is sufficient for two motion picture machines. Takes proper care of voltage ranges of from 90 to 130 volts and delivers other 20 or 30 amperes, at 30 volts on the secondary side. The Project-A-Lite Adapter is the newest and best adapter on the market today. We say it with confidence. It is the only one that can be adapted to your old lamp-house and give you satisfactory results. All adjustments of the lamp are made just like the carbons were adjusted to position, use the same handles for the same purpose. Costs less and works better than others. Write us for information and catalog. Dealers, Attention. MOTION PICTURE PROJECTOR CO. 35 South Dearborn Street CHICAGO. ILL.