Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-12-04

farces now shown have been produced
here. The French manufacturers pro-
lduce all the kinds Of films made in En-
gland and America, but they make
the colored pictures and the trick pic
lures in addition, and on that account
their work is more interesting to the
uninitiated than that Of either En-
|glish or American manufacturers.
An Example of the Method.
Everybody knows how moving pic
ture camera photographs bali game
or a prize fight. The film, which Is
lust like any other photograph film ex-
cept in size, passes over the aperture
through which the exposure is made
at the rate Of about 1866 pictures to
the minute, recording every motion OF
every object within range Of the cam
era, while it is passing, and sometimes
consuming half mile of film in a sim
gle record But everybody does not
know how the picture Of man who
is run over by an automobile and both
legs cut off, and who afterward re-
places his legs and walks away on
them is made, nor how the siren who
calmly swims about under water dur
ing a twenty minute picture could have
remained below the surface long enough
for the photographs to be taken.
In the case of the man the picture
was made by the ''arret,'' or stop. In
that of the siren the "fundu," or blend,
is employed. Both Of these are French
discoveries, and both are all impor-
tant in the making Of any moving pic
ture films that are not strictly record
films. In the "arret" the machine is
stopped at some definite point during
the exposure of the film and the shut
ter closed so that registration Is I'M
possible A change in some portion Of
the object being photographed is then
made, after which the operation Of the
machine resumed. The "fundu" Is pro-
duced by double exposure Of one film,
or by doubling the film by superimpos-
ing one film upon another for repro
duction.
The first is exemplified by the we'll
known picture, the Happy Accident. !"
A man falls asleep on the roadside and
while he sleeps a motor car runs over
him and cuts off both legs at the knee.
The motorist discovers his carelessness
too late, but stops his machine at once
and, hurrying back to the injured man,
picks up the severed legs and hands
them to him. The victim Of the acct
dent replaces his legs and after shak-
ing hands with the motorist walks off
up the road.
Photographs of the Impossible.
OF course the thing is impossible,
ridiculously so, but the pictures shown
on the screen are the reproductions Of
actual photographs, and the puzzle to
every one who sees the film is how can
there be photograph Of a physical
impossibility? The trick is not a diff
cult one after the right man is found
to pose for the photograph. A man
who has both legs off at the knee and
uses artificial legs in their place was
made up to look like another man
with two good legs, and these two men
changed places in the photograph. The
actor comes on the stage first and goes
to sleep by the roadside. The regis
tration of the film is then stopped and
the man with the artificial legs takes
the actors place, being careful to as
sumo exactly the same position as the
actor. Then the machine Is started
again and the picture is made of the
automobile coming down the road run
ming over the sleeping man, the motor
iSt getting out and going back and
giving the injured man mis- legs. At
this point the machine is again stop
ped, the legless' man gets out of the
way and the actor takes his place.
When registration on the film is re-
sumed there is apparently no break in
the scene, and the little tragedy is fin
ished without difficulty. But the eff
feet produced by the two stops is thor
oughly startling to the beholder Of the
reproduction.
Fairy Pictures.
One way of producing the blend is
doubling the film, and this is the meth
cd most often adopted when supernat-
ural appearances or disappearance
are depicted. For example, fairy ap-
pears to child, talks moment, and
then disappears. First, a film Of the
Iscene, with the child in the foreground.
lis taken, the object being gradually
thrown out of focus as the registration
proceeds. Next, a film of the scene
and the child with the fairy is taken,
out Of focus at first and gradually
brought into focus. Then the two films
are placed one upon the other so that
they register exactly, and the result is
the apparent gradual naturalization
of the fairy out of nothing The fairy
is, of course, much smaller than the
child in the picture. In reality they
are about the same size the anna rent