Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1903-04-03
TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY.
Production Of Moving Pictures Which
Mystity Many Persons.

| nCllOh
II has become iuggIcr or, as 1t
mignt prefer 10 call itself, an "illu-
siomst. and the uncanny ieats it
performs viii soon put its more hu-
man competitors to shame
1t commences its performance, says
the London Mail, by showing on the
white screen two men seated at a
small table They seem to be carry
Ing on an excited conversation, but
after some discussion agree to make a
wager on the cause of the dispute.
Then each takes from his waistcoat
pocket tiny doll, dressed like a
boxer ready for champion match.
The dolls arc placed on the table, inn
mediatcly come to life" and com
mence sparring in the most scientific
manner. The two Gullivers applaud
the Liliputian pugilists as they fight
vigorously in space that might be
covered by dinner plate and when at
last a five grain glove inhicts the.
knockout blow on head that is
smaller than an carly green pea the
conqueror and the conquered are
picked up and ANONYMOUSLY re-
placed in the waistcoat pockets OF
their owners
This clever effect, the manager of
the biograph company explained, is
obtained by supcrimposing twohtms
which are exposed separately First
the two men seated at the table act
their part of the performance in front
of the camera, and then another bio
graph photograph is taken of box
inc match, and the two rolls Of film
are then skillfully placed together.
The difference in the size of the box
ors and the onlookcrs is accounted
for by he fact that the latter are
placed much nearer to the camera
than the former
But even more startling Illusions
than this can be produced For in
stance, the biograpA throws upon the
screen a picture Of a headless man
standing by huge egg, from which
one might expect a healthy young roc
to emerge The decapitated man
cracks the egg with mallet and dis
closes his missing head inside
The face smiles recognition, and al
lows the hands to take few hundred
ordinary-sized eggs from its mouth,
for no particular reason except to
show that it is capable Of further mir
acles. Then it looks longingly to-
ward the neck and shoulders from
which it has been exiled, and is finally
! lifted into lis place. The complete
man then bows to the audience and
disappears. 1t spoils good illusion
to describe too fully It's inner myster-
les; but it may be,hinted that this eff
feet is obtained by the judicious use
Of black velvet curtains. Black vel
vet, in fact, is the material from which
the modern biograph magician shape;
/ his invisible cloak" and the gar
meut is quite as effective as the one
the prince in Andersen's fairy tale
wore when he set out TO discover tht
wicked doings of the witch.
The Prisoners Dream" is the
name Of another piece Of Geographic
Juggling. The prisoner is shown in
/ his cell asleep. On the forbiddin2
/ stone wall mistily outlined figures APP
/ pear. Gradually they become more
/ and more sharply defined, though The
wall can still be seen through the sub
Shameless forms. One of the figure,
is recognized as that Of the sleeping
/ prisoner, the otheris agirl.
There is a quarrel, the flash of
weapon. and the girl falls Imply t.
/ the ground as the real prisone
starts from his sleepand stares Wild!
at the dream picture Of himself anC
his victim. The vision fades away
and in its place the ghostly face Of thu
girl floats across the wall
The subject is somewhat morbid
but as an example Of trick photog
raphy it Is an extremely clever piec,
work. The result is obtained, as il
| the case Of the boxers, by the com
bination of two films.
All the scenes are acted in
studio illuminated by what is perhaps
the most unique electric-ighting ap
paratus in London-how effectiv,
can be judged when it is said tina
each of the thousands thai compose
biograph moving picture only re
ceNes about one-four- hundredth par
of second exposure.