American Cinematographer - December 1, 1920 - 1

LOYALTY-'-PROGRESS
_.-ART-'-~~~~~~~~~

THE MEN WHO MAKE MOTION PICTURES
VOL. I.

NO.3

AT THE THEATERS
WEEK

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, DECEMBER I; 1920
THIS

"Peaceful Valley."
Charles Ray. Photographed by
Chester A. Lyons, A. S. C.
CALIFORNIA-"The
Great Lover."
irected by Frank Lloyd. Photographed by]. D. Jennings, A.S.C.
CLUNE'S
BROADWAY "The New
York Idea." Alice Brady.
GARRICK "Always Audacious."
Wallace Reid. Photographed by
Charles E. Schoenbaum, A. S. C.
GRAUMAN's-"The
Testing Block."
Wm. S. Hart. Photographed by
] oe August, A. S. C.
GRAUMAN'S
RnALTO - "Something
to Think About." C. B. De Mille.
Photographed by Alvin Wyckoff.
HIPPODROME
"The American."
Douglas Fairbanks.
Ph 0 t 0graphed by Wm. McGann and
Harry Thorpe, A. S. C.
KINEMA-"SO Long Letty." Photographed by Anton Nagy and
Steve Rounds.
:MILLER'S "Madame
Peacock."
Nazimova. Photographed byR.].
Bergquist, A. S. C.
NEW PAN'I'AGIts-"'Felix
O'Day."
H. B. Warner. Photographed by
Victor Milner, A. S. C.
PALACE "Sudden Jim." Charles
Ray. Photographed by Chester
A. Lyons, A. S. C.

ALHAMBRA

PHILHARMONIC

AUDITORIUM-

"Way Down East." D. W. Griffith. Photographed by G. W.
Bitzer.
SYMPHONY
"From Now On."
George Walsh.
SUPItRBA-"Honor Bound." J. Jaccard.
TALLY'S BROADWAy-"The

U. P.

Trai1." B. B. Hampton. Photographed by Harry Vallejo.

ROSEN IN LIMELIGHT
Philip E. Rosen, president of the
American Society of Cinematographers, the most exclusive organization of the motion picture industry,
and one of the coming directors in
the profession, directing all-star and
prominent casts for Metro, is one of
the enthusiastic boosters for the
cameramen, ever alert to their advancement and recognition.
Mr. Rosen's first picture with
Metro is running this week at
Tally's Theater, on Broadway, Los
.1\ ngeles, "Are All Men Alike?"
featuring May Allison, one of the
popular stars of today.
Me Rosen has already started a
new picture, an all-star, with Ora
Cat-ewe, Milton Sills and Maigel
Barry in the cast. The story is
"The Little Lady of the Big
House," by Jack London. The able
young director anticipates a splen-did production.

FUNNY EPISODES
Fred Jackman and Perry Evans,
photographing Mack Sennett special feature, "The Small Town
Idol," have recently finished this
great lauch maker after several
months of hard work. The picture
contains man v funny episodes and
ahout everything known to date in
the art of cinematography-e-sc much
so that cameramen are wondering if
there is anything left in the '''orld
for material for 1\1ack Sennett to
make another picture.

LIGHTING AND EQUIPMENT
OF STUDIOS
.
A History of the Progression of Studio Technique

TEN CENTS A COpy

ARTIFICIAL

By L. Guy Wilky
Mr. L. Guy Wilky is Second
Vice President of the American
Society of Cinametographers, and
one of the charter members. He
is cinametographer with the Wm.
DeMille Productions,
his latest
success being "The Prince Chap,"
starring Thomas Meighan.

We also have special equipment
which consists principally of open
arc or miniature arc lamps. This
type of light is used for stand
lamps, table lamps, open fireplace
effects and match and candle effects. Very beautiful effects may
be obtained in lighting with this
equipment when properly used.

The early application of electrical lighting in the making of
motion pictures was very much different than it is today. The first
pictures were made with daylight
entirely, but many difficulties were
encountered, due principally
to
changes .in weather eonditiona..
Electrical light first became useful
when it was used on cloudy days to
help light the set, and at the end
of the day when the light was bad,
thus making it possible to finish the
work planned.
There is a great difference in the
electrical equipment that was used
in the early period of pictures and
that which we use at present. 'I'he
early equipment consisted of mercury vapor tubes and Aristo arc
lamps. Later the spot lights and
Kleig lights were introduced.
'I'he
Kleig lights were called hard lights
and were developed from the
Aristo arc lamp.
Before electrical lights became
generally used, sunlight
effects
through windows and high lights
or back lights were obtained by reflecting the direct rays of the sun
by the aid of mirrors.
The same
effects are now obtained by us: ng
Kleig lights and spot lights.
A number of experiments were
made a few years ago with. blue
globe nitrogen lights. These glohes
gave a light of good photographic
quality, but the greater part of-the
electrical energy was converted
into heat, which made it prohibitive for motion picture use. The
heat generated became so intense
that the actors were unable to
work, and the grease paint of the
makeup soon began to run. The
furniture
became so warm that
one could not touch it .
The general equipment used today in the majority of the studios
consists of mercury vapor tubes,
Kleig l.ichts and spots. While a
few studios depend entirely upon
daylight, they are very few, because the advantages of using electric" 1 lighting over the old daylieht
methods are very many.
The
equipment used today gives the
he~t balance for lighting.
When
nsed on a clark stag-e any character
of lighting may be obtained with
anv degree of contrast between the
bir-h Iivhts, half-tones and shadnU"r~.
If the set is on an open stage
the mercury vapor lights do not
m-ove satisfactory because the light
from them does not mix wen with
dnvl ic-ht. Excellent results may lw
nht.Rined. though, by mixing daylio'hf with electrical light from
Klele li~hts and spots, and almost
~nv T'E'SLlltS (le~irerl may be obtained, nrovided the daylight is
nnder proper control.

A light that has proved very usefullately is known under the trade
name of The Sun Light Arc. This
light is built on the principle of the
spot light, but is very much larger,
and has remarkahle penetrating
power.
It has a large reflecting
mirror and a movable arc by which
the rays of light may be spread
and a whole street may be illuminated at night, or the rays may be
converted into a small spot, giving
a strong light of high actinic value
\'\1' hich is very valuable
for spot
lighting. When a large amountof
light is needed from a single Source
the Sun Light Arc may be used to
very good advantage instead of a
number of Kleig lights Or spots.

BALL COMMITTEE FOR
A. S. C.
Chairman Arthur Edeson announced Monday night the appointment of the following members of
the organization as the A. S. C.
grand ball committee, and an important meeting is called for this Friday evening, December 3rd:
Charles Rosher, Fred Jackman,
]. D. J ennings, Guy Wilky, R. B.
Kurrle, R. 'S. Newhard, William C.
Foster, Frank B. Good, Homer
Scott, Reggie Lyons, H. Lyman
Broening, T. G. Gaudio.
The cinematographers have secured the beautiful ballroom in the
new $5,000,000 Ambassador Hotel
for their annual ball, which will be
held on the evening 'of January
22nd.
This will be one of the greatest
social events ever featured by the
. oeople of the motion picture profession; and all the leading people of
the industry will be present.

Something of the same type of
light has been gotten out by the
General Electric Company. It is
built on the plan of the large naval
search lights and consists of a revolving arc which is revolved by
motor power and has a large parabolic reflecting mirror. This light
generates about three million candle power and is very valuable
for special effects. When it is
equipped with shutter diffusers, by
which the light is more under control, some very beautiful sunlight
effects may be obtained, such as
sunlight streaming through open
windows, or the sunlight on open
sets for back-light effects. This
light at present is very much in the
experimental stage, but the possibilities seem very promising when
used for sunlight effects.
Much progress has already been
made in the perfecting of electrical
equipment, and experiments are
being carried on by electrical engineers at the present time in the
hope of bringing the equipment to
a higher state of perfection.
'l'he
future of artificial lighting in motion pictures depends very much
upon the type of equipment that
comes to the industry. Motion pieture photography has developed
quite remarkably during the past
few years, especially along purely
artistic lines, and much credit is
due to the excellent electrical
equipment that has been perfected.
Eve r y cinametographer
who
nopes for the greatest success in
his work should understand electricity, and he must necessarily
know the value of electrical light.
Motion pictures are getting better
photographically and much more
emphasis is being placed upon the
art of the pictures.
The future
has a lot in store in the line of
electrical equipment and the de"'lleloprnent of artistic photography in
YYlotionpictures. -l\10tion
Picture
News, October 16, 1920.

EDESON WITH GASNIERROBERTSON-COLE
Arthur Edeson, one of the best
known cameramen in the West, is
now affiliated with Gasnier, in Robertson-Cole productions, and will
soon be in the midst of a series of
high-class features.
Mr. Edeson is noted for his artistic photography and is a desirable
addition to this notable coming organiaation.
AN IMPORTANT FEATURE
In an :industry in which means
of expression change as rapidly as
in the making of motion pictures,
it is sometimes interesting to take
a look backward for comparison.
We have become so familiar with
the use of the soft focus that probably we take it for granted that it
has always been used.
In 1916 Mr. John Leezer used a
soft focus lens for the first time
in cinematography.
In picturing
"The Marriage of Molly 0" at
l<'ine Arts, featuring Bobby Harron and Mae Marsh, the lens was
used to portray a fairy story. The
effect on the trade was 'startling
and unsatisfactory.
One exhibitor
demanded another print because
part of it was indistinct-another
said the picture was good, except
the parts in which evidently the
cameraman was drunk!
"Wid"
was the only critic who recognized
the soft focus as an innovation, and
an artistic one at that!
The most
enthusiastic supporter of the new
effect was an artist who WaS profnse in his praise of the effects produced.
Emerson spoke a great truth
when he said that next to the originator of a great sentence, was the
first «uoter of it. Happy is he who
has the seeing eye!

ADVERTISE
Don't complain about the profits
When your business takes a
slump,
While competitors around you
Seem to have you on the jump :
Don't expect the buying public
To step up and patronize
A firm they never heard ofCome to life-and Advertise.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - December 1, 1920