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Transcriber's note:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (italics).
Page 151 Illustration Fig 9 contains an alphabetical list of components with "F" designating "Clock" and small "F" designating "Film". This latter designation for "Film" has been indicated in the text by "=F=".
PRACTICAL CINEMATOGRAPHY AND ITS APPLICATIONS
* * * * *
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
Price 6_s._ net each.
MOVING PICTURES: HOW THEY
ARE MADE AND WORKED.
LIGHTSHIPS AND LIGHTHOUSES.
THE STEAMSHIP CONQUEST OF
THE WORLD.
THE RAILWAY CONQUEST OF
THE WORLD.
LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN.
* * * * *
By permission of the Motograph Co. HOW TO TAKE MOVING-PICTURES OF WILD ANIMALS IN SAFETY. Messrs. Newman built a huge dummy cow fifteen feet in height of papier-mâché. The operator stands inside with his camera and the pictures are taken through a small hinged door. With this "property" dangerous animals can be approached closely.
PRACTICAL CINEMATOGRAPHY AND ITS APPLICATIONS
by
FREDERICK A. TALBOT
Author of "Moving Pictures" etc.
London MCMXIII
William Heinemann
Copyright.
PREFACE
This volume has been written with the express purpose of assisting the amateur--the term is used in its broadest sense as a distinction from the salaried, attached professional worker--who is attracted towards cinematography. It is not a technical treatise, but is written in such a manner as to enable the tyro to grasp the fundamental principles of the art, and the apparatus employed in its many varied applications.
While it is assumed that the reader has practised ordinary snap-shot and still-life work, and thus is familiar with the elements of photography, yet the subject is set forth in such a manner as to enable one who never has attempted photography to take moving-pictures.
At the same time it is hoped that the volume may prove of use to the expert hand, by introducing him to what may be described as the higher branches of the craft. The suggestions and descriptions concerning these applications may prove of value to any who may be tempted to labour in one or other of the various fields mentioned.
In the preparation of this volume I have received valuable assistance from several friends who have been associated intimately with the cinematographic art from its earliest days:--J. Bamberger, Esq., of the Motograph Company, Limited, James Williamson, Esq., of the Williamson Kinematograph Company, Limited, Kodak Limited, Messrs. Jury, Limited, and Monsieur Lucien Bull, the assistant-director of the Marey Institute, to whom I am especially indebted for facilities to visit that unique institution, and the investigation at first hand of its varied work, the loan of the photographs of the many experiments which have been, and still are being, conducted at the French "Cradle of Cinematography," and considerable assistance in the preparation of the text.
FREDERICK A. TALBOT.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. ATTRACTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF THE ART 1 II. THE PRINCIPLES OF CINEMATOGRAPHY 13 III. THE MOVING-PICTURE CAMERA AND ITS MECHANISM 21 IV. THE CAMERA AND HOW TO USE IT 35 V. HAND CAMERA CINEMATOGRAPHY 51 VI. DEVELOPING THE FILM 62 VII. PRINTING THE POSITIVE 79 VIII. ABERRATIONS OF ANIMATED PHOTOGRAPHY 94 IX. SLOWING-DOWN RAPID MOVEMENTS 108 X. SPEEDING-UP SLOW MOVEMENTS 124 XI. CONTINUOUS CINEMATOGRAPHIC RECORDS 135 XII. RADIO-CINEMATOGRAPHY: HOW THE X-RAYS ARE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MOVING-PICTURE CAMERA 147 XIII. COMBINING THE MICROSCOPE AND THE ULTRA-MICROSCOPE WITH THE MOVING-PICTURE CAMERA 161 XIV. MICRO-MOTION STUDY: HOW INCREASED WORKSHOP EFFICIENCY IS OBTAINABLE WITH MOVING-PICTURES 174 XV. THE MOTION PICTURE AS AN AID TO SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION 185 XVI. THE MILITARY VALUE OF THE CINEMATOGRAPH 197 XVII. THE PREPARATION OF EDUCATIONAL FILMS 209 XVIII. PHOTO-PLAYS AND HOW TO WRITE THEM 224 XIX. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN STAGE PRODUCTIONS 238 XX. WHY NOT NATIONAL CINEMATOGRAPH LABORATORIES? 248
INDEX 259
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING
PAGE
How to take Moving-pictures of Wild Animals in safety Frontispiece A Moving-picture Expedition into the Indian Jungle 4 Polar Bear Diving 5 A Lion and Lioness at Lunch 10 Caught! 11 Operator and Camera buried in a Hole 14 Making Moving-pictures of Wild Rabbits 14 Nest of King Regulus, showing curious Suspension 15 Mother King Regulus feeding her Young 15 The Jury Moving-picture Camera 24 The Williamson Topical Camera and Tripod 25 The Williamson Camera threaded for Use 42 Lens of the Williamson Camera 43 Adjustable Shutter of the Jury Camera 43 The "Aeroscope" Moving-picture Hand Camera 52 Compressed Air Reservoirs of the "Aeroscope" Camera 53 Lens, Shutter, Mechanism and Gyroscope 56 Loading the "Aeroscope" Camera 57 Mr. Cherry Kearton steadying himself upon a Precipice 58 Mr. Cherry Kearton slung over a Cliff 58 Vulture preparing to Fly 59 A Well-equipped Dark Room showing Arrangement of the Trays 64 Winding the Developing Frame 65 Film transferred from Developing Frame to Drying Drum 72 Film Wound on Frame and placed in Developing Tray 73 The Jury Combined Camera and Printer 73 The Williamson Printer 84 Water Beetle attacking a Worm 85 Marey's Apparatus for taking Rapid Movements 112 Cinematographing the Beat of a Pigeon's Wing 113 First Marey Apparatus for Cinematographing the Opening of a Flower 128 First Motion Pictures of an Opening Flower 129 Development of a Colony of Marine Organisms 129 Continuous Moving-picture Records of Heart-beats 136 Continuous Moving-pictures of Heart-beats of an Excited Person 137 Continuous Cinematography--Palpitations of a Rabbit's Heart 142 Stero-motion Orbit of a Machinist's Hand 143 Lines of Light indicating to-and-fro hand Movements 143 A wonderful X-ray Film made by M. J. Carvallo 148 Moving X-ray Pictures of the Digestion of a Fowl 149 Stomach and Intestine of a Trout 152 Digestive Organs of the Frog 152 Lizard Digesting its Food 152 X-ray Moving-pictures of the Bending of the Knee 153 X-ray Film of the Opening of the Hand 153 Micro-Cinematograph used at Marey Institute for investigating minute Aquatic Life 164 Micro-cinematography: The Proboscis of the Blow Fly 165 Micro-cinematograph used at the Marey Institute 170 One of Dr. Comandon's Galvanic Experiments with Paramoecia 171 Micro-cinematography: Blow Fly eating Honey 176 The Ingenious Gilbreth Clock 177 Rack, showing Disposition of Component Parts, for Test 177 Film of Workman assembling Machine 182 Film of Rack and Bench, Floor marked off into Squares, and Clock 182 Cinematographing a Man's Work against Time 183 Moving-pictures of a Steam Hammer Ram 188 Dr. Füch's Apparatus for taking Moving-pictures of the Operations of a Steam Hammer 189 Wonderful Apparatus devised by Mr. Lucien Bull for taking 2,000 Pictures per second 190 Moving-pictures of the Ejection of a Cartridge from an Automatic Pistol 191 Motion Photographs of the Splintering of a Bone by a Bullet 191 Soldiers Firing at the "Life Target" 204 Front View of the "Life Target" showing Screen Opening 205 Screen Mechanism of the "Life Target" 206 Cinematographing Hedge-row Life under Difficulties 207 Moorhen Sitting on her Nest 212 The Young Chick pierces the Shell 212 Chick Emerging from the Shell 213 Newly Hatched Chick struggling to its Feet 213 Chick, Exhausted by its Struggles, Rests in the Sun 214 The Chick takes to the Water 214 Fight between a Lobster and an Octopus 215 Story of the Water Snail 215 The Head of the Tortoise 218 The Hawk Moth 218 Snake Shedding its Skin or "Slough" 219 The Snake and its Shed Slough 219 Exterior View of Dummy Cow 226 Mr. Frank Newman and Camera hidden within Tree Trunk 227 Lizard with Spider in its Mouth 240 Digestive Organs and Eggs of a Water Flea 241 Moving-picture Naturalist and the Lizard at Home 241 A Novel "Hide," with Camera Fifteen Feet above Ground 250 "Hide" Uncovered showing Working Platform 251
IN TEXT
FIG. PAGE
1. Mechanism of Camera showing Threading of Film 28 2. The "Pin" Frame 67 3. The First Picture of the Four-spoke Wheel 97 4. Apparent Stillness of Spokes while Wheel is Moving 98 5. Apparent Backward Motion of Spokes while Wheel is Running Forwards 99 6. When Wheel is seen to be Moving Naturally 100 7. Curious Illusion of seeing Twice the Number of Spokes in the Wheel 102 8. Mechanism of the Noguès Camera 115 9. The Ingenious Radio-cinematographic Apparatus devised by Monsieur M. J. Carvallo 151 10. Dr. Comandon's Radio-cinematographic Apparatus 157
PRACTICAL CINEMATOGRAPHY
CHAPTER I
ATTRACTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF THE ART
Profit and pleasure combine to win recruits for the art of animated photography. As an entertainment offered to the public, the moving-pictures have had no rival. Their popularity has been remarkable and universal. It increases daily, and, since we are only now beginning to see the magnitude of what the cinematograph can effect, it is not likely to diminish. This development has stirred the ambition of the amateur or independent photographer because the field is so vast, fertile, and promising. Remunerative reward is obtainable practically in every phase of endeavour so long as the elements of novelty or originality are manifest. The result is that it is attracting one and all. Animated photography can convey so fascinating and convincing a record of scenes and events that many persons--sportsmen, explorers, and travellers--make use of it.
From the commercial point of view the issue is one of magnetic importance. In all quarters there is an increasing demand for films of prominent topical interest, either of general or local significance. The proprietors of picture palaces have discovered that no films draw better audiences than these. If they deal with a prominent incident like a visit of royalty to the neighbourhood, an important sporting event, a public ceremony, or even, such is human nature, with some disaster to life or property, they will make a stronger appeal for a few days than the general film fare offered at the theatre, because the episode which is uppermost in the mind of the public is what draws and compels public attention. Even, it would seem, when the reality itself has just been witnessed by the audience, its photographic reproduction proves more attractive than all else.
The picture palace, indeed, is assuming the functions of the illustrated newspaper, and is governed by like laws. The more personal and immediate the news, the more pleased are the beholders. So there is an increasing effort to supply upon the screen in life and motion what the papers are recording in print and illustration. One can almost hear the phrase that will soon become general, "Animated news of the moment." Already the French are showing us the way. In Paris one is able to visit a picture palace for 25 centimes at any time between noon and midnight and see, upon the screen, the events of the hour in photographic action. As fresh items of news, or, rather, fresh sections of film, are received, they are thrown upon the screen in the pictorial equivalent of the paragraphs in the stop press column of the newspapers, earlier items of less interest being condensed or expunged in the true journalistic manner to allow the latest photographic intelligence to be given in a length consistent with its importance.
It is obvious that this branch of the business must fall largely into the hands of the unattached or independent worker, who bears the same relation to the picture palace as the outside correspondent to the newspaper. A firm engaged in supplying topical films cannot hope to succeed without amateur assistance. No matter how carefully and widely it distributes its salaried photographers, numberless events of interest are constantly happening--shipwrecks, accidents, fires, sensational discoveries, movements of prominent persons, and the like, at places beyond the reach of the retained cinematographer. For film intelligence of these incidents the firm must rely upon the independent worker.
Curiously enough, in many cases, the amateur not only executes his work better than his salaried rival, but often outclasses him in the very important respect that he is more enterprising. Acting on his own responsibility, he knows that by smartness alone can he make way against professionals. Only by being the first to seize a chance can he find a market for his wares. Thus when Blériot crossed the English Channel in his aeroplane it was the camera of an amateur that caught the record of his flight for the picture palaces, although a corps of professionals was on the spot for the purpose. True, the successful film showed many defects. But defects matter little compared with the importance of getting the picture first or exclusively. Similar cases exist in plenty. The amateur has an excellent chance against the professional. His remuneration, too, is on a generous scale. The market is so wide and the competition is so keen, especially in London, which is the world's centre of the cinematograph industry, that the possessor of a unique film can dictate his own terms and secure returns often twenty times as great as the prime cost of the film he has used.
By permission of the Motograph Co. A MOVING-PICTURE EXPEDITION INTO THE INDIAN JUNGLE. Mr. Cherry Kearton, the famous cinematographer of wild animals, and his outfit loaded upon an elephant.
By permission of the Motograph Co. POLAR BEAR DIVING. A STRIKING MOTION-PICTURE.
The market is open also to travellers, explorers, and sportsmen. These, with a cinematograph camera and a few thousand feet of film, can recompense themselves so well that the entire cost of an expedition may be defrayed. An Austrian sportsman who roamed and hunted in the North Polar ice fields received over £6,000 ($30,000) for the films he brought back with him. Mr. Cherry Kearton, who took pictures of wild life in various parts of the world, sold his negatives for £10,000 or $50,000.
Scientific investigators are in the same happy case. When their researches lead them to anything that has an element of popular appeal, there is profit awaiting them at the picture palace. The life of the ant, for instance, or electrical experiments, or interesting phases of chemistry, and many other features of organic and inorganic science, yield good returns to the scientist with a camera. Such films will command 20_s._ ($5) or more per foot of negative.
There is another branch of the work already well established. The producer of picture plays, if his plot be tolerably good and the scenes well acted and well photographed, and if the play itself promises some popular success, can command a good price. At the moment there are several independent producers at work throughout the world. They have a large open market for the disposal of their wares and find no difficulty whatever in selling all they can produce. Even the largest producers, who have huge theatres and command the services of expert scenario writers and players, do not hesitate to purchase from outside sources.
A cinematograph camera, and a little luck, will make anyone's holiday profitable. The travelling amateur penetrates into places overlooked by the professional, and usually takes greater pains with his work. Afterwards he finds his market in the fact that the demand for travel pictures is so great that a good film of 300 feet will fetch £40 ($200) and upwards. At home he may exploit his ingenuity in making trick films, a most popular feature at the picture palaces, so long as he keeps novelty to the forefront. Trick films, unfortunately, take so long to prepare and demand such care, skill and patience that the largest firms of producers as a rule are not eager to attempt them, because their production disorganises the more regular and profitable work of the studio. A good trick film of 800 feet may occupy six months in preparation. But the amateur may approach what the large firm fears. To him time is no object, and he is able to maintain his interest, care, and ingenuity to the end of the quest. On the other hand the professional worker often tires of his trick subject before the task is half completed, with the result that novelty and care are not sustained. One industrious Frenchman devoted nearly a year to the preparation of a film in which resort had to be made to every conceivable form of trickery, and sold his product for £3,000 or $15,000. He also refused an offer of £5,000 ($25,000) for another film of pictures calculated to please children.
To sum up, the amateur or independent cinematographer has a vast field available for the profitable exercise of his skill. Except in regard to the topical work, which is of the rush-and-hustle order, he must show imagination in his choice of subject and craftsmanship in the execution of his work. He must, that is to say, be trained so far as to be no longer an amateur in the popular meaning of the word. He must learn aptitude in the school of experience. The reward is well worth the trouble.
Hitherto the amateur worker has been held back by the great expense of the necessary apparatus. The camera cost £50 ($250), and the developing and printing operations were generally supposed to be too difficult and costly for private undertaking. There was some excuse for these notions. The trade at first followed narrow lines, no welcome being held out to the amateur competitor. But circumstances have been too strong for this trade, as for others, and it burst its bonds in due time. The co-operation of the independent worker became essential as the demands of the market increased. In the production of plays, for instance, England at first led the way. But the American and French producers came quickly to the fore. The English pioneers, not being skilled in the mysteries of stage craft, wisely retired from the producing field upon the entrance of the expert from the legitimate theatre, who realised that the moving-picture field offered him increased opportunities for his knowledge and activity as well as bringing him more profitable financial returns for his labours. The British fathers of the industry devoted their energies to the manufacture of cinematographic apparatus, as they foresaw that sooner or later the amateur and independent worker must enter the industry. The activity of amateurs was needed by the English trade as a whole, and the manufacturer, with great enterprise, brought down the cost of apparatus to a very reasonable level. This has been effected by methods not less advantageous to the purchaser than is the reduction of the price--by standardisation of parts and simplification of mechanism.
To-day a reliable camera for living pictures, suitable for topical and other light work, can be bought for £5 or $25. A more expensive camera, the Williamson, costs £10 10_s._ ($52), and is actually as good as other machines priced at four or five times that sum. On the other hand, so much as £150 ($750) can be paid. But the camera sold for this large sum demands a purchaser with something more than a long purse. It demands special knowledge. Designed for studio work, it has peculiarities that are difficult to master and is not to be recommended to a beginner.
With the cost of the camera the cost of other apparatus has fallen in proportion. It was realised that the amateur's dark room and other facilities are likely to be less excellent than those of the professional and that he must be provided with compensating conveniences. This problem has been solved. A complete developing outfit can now be packed in a hand-bag, and a camera and printing outfit can be carried in a knapsack no larger than is required for the whole-plate camera of the old "still-life" photographer. Simple and efficient appliances for the dark room can be purchased very cheaply. There is a portable outfit for use in field work, where it is imperative that films should be developed as soon as possible after exposure, and this outfit is now used by the majority of travellers and field workers, such as Cherry Kearton, Paul Rainey, and others. Distinct advantage, it may be observed, comes from prompt developing. There may be vexatious delay, occasionally, but the photographer is at least able to tell quickly whether his film is a success or a failure. It is better to gain this knowledge on the spot, even compulsorily, where another record can be taken, than to gain it later a few hundreds of miles from the chance of trying again.
The capital expenditure of the cinematographer need certainly not be great. A complete outfit, the "Jury," may now be obtained for £20 or $100. It comprises a combined camera and printer, developing troughs, film-winding frames for developing and drying, and all necessary chemicals. Yet it is no toy, as might be thought, but a thoroughly reliable outfit capable of doing first-class work. Anyone who is more ambitious, or willing to spend more money, should purchase the Williamson outfit. This costs about £40, or $200.
Now for other difficulties that have nothing to do with money. It has been assumed that the art of animated photography is a mystery demanding a long and weary apprenticeship. But the impression is really quite wrong. Anyone who has practised still-life and snap-shot photography may become proficient in the new art within a week or two. Many of the problems encountered in the old photography are actually easier to solve in the new; some are eliminated entirely; others, that are intensified, are really not very hard to master.
From the "Cinema College," by permission of the Motograph Co. A LION AND LIONESS AT LUNCH.
By permission of the Motograph Co. CAUGHT! A jungle-fowl brought down by a leopard.
Animated photography is nothing more than a Kodak worked by machinery. Instead of the shutter being actuated by hand to make an exposure, and the film afterwards moved by turning a roller so as to bring a fresh area before the lens, the two movements, in the cinematograph, are combined. The rotation of the handle alternately opens and closes the lens, and moves the film forward a defined distance after each exposure. Therefore, speaking generally, if the beginner knows how to use an ordinary camera and is familiar with subsequent operations of developing and printing, he should be able to accustom himself quite readily, with little waste of material, to the different conditions of motion photography.
There is practically but one process that he should not at first attempt. This is the perforation of the film. The film is a celluloid ribbon and is punctured near either edge, at intervals, so as to enable it to be gripped by the claws of the mechanism and moved forward intermittently a definite distance--three quarters of an inch--through the camera. This puncturing or perforation of the film is the most delicate of the whole cycle of operations. It can only be done by a machine of unerring precision manipulated with extreme care. The machines, though many are on the market, are somewhat expensive, and it is upon them that the steadiness of the picture on the screen depends. The inaccuracy in the perforation may be slight, a minute fraction of an inch, but it must be remembered that each picture on the film is magnified more than fifteen thousand times upon the screen, and the errors are magnified in proportion. But these considerations need not trouble the amateur. He can purchase his "stock," as the unexposed film is called, perforated ready for use.
In spite of the great reduction in the cost of both camera and outfit the expense of cinematography is still its drawback. The film is the culprit. It costs from 2_d._ to 4_d._--say, from 4 to 10 cents--a foot. Yet in this case, as in others, reduction seems to be within sight. The increased demand is sure to cheapen the process of production. If the price is not then lowered as much as could be hoped the cause will be in the cost of the basic materials. These also, perhaps, will become less dear in time. Cinematography is an industry in revolution. Its possibilities are only beginning to be seen; its followers are only beginning to be counted; but it can hardly be doubted that the ranks of the amateur and independent workers are certain to increase considerably and rapidly. The attractions and inducements to practise the craft are too alluring to be ignored.
CHAPTER II
THE PRINCIPLES OF CINEMATOGRAPHY
For complete success in moving-picture work it is essential to have an elementary knowledge of the principles upon which the art is based. Although pictures are said to be shown in motion upon the screen, no action is reproduced as a matter of fact. The eye imagines that it sees movement. Each picture is an isolated snap-shot taken in the fraction of a second. In projection upon the screen, however, the images follow so rapidly one after the other and each remains in sight for so brief a period that the successive views dissolve into one another. The missing parts of the motion--the parts lost while the lens is closed between the taking of each two pictures--are not detected by the eye. The latter imagines that it sees the whole of the process of displacement in the moving objects. In fact it sees only one-half--the half that occurred in those fractions of seconds during which the lens was open. What occurred while the lens was shut is not recorded. Animated photography, therefore, is an optical illusion purely and simply.
The fact that an appearance of natural movement is seen under these conditions is due to a physiological phenomenon which, for the want of a better explanation, is termed "persistence of vision." This peculiarity of the eye and brain remains a scientific puzzle, and although in one or two quarters the theory of visual persistence is ridiculed, the iconoclasts have not yet brought conclusive testimony to upset it. The whole subject of persistence of vision in its relation to moving-pictures is discussed at length by the present writer in a former book to which he would refer such readers as may wish for information on this subject.[1]
[1] See "Moving Pictures: How they are made and worked," Chapter I.
OPERATOR AND HIS CAMERA BURIED IN A HOLE TO TAKE MOVING-PICTURES OF SMALL ANIMALS.
By permission of the Motograph Co. MAKING MOVING-PICTURES OF WILD RABBITS. Mr. Frank Newman with his camera concealed in the bushes.
From the "Cinema College," by permission of the Motograph Co. THE NEST, SHOWING CURIOUS SUSPENSION BY FOUR STRINGS. A UNIQUE PICTURE. THE MOTHER KING REGULUS FEEDING HER YOUNG. Motion-pictures of the Golden-crested Wren, the smallest bird in the British Isles.
The eye is about one million times faster than the most rapid sensitized emulsion which chemists have yet produced. So there is nothing wrong about the popular opinion that the organ of sight is the quickest of the senses. Yet it is not so quick that it cannot be deceived. If the pictures of a cinematograph are projected upon the screen at the rate of so many per second, the effect upon the eye is that of perfectly natural movement. The laws that govern this illusion have been discovered in a very interesting way. A positive film was prepared, but between each successive image a wide white line was inscribed. This film was then passed through the projector, and the pictures were thrown upon the screen at the speed generally accepted as being necessary to convey the effect of natural movement; but animation could not be produced at all, however rapidly the pictures were projected. The reason was simple. Immediately after a picture disappeared from the screen the white flash occurred, and notwithstanding its instantaneous character it was sufficient to wipe out the image of the picture, which without the white line would have lingered in the brain. Even when the pictures were run through the projector at thirty per second, no impression of rhythmic movement was obtained; they appeared in the form of still-life pictures with spasmodic jumps from one to the other. They failed to blend or dissolve in the brain, notwithstanding that the white flash in some cases was only about one ten thousandth part of a second in duration.
Another film of the same subject then was passed through the projector under conditions exactly similar except that the line dividing the pictures in this case was black instead of white. When this picture was thrown upon the screen, animation became apparent directly the speed attained sixteen pictures per second, because after one image had vanished from the screen it persisted in the brain, in spite of the black flash, until the next picture appeared. Thus, the requisite dissolving effect was obtained. The black flash did indeed produce a defect like that which was common in the early days of cinematography and was characterised generally as "flicker." But it did not suffice to ruin the illusion of movement. A white flash destroys apparent motion, owing to the brain being extremely sensitive to white: a black flash of equal duration exercises no ill effects.
In the latest development of the art, one inventor has taken advantage of this peculiarity. He has perfected a practical system wherewith the shutter of the camera may be abandoned because each picture is cut off from its neighbour by a very thin black line. An improved mechanism jerks each picture off and brings the next one on the screen very sharply, so that an effect is produced like that obtainable with the shutter and without any impression of flicker. It may be pointed out that with this invention there are none of the aberrations described in a later chapter, such as the spokes of a wheel appearing to move in the reverse direction to which the rim is travelling.
The next question is that of the speed at which it is necessary to take and to project the pictures in order to get an apparently true impression of natural movement. This factor to-day is governed almost entirely by commercial considerations. It has been found, as a result of elaborate investigation, that a speed of twelve to sixteen pictures per second is the minimum wherewith in monochrome pictures animation is obtainable. But this applies only to general work, such as records of ordinary scenes, topical events and stage plays, where the action of the moving objects is comparatively slow. In these instances an average of sixteen pictures per second in photographing and projecting gives completely satisfactory effects.
But in reality the speed is a variable quantity: it must be adapted to the subject and the character of the work in hand. In other words, strictly speaking, the speed must be accommodated to the velocity of the subject so far as photographing is concerned, and also, in a lesser degree, to the distance of the moving object from the lens. For instance, when a man, walking four miles an hour, is photographed at sixteen pictures per second, the movements recorded are far from being natural or rhythmic. On the screen he appears to walk with a disjointed action. To obtain a lifelike result, his pace should be slowed down 75 per cent., or the photographing speed should be accelerated to seventy pictures per second at the least. This fact is illustrated very conclusively in pictures of soldiers marching: they appear to advance like automatons. Again, in photographing animals, a complete movement is often lost between successive pictures. A cat in one picture will be seen to the right; in the next picture it is on the left, having sprung from one side to the other during the brief interval the lens was closed. When extremely rapid movements have to be recorded, the photographing speed has to be accelerated to an extreme degree, up to ten thousand pictures or more per second in the case of a bullet leaving the muzzle of a rifle, and up to two thousand pictures per second to catch the movements of a dragonfly's wings. On the other hand, in photographing very slow movements like the growth of a plant, one picture per hour may be adequate.
In projection the speed can be adjusted. The ten thousand pictures per second may be decelerated to sixteen per second to allow the movement to be followed, and although the rifle bullet may appear to crawl through the air, the movement is perfectly correct. Similarly the very slow motions must be accelerated to sixteen pictures per second to obtain evident animation. These two extreme phases of cinematographic investigation are described at length in another part of this volume, but are mentioned here merely to show that the photographing speed is a somewhat elastic factor, to be adapted to circumstances in order to produce passably natural effects.
For everyday work, however, a speed of sixteen pictures per second is sufficient and represents the generally practised velocity. Possibly in the near future the speed will be accelerated to twenty, twenty-two, or twenty-four pictures per second, as the present speed is generally admitted to be too slow. The eyes of the regular picture palace patrons have become trained, as it were, with the result that there is an appreciable strain of the eyes, while the disjointed character of the movements on the screen may be detected. But when the taking and projecting speed is accelerated by 50 per cent. the picture stands steadier upon the screen, the movements are more natural, and there is an entire absence of that automaton effect which is so characteristic of most pictures taken under prevailing conditions. These considerations do not affect photo-plays produced in the studio so materially, because there the actions of the players can be slowed down to suit the conditions.
One of the leading manufacturers is earnestly considering the advisability of accelerating the taking and projecting speeds up to about twenty pictures per second, and private investigations and experiments have certainly demonstrated the value of such an improvement. Unfortunately two difficulties prevent its immediate realisation. An increase of only four pictures per second represents an increase of 25 per cent. in the consumption of the film, and therefore in its cost. The other difficulty is more serious. Existing apparatus, both cameras and projectors, are geared to eight pictures per turn of the handle. This involves two complete revolutions per second. Consequently the gearing of the mechanism would have to be altered, and this is a more troublesome question than appears at first sight. Some time may elapse before a forward step is taken in this direction. In matters of this character the cinematograph industry is notoriously conservative, although the moment one firm courageously adopts an accelerated speed, the higher quality of the resulting pictures will force the others to follow the example.
As a matter of fact the decision to adopt sixteen pictures per second was taken somewhat haphazardly without any scientific investigation. When it became standardised, film was expensive. Accordingly, efforts were made to secure the requisite effect with the minimum expenditure of film. Machines were built to coincide with these requirements, and the original designs have been followed slavishly in their broad outlines ever since.
CHAPTER III
THE MOVING-PICTURE CAMERA AND ITS MECHANISM
The cinematograph camera differs entirely from the instruments used in other branches of photography. While the advanced worker and the prosperous picture-play producer employ costly and elaborate machines, the amateur, or the independent worker, in the particular field which he has selected for his operations, can get equally good results with an apparatus only a fifteenth or even a twentieth part as expensive. The range of operation with the cheaper instrument may be limited, and it may be deficient in those many little refinements which are characteristic of the professional appliance, and may lack silver-plated finish and highly-polished woodwork or morocco leather covering. But the camera itself is more important than these.
The cameras, both expensive and low-priced, work upon the same fundamental principles. In the latter everything is reduced to the simplest form so as to be readily and easily understood by the beginner. They have the additional recommendation that the risk of breakdown is eliminated, because the few essential component parts are substantially made, well-proportioned, and nicely-balanced. Serviceability and reliability are the outstanding features of the low-priced camera, and it is applicable to almost every branch of the craft.
Contrary to general belief, taking the "movies" is quite as simple as snap-shot photography with a Kodak. In the latter case you press the button; in the former you turn the handle; the camera does the rest. The rotation of the handle, a simple operation, performs every duty through the internal mechanism. It swings the shutter across the lens, moves the film intermittently through the instrument, and coils up the exposed film in its dark box.
As has been explained, the beginner is now able to make his selection from a wide variety of makes, ranging in price from £5 ($25) upwards. If one desires to gain experience in the cinematographic art with the minimum capital outlay, the Jury, "New Era," or "Alpha" cameras will suit the purpose excellently. Both are first-class, well-made machines, having perfect registration and alignment, extremely simple and easy to handle. The first-named model, which is the cheapest, is contained in a mahogany case measuring 9-1/2 inches square by 4-3/4 inches deep, and in the unloaded condition weighs 5-1/2 pounds. The "Alpha," which costs a little more, is full value for money, and is well worth the slightly increased price. This camera is fitted with a light-proof hinged front panel giving access to the adjustable shutter, which permits the opening of the latter to be varied within wide limits and thus enables extremely rapid movements to be photographed while running the machine at the normal speed. The spool boxes carry 100 feet of film of standard gauge in each instance, and for general all-round work, such as the recording of topical events, either model will be found perfectly efficient. It may be mentioned that both models are supplied without the lens, because the average beginner in motion-picture work, having practised still-life or snap-shot photography, has usually developed a marked fancy for some particular make of lens--Dallmeyer, Cooke, Ross, Zeiss-Tessar, or Voigtlander. Naturally, being familiar with the working of his favourite and knowing what he can do with it, he feels more at home when he is able to have it fitted to his moving-picture machine. Here, again, there is a wide selection to meet all purses, so that the most fastidious tastes in regard to the lens may be gratified. On the other hand, if the beginner has no marked preference, and wishes to be economical, he can get a lens capable of doing first-class work at a remarkably low price. His complete outlay upon the camera and the lens need not exceed £6 5_s._, or, say, $31.
If prices are not to be so strictly considered, and if the beginner wishes to have a machine of the finest type at a comparatively low figure, he cannot do better than fit himself out with a Williamson camera, the price of which, complete with lens, is £10 10_s._, say $52. Except for an expert, it is difficult to detect the difference between this machine and one which costs five times as much, for both are designed upon the same lines, are equally well made, and equally capable of doing the finest work. It must not be forgotten that Mr. James Williamson, the designer of the latter instrument, was one of the pioneers in cinematography, and, in his machine, the results of some twenty-five years varied and accumulated experience are incorporated. He has been able to realise just those essentials which are required for a high-class apparatus free from complexity, and this end has been achieved to excellent effect. The camera, finished in a brass-bound mahogany or teak case--the latter is preferable for working in tropical countries--measures 9-1/2 inches square by 4-3/4 inches deep, is fitted with a Zeiss-Tessar 2-inch lens with focusing, and iris diaphragm. It weighs 7-1/2 pounds complete in loaded condition. It is eminently suited for all round duties, from the rush and tumble of topical work to the uneventful, quiet but exacting requirements of the laboratory.
THE JURY MOVING-PICTURE CAMERA. B. Driving sprocket. A, C. Upper sprocket pulleys. D. Exposure window. H. Gate. E, F. Lower sprocket pulleys. G. Exposed film-box guide pulley.
THE WILLIAMSON TOPICAL CAMERA AND TRIPOD. A. Camera. B. Handle. C. Lens. D. View finder. E. Tripod head. F. Horizontal panoramic movement handle. G. Vertical panoramic movement handle.
These machines by no means exhaust the selection. Other manufacturers have produced very good instruments at competitive prices, but those which I have mentioned represent probably the best in their respective classes. For the purpose of introduction to the art of cinematography the beginner can do no better than obtain one of them. If, after a little experience, he comes to the conclusion that he has ventured into the wrong province, then his monetary expenditure is not serious.
It will be seen that the aspirant has no lack of inducement to embark upon the moving-picture industry. Provided he has acquired a certain knowledge of the elements of photography, and is possessed of average intelligence, there is no reason why he should not be able to produce pictures with his inexpensive machine that are in all ways comparable with the product of the professional worker and the costly instrument. Naturally, as the intricacies of the craft are mastered, the tyro will wish for a more elaborate apparatus. He can gratify his ambitions in accordance with his progress, or with the improvement in his financial position.
The mechanism of the modern cinematograph camera is very simple in its character and very easy to understand. The necessary parts are very few in number. In all cameras the chief object is to effect the forward intermittent movement of the film at regular intervals and for a defined distance. For this purpose the early types of camera were fitted with what is known as the Geneva stop movement. Opinion is divided upon its merits, some authorities condemning it unequivocally, while others uphold it strenuously, contending that it gives a steadier and freer motion. There is much to be said in favour of the latter view. Mechanically the Geneva stop movement is perfect. So far as cinematography is concerned its advantages were proved most emphatically by Mr. Robert Paul, the first man to bring motion pictures into commercial application in Great Britain. He adopted this movement in his camera, and it cannot be denied that his pictures were in every way equal to those produced to-day, while his camera has never been excelled. Curiously enough, although this movement has been superseded, there is a tendency among expert workers to revive it, and many cameras specially built have been fitted with it.
The movement more commonly used is that known as the "claw." It is simple, and has the advantage of bringing the film into place for an exposure with a sharp, quick jerk. But it is a movement which requires to be designed very finely in order to perform its work smoothly and evenly, and without inflicting any injury upon the film.
The claw consists of a small lever in duplicate, which is so mounted as to have an eccentric movement and is driven direct by the main gear wheel rotated by the handle. The free upper end of each arm of the lever has a projecting pointed tooth of sufficient size to engage with the perforations on either side of the film. With the revolution of the wheel upon which it is mounted eccentrically the claw engages with the perforations, and, thus gripping the film after the manner of a ratchet and pawl, jerks it downwards a definite distance. When this downward movement is completed the claw disengages from the perforations and falls back clear of the film. Then the wheel, continuing its rotary movement, proceeds to lift the claw. When it has raised it to its highest point it brings it forward smartly to re-engage with the perforations, and causes a fresh downward movement of the film. The action is intermittent and occurs at regular intervals, while the movement of the film is always the same. Quick engagement and disengagement of the perforations is imperative for preventing the vibration and tearing of the film.
Fig. 1.--Mechanism of camera showing threading of film.
The mechanism of the camera may be understood from the diagram (Fig. 1), which refers to the Williamson instrument. The sprocket A is driven directly by the operating handle, which engages with the sprocket spindle. This sprocket A is fitted with two rows of teeth, mounted upon its periphery, and so spaced apart, both circumferentially and transversely, as to coincide with the distances between the perforations of the film. A pair of twin rollers, D and E, bear against this sprocket under the tension of a spring, their object being to keep the film pressed firmly against the sprocket. The teeth engage with the film perforations, so that by the rotation of the handle and sprocket the film is fed forwards regularly, smoothly and evenly, as it is drawn from the loaded spool box B.
The film is brought into position before the lens by passing through what is known as the "gate." This device H consists of two parts of which the first is fixed irremovably while the second is hinged to the first at one side and kept flat against it by means of a spring. Both of the parts are provided with an aperture or window, the exact size of a cinematograph picture--1 inch wide by 3/4-inch deep--through which the light passes, after admission through the lens, to strike upon the sensitized surface of the film. There is just sufficient space between the two parts of the gate to permit the film to move easily, and its object is to hold the film perfectly flat and steady during the period of exposure. Each picture is thus kept in absolute focus.
The feed through the gate is accomplished by the claw N, which is mounted upon the eccentric O as already described. At the instant of exposure the claw is free of the film, or in the "out position," as it is termed, so that the sensitized ribbon is absolutely still. When an exposure has been made, the claw, having risen to the highest point of its travel, re-engages with the film and jerks it down 3/4 inch, so as to bring a fresh unexposed surface before the lens. As the film emerges from the gate it is picked up once more by the sprocket A, the engagement of the perforations in the film with the sprocket teeth being assured by the two rollers J and K. The film then passes under the guide roller L, and is wound up on the bobbin M in the exposed film box C, the bobbin being worked through the handle that drives the mechanism.
The rotation of the handle also ensures, through gearing, the revolution of the shutter P, whereby the lens is eclipsed intermittently. The shutter is a ring fitted with an opaque sector which comes before the lens and shuts out the light during the movement of the film through the gate H by the claw N. In the Williamson camera this shutter is recessed into the case.
Although the lens may be of the fixed focus class--the focussing distance varying with the stop used--focussing can be carried out independently if very critical work is required. In the case of the Williamson camera and others of this type, focussing is accomplished by opening the shutter and the side of the camera and looking through the gate. In some cameras a focussing tube is provided. This passes from the gate to the rear of the instrument, through a space provided between the superimposed film dark-boxes. It is telescopic at the forward end. Thus, when focussing is being carried out, it can be extended so as to come flush with the gate, and pushed back out of the way when all is ready for working, so that the free movement of the film is not obstructed in any way. The rear end of the tube, which extends through the rear face of the camera box, is fitted with a cap to save the film from being fogged by light entering from behind.
One conspicuous advantage of the Williamson machine is that the whole of the mechanism is mounted upon a skeleton casting fixed to the interior of the mahogany case by means of four screws. By withdrawing these the whole of the internal mechanism may be removed intact, and much trouble is saved when inspection or repairs are necessary.
In some cameras the intermittent movement of the film is effected by a single claw which engages with the perforations upon one side of the film only. But this movement is not perfect. All the pulling strain is thrown upon one side of the film. This gives it a tendency to move unevenly into the gate and also increases the risk of tearing.
The driving gear of the camera is so adjusted that one complete revolution of the handle completes eight exposures. Consequently two revolutions have to be made per second to maintain the necessary speed of sixteen pictures per second. In the Williamson camera this is emphasised as a fixed speed in ordinary working, and any compensations demanded by the varying intensity of the light are made by altering the aperture of the lens. This is a logical method, for if the operator is required to make such compensations by varying the speed of his handle he is apt to obtain an indifferent result. It requires a very skilled operator indeed to vary the speed of the handle with judgment between the narrow limits possible. In some cameras this compensation for light is effected by varying the area of the opaque section of the shutter, but this is not so simple or effective a method as the variation of the stop. The latter can be accomplished while the camera is being driven, but in the former it is necessary that the work should be stopped while the front panel camera is opened and the shutter adjusted.
As for the tripod, one cannot be too careful in choosing it. This apparently insignificant detail has a far-reaching effect upon the picture results. Any ordinary tripod used in photographic work may suffice, but its absolute rigidity is essential. A tight head, too, is most necessary, without which the operator will get a side-to-side sway upon the picture. It must be borne in mind that in turning the handle there is a tendency, especially at first, to exert an unequal pressure upon the handle side of the camera, and, unless the support and its head are kept absolutely rigid, the pictures will betray evidences of the defect. The telescopic ladder tripod is very handy for topical work. This, when it is extended and when the camera is fixed, brings the lens some 7 feet above the ground. A cross-rail placed from 12 to 25 inches above the ground, and attached to the rear legs, offers a platform upon which the operator can stand to work his instrument. In this way both camera and operator are brought above the heads of the crowd, and an uninterrupted view can be obtained.
For moving-picture work a special type of tripod head has been evolved, which allows the camera to be moved bodily through both the horizontal and the vertical planes while exposures are being made. Thus it can follow a subject travelling in either of these directions. The movements are upon the rack and pinion principle, a small handle being fitted to each motion so that either can be operated independently of the other. By means of this panoramic attachment the main object in the picture, such as a carriage or an aeroplane, may be followed in either direction. But if both movements are to be completed simultaneously, the operator will require help. One person must sight the object and keep it in the picture by the manipulation of the two handles governing the respective movements of the tripod head, while the other confines his energies to turning the camera handle.
Although the moving-picture camera is built substantially and strongly, its mechanism is comparatively delicate. While it will withstand the hardest descriptions of legitimate work, it succumbs readily to brutal treatment. Although operated by means of a handle, it is neither a coffee mill nor a barrel organ, but a sensitive scientific instrument, and it must be treated as such if the finest results are to be obtained. Rough usage will throw out the registration and alignment. If handled carefully a camera should perform its task for years without needing repair. The effects of wear and tear can be mitigated very appreciably by keeping the moving parts well lubricated with good oil, such as is used for clocks, which neither gums nor clogs the bearings, nor injures the mechanism in any way.
CHAPTER IV
THE CAMERA AND HOW TO USE IT
Having examined the mechanism of the moving-picture camera, and the broad principles upon which it works, we must now study the way to use it.
The first step is to load the film box, an operation which must be carried out in the dark room. The film is sold as a rule in standardised lengths, such as 100, 200, 350 feet, etc. With the ordinary type of camera the 100 or 200 feet lengths are used. For topical work either are quite adequate as a rule.
As has been said, the film is supplied perforated and ready for use. Many firms that sell the "stock," as the unexposed film is called, attach a blank or unsensitized "lead" to one end of the roll, for the purpose of "threading-up" the camera. If this is not supplied, and if the operator wishes to avoid the waste of 2 or 3 feet of sensitized ribbon, the deficiency can easily be remedied. For the blank "lead" all that is required is about 3 feet of useless or spoiled film which, however, should not be torn or cracked. The emulsion at one end of this should be scraped off for a distance of about 1/4 inch. A pocket knife will do this very efficiently. The blank should then be laid flat upon the table, emulsion side uppermost, preferably upon a sheet of glass which secures a smooth, clean, level surface, and a little film cement applied to the scraped end of the blank. Film cement can be obtained readily and cheaply in small bottles complete with cap and brush. A bottle should always be kept to hand as it is often required, especially in joining up successive lengths of film; but if it should so happen that none is available at the moment, glacial acetic acid may be used with equal success, although it demands more careful handling. In an emergency alcohol constitutes a first-class cement, but it requires extreme care and skill because it is a solvent of the celluloid base.
After the cement has been applied to the cleaned end of the blank lead, the end of the unexposed coil of film is laid upon it, emulsion side uppermost, the overlap being about 3/4 inch. Care must be exercised to see that the joint is made perfectly square and that the perforation holes of each piece of film come dead true, otherwise there will be trouble in passing the joint through the camera mechanism. When it has been superimposed satisfactorily, pressure must be applied to secure perfect adhesion. In order to ensure perfect jointing a film jointer should be used: in fact it is an indispensable and inexpensive tool.