Movie projector

“ The ingenious means adopted for stopping and restarting the projector will be appreciated as a great feature of the invention, and though the action may appear to be abrupt, no damage whatever is inflicted upon the film. ”

“ The modern motion projector is light in weight, small in size, and can be [100] easily operated. Films can be shown at any place, at any time, and are the ideal method of demonstrating the salesman’s wares. Some manufacturers are making a speciality of these portable projectors, which may be tapped to the lighting circuit and used in the office of the prospective customer, with a blank wall as a screen.
This method of exhibition has been hailed with delight, and the number of manufacturers availing themselves of this medium of salesmanship grows in number day by day. ”

“ Another noteworthy point is the way in which a still-life lantern slide is thrown upon the screen when desired. The projector carries two lenses, one for animation, and the other for still-life lantern slide work. The ordinary way of bringing the latter into use is to push the front part of the projector bodily sideways so as to bring the second lens before the condenser and the light. The objection to this method is that the rigidity of the projector is likely to be disturbed, especially after a little wear, with the result that the projection of the moving pictures is apt to become unsteady. ”

“ In many instances, especially in non-topical work, the operator need not necessarily incur the expense and trouble of printing a positive film. Many of the purchasers of educational and popularly scientific films will give their decision after having seen the negative passed through the projector in the manner of a positive film. ”

“ Projected against a screen, or viewed through a magnifying-glass, the pictures are eminently lifelike, for the reason that the enlargement need not be more than ten times the original size. On exhibition evenings the projecting-room, which is situated in the upper story of the photographic department, is hung with black, in order to prevent any reflection from the circle of light emanating from the screen at the other end, the projector being placed behind a curtain, also of black, and provided with a single peep-hole for the accommodation of the lens. ”

“ The illusion of seeing the characters and hearing them speak at the same time is produced by the synchronization of a phonograph and the picture-projector. Now, while perfect timing can be secured, no way has been found to keep the synchronization perfect. A scratch on the talking-machine record, for example, can be seen to result disastrously if it jumps the conversation a word in advance of the figure on the screen. Again, motion-picture film must undergo considerable wear in the projection-machine and frequently the perforations are torn. ”

“ The projection of life-size motion pictures on a screen before an audience might have been achieved considerably earlier had Edison not felt that there would be no commercial market for such a device. The little peep-show models could be manufactured at rather low cost and sold at a profit, so no impetus was given to the development of a screen projector which might, he thought, quickly dissipate the public’s interest and destroy the market. ”

“ This is known as the Edison Standard Gauge, and it is observed by practically all the motion-picture firms in the world.
175 The perforations along the edges of the films furnish the means for drawing them through the camera, printing machine, and projector; and as the correct movement of the films is one of the important factors in making good pictures, they must be absolutely mathematically exact. A fault in perforation of even as much as one thousandth part of an inch is apt to cause the film to buckle in the camera or projector and ruin the whole thing. ”

“ It is easy to see that a man of such activity had no time to further work on the motion picture projector which he had invented as a young man, passing away tedious years while awaiting promotion and responsibility. ”

“ With the inability of the eye to tell that the screen is merely exhibiting separate photographs, the appearance is of motion. In most persons this visual persistence is only about one twenty-fourth of a second, but that is long enough to allow animated photography to be a pleasing illusion to them, for it gives the shutter of the projector time to hide one picture while the mechanism moves the film down to the next picture, bring the film to a dead stop, and let the shutter open again to reveal the next stage of animation. ”

“ By this unreasonable distribution of praise and blame, none have suffered oftener than projectors, whose rapidity of imagination and vastness of design raise such envy in their fellow mortals, that every eye watches for their fall, and every heart exults at their distresses: yet even a projector may gain favour by success; and the tongue that was prepared to hiss, then endeavours to excel others in loudness of applause. ”

“ Other advantages derived from the appearance of the paper film are that the cost of production is claimed to be only one-tenth of the celluloid film. Lighting cost of projection is reduced by one-third, and the price of the projector, which is simple in construction in comparison with the complicated lens system, costs considerably less. ”

“ They were communicable—as are all vibrations.
Harmless of aspect, this bronzed projector! I would have said, with a casual glance, that it was a searchlight of my own time. I have seen many like it. But it had a focussing grid of wires across its face instead of a lens. Wires of a metal no one could name. A focussing and firing mechanism; and insulated wires leading to a cylindrical tank, long as a man—the battery, in which was stored some unnamable electronic force.
Alan and I examined the apparatus as Lea showed how it should be assembled. ”

“ The preliminary operation is carried out with a machine, which stamps the holes by means of specially hardened steel punches. Extreme care has to be taken to carry out the task with mathematical accuracy, in order that the film may be used with any type of camera and projector. Without it steadiness of the picture upon the screen is absolutely impossible. ”

“ The effect of these somber draperies, and the weird accompanying monotone of the electric motor attached to the projector, are horribly impressive, and one's sense of the supernatural is heightened when a figure suddenly springs into his patb, acting and talking with a vigor which leaves him totally unprepared for its mysterious vanishing. ”

“ I had sold the best of the hundred or so films I had picked out before leaving Foster, but there were plenty of other items. The projector itself was the big prize. The self-contained power unit converted nuclear energy to light with 99 percent efficiency. It scanned the 'films', one molecular layer at a time, and projected a continuous picture. The color and sound were absolutely lifelike.
The principles involved in the projector were new, and—in theory, at least—way over the heads of our local physicists. ”

“ Owing to difficulties not yet overcome moving X-ray pictures cannot be taken of the human body at this time. Röntgen rays cannot be refracted, or collected in a lens. Hence the film for an X-ray picture must be equal in size to the picture desired. It is impossible to increase the size of cinematograph films with much success because of the danger of breaking or tearing them when under the strain of the rapid course they must pursue through camera and projector. ”

“ Although the evolution of a smooth-working and perfect camera taxed mechanical ingenuity to a high degree, the proportions of the task were not to be compared with those involved in the design of the projector. ”

“ Home-Made Motion-Picture Camera and Projector In Three Parts—Part II Developing
After having exposed the film in the camera, the next steps are to develop and make a positive film from the negative. The developing and exposing of the film for the positive are the same as in ordinary photography for making negatives and lantern slides, the only difference being in the apparatus for handling the long films. One of the simplest ways of developing a long film is to use a large tray in connection with a cross arm having upright pins around which the film is wrapped in a continuous spiral. ”

“ The powerful electric light, usually an arc light, which is placed in a metal box a few inches behind the rest of the projector, directs its rays through the glass condensers, thence through the film, and thence through the lens, which throws the image upon the white screen or curtain. ”

“ The projector (Fig. 8) is composed of a lamp house, a condensing lens to make the beam of light converge upon the film for illuminating it evenly, a film-stepping device, and a projecting lens for throwing the enlarged picture of the illuminated film upon a screen.
Fig. 8—Projector Complete
The lamp house is made of ordinary stovepipe metal and the dimensions given in the sketch are for a size suitable to use an acetylene or gas burner. ”

“ To start the apparatus, the first picture of the film, say187 that of the title, is placed in the film gate before the exposure aperture, and the needle of the talking machine sound box is placed on the first groove of the disc record. The talking machine motor is started, and the table carrying the record commences to revolve. Directly the needle reaches the point in the disc groove where the first sound wave has been recorded, an electrical contact is established, which is transmitted to the projector, and sets the latter in motion. But it may be that the speed is too much or not enough ”

“ The screen must be set perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the projector objective and condenser, and if the machine is inclined slightly the sheet must be tilted in a corresponding degree, or it will be impossible to secure a picture which is clear and sharp all over, for the simple reason that some of the rays of light from the projector will be shorter than others. ”

“ Apparently his projection efforts were doomed to failure, because they never were based on sound principles. The double lens system has never been made to work satisfactorily.
Marey, who was now using strips of coated celluloid for his instantaneous photographs, sought to devise a suitable projector. This he accomplished in 1893 with what was perhaps the first efficient motion picture projector which could handle more than one brief scene, using long strips of coated celluloid film instead of pictures set on a disk. ”

“ The picture will jump and flutter in the most distressing manner, and no matter how dexterous the operator may be, and despite the excellence of his projector, he cannot by any means rectify or mitigate very appreciably defects arising from indifferent perforation. ”

“ This device is particularly useful, inasmuch as the talking machine is somewhat sensitive to outside disturbance; if the machine is not set quite level, or receives a violent vibration, the needle jumps suddenly from one groove into another. By accelerating the projector this lead can soon be reduced without touching the talking machine in the slightest.
The operator need not follow the movement of the pictures upon the screen, or listen to the talking machine in order to ascertain that synchrony is perfect. ”

“ The operators at the projectors follow the movements of the performer, and can produce an almost infinitely extended range of effects by varying the colors thrown by each projector.
The theater being pitch dark, the dancer can be brought slowly into view and can be made to slowly disappear by manipulation of the projectors. She can appear in any color or combination of colors. It is needless to say that it is a composite performance in the sense that the dancer fills only a part of the functions; skilled operators are absolutely essential at the projectors. ”

“ When the camera is set upside down, the handle is rotated in the natural forward manner, but as the film is travelling backwards past the lens all movement is reversed. By this means the necessity to run the film backwards through the projector is avoided. It is not even necessary to turn the camera upside down now. Some manufacturers provide a second driving spindle, on217 to which the handle is slipped and rotated in the usual manner, the film being caused to travel backwards through reverse gearing. ”

“ The modern projector likewise has its film pictures on a small wheel or reel.
Kircher explained that in this catoptric machine a man looking at the mirror (equivalent to the screen in a theatre) sees images of a fire, a cow and other animals all blending one into another. It is unlikely that the giant wheel could be revolved swiftly enough to give anything like the proper illusion of motion but certainly there was a transformation which must have appeared wondrous and entertaining. ”

“ In Marey’s projector the sun’s rays are interrupted by a hand driven shutter wheel and reflected by two mirrors through the film, the light then passing through the projection lens and throwing the pictures onto the screen.
“The motion of the film,” Marey wrote, “as it halts at each flash, is brought about by an apparatus not shown in the figure. It is similar to that of the simple chronophotographic apparatus (camera) , with the difference that the positive film, having its ends fastened together to make an endless belt, passes over a series of rollers which stretch it taut.” ”