Omaha daily bee., 1910-11-13
MOVING PICTURES IN C0L0RS
New Motion Photography Trans
formed by Means of
Screens.

II you did not believe that flowers have
souls you would have been convinced last
night IT the meeting of the New York
Electrical society. There on the moving
picture screen we're shown flowers open
ing up from bud to maturity smiling and
nodding their heads and opening their vsri-
celored leaves to the sun. In colors, too.
1t was the first public demonstration IN
New York OF the newly patented system of
animated photography In natural colors.
A feeling almost uncanny was produced
by the unusual pictures. The audiences saw
in the space OF a few minutes what nature
takes hours to do and does so slowly that
the unaided eye cannot follow it This
was accomplished, the lecturer said by
taking pictures at intervals Of from fifteen
minutes 70 half an hour according to the
rapidity with which the blossoms opened.
There was a trembling Of the leaves an
apparent gathering OF energy by the plant,
as runner suffens before the signal to
start Is given, and then the leaves slowly
swung apart like portals pushed by an
unseen hand, and the fully opened flower
stood out enlarged on the screen,
Other pictures represented scenes in the
desert where the Arabs wore the pic
turesque and many-colored costumes of life
and quaint dramas OF olden times, where
lants stood out with the coloring OF face
aid clothing almost perfect.
Before the pictures were shown Mr.. Ay-
mar outlined the principles OF the art of
motion photography and described the va
rious steps taken in the development which
finally resulted in what he termed the
most wonderful advance ever made in the
history OF animated photography" He ex-
planned that by the FHinemacOlor process all
the actual colors Of the objects photo
graphed are reproduced, an achievement
which has eluded the Photographer since
the day when a visible image was first
! formed by lens
But how was 1t done7 The speaker said
| that the inventors OF the process were
Charles Urban and George A. Smith OF
England and that their process was the
result of nine years of experimentation.
The filtration system. which all photogra-
pliers admit is the only practical basis Of
| color photography, was used, but they had
reduced the number OF ray filters from
three to two. and these two were red and
green.
The pictures, he said. were taken with
an ordinary moving picture machine. but
twice as fast as with the black and white
system. The film was highly sensiuzed,
as Is necessary for all color work. and in
the case OF the Kinemacolor process, a
secret agent was employed to make the
film even more sensitive. In taking the
pictures two screens we're used, the red
and the green, and the machine was keyed
50 that the first snap was taken through
the red filtering screen. the second through
the green, the third through the red. and
so on. Tbs negatives were then developed
and handled in the usual way.
} When the film was exhibited red and
green screens we're placed just back Of the
lens and changed in the same relation a.
they had been when the photographs were
first taken. Thus actually the FIRST pio-
ture shown was rod and its allied colors
and the next green. But they did not ap-
. pear 20 to the eye Of the observer.
They did not-appear 50 to the eye Of thu
: observer because Of the persistence o.
vision" an optical principle by which th'
retina Of the eye retains an image thrown
on It an instant after the actual object ha,
dropped from vtsion-ope can wink One'i
eyes. for instance. without losing q con
tnued view.
This fact. which Is the basis OF All NOV
ing picture illusions. he explained, act
: IN the color scheme a. WELL and the tW'
complimentary color screens and thei
tinted images on the screen merge int,
one, and that one has the oolors Of life
D And 30 the pictures showed 10 prove tina
no artificial eOloTing was used In the film
I themselves Mr.. Aymar had his aGslstan
remove the screen. and the picture Whicl
few minutes before the audience ha,
d seen with q hot Of color now showed Il
plain BLACK and white IN the familiar way
New York sun