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VOL. XVII NO. 1
JOURNAL
OF THE SOCIETY OF
MOTION PICTURE ENGINEERS
JULY, 1931
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SOCIETY OF MOTION PICTURE ENGI1*
The Society of Motion Picture Engineers
Its Aims and Accomplishments
The Society was founded in 1916, its purpose as expressed in its constitution being "advancement in the theory and practice of mo- tion picture engineering and the allied arts and sciences, the standardi- zation of the mechanisms and practices employed therein, and the maintenance of a high professional standing among its members."
The Society is composed of the best technical experts in the various research laboratories and other engineering branches of the industry in the country, as well as executives in the manufacturing and producing ends of the business. The commercial interests also are represented by associate membership in the Society.
The Society holds two conventions a year, one in the spring and one in the fall, the meetings being generally of four days' duration each, and being held at various places. At these meetings papers are pre- sented and discussed on all phases of the industry, theoretical, tech- nical, and practical. Demonstrations of new equipment and methods are often given. A wide range of subjects is covered, and many of the authors are the highest authorities in their distinctive lines.
Papers presented at conventions, together with discussions, contributed articles, translations and reprints, abstracts and abridge- ments, and other material of interest to the motion picture engineer are published in the Journal of the Society.
The publications of the Society constitute the most complete ex- isting technical library Cor the motion picture industry.
JOURNAL
OF THE SOCIETY OF
MOTION PICTURE ENGINEERS
SYLVAN HARRIS, EDITOR Volume XVII JULY, 1931 Number 1
CONTENTS
Page
Color H. B. FRANKLIN 3
The Multicolor Process RUSSELL M. OTIS
The Multicolor Laboratory BRUCE BURNS 1 1
The Latin- American Audience Viewpoint on American Films. .
C. J. NORTH AND N. D. GOLDEN 18
Improvements in Motion Picture Laboratory Apparatus
C. E. IVES, A. J. MILLER, AND J. I. CRABTREE 26
Career of L. A. A. Le Prince E. KILBURN SCOTT 46
Progress in the Motion Picture Industry: Report of the Progress Committee
Committee Activities
Abstracts
Patent Abstracts
Officers 14G
Committees
Contributors to This Issue
Society Announcements
I -(• Report of the Treasurer. . .
JOURNAL
OF THE SOCIETY OF
MOTION PICTURE ENGINEERS
SYLVAN HARRIS, EDITOR
Associate Editors
R. E. FARNHAM C. E. K. MEES E. I. SPONABLE
O. M. GLUNT W. B. RAYTON L. T. TROLAND
P. E. SABINE
Published monthly at Easton, Pa., by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers
Publication Office, 20th & Northampton Sts., Easton, Pa. General Office, 33 West 42nd St., New York, N. Y.
Copyrighted, 1931, by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, Inc.
Subscription to non-members, $12.00 per annum; to members, $9.00 per annum, included in their annual membership dues; single copies, $1.50. A discount on subscriptions or single copies of 15 per cent is allowed to accredited agencies. Order from the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, Inc., 20th and Northampton Sts., Easton, Pa., or 33 W. 42nd St., New York, N. Y.
Papers or abstracts may be reprinted if credit is given to the Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers.
The Society is not responsible for statements made by authors.
Entered as second class matter January 15, 1930. at the Post Office at Easton, I 'a. under the Act of March :j, 1879.
COLOR*
H. B. FRANKLIN**
Summary. — Brief comments are made upon the difficulty which motion picture directors and technicians experienced when color was first introduced into motion pictures. The importance of color in motion pictures and the progress that has been recently made in color processes are pointed out. Emphasis is laid upon the neces- sity for steady experimentation in color values and the use of good taste in the adapta- tion of color.
Color as shown in motion picture production was virtually thrown upon an unprepared public. The introduction of color in motion pictures has suffered to a great extent through the fact that motion picture producers and their technicians were not prepared to give it experienced handling. In the early part of the last production sea- son, color was often introduced on the slightest pretext in many pro- ductions; producers did not have an opportunity to study the requirements nor perfect either the lighting or the apparatus to insure the best results. Consequently the color that was introduced so abruptly lacked the appeal that it could have had to motion picture audiences.
That there is a place for color in motion pictures is a foregone conclusion. In this age, when color has so 'much appeal, the motion picture cannot be expected to be immune. The appeal for color is fundamental. Our every-day life is constantly surrounded by color. It is up to the producers, however, to make a careful study of the uses to which it is best adapted. When motion pictures can capture the blending hues of the spectrum so that they dissolve into the scene, so to speak — and not dominate the picture as has been the case in some instances in the past — then color will enhance the pictorial as well as the dramatic values in motion pictures.
Much progress has been recently made in the introduction of per- fected processes. A real competitive situation is now developing
* Presented in the Symposium on Color the Spring, 1931. Meeting at Holly- wood, Calif.
** Hughes Franklin Theaters, Los Angeles, Calif.
4 H. B. FRANKLIN
which should result in the production of better methods and lower cost. In the past the cost of color has been prohibitive and pro- ducers have been reluctant to adopt it generally. Now that color can be introduced at virtually little more cost than black-and-white, a greater interest may be expected. It is fair to assume that the prices will adjust themselves to lower levels as color is more widely used. In an effort to encourage its further use, the manufacturers of raw stock have reduced its cost according to the quantity used. Important plants are equipped to handle great footage and maintain high quality, propositions which have been difficult in the older laboratories.
Intelligent study and experimentation on color values is necessary if producers are to derive the greatest value from this medium. In the past, producers have been tempted to crowd scenes with blatant colors in an effort to emphasize a wide range of color. Some of the rooms shown in colored pictures would unnerve most people if used in actual life. It is to be expected that the producer would use the same good taste in motion picture scenes that he would use in an actual home.
Lighting has been perfected to such an extent that it is unnecessary to handicap the use of color as it has been in the past, and with the new developments in photographic emulsions, a greater value may be placed on color as a medium. If the screen is truly to reflect life, it must eventually include color.
DISCUSSION
MR. SCHLANGER: In the motion picture theater, color is employed to create a mood in the patron. It is my feeling that color in the film should be used for the same purpose — to create a mood for the particular action on the screen rather than to show detail of color of the objects depicted. It is a delicate question as to what color will arouse the proper mood in the person viewing the film.
Color will be tremendously important in the future for the reason that theaters will become simpler in design and will not rely upon colored decorations on the walls, ceilings, domes, etc., for creating the mood, as is at present done. The color on the screen might be utilized to take the place of colored decorations, the color being chosen so as to arouse the particular mood desired, and its reflection onto the simple decorations of the theater would provide the color projection which has before been suggested for the interior walls of a theater.
THE MULTICOLOR PROCESS* RUSSELL M. OTIS**
Summary. — A brief analysis is given of the way in which colors are reproduced using a two-color negative separation method. The Multicolor process, working on this principle, is briefly described. Details are given concerning the film used, camera requirements, exposure, development, printing, and coloring.
The Multicolor process for making colored motion pictures belongs to the class of subtract! ve processes employing two-color separation. This means that in photographing, the light received by the camera is separated into two parts — the blue and the red components. Each of these components acts on a separate negative emulsion. Positives are printed from these negatives and are colored, the one printed through the red-sensitive negative being colored blue and the other one red. These two colored positives are superimposed in projection so that the light which has passed through one positive is absorbed (or subtracted from) in passing through the other.
Let us briefly consider how the various colors are reproduced. As- sume that a gray object illuminated by white light will reflect toward the camera such amounts of red and blue light as will produce equal densities on the two negatives. The positives will then have equal silver densities and, if the color values are properly chosen, the result- ing red and blue when superimposed will absorb equal amounts of the two complementary components of the projector light, resulting in only a decreased intensity, i. e., gray, on the screen.
If the object to be photographed is not gray, but contains more blue than red, the red-sensitive negative will be less exposed than the other. The density of the positive printed from this red-sen- sitive negative will be greater than the density of the posit ivc printed through the blue-sensitive negative. Since the positive printed through the red-sensitive negative is colored blue it is obvious that when superimposed the two positives will transmit more blue than
* Presented in the Symposium on Color at the Spring, 1931, Meeting at Holly- wood, Calif.
** Hughes Development Co., Los Angeles, Calif.
RUSSELL M. OTIS
[J. S. M. P. E.
red light and the screen image will lean toward the blue. If the object to be photographed reflects more red than blue, the same analysis will show how the red tones are obtained.
It is not always appreciated that a two-color negative separation can result in many more than two colors on the screen. Most objects do not reflect a sharply defined spectral band but reflect to the camera light which affects both negatives to some degree. Hence a multitude of colors can be reproduced by making all possible combinations of red and blue densities. Thus many shades of blue, green, orange, red, and all the grays from white to black are obtained on the screen.
What has been said thus far applies to all two-color subtractive processes, but the methods by which these results are obtained in
Orthochromatic
Panchromatic
FIG. 1. Spectrograms of Dupack through No. 86 Wratten filter as used in daylight shots. Ex- posed in Hilger Wedge Spectrograph filtered to daylight.
practice vary greatly. The process used by Multicolor will now be described.
The separation of the two spectral regions in photographing is effected by the so-called bi-pack method. A special film with an orthochromatic emulsion and a standard panchromatic film are placed emulsion to emulsion, with the orthochromatic emulsion nearer the lens, and are run through the camera together. Blue or green light will expose the orthochromatic emulsion, but orange or red will not expose it due to the fact that this emulsion is not sensitive to orange or red. On top of the orthochromatic emulsion, on the side nearer the panchromatic film, is a layer of gelatin bearing a dye which
July, 1931] THE MULTICOLOR PROCESS 7
passes only yellow, orange, and red light. By this means, the pan- chromatic emulsion, which is sensitive to all light, is permitted to record the yellow and red portions of the picture. Spectrograms showing the regions of the spectrum recorded on the two negatives are shown in Fig. 1.
The camera used in photographing Multicolor pictures may be any camera employed for black-and-white work provided that a Multicolor double magazine for carrying the two negatives be used and that some special machine work be done to permit the camera to accommodate the two films and secure good contact between them. On the Mitchell camera a new pressure plate with four rollers is in- stalled to insure good contact between the films and a shim is placed in front of the ground glass to make the ground glass plane coincide with the plane of emulsions when two films are used. This camera can then be used at any time for taking black-and-white pictures by simply removing the shim in front of the ground glass. On the Bell & Ho well camera the pins on the back pressure plate are increased to eleven in number to insure contact, and 0.006 inch is removed from the aperture plate to make the emulsions come in the same plane as when previously only one film was used. In photographing, a No. 86 Wratten filter is used for daylight shots but is not used when the set is illuminated by incandescent lamps.
The prime requirement for good color balance over a wide range of exposure is that the gamma of the two negatives be the same and that the toe and shoulder of the H & D curve for one negative come at substantially the same points along the exposure axis as the toe and shoulder of the curve for the other negative. If the gamma of the two negatives is not the same it is possible to get a gray of only one density on the screen. If the H & D curves for the two negatives are displaced from one another so that the positions of the toes or shoulders of the curves do not coincide along the exposure axis, the efficient exposure range is narrowed to that between the toe of one curve and the shoulder of the other. In this process two negatives can be developed in the same time and in the same solution, and the success attained in meeting these requirements is demonstrated by Fig. 2.
Rather than try to correct in the laboratory for improper exposure of the negatives, the illumination on the set is measured with a photome- ter. If the proper exposure is obtained it is possible to develop the negatives alike, print them with the same light, and develop the
8
RUSSELL M. OTIS
[J. S. M. P. E
positive to a prescribed gamma, making the laboratory process nearly automatic. Generally, however, the printing lights are determined in the case of each scene by colored cinex strips. The determination of correct printing lights is one of the most critical operations in the laboratory process because it determines the relative density of the positive images, which in turn, fixes the color balance. A picture can be anything from an icy blue to a warm red, depending upon the choice of printing lights, and it is therefore essential that the man mak- ing the choice be equipped with facilities which enable him, when viewing cinex strips, to see the same thing that will afterward appear on the screen.
0.4
02
2.8
1.2
/.<5 O 0.4 O.8
L00.0 EXPOSURE (M.C.S.)
2.0
FIG. 2. H. & D. curves of Dupack exposed through Wratten filter No. 86 in E. K. Co. sensitometer filtered to daylight, and developed at multicolor by machine.
In printing, the two negatives go through the printer together, with a positive film between them. The positive film carries an emul- sion on each side of the film support so that each positive emulsion is in contact with its negative emulsion. The two positive images are printed simultaneously by light coming from each side through one negative. The positive emulsions are blue-sensitive and carry a yel- low dye to prevent light from one side exposing both emulsions. With the highest light used in printing, there is no exposure of the emulsion on the opposite side. The yellow dye washes out in the development process.
July, 1931]
THE MULTICOLOR PROCESS
9
The main problem in printing is one of obtaining good registration, which can be obtained by using adequate mechanical devices. The shrinkage of the films, and worse yet, unequal shrinkage, is om m the greatest difficulties. Unequal shrinkage has been considerably reduced by employing negatives which are made at the same time on base from the same batch.
The positive is developed by machine to a prescribed gamma which has been determined by the condition that the contrast of gra\ the picture shall be the same as that of the grays in the subject photo-
/2 /4
NEGATIVE EXPOSURE
FIG. 3. Per cent transmission of blue positive sound track vs. negative
exposure.
graphed. After fixing and drying, the film is then placed in the color- ing machine.
The first operation of this machine is to apply a blue iron tone to one side of the film. Neglecting the washes, the film is then immersed in red toning solution which tones the image on the other side, leaving the blue image unaffected. This red uranium tone serves also as a mordant for a dye which next follows and which adds brilliance to the red image. The film is then passed through hypo after which it it is washed, dried, and varnished. This varnish greatly increases the life of the print, which is now ready for the projector.
The problem of the colored sound track deserves mention. There
10 RUSSELL M. OTIS
is only one sound negative, so sound is printed on only one side of the positive, resulting in a colored track. A blue track has been found far superior to a red one. In variable density recording the blue track differs from the black-and-white track in the increased contrast of the blue over the black track before toning. Moreover, the relation between the response of a photoelectric cell to the trans- mission of the blue track and of the black before it is toned is not linear. The situation is further complicated by the recent introduc- tion of the caesium photoelectric cell which gives a result different from that of the potassium photoelectric cell when used to reproduce a colored sound track.
The potassium cell is sensitive only to blue light, whereas the cae- sium cell responds also to red light. The effect with a black-and- white sound track is simply that the caesium cell reproduces with greater volume than the potassium cell. But when used with a colored track, the relation between the blue density and the black density is entirely different for the two cells, resulting in not only a difference in volume but generally a difference in quality as well.
A study of the sensitometry of the blue track and recording tests made with it, however, have demonstrated that excellent results can be obtained with both types of cell if the sound negative is correctly exposed and if the remainder of the processing is properly done. It is particularly fortunate that the normal development of sound nega- tive to a gamma of about 0.5 is still found to be the most suitable when the sound positive is toned blue.
The essential property of a good sound record is that there exists a linear relation between the transmission of the positive as viewed by a photoelectric cell and the exposure of the negative. Fig. 3 shows this relation for the Multicolor blue track as seen by both caesium and potassium photoelectric cells.
THE MULTICOLOR LABORATORY1
BRUCE BURNS**
Summary. — This paper sets forth the manner in which the lay-out of the Multi- color Laboratory was made to provide efficient handling of all processing media, as well as film itself. A chart shows the flow of film through the various stages of handling and processing. Emphasis is laid upon the major precautions taken to protect all film, and particularly negatives, against damage of any sort at any point in the plant.
Whenever a new laboratory for the processing of motion picture film is erected, the engineers of the industry naturally are interested in both the general layout and the particular features of design of building and equipment. In this paper will be briefly given a general picture of the new Multicolor Laboratory, placing some emphasis upon the features of design which are adapted to the special characteristics of the process, and the precautions which have been taken to insure safety to the product at all stages, particularly with regard to negatives.
Fig. 1 shows a floor plan of the building, on which appear all film handling departments with the exception of the daily review room. In addition to these and the rooms containing equipment incidental to processing, such as boiler room, compressor room, refrigeration room, air conditioning room, etc., the first floor houses the general offices, the superintendent's office, the camera department, one pro- jection room, the electrical shop, a transformer room, a garage, and a room for general purposes, designated as the tank, repair, and stor- age room.
No plan of the second floor is shown; it has approximately one- third the area of the ground floor, and in addition to the daily review room it includes four suites of executive offices, the research depart- ment, a theater, telephone room, etc.
The heart of any film laboratory is its processing room, and the rooms for further treatment of film must be efficiently grouped around this unit. Since practically all other departments of the plant have
* Presented in the Symposium on Color the Spring, 1931, Meeting, at Holly- wood, Calif.
** Hughes Development Co., Ltd., Los Angeles, Calif.
1 1> BRUCE BURNS [J. S. M. p. E.
to handle film before it goes to the processing room or after it leaves the room, the disposition of these other departments should be such as to provide the nearest approach to continuous flow of the film through the plant.
Similarly, since the chemical room must supply processing chemi- cals to the machines and receive chemicals from them, and the air conditioning equipment must furnish air for drying film in the ma- chines, both of these departments must be placed nearby. The power plant in which will be located the boilers to supply steam for heating the air during conditioning should be close to the air conditioning equipment. The compressor room, in which are located compressors for refrigeration and film squeegees, must be located properly both with regard to the processing room and the air conditioning equipment.
Since it is evident that the size and shape of the processing room depends to a considerable degree upon the characteristics of the ma- chines employed, the first step in the lay-out of the plant is the selection of the proper processing equipment. When this has been determined, for the given capacity, the dimensions of the processing room are virtually fixed and the other departments of the plant may be ar- ranged around this room.
The processing machines are of the continuous, multiple-strand, horizontal run type. Each machine is approximately 180 feet long in the wet end, and carries the same length of dry box to insure ample drying capacity under all conditions at a minimum temperature. The ten processing machines lie side by side in pairs with the dry boxes dis- posed on a mezzanine deck overhead. These machines occupy a processing room 44 feet wide and 225 feet long.
At the east end of the processing room are placed the five air condi- tioning units, each with a capacity of 12,000 cubic feet of air per min- ute at a wet bulb temperature of 75°F. maximum, which is ample for drying. The boilers for supplying steam to the air heaters are located south of the air conditioning equipment; the compressors and brine tank for supplying refrigerated water to the dehumidifiers are im- mediately west of the boiler room.
The chemical room with floors or mezzanines on three levels is a narrow alley extending along the entire south side of the processing room; it contains the mixing tanks, circulating pumps, circulating tanks, and sump tanks for all the machines.
Film handling rooms for work on the film before and after passing through the processing room are placed along the north side and west
July, 1931]
THE MULTICOLOR LABORATORY
13
14 BRUCE BURNS [J. S. M. P. E.
end of the room. The air conditioning equipment for this group of rooms is placed in the basement at the southwest corner of the proc- essing room.
The printing room is equipped with Bell & Howell printers for sound track, and with Hughes Development Company step printers for picture. The latter have been designed with the specific require- ments of the Multicolor process in mind. They print from both negatives simultaneously onto the positive stock, thus insuring per- fect contact, register, and light balance. Each printer normally oper- ates at a speed of 21 feet per minute, but, if desired, can be operated at either lower or higher speeds. All picture printers are equipped with automatic light changes, which make it possible for the operator to devote his entire attention to the work of the machine, and although the printing operation is carried out on both sides of the film at once, a special inspection window with a mirror permits the operator to observe the film at the printing aperture at all times. In case any doubt arises in the operator's mind regarding any phase of the ma- chine's operation, he can stop and start it again between frames with- out affecting the finished print.
By following the path of a roll of exposed double Multicolor Rain- bow negative from its entrance in the receiving department through the various steps in negative processing, and then following the posi- tive until it arrives at the shipping room door, we can see how the plant lay-out adapts itself to straight line flow. Referring now to the floor plan, we see that from the receiving room door the pair of negatives goes to the breakdown room, A, where tests are cut off and spliced into rolls for the negative developer. These tests are passed through a chute to the negative room and loaded on the machine at B. They go eastward through the negative machine, turn up at the east end of the process room to the dry boxes, and return to the west end of the room, where they are unloaded at C. Light tests are read at D and the results communicated to the breakdown room, where negatives requiring the same time of development are spliced into rolls and sent through the chute to the negative machines. From the loading point, B, they follow a course similar to the tests, are unloaded at C, and sent through the dumb waiter to the daily room. At E, rolls from the same production are made up and are sent to the cinex machine, F, where cinex exposures are made, after which the negatives are re- turned to the daily room at G.
Raw stock goes directly through the receiving room into the raw
July, 1931] THE MULTICOLOR LABORATORY 15
stock room, K, from which it is supplied as needed for printing. Stock which is used for cinex exposures goes to the cinex machine at F and thence through a chute from the printing room to the west end of the processing room and through the light lock to the loading end, L, of a positive machine. As in the negative developer, films in the positive developer are developed, fixed, and washed on their trip to the east end of the room and are dried on their return to the west end on the upper level. They are taken from the positive machines at M, sent through the dumb waiter to the loading end, N, of the color machines, and go east through the wet end of the color machines and are dried in returning westward to point 0. From this point cinex strips go to the light reading table, D. Selection of proper printing lights is made, and the strips are sent through the dumb waiter to the daily room. Here, at G, the negatives are notched for light changes and light change cards are made out. From this point negatives go to the sound printer, H, then to the picture printer, /, and in the case of dailies they return to the daily room for transfer to the vault; in the case of release prints they shuttle back and forth be- tween the printing room and the negative polishing room, J, accord- ing to polishing requirements.
The daily and release prints go from the picture printer, 7, through to the positive and color machines following the same course pre- viously outlined for cinex strips. Before being removed from the color machine at 0, prints are varnished and dried. Daily prints return in the same manner as cinex strips to the daily room, projec- tion reels are made up and go through the dumb waiter, T, up to the projection booth of the daily review room on the second floor, which is conveniently located with respect to the research department and sales department offices. Release prints leaving the color machines at O drop through a dumb waiter to release assembly, P, from which they go through inspection booths, Q, to hand inspection, R, where standard leaders are spliced on; from this point they go through the packing department, S, to the shipping room.
Reference was made at the beginning of this paper to the safety precautions wjiich were taken in the design of the building and equip- ment; a few paragraphs will point out the highlights.
The processing machines are so constructed that every strand of film is instantly available to the operator at every stage of the process. This permits continuous inspection, and in case a situation requiring immediate attention arises the operator can act at once without having
16 BRUCE BURNS [J. S. M. P. E.
to shut down the machine or wait for a length of film to run through one or more steps of the treatment.
Although each air conditioning unit has a normal capacity, nearly twice that necessary for drying its quota of film, all five air condition- ing units are cross connected, so that in case of insufficient per- formance or complete failure of one unit the others may be called upon to carry the load.
To guard against the possibility of a power failure stopping the machines with film in them, two thirty-three thousand volt lines from different power systems have been brought into the building, and in the transformer vault change-over switches are provided to shift the entire load from one line to the other in case the power is shut off. In addition, on the negative developing machine, a hand drive is pro- vided so that in the very remote case, where both sources of power fail, the operator can withdraw from the developer through the stop bath into the hypo all film which may be actually in the course of development.
To guard against the possibility of water spots, double squeegees are used in series, so constructed that they may be cleaned while the machine is operating.
Air for the squeegees is supplied by two double acting compres- sors, each driven by a two-speed motor. Under normal operating conditions both compressors running at half speed will carry the full load with an ample margin of safety. In case of failure of one com- pressor, the other, running at full speed, takes the entire load until the unit which has failed can be repaired, or the quantity of film in process has been reduced to half capacity.
Similarly, two boilers are provided for the air conditioning and dis- tilled water service, either one of which is ample to take care of full production requirements.
Three ammonia compressors are used for refrigeration in the air conditioning units. Under normal atmospheric conditions, one of these machines alone will carry the total load. All compressors and fans are driven by multiple V-belt drives, so that failure of one or more belts will not necessitate shutting down any unit.
In the circulation of chemicals, excess pump capacity has been pro- vided. Where one pump will normally carry the load, another pump of equal capacity is always in reserve. Where two pumps are re- quired, an additional pump is provided to relieve either one. Also, large circulating tanks with a gravity flow to the processing machines
July, 1931] THE MULTICOLOR LABORATORY 17
have sufficient reserve capacity to make it possible to run film out of the machines in case of complete failure of all pumps.
Two wells in the basement at opposite ends of the building, each with a capacity equal to normal wash water requirements, provide wash water of uniform and known chemical characteristics and tem- perature in winter and summer, but, in addition, a main from the city's water supply having sufficient capacity for the entire plant comes into operation automatically as needed.
The building is constructed of flat slab reenforced concrete through- out and probably merits as nearly as modern construction can make it possible the appellation "absolutely fireproof." Automatic sprink- lers of the fusible link type have been installed in every room in the plant. In addition to this, extremely sensitive thermostats instantly responsive to slight but rapid changes of temperature, have been in- stalled where considerable quantities of film are to be stored or handled. As further evidence of the extreme precautions which have been taken to guard against fire, automatic sprinkler heads have been installed under cutting tables and in other places where appreciable quantities of loose film may easily accumulate.
Reenforced concrete film vaults with specially constructed steel shelves are provided for storage of customers' negatives, and each vault has been made small so as to reduce to a reasonable minimum the amount of film concentrated at any one place.
All film, whether negative, raw stock, or developed or colored posi- tive, is handled in specially constructed air-tight and light-tight, heavy gauge steel cans at every stage of its travel through the plant, except when it is being actually handled on one of the machines.
Various minor precautions too numerous to mention have been taken to eliminate as nearly as possible all fire hazards; the success of this program is reflected in the fact that the Multicolor Laboratory carries the lowest fire insurance rate of any film laboratory in the United States.
THE LATIN AMERICAN AUDIENCE VIEWPOINT ON AMERICAN FILMS*
C. J. NORTH AND N. D. GOLDEN**
Summary. — English language pictures accompanied by adequate Spanish titles still find favor in the chief markets of Latin America. Latin- American audiences want box-office personalities and through Spanish editions of our fan magazines nearly all our stars have built up a strong following. In consequence, pictures pre- senting them are more popular than Spanish versions in which the players are unknown.
This does not mean that no Spanish language pictures should be presented. Great care should be taken in their preparation, however, and original subjects should be used of a type which have special appeal. Castilian Spanish, the language of the stage, should be used, unless the setting is in a Latin- American country where the actors would use the pronunciation and idioms peculiar to that country. None of the foregoing applies to Brazil, where the language is Portuguese. Here Spanish speaking pictures are not acceptable.
The tastes of the Latin-Americans run to films containing much display in clothes and furnishings. High society pictures and musicals are both popular.
While Latin- American revenues from film showings are not nearly as high as those received from Europe, the market is nevertheless well worth consideration. Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico stand fourth, seventh, and eighth, respectively, in quantity of motion pictures imported from the United States. There are about 900 theaters wired and the number is rapidly increasing.
Last fall, at the New York meeting of the Society, the writers en- deavored to outline in some detail the position of the American sound film in Europe. In this paper we are turning to Latin America. By so doing, it is intended to strike a somewhat different keynote, in looking at American films from the viewpoint of the audiences in the major Latin-American countries and attempting to indicate the type of film they like, placing special emphasis on the obstacles which the use of dialog has raised in an essentially non- English speaking region. For after all, while the audience is "king" in Europe as well as anywhere else, the European film situation is dominated by competition and government restrictions against our films. In Latin America both
* Presented at the Spring, 1931, Meeting at Hollywood, Calif. ** Chief and Assistant Chief, respectively, Motion Picture Division, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. 18
LATIN AMERICA ON AMERICAN FILMS 10
of these are happily absent and therefore the road to the box-office is comparatively free from those disturbing factors which sc^compli- cate the European situation.
The fact that the bulk of our motion picture revenue conies from Europe should not blind us to the importance of the Latin-American market. After all, during 1930, over 73,000,000 feet of film from the United States were exported to the countries south of the Rio Grande. Argentina took from us nearly 17,000,000 feet of finished motion pictures and is our fourth largest market in quantity of films imported, while Brazil and Mexico, taking 11,312,000 feet and 9,417,- 000 feet, respectively, stand seventh and eighth. In addition, an aggregate total of over 5,000,000 feet of film was sent to Chile and Cuba, over 3,000,000 feet each to Colombia and Peru, and over 2,000,000 feet each to Venezuela and Uruguay. It should be noted, furthermore, that these figures represent showings of American films in all these countries averaging well above 80 per cent of their entire screen time.
Latin America is still relatively deficient in number of wired theaters. Latest figures supplied by the Department's field men show that as yet only about 900 out of 5300 theaters are equipped for talk- ing pictures. However, these comprise nearly all the large first-run theaters, which supply a much larger proportion of revenue than their number would indicate. Furthermore, theater wiring is proceeding at a rapid rate.
With this general picture of the situation in mind, the next question that arises concerns the kind of pictures that Latin-American audi- ences want to see. A rule-of- thumb answer to this question is, of course, impossible. However, we will present here a few impressions which have originated from our highly efficient trade scouts on the spot.
In Cuba — to begin with a market close at hand — it appears that the women set the standard in films as they do in our own United States. That is to say, the society picture with elaborate costumes and settings is the prime favorite, although films of college life and, to a smaller degree, musicals are also popular. Westerns do not seem to enjoy much favor except among a limited portion of lower class audiences.
As far as language is concerned, there seems to be a division of inter- est. For instance, in the five first-run houses in Havana and in tin- two movie houses in the fashionable Vedado residence district, dialog films in English predominate, due to the fact that these theaters are
20 C. J. NORTH AND N. D. GOLDEN [J. S. M. P. E.
frequented by Americans, English speaking foreigners, and by Cubans who, through travel and education, are more or less familiar with English. However, it is worthy of note that when such films enter the second- and third-run houses they are good for runs of only two or three days, as compared with a run at least three times as long for Spanish dialog features. This is true even in cases where the film in English presents popular stars and actors.
In general, there has been no unfavorable reaction to the employ- ment of actors of different nationalities speaking the Spanish lan- guage. Naturally, if the setting of the film lies in a given Latin- American country, such as Mexico or Argentina, it would be expected that the actors would use those peculiarities of idiom and pronuncia- tion peculiar to those countries. It would also be expected that the diction and grammar of an actor would be in keeping with his station and environment. The anomaly of a day laborer speaking high-class Spanish would be quite as absurd as its American counterpart. But aside from these obvious limitations the use of Castilian Spanish for the average dialog film would be understood and appreciated by the Cubans. It may be added that virtually the same situation exists in Porto Rico, both as to tastes and type of language in favor.
Turning now to Mexico, we find an interesting and peculiar situa- tion. There has been, and still is, a press campaign of considerable magnitude to ban the showing of all films in Mexico not in the Spanish language, and this campaign has had its effect in an attempt to ex- clude English dialog films by official decree, which so far has not come to anything. And yet, English language films are well received, particularly in Mexico City, and have a smaller though fair popularity in the large interior towns. Even the uneducated and semi-literate movie-goers do not object to English dialog if the pantomime and ac- tion is sufficient to make the story clear.
An interesting experiment conducted in Mexico City not long ago by one of the large American companies illustrates graphically the relative box-office appeal as between English and Spanish dialog pictures. This company showed the English version of one of its productions in one theater and the Spanish version in another theater of relative size and catering to the same general class of audience. At the end of a week the company in question received the cheerful news that each theater had done better than average business and that the theater showing the Spanish version had grossed just $20 more than the other.
July, 1931] LATIN AMERICA ON AMERICAN FILMS iM
There have been two obstacles to the popularity of Spanish dialog films in Mexico. First, the value of the star cannot be overestimated. Mexican movie-goers read Spanish editions of the fan publications. They know all the American stars and they go to see them play in English, as against a picture in Spanish where the actors are com- paratively unknown. Of course, where American stars can speak Spanish, their popularity is just that much increased, but even though they speak English, they will not lose popularity until such time as Spanish actors develop a real star of their own. It might be added that one