Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1911-09-29
MOVING PICTURES
Ingenious Methods of Producing
Startling Effects.
TRICKS OF THE CAMERA MEN.
Expedients by Which Puzztins situa-
tions and Incidents That Seem to
Contradict the Laws of Nature Are
Recorded on the Finished Film.

tons and Incidents That Seem 70
Contradict the Laws of Nature Are
Recorded on the Finished Film.
The ingenuity Of man Is exercised
to wonderful degree in the creation
of novel and seemingly impossible
situations and episodes for production
In the moving picture shows. and audi
ences are often bewildered In trying
TO decide how the curious effects.
which at times seem to contradict the
laws Of nature, are secured. Yet, like
the conjurers tricks, 1t Is all very sim
pie when the veil is lifted.
There are some scenes depicted
which, while amazing enough in their
way, do not puzzle the critical be-
holder in solving the ways and means
Of their making. There are the railroad
accident, obtained by means Of chill
dren's toys; the warships and the
aeroplanes, which are also photo
graphs of playthings; the burglar In
his unheard of performance of climb
Ing the front of q house, and-last, but
not leAst-the man clinging to the cell
ing Of room. The pictures explain
themselves.
But when we see q man jumping
out of q fourth story window, see him
fall fifty feet to the ground and then
get up and run away unhurt. We ask,
How Is this possible? The origin OF
the picture Is very simrie. The 1ugi-
tive jumps out OF low window In
the studio. which Is fitted up in the
style of the desired room. Then the
photographing process is interrupted.
The next picture is taken in the street
in front of a real house. A life sized
puppet is dropped from one Of the
windows. When it has reached the
ground the machine stops, the actor
puts himself In the place Of the figure,
The reel Is started again. the man gets
Yp and runs away.
In like manner auto accidents and
similar episodes are arranged.
Another impossibility-a man. swims
through q river and on the other side
he climbs ten foot wall without diff
fculty. Origin Of the pictures: The
man Is photographed sliding from the
wall into the water, but In taking the
picture the reel is turned wrong way.
10 the motion Is reversed when the
picture is reelcd Off In the right direc'
| ton.
The last obstacle in representing the
seemingly impossible was cleared
tway when some clever mind conceiv-
ed the idea of stopping the photograph.
| Sng process. not after series Of pic.
| lures, but after each single picture
,r after each two or three of them
| The work involved was enormous. as
eighteen pictures are taken every Sec
,nd-that is to say, about $4,000 pic
lures are required for reel, which Is
| 20 amuse the public only ten minutes!
But human perseverance has accom-
plished the task. and the results OBJ
aimed are extraordinary. The follow
ing examples will prove 1t:
A pile of small stones is put on
black table, and the apparatus Is fas.
| tened vertically above the stones
Then a short turn Of the crank. and
| few identical pictures Of the stone pile
| are taken. One Of the stones Is then
removed from the pile; another short
turn. which gives two or three pictures
showing the first stones separate from
| The pile. The process Is repeated un'
| til the stones laid aside by hand show
the writing. Good Night" The dn'
ished film does not show the hand
that removed one stone after another.
but creates the impression that the
stones arrange themselves IN the form
IF magic writing.
Instead of the stones. a lump of clay
may be placed on the table and some
Kind Of q figure is gradually modelled
from it by hand: but. this hand being
Invisible. it seems rs If the figure
formed itself.
In the same way herring can grad.
ually be sent back into the tin can
from which 1t was taken. - Gurten
laube. Leipzig.