World Film and Television Progress (1937-1938)

TECHNICAL TIT-BITS Cleaning oil and dirt from film is quite a simple matter, but care has to be exercised. Two large pieces of soft clean rag and a bottle of methylated spirit is all that is required. Soak one piece of the material in the spirit, fold it, and proceed to draw the film through the folds under even pressure, in about three-foot lengths at a time. Do not allow the wet film to lie in folds, but immediately it is dry, polish both surfaces with the dry material and rewind on to another spool. It is absolutely important that the surface of the material be changed after each pull through of the film, otherwise scratching will result from the multiplication of dirt and grit on the surface. * * * * The indiscriminate cutting of a film when in the hands of a certain local cinema, nearly caused a riot. Finding a torn part of the film, the operator quite rightly cut it out with the scissors and of course a part of the sound track bearing a syllable of a word spoken went with it. It happened to be a Tom Walls' picture where he called his partner "a blasted fool,'.' but unfortunately the pronunciation was altered to "bastered fool" by the cutting of the "L" — Oh, hell ! * * * * When rewinding a film always hold the film between the left thumb and first finger, putting light pressure on the outer edges of the film only. Never allow the fingers to come in contact with the emulsion surface as this scratches it. In a short while, no matter how fast you rewind, you will be able to detect whether the click you felt was a join, torn perforation, or a half-undone join. Never tighten up the film on a spool, but keep an even pressure on the " free " spool throughout the process of rewinding. Tightening up of the film on the spool by "skidding it," scratches the surfaces from beginning to end. * * * * Never turn out the lights when commencing a film show until such time as the picture is on the screen and sound is heard. This serves many purposes and obviates many risks and spoilt shows. * * * * If you lose sound during projection, do not stop the projector, the picture itself is better than nothing, and secondly, how are you to know you have rectified the trouble when you cannot get sound until the machine is running? * * * * If you ever experience "rattles" coming from your loudspeaker, examine the speaker cabinet, such noises can usually be traced to foreign bodies such as loose screws or particles of grit responding to the frequences by jumping up and down within the cabinet. * * * * I was once called on a service visit to a cinema that had the "Squeals." Intermittently coming above the sound could be heard something likened only to that of a cat's cry. By a process of elimination, including that of a search for a cat in the loudspeakers, J discovered that a microphonic exciting lamp was responsible. A loose filament in the lamp was transmitting the microphonic noises to the photo electric cell, and for your guidance, many strange noises can result from this source. The sound effect of a running train is often required, and a simple and effective way to do this is by cutting the track with a penknife at the point where the needle runs round and round in the centre of a gramophone record when it has finished playing. The cuts can be placed at even or uneven distances apart to give that "bom-e-debom" effect of the carriage wheels passing over the joints in the lines. Just for amusement, take a strip of film on which the sound track is "vacant" and with a fine pen, draw in an imaginary track with indian ink. Play it back through your reproducer and you will soon find a means of amusing your friends. Here is a formula for non-flam cement (not my own) ; one part each of glacial acetic acid, amyl acetate, and acetic ether, it is quite cheap too, but for convenience and reliable service try "Cinecraft" as sold in small bottles, once a joint is sealed with this cement, it never parts. What is a "Ghost"? No, I don't mean the one that creeps into your bedroom, but the one that creeps on to your projected picture in the form of extended white streaks over the blacks. The cause of this is incorrect timing of the flicker shutter, which allows a part of the "moving" film to be projected to the screen instead of the "cover blade" of the shutter, cutting off the light as the film is being drawn to the stationary position in the aperture for projection. It is actually forward or backward in relation to the film move, thus projecting part of the moving film. The shutter is adjustable for this reason, and instructions for setting, to clear a ghost, are covered in the maintenance manuals. It is rumoured that the Western Electric Company are producing a loudspeaker that will reproduce up to 14,000 cycles and which is to be no larger than a tea cup! But if they cannot record these fourteen thousand cycles on film at Busch House I know they can pohtograph them at the Hercules works, for after all, a cycle is a cycle whether it is chromium-plated or not !!! If there's anything you want to know, write to David Myers about it, c/o "W.F.N." and enclose a stamped addressed envelope. Non-flam is Flam to Cardiff but . . . From the great City Hall, Cardiff, I learn that all non-flam 16 mm. film is regarded as inflammable and as such is deemed to be within the scope of the Cinematograph Act of 1909 as issued by the Home Office under Statutory Rules and orders 1923, No. 983. Notwithstanding the fact that the Home Office itself still regards 16 mm. and acetate base film to be "slow burning" and therefore outside the limits of the Act, Cardiff has ideas of its own on the matter. Whether such non-theatrical shows be held in licensed or unlicensed halls makes no difference, all shows must be notified to the authorities not less than seven days in advance of the actual performance. A visit follows from an official of the Fire Brigade, who will dictate what must be done to ensure safety and what must not be done. You will be told that the shows must be held only in rooms or halls on the street level, that the projectors must be run off an alternative circuit from that of the lighting in the room in question, quite good points, but when it comes to totally enclosing the projector and limiting the amount of film to be shown in the programme because of fire risks — well, that's just going too far. Whether the local fire authorities have discovered a way to fire such film on the projector or on the floor I do not know, but I seriously doubt it. In the commercial cinemas where they are using highly inflammable nitrate film, and where even under the strictest regulations, fires do occur occasionally, one can understand strict supervision and control, and it leaves me wondering why Cardiff does not strike a new level in this respect. Might I suggest that they provide the projectionists with asbestos suits and brass helmets? And, perhaps, it would be as well to provide the young lady ushers with tin knickers and corrugated iron pullovers. Because, after all, everything will burn or melt when sufficient heat is applied — even steel will become a flaming mass of molten metal — but is it to be supposed for one moment, that non-flam film will burn at all, especially under the conditions in which it is used? It is simply amazing that in a local Woolworths Stores one can still purchase highly inflammable celluloid rattles and toys which are capable collectively of cremating hundreds and thousands of innocent babies all for 3d. or 6d. "Yes, sir," even in Cardiff itself, where they strive to curb the activities of the reds — whites and blues, including the nudist fans themselves — from showing their films. But for Cardiff's babies ... a Viking's funeral is a fitting memorial. Acoustical conditions at high altitudes are such as to enable the recording of voices on film at much greater distances from the microphone. There is practically no distortion, background or extraneous noise to contend with, and certainly unlimited scope for perfect noiseless recording. So why not pump the air from the stratosphere into a sound stage and do the job properh? 48