El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-08

next tiny strip Of film into focus be-
hind the lens the light is cut off from
the outside the camera by means OF
the shutter. The film is thus i'm
pressed with a close succession of tiny
pictures which can be seen on a cellu-
1Oid film when the latter is taken
from the machine by holding the film
I'D to the light
Each image differs from the preced
ing one only IN the slightest degree.
When the successive Photographs are
projected on the screen with a similar
o. greater velocity than that with
which they were taken the movement
alternating intervals of light and
darkness cause the sO-called flicker"
which in past years has bothered film
manufacturers and annoyed moving
projected
Making the Pictures.
In "commerciaT' machines, which
take and project pictures at the rate
o. sixteen a second. 2,10O feet of film
may be run off within half an hour.
This length Of film includes about IS
500 separate pictures
Most film manufacturers issue rolls
q thousand feet in length. If the &C
tors tumble" the handling of a letter
or a prop during the taking of the
picture the reel sometimes runs over
the allotted 1000 feet, necessitating
a cut" or elision from the film roll of
the unnecessary pictures Accidents
way. If, for instance, an actor drops
his cane the accident does not nee
eSSarily ruin the picture. When the
film is completed the incident is cut
pasted" together BY a special pro-
cess.
Actors pride themselves on knowing
to the fraction of a second just how
quickly or slowly they are playing.
John Bunny of the Vitigraph company,
for example, can tell the moving pic
ture operator Just how long he has
been posing at any moment the camera
is stopped. He called the operator a
preYaricatOr recently when the lat
ter told him he had posed As seconds
instead of 46 he was sure he had been
before the lens.
Relentless aCuts7 in Film.
As soon as the pictures are snapped
in the studio the negative band is taken
to the dark room and passed through
developing bath. Later the film
is fixed and dried. The positive is
prepared from the negative in the
same manner.
The positive is then flashed on the
screen in the testing room of the.
manufacturing plant where the actors
in the film drama the stage manag-
er and the photographers gather to
discuss the film. The stage director
is as relentless with his cuts as the
copy reader of a newspaper IS with his
blue pencil When the film is pared
down TO the necessary ], 600 foot length
with all faults eradicated a new posi-
tive is made. from the jOinted sections
and the finished film is again run off
on the screen.
When the, film at last Is declared
ready for manufacture, advance no
tees are sent out to the various
agencies throughout the country which
handle the finished product New York
has nearly dozen OF these diStr1b-
uting agencies, Chicago half as many,
while cities of the size OF Detroit,
Atlanta and Omaha. sup
ply whole state or section Of the
country
Rent The Films
The proprietor OF the small theat-
ers do not purchase their films out
right After a film has been run for
three days it would have no more
commercial value to them unless a
moving picture house own
er wished to take the used film off
their hands.
In order to facilitate such exchange
and distribution of both used and new !
films the middleman or film agency
has sprung up within recent years.
These agencies hire OUT the films 1
for certain lengths Of time and reap
a profit on the rental.
ProprietOrs OF moving picture houses |
who conduct a chain of theaters now /
purchase their films directly from the /
a plan in which the i
are much in sympa- |
thy, as 1t does away with the middle /
mans services Sixty minutes Of film i
may now De bought from Llle him e4- i
changes by the proprietor OF small 4
picture theater for only $40.
Where do the films gO2 Formerly /
the scratched torn cut and rainy
film rolls were sold in job lots to the /
Of side shows. which toured 1
the hamlets of the country. The NOV |
ing picture patrons of these tanks /
and -jerkWater burgs," as the show 4
man calls them were not so diScrimin- i
ating five years ago as they are to- /
day. The side show had no clientele |
to build up for the future and Junk" /
which looked like rain storms, 1
or scenes taken during a simeon in /
the Sahara, were run off with no in ]
profit to the itinerant /
show man.
Children Buy Films
Then again the used films were sold /
to children whose daddies could afford 4
to purchase the microscopes for them. /
These abused Oungsters are now more 4
and insist literally upon /
being shown" before they purchase /
used films.
CeIluloid collar manufacturers also /
have bought up thousands of used eel /