El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-29
MOVING PICTURE
POSSIBILITIES
The Astonishing Things a Gin
ematogrdph Expert Predicts

| A reporter asked Mr.. Robert Pitsrd,
the cinematograph expert, how trick
pictures were made.
GLOW, for example," he eaid, edo
they get up those curious films in which
people suddenly appear and disappear,
jump out of space and leap into the air
and vanish?"
"It's the simplest thing in the
world" replied Mr.. Pitard. "Suppose
1 am taking q picture of q man seated
| in q chair and want him to disappear
All have to do is to stop the record
ing machine. The man gets up and
walks off and 1 start the machine
again. When the picture is thrown on
the machine, there is no indication of
on chair and them all of a sudden you
don't see him. That's the principle of
most of the trick views.
''Of course" he continued, 'sthe film
itself Is susceptible of unlimited
'doctoring.' By cutting out pieces and
get the most astonishing effects. II is
q lightning transformation with VEN
geance."
HAS there been much improvement
lately in the making of moving picture
films?" asked the reporter.
Eyes, vast improvement, and 1t is
steadily going on. Formerly film If
| " lSSt 1Ouk W. o tuS PF6CGlCdl
now 500 feet fs nothing remarkable.
Then. again, it was thought nedessary
to take at least forty pictures a second,
and most people still suppose that is
the rate. It has been found, as q mat
ter of fact, that the same result may be
obtained In most cases with fifteen
| pictures q second, and at present that
| might be called the standard speed.
| 1t is varied slightly to suit the object
| fok MI
q second would be all right for q man
| walking along the street, but too Glow
| for an athlete leaping over hurdles
There would be too much variation in
| the negatives, and instead of blending
| one into the other on the screen they
| would show q succession of little jars.
1t is curious fact, by the way, that
| slow film show all right by speeding
| the instrument and rushing the pic
| lures through faster than they were
taken. One of the great improve
ments of the present day is in the de-
veloping apparatus. Every amateur
photographer will appreciate the diff
Guilty of developing q Aim several hun
by winding it around q glass drum,
the lower surface of which was in q
tank of developing solution.
There was ruby light inside the
drum, but the trouble with the con-
trivance was that only one or two pic
lures were in the solution at q time.
Now q sort of X-shsped reel Is used
tives at once. The improvement in
results is something wonderful
Speaking from scientific stand
point, Mr.. Pitard told some interesting
things.
"They are being used more and
more in the study of motioD," he re-
marked, land have revealed q great
cular action OF men, birds and animals.
You see we can take picture of q pi-
geon, for illustration, flying from the
ground to the top of q barn, and by
slowing down the reproducing ma
chinery can make the flight as gradual
as the progress of . snail. That shows
to q nicely just how the wings are
Manipulated, the body balanced and
the muscles brought into play. Here
tofOre all theories on the subject were
more or less guesswork. I wouldn't be
surprised if the study of birds by
means of moving picture films resulted
in the invention of practical flying
Gachine.
"The same thing Is applied very cue
cessfully with horses. A valuable
horse may interfere as it is called,
when it strikes it's hoofs against the
inside of its legs, and the film will
show. exactly how and at what part of
the stride the infirmity is manifested.
AS every body knows, moving pictures
have completely changed our idea of
horses gaits. Artists nowadays never
draw the old fashioned gallopine
horse with legs stiffiy outstretched.
We've found out that horses don't gal
lop that way.
Il have often thought" Mr.. Patard
went on, ''that very interesting and
made in connection with the X-ray.
Suppose that we had film showing
the moving of the lungs and beating of
the heart. The thing Is by no means
impossible, and it would be worth
more for demonstration before a class
than all the lectures in the worl:. A
child could be photographed clear up
to the time it developed into an adult,
and l hear the experiment has been
in progress for a year in Paris. All
that is necessary is TO place it's head
against q properly adjusted rest and
take picture every day. The mega
make a complete film. 1t would be
very strange to see a ubby baby pass
ing swiftly through childhood into
youth and then manhood. The only
trouble about the scheme is that it re-
quires such a quantity of time and pa
tience"
81 have seen no mention of the tax
ing Of any records at Rennes during
the Dreyfus case,'' said the reporter.
"That seems to be one big event that
is being missed by the enterprising his
toriaus of the camera. New Orleans
Times-Democrat.