Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-05-13
MOVIES TEACH
WORCESTERSHIRE
AND MECHANICS
HILL the morje be hc oreotcs

WILh the morio be The greatest
" teacher Of ne ages, win me
cc'iuiom strip Soire the hhhCrio in.
SWrmoVniab'c di6icVity of making
mcchnhicS and history and ocogruphV
and the sciences fascinating and
easily understood 10 the general
ppblic?
There is a film in mis- citv today
to be Shoicm Sunday night By iu-
ritafion only-thdt points the ray 10
a tcondcrfui educa iiondi step. For il
makcS Of machine a hrin0 thing.
Th0Se crery action is cicor;y seen.
mhosc cnch motion is tollorcd in aH
its detail.
nr%S Ts @y yr is maj rsr. :. TS' "5,s ,TS""cS rsscc =
has been rorcu about romance
SNcioW TO girc il thc appealing
touch OF human interest ncccSs1rV 10
rirct the attention Of the arcrdgc
audience.
II IS, IN reality. complete story
Of INC ccoIutiou Of Transportation.
from the old chdriots to the modcru
locomotive. automobile and niropinrc
And. tocnSing pdrt"V'drly on ne
gasoline engine. II rcrCn'S crcry SiHgic
~orking part IN operation so Hdi
boz ~ girl c1u sec il ,cork. and. best
of dU. sec WHY il rorks in jusi ne
ray il does.
And IL showS TIC rhoIc course Of
the gasoline from the tonk. through
the pipes 10 the cnrbnrcfor being
sprayed and rnpori:cd, mircd with
air, sucked into the cVlindor, Cr-
plodcd and crpcNcd through The
exhaust. Nth the operation Of crrry
cam. rdlrc. piston and morablc part
~ each step.
'1NlilS is accomplished through tho use
u of new contribution to motion pic .
ture engineering. SO to spcak-thc
animated mcrhnnigraph. develop.
mcnt of the producers of the picture.
Rv means of this device it is now pos
siblc to reproduce with accuracy and
reality anything from an animated dia =
gram to internal reactions of the most
intricate nature.
In one phase Of "'Thc Porcelain
Lamp" for cxamp'c. it was necessary
to re create all of the old travel devices
which ingenious minds Of earlier DAYS
conceived. and which long since hac
passed out of existence
The experts Of the studio reproduced
them in Interchangeable form. as tiny
models made to scale and placed il
hand painted landscapes realistically
fashioned.
Ono of these. shown in the photo
graphs here, is tho almost forgotten
tread mill wagon. In the moving
picture it is seen in fun operation witt
old Dobbin trying mis- best to impart
power to the wheels by running on tn,
treadmill inside the vehicle 10 tho ac
compartment OF an occasional urge from
the whip man at the rear. while tn,
man in the high hat directs the dcsti
MICS of the conveyance down the water
color road by means of the stcCrim.
apparatus in front.
In tho film the tread mill wagon
appears on the screen for only thirt!
seconds, yet days were required to com
plctc the work and moro than 400 in
dividual photographs by what is Callc,
stop motion" were necessary to pCrfcC
the illusion.
Each variation in movement Of Ca"l
element in the picture first had to b'
synrhronizcd. and tue corresponding re
actions individually photographed.
| ENOlt example. the various alterations
L in tho tread mill and tho wheels q
the wagon had to be recorded Simul
tanCously just Hs one would rCspon'
to the other in reality. together wltl
| the corresponding movement of tn
| horse running on the tread and tn
change Of attitude Of the occupants o
the conveyance which occurred at tn
same time.
Thus. the horses foot is raised
| hairs breadth. the position OF the mcl
changed almost inpcrcPptibly. tho wheel
of the wagon turned the mcrCSt frar
ton. the tread moved tritlc. caCh 90"
| set with corresponding accuracy an
every detail matched with minute car
before tn" exposure is made.
Then the operator must go through
the entire operation of adjusting tk
various elements IN the mcchanigrhpI
again to complete the next minute variu
tion which tho animation requires.
TO move the tread mill wagon
across space Of perhaps two fcct
which. when enlarged to the full foru
of the screen appears to be many rods
requires the most tedious and acCurat
| labor and careful attention to every dc
! tail. As all movements must be i'm
parted by hand. each change must b
completed before the mcchanigraph /
ready TO be exposed to the camera fo
each individual shot" This is th
process known as 'Stop- motion pho
Biography.
The object photographed lies fiat or
a table. with the camera mounted above
while light is concentrated on the objcC
from both Sides Because Of the smal
size Of tho mechangraph and the prox
unity of III" camera. the dclicacy witt
which the work Of constructing the mod