Showmen's Trade Review (1945)

48 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW October 13, 1945 THE IN A NUTSHELL The postwar wraps are off. Much new projection equipment was unveiled at the dealers and manufacturers convention in Chicago last week. Now the only bottleneck standing in the way of early delivery seems to be the necessary dies to start punching out the finished product. Outlook at this time seems to be that quantity deliveries will not be possible, before mid1946. Speaking of bottlenecks and Chicago, there were bottlenecks in transportation, bottlenecks in banquet tickets (the turn-out was so great that they sold all that had been printed and were forced to write many on any cardboard the committee could get their hands on), bottlenecks in hotel accommodations (despite every effort on the part of the Edgewater Beach Hotel management), bottlenecks in World Series tickets (with scalpers getting a hundred bucks according to the Chicago Times) and for some, bottlenecks that kept the convention celebrationists up to all hours of the night. The only bottleneck that couldn't be handled financially was the shortness of time. . This rascal kept us from getting around to all the dealers and manufacturers for a handshake and a chat about their product and plans for distribution. To those we missed we can only say "So Sorry," you're on our must see list for the next session. Ray Colvin, secretary of TEDPA (dealers), and Oscar Neu, secretary of TESMA (manufacturers), confronted by a convention which expanded far beyond the fondest expectations of either organization, did their level best to make the event a bang-up affair. With interest on the part of dealers and the industry at large running at an all time high as a result of diminishing wartime restrictions, new products announcements by theatre equipment manufacturers, recognition of the need for re-examination of sales policy and the formulation of plans for unity between both groups, the success of the meeting was assured. Exhibits were of necessity limited in many cases to hand-built samples, not yet in production, with many manufacturers in a position where they could only talk about their plans. Next year a full trade showing of equipment is projected. Let us hope that one of this year's painful bottlenecks, press relations, are given more adequate attention from the planning stage. Under this year's conditions all parties did the best they could and in the words of Ray Colvin, next year can be "bigger and better than ever." Incidentally, E. Allan Williford, vice-president of Ansco, retiring president of TESMA, {Continued on Page 56) SMPE Program Will Preserve U. S. Lead by D. E. HYNDMAN President, SMPE Many articles have been published extolling the miracles of scientific and engineering progress made because of research and development done to produce new and effective materials for World War II. Some have stressed the panacea that will exist now that peacetime has arrived pointing out special new gadgets made of plastic, light-weight metals, special new-type materials, etc. ; even to predicting the early availability of wrist watch radios, book-size television sets, gadgets that do all housework, and even atomic powered automobiles. Perhaps some of these Buck Rogers developments will materialize, but let us not be led to expect too much — to expect more than the scientist, engineer, and producer are capable of giving. Let us remember that reliability and quality of performance require careful study, often considerable time, and ample proving tests. This type of careful study and investigation of problems or projects is fully representative of the high engineering standards practiced in the past and planned for the future by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers. The society is an engineering organizat:on of a group of individuals associated in general partnership to conduct a business paying no salaries to officers or members, but operating on a nonmonetary principle to recommend engineering procedures, to guide to some extent research and development, to encourage improvement, and to lead standardization in the motion picture industry. From the initial organization of the society in 1916 it has led the motion picture industry to accept technical improvements that have been major contributions for continually increasing the efficiency of operation in production, distribution, and exhibition, and patronage at the box-office. In cooperation with those interested, the society plans : (1) Group engineering at an accelerated rate on problems and projects directly related to production, distribution, exhibition, film, equipment, accessories, etc. (2) Further detailed work on the inter-relations of the television art and the entertainment field of motion pictures, involving such specific projects as: studies of frequency allocation and band width requirements in rela (Continued on Page 52) Test Films Support Inventor's Claim of Stereoscopic Effect Motion pictures having the quality of thirddimension effect but produced by means of "single-image" photography and standard projection equipment has moved nearer to realization on the basis of results shown in New York recently of newer attempts produced with the Garutso Optical Balance lens system. This optical invention, developed by Stephen E. Garutso, has had other demonstrations at special showings both in New York and California. Many who witnessed the recent New York screening of Garutso's films are of the opinion that the practically unlimited focal depth of the inventor's lenses produce an effect that falls so little short of true stereoscopic screen results, that for all practical purposes this new more simple approach to third-dimension illusion will serve the purpose for the commercial screen. For practical purposes in accordance with present notions at least, the inventor has succeeded in producing stereoscopic pictures by application of a new principal which effects great focal depth in his photography. The images are sharp from 40 inches to infinity, the inventor claims, and the films he showed appear to bear him out most convincingly in this claim. One of the most interesting facts about the invention is the range of sizes in which the lenses can be made. Garutso claims it is possible to make the new optical-balance lenses in sizes small enough to fit the standard objective lens barrel of any camera — still, motion picture, television, etc. This, plus the further claim that, the device can be turned out with the present (Continued on Page 57) Stephen E. Garutso