The Washington times., 1916-02-10
PHOTOPLAYS AND
PHOTOPLAYERS
Ru GARDNER
How the Dimensions
Of a Five Foot Film
Kiss May Be
Determined
BY GARDNER MACK.

How long is perfectly proper
kiss?
At first blush 1t would appear that
this Tue,y should have been set up
page or so to the left where the
bright blonde type of the learned
Anne Laurie reflects its rays from
the lamp o. knowledge. As a mat
ter of fact. it belongs right here.
where II !s placed. because the mo-
ton picture patrons are becoming
very much exercised and confused
over the reports of a "ten-foot" or
n ''tive-foot" kiss. depending upon
which State board OF censors mea-
sures the osculatory exercise as it Is
illustrated in a motion picture finn.
How many motion picture patrons
know how long. in linear feet. mo
tion picture kiss usually is Ana
how many OF them have taken the
trouble to figure out how long 1t
should nc. without passing the
bounds "i proprlcty or what the oc-
CasIon calls for? Charming Pollock
Is authority for the statement that
In some States the historic Car
men kiss hn7 been reduced to "a
paternal peck" ny what system of
measurements is the exact length OF
q kiss determined?
ANY average person VIII admit this
series OF queries is entirely too much
for him, and even Annie Laurie.
who knows all about that sort or
Thing. declares the questions have
hen gaspinC for air. And yet IT -
very simple matter 10 find ont Just
what a "ten-toot kiss' is-or a tive
foot kiss"
Two systems Of measurement are
called into scrvica--the standard of
tive and the standard of the linear
foot. The motion picture is n Crea-
tion of. the science Of optics. Eni-
nent authorities on optics tell us
that the mu""leS and nerves of the
normal eye can separate but eight
distinct movements in second of
time. That Is all they can accom-
modate themselves to detect. There
are abnnrmally developed eyes. how
ever, that can detect up to thirteen
or fourteen. And so when motion
pictures were invented in order to
have the images move with ahso-
lutely smoOt hneSS, 30 that no parts
OF the motion could be separated
and thus make the movement ierky.
IT was necessary to get more than
fourteen. The lense. having no
nerves or muscles 10 noNe. can de-
leCt an indefinite number of move
ments.
Therefore in the average. proper
ly exhibited, motion picture lilm
there al
positions shown every second--Jro-
Nided the iSure moves at all. To
most people, even the patrons of the
film plaNs, ii is not known that
each OF these sixteen separate move
ments is actually photographed as
though it were = picture to its
self. In other words the film is not
drawn through tno camera like one
would unwind %rool OF thread. in
movement all the time. Quit" the
h"foT" the l"nSe, for exactly the
sixteenth part Of second 1t is OK
posed Ia the picture, the shutter
then closes and another hit OF Hlm
Is drawn into place.
If the pictur" " er" made hy pull
ing the rlm thr"u"h the can'""a
smoothly there WOul be nothing
huI few blurred streaks on it
when ii was develO1cG. And. by
ihe way it TiGht interest patrons
rf the ph"toplay to kn,w that the
patents covering tn" vsrious de .
vices fur catching and holding tho
flm AMI opening the shutter
simultaneously, ar" the patents
that have caused all the litigation
In the motion picture business.
Understanding these facts. It iT
comparatively easy to arrive ct
the lcngth u II kiss. sixteen p,r
lures thai enter into a sCco 1d' $
chewing &c a film play make e.
arrlV one eo6t e film. Therefr"-
60, - L:ES' is eNactl- ;iVn
rr"onds long. II ten ;",t kiss" lust
l"n SeC0ilCS i'hE. and so on. Md
anNhOdr AN arIice OF the eNn"t
time it takes hv timinc it with tn"
second hand Of watch. Any per
son OF an Investigating turn of
mind VIII" wishes to so into III"
matter more deeply--but that
brings the query out Of this do
partmert and into the bliniinr. T..
lamps Of Annie Laurie.
4. NJ