Henry Charles Horstmann

“ Every unnecessary light that is added to an emergency system increases the likelihood of trouble. A sufficient number of lights added to it to illuminate the space used by the audience in getting out is, therefore, necessary but more than this is a detriment rather than a help. The practice of connecting all of the hall and lobby lights to the emergency system is to be condemned, since it defeats the purpose of the rule which provides a double illumination system for every part of the theater used by the audience. ”

“ Operation of Motors.—The speed of a direct-current motor is always such that the counter e.m.f. of the motor becomes nearly equal to the impressed e.m.f. of the line. In order to speed up a motor it is necessary to weaken the fields; and conversely, to slow it down we must strengthen the fields. The above methods are necessary if the motor is to run at a nearly fixed speed with a variable load. The speed can also be controlled by a variable resistance placed in the armature circuit. ”

“ In order that such an illusion might be perfect, we should have to move the film so rapidly that the eye would not perceive the movement. This is not possible except with very weak illumination and we should actually, in the above experiment, receive a blurred impression, because we could not help seeing the dots while they were moving, and our eyes would behold a mixture of stationary and moving dots. In order to produce the impression of perfect motion, it is necessary to shut off the light during the time that the film is actually in motion. ”

“ A man, walking at the rate of three miles an hour, displaces himself about three inches during the time of the exposure of one picture, or 1⁄16th of a second. At this rate we obtain the impression of even [58] and continuous motion unless he be too close to the camera. In order to obtain pictures of other objects moving at faster or slower rates, we must take them at intervals in order that the displacement between pictures will be about the same or at least not any more. ”

“ If a picture contains a very bright object, the travel ghost will appear if there is any motion while the light is on the film. If the shutter is set too late, the travel ghost will be in the lower part of the screen; and if too soon, in the upper. If the shutter is made too small, the travel ghost cannot be entirely eliminated but must be divided half on the lower and half on the upper side of the picture. The travel ghost and other imperfections of a picture are much more noticeable to persons close to the screen than to those far away. ”

“ The only real objection to a muslin screen is the loss of light which it entails. It is not only a poor reflector of light, but it allows much of the light to pass through it. With many such screens, the picture is as well visible behind the screen as it is in front of it. ”

“ Where a very strong light is desirable, the arc is usually drawn out to some length; and as there is a rise in voltage, with a long arc, in such a case, the light increases at a greater rate than the amperage. In ordinary projection work, the arc is kept quite short because of the better definition obtainable by the use of such an arc; and we may assume that the light obtained is nearly directly proportional to the amperage. This relation of light and the current input to the lamp will be practically correct, especially if the size of the electrodes chosen is proportional to the amperage. ”

“ The ordinary moving picture film contains 16 pictures per foot, and is run off at the rate of about 60 feet per minute, so that in one minute, we see 960 different pictures.
In order to make motion visible, we must bring it within a certain speed limit. Thus, to show the motion of a swiftly thrown ball in detail, we must make it appear to move more slowly than it really does; and to show the development of a growing plant, it must appear to grow much faster than it actually does. Both of these requirements can easily be fulfilled by the motion picture camera and the projecting machine. ”

“ An image formed upon the retina remains for some time, the time varying with the intensity of the light. Very intense impressions are supposed to last about one twenty-fifth of a second; milder ones as long as one-tenth of a second. This tendency to retain images is known as the persistence of vision and can be noticed in many ways. A twenty-five cycle alternating current falls to zero fifty times in one second; and fifty times in each second there is a slight cooling off of the incandescent filament. ”

“ A little coloring will not be noticed by the audience and will therefore not be objectionable. With a given system there will thus be a certain size of spot which gives the best results obtainable. Considering that if the spot is increased in size, the light becomes clearer but also less intense; and that if the spot is decreased in size, the light on the screen, though more brilliant, is liable to show coloring, a good operator should practice distinguishing the coloring and make himself as proficient in this art as possible. ”

“ They are not able to focus both eyes upon the same point and thus the perfectly clear picture which may exist in one eye is mixed with an uncertain picture in the other.
In youth normal eyes are able to adjust themselves to different intensities of light and different distances very rapidly. This power is largely curtailed as age advances. Where a young person can almost instantly, after gazing at some distant object, turn to a newspaper and read, the eyes of a person of advanced age generally require considerable time before they can adjust themselves in the same way. ”

“ The life of all incandescent lamps varies inversely with the voltage. An increase in voltage will produce an increase in the efficiency of the lamp but shorten its life. The efficiency decreases with continued use, and it is generally considered that the useful life of a lamp is over when its efficiency has fallen to 80 per cent of its original value. Frosting or coloring shortens the life of lamps from 30 to 50 per cent and reduces the candle power from 3 to 10 per cent, but the lamp yields a more pleasing light. ”

“ The most important optical instrument with which we have to deal is the projecting arc lamp and its optical system. The passage of light through this system of lenses is altogether different from that passing through a camera lens for instance. In a camera lens the picture is formed upon the ground glass screen by the light reflected from the object. From any single point of the object, rays of light strike all parts of the lens, pass through it, and are recombined or focused at some point behind it. ”

“ If this is done there will probably be no serious results, for in the past there have been so many film fires which have been successfully confined to the operating room that audiences have become pretty well accustomed to them. If all operating rooms are strongly built and of ample dimensions, with all openings as small as practicable, it will help to inspire confidence in the audience and there will be but little likelihood of a panic.
The chief danger is to the operator. It is true that he is generally to blame, but it is not always possible even with the utmost care to prevent a fire. ”

“ In some of the cheaper theaters a pair of arc lamps is used on the stage, but they do not give satisfaction. The light is not even and steady enough and cannot be properly “dimmed”. Where arc lamps are to be arranged for stage illumination they must be suspended amid the scenery and enclosed with wire guards. In some cities the use of arc lamps suspended above the stage is prohibited.
In the auditorium, arc lamps are sometimes installed, but this practice can not be recommended and, with the present high efficiency incandescent lamps, there is but little excuse for it. ”

“ Many reflectors are arranged to throw very nearly parallel rays; and with these the intensity remains the same except for absorption, which is ordinarily not very great.
We see things only through the rays of light they reflect. All colored bodies have this peculiarity, viz., that they are capable of reflecting only such rays as make up the color the body is said to possess. A red body, for instance, absorbs all colors except red and reflects red only. A black body absorbs all rays and a perfectly dull black body is visible only by contrast ”

“ The number of sockets installed in the auditorium varies widely. In some of the cheaper theaters one light for each twenty seats is considered sufficient; while in elaborately lighted houses, there are cases where the number of sockets is equal to about half the number of seats. Good illumination requires that the light come from the back, but very often the purpose is to obtain a brilliant effect by placing lights in front of the audience. ”

“ It is advisable that every operator test his traps with pieces of film and assure himself that they will not, under ordinary circumstances, carry fire; but he must never rely too much upon them as safeguards, for although they will check a small blaze, such as would result from the burning of a few inches of film, they would probably not extinguish a fire occurring when there was much film crowded around them, as might be the case when a take-up reel or the intermittent sprocket failed to work. ”

“ There are fire shutters that do not depend upon the motion of the machine, but are raised as soon as the handle is pressed to give motion to the machine. This type of shutter is raised as soon as the handle is pressed and may expose the stationary film to the light. Such a shutter should not be tolerated at all. The fire shutter should be carefully tested to see that it operates properly under all conditions. If one is not acquainted with the particular type of fire shutter in use, it is advisable for him to test it with the lamp turned on it for some time. ”

“ If by accident a roll of film should become wet, it can be saved by very quickly unrolling it and spreading it out to dry. If it can be spread out quickly enough, it will not be harmed; but if it is not spread out at once, the emulsion will stick to the celluloid and will come off when the film is finally unwound.
There is also a process of fireproofing film. This must not, however, be too thoroughly relied upon, especially if the film is old. Fireproof film is a valuable aid, but it is best to treat it exactly like other film in respect to the fire hazard. ”

“ In many theaters gas is used for emergency and exit lighting and in many respects this seems to be a good practice. In some quarters, however, it is believed that a fire in the scenery of a theater might create such an air pressure in the building as to overcome the low gas pressure and thus put out the gas at the very time when it is most needed. The very best suggestion that can be made is that of a storage battery to supply the emergency system. Where alternating current is used this, however, introduces some complications and becomes quite expensive. ”

“ Generally speaking, arc lamps are of two kinds, open and enclosed. The enclosed arc operates at a much higher voltage and is but little used about theaters. The open arc is almost universally used for stage work and this is about the only place where it is still considered useful. This kind of arc lamp is, however, very hazardous in localities where inflammable material abounds and for this reason it is always enclosed with wire mesh when possible.
Lens lamps can be tightly enclosed since none of [24] the light is wanted except that which passes through the lens in front. ”