Technique of the photoplay (1916)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

CHAPTER XL 201 closed. As she enters, the, diaphragm is opened to the proper point and it looks as though the candle had lighted up the scene. In the first of the two dressing room scenes, when Bess puts out the lights, the mercury lights still burn, but the diaphragm is closed, getting the. effect of darkness. In the second version, in which there is a light on the mimic stage against which the figure of Hicks is silhouetted, it is not possible to diaphragm down wathout cutting down this light as well. In this case it will be necessary to rearrange the lighting circuits so that a single switch may cut out all of the lights except a pair that are just outside of the door and hidden by the scenery. Now at the proper moment the cameraman does not touch his diaphragm, but the electrician throws the switch and the lights die out. Since this rearrangement may give trouble, you must see to it that the effect will repay the labor. 20. Irising also employs some form of iris diaphragm, but this time the iris is in front of the lens and not between the combinations. This cuts down the area of picture on the screen, but not the amount of illumination on the part of the picture shown. A slight closing will merely cut off the corners of the picture. This can be increased at will. On the screen the effect is generally seen as a full frame vanishing to a mere dot or, in reverse, a dot enlarging to full frame. It is purely an ornamental effect, not possessed of any particular sig- nificance and its use should be left to the director's judgment. It may some day be used entirely in place of the fade vision, and since its use slightly vignettes or softens the edges of the picture it would be par- ticularly appropriate for such use. It is not yet used so much for visions as for the purpose of giving a relief from the usual oblong frame. 21. Double exposure refers to the exposure of the same film more than once. This may be done by passing it through the camera twice or by passing it through the printing machine more than once, chang- ing the negative each time. This is double printing. In the camera, half of the film may be exposed the first time and the other half on the second trip through, or the entire film may be acted upon each time. If the diaphragm is opened or closed as the exposures are made, then it is known as a dissolve, which will be explained more fully presently. It may be used to permit a player to enact two roles. Sometimes the second exposure will be of a single figure. In this work a "cave" of black cloth is used against which the player works. A black velvet curtain is sometimes used, but even dead black velvet will reflect some light and the cave alone will give absolute blackness. It is merely a huge .box frame lined with black cloth on top. bottom, sides and back. 22. Where the film is passed through the printer twice it is more usual to call this double printing than double exposure. To show the use of double printing, perhaps it is desired to have an interior set through the window of which is seen a particular landscape. Either the scenery must be taken to this point, a stage built and a scene