Surface film

“ In a still camera—that is to say, an ordinary portrait or view apparatus—the focussing is on a ground glass, while in a cinematographic instrument it is usual to place a piece of celluloid with a grained surface somewhat like ground glass into the place where the film passes. ”

“ At the surface of each film interference of light takes place just as at the surface of a soap-bubble, and the more evenly the films are spaced apart the more uniform is the colour displayed, the actual tint depending upon the thickness of the films traversed by the light giving rise to the phenomenon. ”

“ The art of producing images on prepared surfaces by means of the actinic or chemical rays of the sun’s light. The principal photographic processes now in use are the positive-, negative-, and dry-collodion processes, in each of which a thin film or skin of iodised collodion forms the sensitive surface, a plate of glass being generally used as the foundation of the film. In a positive picture the ‘lights’ are silvery white by reflected light, and the ‘shades’ are produced by a ‘backing’ of black varnish or velvet, showing through the glass plate. ”

“ Development.
The modern cinematograph was rendered possible by the invention in 1890 of the celluloid roll film, on which serial pictures are [23] impressed by instantaneous photography; a long sensitised film being moved across the focal plane of a camera and exposed intermittently. For an hour’s exhibition 50,000 to 165,000 pictures are needed. To regulate the feed in the lantern a hole is punched in the film for each picture. ”

“ If the negative is full of density, then the narrow card is removed, and the wider slotted card substituted, which allows a larger volume of light to act upon the negative film. The exposed film is wound around large open reels from a spool and is developed by passing through cloths of developer solution. The novelty in the device which we illustrate consists in the fact that the film moves continuously under a uniform source of light, under any intermittent motion or the use of shutters. ”

“ Although the exposed film is kept in a dark box, the chemical action set up by exposure before the lens, continues, as in dry-plate and snap-shot photography, and in a more rapid manner. Consequently the film should not be left undeveloped for more than a few days at the utmost. While prompt development is usual in topical work, there are other sorts of work in which the operator may feel tempted to put the film on one side for development at a later and more convenient time. ”

“ To lighten the camera burden, and to simplify the various photographic processes, were the problems that confronted the American inventor. The first step toward film photography—and it was film photography that relegated camera bulk to the scrap heap—was a roll film made of coated paper to which a sensitive emulsion was applied, but the real goal was reached when cellulose was substituted as a film base. This made practicable the present flexible, transparent film with its attendant convenience and dependability. ”

“ Dust must be conspicuous by its absence, for the slightest particle of foreign matter may scratch and otherwise harm valuable film. The water used in the factory is an important item, and in cases where the regular supply has been [Pg 62] shown to be inferior by chemical analysis, picture companies have often gone to the expense of drilling artesian wells to secure a pure supply. This was one of the moves made at a factory near Philadelphia, which boasts of its ability to turn out six million feet of positive film each week. ”

“ In other words, every roll of film put into the film tank, where the simple directions are implicitly followed, will come out developed as well, or better, than that roll of film could be developed in the dark room by the most experienced photographer. And it is very simple, it eliminates the dark room entirely, developing the film in broad daylight, and is so compact as to be easily carried and used anywhere. ”

“ In the printing-room, still in the dim red light, we see half a dozen printing-machines at work, with raw film and negative feeding together past the aperture where the single flash of white light makes the exposure that leaves the negative image upon the print.
Next, in daylight once more, we see the great revolving racks of the drying-room used for film developed by the hand process—with hundreds of feet of the celluloid ribbon wrapped around and around great wooden drums. ”

“ Each time the handle is turned but one picture, or one-sixteenth of a foot of film, is moved into the field back of the lens where the exposure is made. The view or studio camera, as we know, when a complete turn of the crank handle is made, moves eight pictures, or one-half of a foot of film, into position.
On the table directly under the lens and at [73] the proper distance for correct focussing, a field is marked out exactly that of the field that was used in making the drawings. Two registering pegs are also fastened relatively to the field as those on all the drawing-boards in the studio. ”

“ The history of the cinematograph impresses upon us at every turn the necessity which experimenters were under of devising special facilities and improved apparatus in all of the numerous fields that impinged upon their work. They were obliged to break ground in every direction. For instance, besides securing the right kind of film, they had also to find the best means of developing it. ”

“ Suffice it to say that the pictures of the players in motion are taken on a long celluloid strip of film, just as one picture is taken on a square of celluloid in a snap-shot camera.
This long reel of film, when developed, is a [35] "negative." From it a "positive" strip of film is made, and this is the one that is run through the projection machine throwing the pictures on the white screen in the darkened theatre. ”

“ The positives are made by this machine at the rate of a score or so in a second. Of course, the positive is developed in the same manner as the negative.
Therefore, in order to show the people in the theatre the Suburban, five hundred feet of film was exposed, developed, fixed, and dried, and nearly ten thousand separate and complete pictures were produced, in the space of two hours and fifteen minutes, including the time occupied in taking the films to and from the track, factory, and theatre. ”

“ The beginner of to-day is able to profit from the mistakes of the pioneers, and the appliances and processes at his disposal are those of approved application. After one or two trials the worker will realise that the development of a 200-feet length of celluloid ribbon is no more difficult than the development of an ordinary Kodak spool.
One thing the beginner will do well to bear in mind. He should adopt some particular brand of film, and cling to it after he has become acquainted with its emulsion, speed, composition, and peculiar characteristics. ”

“ Naturally, as the intricacies of the craft are mastered, the tyro will wish for a more elaborate apparatus. He can gratify his ambitions in accordance with his progress, or with the improvement in his financial position.
The mechanism of the modern cinematograph [26] camera is very simple in its character and very easy to understand. The necessary parts are very few in number. In all cameras the chief object is to effect the forward intermittent movement of the film at regular intervals and for a defined distance. ”

“ Such are a few of the many motion-picture activities which have sprung up in the last few years, and made it possible for us to see whatever is interesting in any part of the world, on the cinematograph screen. Beside the professional cinematographers, there are of course any number of smart boys and young men who are having fine times with the amateur projecting outfits sold by the big makers of apparatus. These machines run from mere toys made up for a little roll of film, already prepared, to projectors with which very creditable parlour shows can be given. ”

“ The modern cinematograph camera is completely self-contained; the film boxes are incorporated within the case that carries the mechanism for moving the film forward. Further improvement is hard to imagine. Bulk and dimensions are reduced to the minimum, with, at the same time, the maximum of efficiency. ”

“ As far as the climber is concerned, flat films (“cut films”) suffer from the same defect as plates, in that they take too much time to use. Pack films are free from this disadvantage, but the packages in which they are contained will not stand rough usage; they are somewhat readily damaged, with the result that light may be admitted. The roll-film is the negative material par excellence for the mountaineer. In a suitably designed camera, the best makes lie perfectly flat. Their bulk and weight are less than those of any other type of negative. ”

“ When the reel of film has all been exposed, it is taken to the dark room, and there developed, just as a small roll from your camera would be. This film is called the negative. From it any number of positives can be made, all depending on the popularity of the subject.
To make positives, the negative film is laid on another strip of sensitive celluloid of the same size. The two films are placed in a suitable machine, and then set in front of a bright light. ”

“ The manipulation of the moving picture camera does not demand a long course of tutelage to enable pictures to be taken. Accordingly, whereas formerly the hand camera constituted a prominent part of the impedimenta, the cinematograph now occupies the pre-eminent place. The films obtained command a distinct value, which fluctuates according to the popular interest created in the particular exploration achievement to which they refer. Any film manufacturing firm will undertake readily to place the subjects upon the market under a handsome royalty. ”

“ Television maps from many cameras to the entire world, and all can simultaneously partake in its images. Television is distributed and introduces simultaneity in that several events from several locations can be broadcast on the TV screen. By comparison, cinematography is centralized. Filming is limited to the location where it is being carried on. Cinematography is intrinsically sequential in that it follows the narrative structure and constitutes a closed entity. Once edited for showing, the film cannot be interrupted to insert anything new. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It is simply developing on a grand scale, thousands of separate pictures on hundreds of feet of film being developed at once.
A negative, however, is of no use unless a positive or print of some kind is made from it. If shown through a stereopticon, for instance, a negative would make all the shadows on the screen appear lights, and vice versa. A positive, therefore, is made by running a fresh film, with the negative, through a machine very much like the moving-picture camera. ”

“ Before there can be a cinematograph play there must be a negative film upon which the pictures are taken, a camera to take the pictures, an apparatus for developing them, a positive film which corresponds to the printing paper in still photography, upon which the pictures are printed from the negative film, a printing machine to print the positives from the negatives, and lastly a projecting machine to throw the picture upon the screen in the schoolroom, college lecture room, or theatre.
Every boy who is an amateur photographer is familiar with the photographic film. ”

“ A thin, narrow ribbon of pictures 40 feet in length is a vastly different thing to handle from a rigid glass plate. Its flexibility presented many perplexing obstacles which had to be overcome. Those who used the old roll film with the snap-shot hand-camera of the early days, can relate pathetic and humorous stories of the trials and tribulations they suffered in passing the awkward length of film through the developing and other baths. When it was unwound from the roller preparatory to immersion in the developing solution, it persisted in buckling and twisting into strange contortions. ”

“ If he had no camera, why should he be carrying a roll of films?
I set out early next morning to take my precious roll to be developed. I was so fussy that I went all the way to Regent Street to the big Kodak place. I handed it in and asked for a print of each film. The man finished stacking together a heap of films packed in yellow tin cylinders for the tropics, and picked up my roll. ”

“ The average amateur photographer, who has made a practice of developing and printing his own photographs, will find little of interest in a description of the stages through which the film passes in a motion-picture factory. ”

“ Animated photography is nothing more than a Kodak worked by machinery. Instead of the shutter being actuated by hand to make an exposure, and the film afterwards moved by turning a roller so as to bring a fresh area before the lens, the two movements, in the cinematograph, are combined. The rotation of the handle alternately opens and closes the lens, and moves the film forward a defined distance after each exposure. ”