Arizona republican., 1921-05-30
sy Frederic ]. Haskin

WASHINGTON, D. C.. May 20. VI Whether the movies are improving from an artistic viewpoint is a mat ter bitterly debated but that they are improving in the mechanical way. and that still greater improvement in that line lies in their immediate fu- ture. seems to be indisoutable-
 If the screen drama ever gets Sway from its missing twin plote, its sloppy endings. it's custard pie throw ers-if 1t ever emerges from its tn- fancy of tears and horseplay and melodrama-it will have a fine me- chanical foundation for its artistic superstructure.
 This fact is impressed upon you when you talk to some of the engin- eers who have studied the motion picture from the mechanical point of view. They see great future for the movies both as q means of amuse- ment and of education
 Chief afffong these is Henry D. Hubbard. assistant director of the bureau of standards. who reveals Q few of the achievements not only possible but probable He foreeees piano instruction by the aid of mov- ing pictures of master's hands ac- curately romping the keyboard: dancing. taught by movies thrown
 
 pupil may literally follow each step Of an expert--a multitude of novel usages to which the .films have not yet been put
 It is Fascinating to follow Hubbard as he talks of an individual protector by which one may observe any film at his desk or library table. a proJec- tor using thinner film and smaller pictures, so that one may use it as h a nr. Into his pocket and carrying 1t much as we carry the camera of the present day.
 Automatic Thsaters
 Coming picture theater manage ment and operation will be largely automatic, this scientist believes. The form of the theates must receive radical treatment. Today's crowding resembles the days of unregulated street traffic. Establishment of one way aisles and the application of every device of traffic management to insure easy entrance and exit win undoubtedly follow. Seats will be designed by correct posture experts for perfect comfort and health. with two independent arms for each per- son. The seats. of course. will fold automatically as soon as vacated tp
 allow easy exit Coin-operated vending machines will dispense disks which in turn will operate easy-work- ing turnstiles according to seat loca- ton. eliminating both the box office
 and the ticket-takers. A tiny lamp
 would light showing for each row
 what seats were available, the color
 indicating the number vacant, thus largely replacing the usher.
 The theater size will range from the little theaters'' to the huge the aters for master prod ,ctions. The little theaters with lower magnifica- tions will be better for highly special ized films requiring perfect definf, ton. Little thesters will also be suit able for innovations which must meel 1 the challenge of popular taste before being assimilated into appreciated art. At the other extreme vast cir cular theaters may be erected, having concentric circles of seats facing thu center where each sector will be pro- vided with its own screen and projec- tor, all operating with one film. Man, l times the present crowds could bt | served and all the advantages o large scale production would obtain Motion picture engineers hope SCOT to control at the optimum value every l item such as cooling or heating. dry | ing the air, increasing the ail pressure or decreasing 1t, adding thu healthful touch of ozone. ensuring ail l purity by Altering or by labyrinths o 1 mercury arcs to give the ultra -viole l radiation necessary, atomizing tn, essences of perfumes such as the odoi of the pinewoods, the tang of the sea 1 the fragrance of the flowers, or tht l spicy odors of Araby.
 All of these elements are toda. l separately realized in actual servic and need but the unifying hand O the engineer to bring them into com 1 bination. This would make the the l ater most attractive at all times sine l we could duplicate the finest eli I mates of the most famous resorts O l the world. What this complete con l trol and ideal atmosphere within tn | theater will mean for public healtl | and comfort and enjoyment ca hardly be over estimated. The incl dental possibility is here opened t
 create a new art: namely. to use a
 of such controllable conditions with
 in the theater to add to the climati
 suggestions appropriate to the actio
 of the play exactly as appropriate in