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MOTION PICTURE

HANDBOOK

A Guide for

MANAGERS AND OPERATORS
of MOTION PICTURE THEATRES

By F. H. RICHARDSON

Published by

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD

125 EAST 23D STREET

NEW YORK CITY

World Photo(!Rai>ihc Pltblishino Co.

Entered at Stationers' Hall
I,ondon, Eng.

CONTENTS. i

K- ,■ •

THE SOURCE OF THE LIGHT. ;Ci,0

The Current, Direct and Alternating. . Definition or Elec-
trical Terms. How to Make Calculations. Rule of Thumb.

WIRING.

Insulation. Permanent Wiring. Wire Gauge Table.
Lamp Consumption Tables. ■ Switches. . Switchboards. > Exit
Light Circuits. Sta?:c Switchboards. Fuses. Wire Sys-
tems. ( Scries Multiple. ■ High Potential Alternating System.
Meters.

RESISTANCE DEVICES.
'' Rheostats. ' Transformers. Mercury Arc Rectifier. Motor
Generator Sets.

THE OPERATING ROOM.
^ Fittings for Operating Room. ' Tools. " Operating Room
Switches. ' The Lamp. * The Lamp House.

LENSES.
Finding the Focal Length of Lenses and Finding the Size
Lens Required to Project a Given Size Picture at a Given
Throw. The Spot. The Principles of Optical Projection.
The Selection of a Lens. 'Adjustment of Light. Condenser
Breakage. '

CARBONS.

Flow Carbons Are Made. Setting the Carbons. '

THE FILM.

Proper Care of Film. ' Patching Film.' Wet Film. Remov-
ing Emulsion. Leaders. Inspecting. > Film Jumping. > How
Film Is Made. Speed.' The Throw.'

MACHINE HEADS.

* Cleaning and Oiling. ' Repairing. ' Adjusting Intermittent
Gear.' Setting the Shutter, etc.

I The Edengraph. ■ Edison. Lubin. Motiograph. Pathe.
Power's. Standard.

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Stereopticon. Song Slides. Slide Carriers. Pedal
Fire Shutter. Electric Meters. How to Read Meters.

The Curtain. Effect of Daylight and House Lights on the
Picture. Illuminating the Auditorium. Ventilation. Seating.
Music. Bell Wiring.

LOCATION AND MANAGEMENT.

Selecting a Theater Location. Selecting a Small Town
Location. Employees. Advertising. Film Service. Changes.
Tickets. Vaudeville. Travelogues and Other Lectures.

INDEX.

AdjiistiiK'nt of Light 78

Advertising 164

Alternating Current 3

Alternating System, High Potential , 33

Arc Rectifier, Mercury 51

Auditorium Illuminating 144

Bell Wiring 155

Breakage of Condensers 79

Calculations, How to Make 8

Carijons 82

Carbon Setting 86

Carriers, Slide 135

Changes 166

Circuits, Exit Light 25

Condensers 65

Condenser Breakage 79

Curtain, The 142

Daylight and House Lights, Effect on Picture 143

Definition of Terms 7

Direct Current 3

Dry Film Moistening, to Remove Emulsion 99

Edengraph Machine 115

Edison Machine 117

Employees 163

Emulsion Removing, Moistening Dry Film 99

Equipment, General, for House 142

Exit Light Circuits 25

Film, The 92

Film, How Made 102

Film Image — Table Showing Size of on Screen 80

Film Jumping loi

Film Patching 97

Film, Moistening Dry, to Remove Emulsion 99

Film, Service 165

Film, Wet 99

Finding the Focal Length of Lenses 67

Fittings For Operating Room 56

Focal Length of Lenses, to Find 67-78

Fuses 27

General House Equipment *. . . . 142

Given Size Picture — to Project at Given Throw, 67, 69, 80, 105

Heads, Machine 106

High Potential, Alternating System 33

iv.

House Lights and Daylight, Effect on Picture 143

How Film is Made 102

How to Make Calculations 8

Image on Screen, Film or Stereo — Size of 80-81

Illuminating the Auditorium 144

Insulation 10

Lamp, The 59

Lamp Consumption Table 16

Lamn House 63

Leaders, Inspecting 100

Lectures and Travelogues, Illustrated 168

Lenses 65

Lenses, Finding the Focal Length of 67-78

Lenses, Selection of TJ

Lenses, Table of 69

Light, Adjustment of 78

Light Circuits, Exit 25

Light, Source of 3

Location and Management 159

Location For Theater. Selecting 159

Location, Selecting a Small Town 162

Making Film 102

Machines 115

Edengraph ; 115

Edison 117

Lubin 1 19

Motiograph 120

Pathe 124

Power's 127

Standard 130

Machine Heads 106

Management and Location 159

Meters, Electric 35-138

Meters, How to Read 140

Mercury Arc Rectifier 51

Miscellaneous Items 134

Motiograph Machine 120

Moisteniner Dry Film For Removing Emulsion 99

Motor Generator Sets 52

Multiple Series 33

Music 154

Ooeratinsr Room 54

Operating Room Fittings 56

Operating Room, Switches 58

Optical Projection, Principles of 75

Patching Film 97

Pathe Machine 124

Picture. Effect of Daylight and House Lights Upon .!'. '. 143

Potential, High ; Alternating System 33

Power's Machine 127

Power's Machine. New Model No. 6. ..........",.'. .'.'..". 127

Principles of Optical Projection 75

Projecting a Given Size Picture 67, 69, 80, 81, 105

Rectifier, Mercury Arc . 51

Removing Emulsion by Moistening Dry Film 99

Resistance Devices 36

Rheostats 40

Rule of Thumb 9

Seating 151

Series, Multiple 23

Service, Film 165

Setting the Carbons 86

Size of Picture at a Given Throw 67, 69, 80, 81, 105

Size of Image on Screen, Film or Stereo 80-81

.Shutter Setting 1 1 1

Slide Carriers 135

Slides, Song 134

Source of Light 3

Speed 103

Spot, The 172

Stage Switchboards 26

Stereopticon, The 134

Switchboards 23

Switches 19

Switches for Operating Room 58

Table of Lamp Consumption 16

Table of Lenses 69

Table of Wire, Underwriters 15

Table Showing Size of Screen Image — of Stereopticon. 81

Terms, Definition of 7

Theater Location, Selecting 159

Throw, The 104

Thumb Rule 9

Tickets 167

Tools 57

Transformers 49

Vaudeville 168

Ventilation 148

Wire Svstems 30

Wire Table, Underwriters 15

Wiring 10-12

Wiring For Bells 155

ADVERTISERS' INDEX.

Rausch & Lomb 177

Rio Carbons (Chas. L. Kiewert) 178

Edison Kinematograph 179

Electra Carbons (Hugo Reisinger) 180

Lang Manufacturing Company 177

Lubin Cineograph 181

Motiograph Machine 182

Moving Picture World 186

Pathe Professional Projector 183

Power's Camcragraph 184

Standard Machine 185

vi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

This book is dedicated to the motion picture operator
as a token of appreciation of the important part he
plays in the presentation of the photoplay. That it may
be helpful in hastening the day of perfect motion picture
projection, is the desire of the writer, and he trusts that
a careful perusal of its pages may stir the ambition and
increase the ability of every reader.

F, H. Richardson.

October, 1910.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE.

The remarkable vogue of the motion picture and the
rapid strides it has made in public favor as an entertain-
ment and educational factor has had its drawbacks. Chief
am.ong these has been the impossibility of securing a
sufficient number of men with the necessary knowledge
and experience to fill important positions.

The Moving Picture World has, in no small measure,
contributed to the success of the picture and the articles
in this book were written to give helpful information in
regard to the many problems that may arise in connec-
tion with the duties of the manager and operator. With
a few exceptions the articles have already appeared in
the Moving Picture World but they have been revised
and amplified and are herewith presented in compact
form to comply with popular request.

Mr. Richardson has avoided technical terms and his

plain language and matter-of-fact style bespeaks for this

book the same degree of popularity which attaches to the

Operators' Column which he still conducts in the pages of

The Moving Picture World.

October, 19 10.

The Source of the Light.

It is imperative that the motion picture operator should
thoroughly understand the electric current and the rules
which govern its action under any given circumstance likely
to be met with in the line of his work. It is not enough
that he know that a few certain things will produce certain
results. He should know WHY these results are obtained;
in other words, he should understand the force he is handling,
and understand it thoroughly if he expects to obtain the
best possible results. Moreover, while the one who has not
an elementary knowledge of electricity may learn to handle
the current with very good results under one certain set of
conditions, he is likely to be practically helpless under other
and different conditions, particularly should he be called to
"go on the road," thus being obliged to "hitch up" on different
systems of wiring, different lighting systems, and meet with
a wide range of voltage. Also the man who, while able to
get fair, or even good, results under conditions with which
he is familiar, does not thoroughly understand the force
with which he is working is not in position to improve re-
sults already obtained through the medium of intelligent
experiment. He must perforce depend almost wholly on
what someone else tells him without being able to form an
opinion as to whether what he has heard is likely to be cor-
rect or incorrect.

Good light is of prime importance in picture projection,
and the one who is able to produce and maintain a clear,
silvery-white spot has mastered three-fourths of the diffi-
culties between him and the goal of good operating.

THE CURRENT— DIRECT AND ALTERNATING.

The difference between direct and alternating current is
simple, once it is understood.

Direct current flows constantly in one direction, so that
one carbon of the lamp is always positive and the other

4 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

negative. For reasons which will be fully explained later,
the positive carbon must always be above and the negativ
below when using direct current.

Alternating current, on the other hand, flows first in o^
direction and then in the other, this being caused by t
peculiar construction of the generator (dynamo). The ci
rent flows one way for a time varying from 1-25 to 1-275
a second. It then is reversed, flowing in the opposite diri
tion for the same period of time. These two periods of flo
are termed a "cycle." To make this term more clear: sup-
pose you walk across a room, then turn and walk back again.
When you got back where you started from you would have
completed what would correspond to a "cycle" in alternatin .
current. Therefore when you hear "60 cycle" current spok'
of it means that the current reverses its direction 120 tim ^
per second. If it be 132 cycle the reversals are at the ra
of 264 per second, etc. In a two-pole dynamo the curren '
flows in one direction during the time the armature makes
one-half of a revolution and in the opposite during the other
half, so that one complete turn of the armature completes
one "cycle." Modern dynamos, however, have more than
two poles (some of them a great many more), thus reduc-
ing the necessary armature speed required to produce -a given
current frequency. ("Frequency" means the number of cy-
cles per second.) All dynamos, direct or alternating, are
constructed to produce a certain voltage, and the machine
designed to produce, for instance, no volts could not and
would not produce 220 volts or any other pressure than that
named.

With alternating current each carbon of the lamp is alter-
nately positive and negative. This has a very decided effect
on projection light, as will be explained later on. Many
operators claim that as good results cannot be obtained
from alternating as with direct current, but this is not true,
though it is somewhat more difficult and requires more cur-
rent (amperes) to produce results equal to those possible
with direct current.

Alternating current is preferred by power, and many
lighting companies, mainly for the reason that it can be
generated at high tension (voltage) transmitted to the place
where it is to be used and there transformed (reduced to

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 5

ower voltage) by means of a very simple arrangement,
lown as a transformer, the latter requiring very little care

attention. Also this current is just as readily transformed

m a low to a high voltage.

'his cannot be so readily done with direct current. ^ For

eral reasons high tension direct current is neither so
, irable or commercially practical as is alternating.

. XOTR. — Those who wish to learn more about this matter may do bo
y consnltlng works on electricity at their public library.]

Now the saving lies just here: high tension (high voltage)
•irrent capable of performing an immense amount of work
n be transmitted over a very much smaller wire than can
r same amount of electrical energy at low voltage. It is
b JANTITY (amperes) of current flowing, not pressure,
• ich determines the size of wire necessary. One (l)
npere at 2.000 volts becomes about ten (10) amperes after
/t has been transformed down to no volts pressure. By
consulting the wire table (given later on) you will find that,
while a very small wire will carry three amperes, it takes
a much larger one to carry 30 amperes. Now suppose the
current must be conducted one mile from the power station,
rf the tension is 2,000 volts the current may be brought right
tip to the transformer (usually located on the pole nearest
fo where the current is to be used) on a small wire, whereas
if it were generated at no volts it must be carried all that
listance at that voltage, thus requiring about ten times the
mperage. Don't you see the immense saving in wiring cost?
All this has no direct bearing on operating or projection,
)ut is explained for the reason that the writer has heard
operators compelled to handle alternating current exclaim
with considerable heat, "What do they generate the stuff
for anyhow?" Then, too, the operator should have at least
some understanding of these matters, and, as a matter-of-
fact, the more general knowledge he has of electrical prac-
tice the better for him and his employer.

One question frequently propounded, and which seems
to puzzle a great many operators who seek to understand
alternating current is: "How is it that if the current reverses
its direction so often there is flow sufFicient to maintain an
arcr

6 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

This is very simple, when one stops to consider the
enormous speed of the electric current. This speed has been
variously stated, some authorities placing it as high as that
of light. With this in mind it will readily be seen that, in-
finitesimal as is the time required for an alternation the
current will pass hundreds, if not thousands, of times entirely
around a circuit many miles in length during that period.
Electric speed is entirely beyond the power of the human
mind to grasp and comprehend.

Careful experiment has proven that a low frequency cur-
rent is most economical for power purposes, 25 to 30 cycle
being best. On the other hand, the high frequency current
is best for light. Current with as low frequency as above
named will not do for light at all, as the illumination fur-
nished by it is flickery and unsteady. It has been found that
60 cycle current answers fairly well for both purposes and
that is the standard being adopted by practically all new
commercial plants designed to furnish both light and power.
Even the old plants originally furnishing very high or very
low frequency current are changing their generators to 60
cycle machines, so that is the alternating current you will
now most frequently meet with.

Direct current needs no detailed explanation. Being gen-
erated in the dynamo it flows out on one (the positive) wire,
performs its work and returns to the dynamo via the other
("negative) wire. You are not likely to have to cut into any
high tension direct current systems and will almost invariably
find direct current to be at a pressure of no volts, except
where the three-wire system is used. From this sysetm (as
will be explained further on) you can get either no or 220
volts, according to the way you "hitch up" to it.

In handling steam we use the term "pound' to denote
pressure. In handling water its volume or quantity is ex-
pressed in "gallons."

Electricity has pressure just exactly as has steam in a
boiler, but this pressure is expressed in "volts" instead of, as
in steam, in pounds. Electric current has volum.e, or quanti-
ty, just as has flowing water, and this quantity is measured,
or expressed, in "amperes," instead of in gallons, as is the
case with water.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 7

Fix it firmly in your mind that the term "VOLT" MEANS
PRESSURE and nothing else but pressure, just exactly as
pounds means pressure in a water pipe or a steam boiler,
and that "AMPERES" MEANS VOLUME, OR QUANTI-
TY, of current Howing, exactly as gallons would mean the
•ciuantity of water flowing in a water pipe.

Electric current has both pressure and volume, exactly
the same as has water in a watermain, and the terms volt
and ampere mean in electrical practice precisely the same
thing as do pounds and gallons when applied to a water-
main carrying water under pressure.

The "ohm" is the term used to express resistance to the
passage of an electric current. Current in passing through a
wire meets with resistance, just as a water pipe offers re-
sistance to the flow of water through friction. This resistance
is expressed in ohms.

The term "Watt" is used to measure the amount of work
performed by an electric current. In other words, it means
electro-motive force or horsepower. Merely for the sake
of convenience the term "kilo-watt" is much used, meaning
1,000 watts. A watt is 1/746 of a horsepower.

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS.

These definitions are the clearest, simplest the writer has
been able to discover after a search of many standard works
on electricity. He believes that a close inspection of them
will enable the average man to arrive at a pretty close under-
standmg of what the terms really mean. At any rate they
cannot be put in simpler language.

VOLT: The practical unit of electric pressure, or electro-
motive force. The pressure required to move one ampere
against a resistance of one ohm. The electro-motive force in-
duced in a conductor, usually an armature coil, which is
cutting 100,000,000 magnetic lines (of force) per second.

AMPERE: The unit of electric current (quantity or
volume). That amount of current which can be driven by
a pressure of one volt, the unit of electric pressure or electro-
motive force, through one ohm, the unit of electric resistance.
Such a rate of flow of electricity as would transmit one
coulomb per second (a coulomb is defined as the unit of
electrical quantity. That quantity of current which would

8 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

pass in one second through a resistance of one ohm, under
a pressure of one volt.). A current of such strength as
would deposit .005084 grains of copper per second. The unit
rate of flow per second.

[NOTE. — Some writers say Uiat the term amijcre does not represeut
quantity, but only indicates tUe strengtli of tlie current; quantity being*
represented in coulombs, which means the quantity passing a point in a
given time (coulombs equal the amperes times and secouds). Thij is
splitting hairs altogether too line for the average operator. Technically
the above statement is quite true, but for the operator's purpose it Is
well enough to say that amperes represent quantity.]

OHM (there are several standards, viz., the Board of Trade
Ohm, English Ohm, British Association Ohm, Legal Ohm
and the Standard Ohm): The "Legal" ohm is the standard
used in the United States, and it is defined as follows: The
resistance of a column of mercury (the resistance such a
body of mercury would offer to current) 106 centimeters in
length, having an area of cross-section of one square milli-
meter at 0 degrees Centigrade or 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This
is now the international value of the ohm.

WATT: The unit of electrical activity or power. The
number of watts is numerically equal to the amperes times
tile voltage. One volt times one ampere equals one wait or
1/746 horsepower. Sometimes called the "Volt-Ampere."

HOW TO MAKE CALCULATIONS.

Knowing the voltage and number of ohms resistance the
number of amperes flowing may be determined by dividing
the volts by the ohms; as, for instance, having no volts pres-
sure and a rheostat offering 3 ohms resistance how many
amperes will we get? no divided by 3 equals 36 2/3, the
number of amperes. Knowing the voltage and number of
amperes flowing, the ohms resistance offered may be deter-
mined by dividing the volts by the amperes; as, for instance,
with 220 volts pressure and 40 amperes flowing how many
ohms resistance have we? 220 divided by 40 equals 5^/l>,
the ohms resistance offered to current passage. Knowing
the number of amperes flowing and the ohms resistance we
may find the voltage by multiplying the amperes by the
ohms; as, for instance, if we had 3 ohms resistance and were
getting 30 amperes of current we would find the pressure by
multiplying 30 by 3, which would tell us the voltage was 90

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 9

RULE OF THUMB.

The following formula, known as the "Rule of Thumb," is
correct and is very convenient in aid of memory. In this
formula, V equals volts, A amperes and O ohms. Re-
membering that it is expressed as a fraction and that the
line means "divided by" and that with the upper quantity
eliminated the two lower should be multiplied together, just
cover up the quantity desired and what remains will equal
the quantity covered up. For instance: I wish to ascertain
the resistance, knowing the amperage and voltage. I place
my thumb over the "O" and see that V divided by A will
give it.

O A

To find the watts being consumed you simply multiply the
voltage by the number of amperes flowing; as, for instance,
we have 30 amperes at no volts. How many watts? no
multiplied by 30 equals 3,300 watts. How many kilowatts
is that? 3,300 divided by 1,000 equals 33/10 kilowatts.
How many horsepower is it? One watt is 1/746 of a horse-
power, the'refore 3,300 watts would equal 3,300 divided by 746
or 4 and 158/^3 horsepower.

10 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

Wiring.

INSULATION.

This is a matter of the UTMOST IMPORTANCE to
which too little attention is usually paid. In too many in-
stances current bills are excessive simply for the reason that
there are unsuspected current leakages due to faulty insula-
tion. By this it is not necessarily meant that the wire cover-
ing is faulty. Insulation, in its true sense, means keeping the
current from contact with the ground, in any degree, at all
points, also keeping the opposite wires of a circuit from
electrical contact with each other.

We confine electricity to the wires by insulation, and the
higher the pressure (voltage) the more perfect must be the
insulation. If there be a small "pin-hole" in the seam of a
boiler the steam will still be confined at pressure but some
of it will be escaping, thus causing constant waste. If there
be a slight imperfect "ground" (imperfect connection between
the earth and the wire) there will be a small but constant
current leakage, which will tell in the meter and therefore
in the current bill. You will thus readily see the necessity
for very carefully insulating your wires. Further along I
will tell you how to detect grounds.

Air is a conductor of electricity, but a very poor one. It
will only carry current at enormous voltage — far in excess
of anything used commercially, with the single exception of
wireless telegraphy. Air may, therefore, be said, so far as
commercial electric current is concerned, to be an absolute
non-conductor, and it follows that current cannot escape
from the wires by way of the air. Certain substances, such
as rubber, glass, porcelain and others, are non-conductors of
electricity, arid by stringing the wires through the air, allow-
ing them to come in contact with nothing but non-conducting
material, the current is confined to the wire, just as is the
steam in a boiler by its steel plates and rivets. Wires are
usually covered with rubber or some non-conducting compo-

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 11

sition, thus still further insuring complete insulation and
consequent confinement of the current.

But if there be the very least metallic or other current-
carrying connection with the earth there will be current con-
stantly escaping from the lines, and this means waste pure
and simple. It is the small "ground" (a "ground" is a cur-
rent-carrying connection between the wires and the earth)
that is dangerous to the pocketbook. If connection is such as
to carry considerable current it will most likely manifest
itself by heating, and may burn off, but the small ground
is different, for you can't see it, you don't have any visible
evidence that it is there; no one but the meter knows it
exists, but all the same it works night and day. The power-
house man may know of it through his ground detector, but
he won't send any special messengers to tell you, since it is
constantly adding to his "bills collectible."

Be very careful, therefore, to have your insulation PER-
FECT.

Supposedly, in this day of multiplicity of electrical de-
vices, nearly every one understands what a "short circuit,"
familiarly known among electricians as a "short," is. Never-
theless I will explain the matter. As has been stated, the
constant tendency of current is to lower its own pressure,
just as steam seeks the open air for the same purpose. The
positive wire of a circuit carries the full dynamo pressure,
but the pressure of the negative wire is very much less.
Current will therefore flow from the positive to the negative
the instant any sort of current-carrying connection is estab-
lished. A lamp is a limited short circuit between the positive
and negative, limited because of its internal resistance which
is calculated carefully to only allow a certain quantity of
current passage. A. projection arc lamp is a dead short cir-
cuit when the carbons are closed, but the short is controlled
by the resistance device (rheostat or compensator) placed
in series with it. The true "short," however, is where the
two wires of the circuit become joined through contact with-
out any such controlling device. Such a short may be by
reason of the two wires coming in direct contact, in which
case the fuses will blow or the wires heat and probably burn
off. Fuses are supposed to, and by all means should, be small
enough to blow the instant such a short is established, other-

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

wise there is danger of the heated wires causing fire. A short
may be caused by a loose wire swinging against the oppo-
site conductor or being carelessly thrown across the two.
It may be caused by some poor conductor being laid across
the two wires, in which case there will be current leakage
until it is removed, and this leakage will represent the same
waste as would a ground. As a general proposition, how-
ever, a short shows itself immediately and whatever damage
is done is almost instantaneous.

WIRING.

All wires used in inside work, and most of those used for
outside as well, are covered with either rubber, gutta-percha or
a fibrous covering saturated with an insulating compound. Such
wires may touch DRY wood without likelihood of danger but,
on general principles, should not be allowed to. Wires should
never, under any circumstances, be allowed to come in contact
with metal which has any kind of connection with the earth or
which reaches (as the iron sheeting of an operating room) from
one wire of a circuit to the other. In saying that wires should not
be allowed to touch metal the writer is fully aware that modern
electrical wiring allows of, in fact, in some cities, requires that
wires be encased in metal tubing, both wires of a circuit being

FIG 1.

placed in the same tube. There are technical reasons why this
is not injurious. There are, by the close proximity of the wires
to esch other and to the conduit, induced currents vihen alter-

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

nating is used but one current neutralizes the other so that, as
a matter of fact, this induced current is not recorded by the
meter nor does any reach the earth by way of the conduit, unless
the wire insulation and conduit insulation is imperfect allowing
actual contact between a raw wire and the metal of the conduit.
A technical explanation of the reasons for this would be beyond
even the average electrician and will therefore not be given.
Suffice to say this is the fact.

In running your house or operating room circuits run the wires
as directly as possible, stretch them tightly and fasten them se-
curely to porcelain insulators, types of which are shown in Fig. i.
It is best to keep the wires of a circuit not less than 2V2 inches
or 3 inches apart. The insulating knobs may be fastened to the
wall or ceiling either by nails or suitable screws. If nails are
used cut out a circular piece of heavy leather V2 to % inch
in diameter and drive the nail through it first. This acts as a
cushion and you can drive the nail down tight on the head of
the insulator without breaking the porcelain. Allow your wires

I — I Porcelain insulators.

2 Rubber tubing.

3 — 4 Wires,

5 — 5 Tape to hold tubing in place.

14 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

to come into contact with absolutely nothing but the insulators
except as hereafter related. To pass wires through a wall or
floor get some hard rubber insulating tubing from an electrical
supply house. Bore a hole as large as the outside diameter of
the tubing through the wall or floor, being certain that the
tubing will go over the insulated wire. Run your wire through
the hole and clip on the tubing, shoving it into the hole so that
it projects slightly on either side. Pull the wire tight and fasten
it, then wrap insulating tape tightly around the end of the tubing
and wire on both sides of the wall to prevent its slipping out
of place. Porcelain tubes may be used instead of hard rubber
if desired (see Fig. 2).

If the wall be of brick take a piece of gas-pipe and file saw
teeth notches around the circumference of one end. Using this
as a drill you will be astonished how soon you can pierce a hole
through the wall.

Bear in mind that this work is not designed to make a lineman
of you but merely to give sufficient direction that you may be
able to run a circuit properly should circumstances be such that
it be necessary. On the road an operator is called upon to do
a great many feats and frequently if he can't do them circum-
stances are such that they cannot be done at all. Moreover,
I wish to enable the operator or manager, from the directions
given, to be able to form at least an intelligent opinion as to
whether their wiring is being, or has been, properly done.

Your wires should be selected by reference to the wire and
lamp current consumption tables which appear a little further
on. It is generally stated that "a 16 c.p. incandescent lamp con-
sumes V2 ampere of current." This, you will see by reference
to the lamp consumption table, is very wrong, applying only to
iio-volt lamps.

To figure the size of wire necessary in circuits you proceed
as follows: Supposing we have iio-volt current and wish to in-
stall a circuit to carry ten 16 candle-power lamps. By reference
to the lamp consumption table we find that each iio-volt 16 c.p.
lamp will require % ampere of current, or a total of five amperes.
By reference to the wire table we discover that a No. 16 rubber
covered wire will carry six amperes, leaving a one-ampere mar-
Hn, so we select this size. A No. 18 weatherproof wire would
carry the required current but the . underwriter's rules forbid
an'^-thing smaller than a No. 16 wire being used on inside work.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 15

In using this table we must remember, however, that it applies
for SHORT LEADS ONLY (see Table No. 3). As the length
of a wire increases its total resistance increases, so that a No. 16
wire would not convey six amperes of current for a long dis-
tance without drop in voltage due to resistance. If the lead be
long a larger size must be used for a portion of the distance.
In other words, if your lead be a long one, it will be necessary
to use, for a portion of the distante, a size of wire capable of
carrying something more than the amperage indicated in the
table, else there will be "drop" of voltage and your lamps will
not burn up to candle power.

The following table gives the current allowance by the Na-
tional Board of Fire Underwriters- for various sizes copper wire,
figured on a non-heating basis and, with due allowance made for
long leads, it will meet every requirement of either the operator
or the electrician.

TABLE NO. I.

Browne & Sharpe

Rubber Covered Wire.

Weatherproof Wire.

Gauge.

Amperes.

No.

131

No.

107

156

No.

127

I8S

No.

150

220

No.

000

177

262

Note.—

-The discrepancy in allowance between rubber covered

and weatherproof wire is not that one will not carry just as much

current as the other

, but arises from the fact that the least heat-

ing will '

cause gradual deterioration of rubber insulation. Wire

with rubber insulat

ion is therefore rated

very low in current

carrying

capacity.

16 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

LAMP CONSUMPTION TABLE.
This table is compiled from actual tests made with standard
lamps and it will be found to be approximately correct. Used
in conjunction with the wire table even the novice may figure
out what size wire to use for any incandescent circuit not ex-
ceeding seventy-five feet in length.

TABLE ^

10. 2.

)ltage.

mdle Power.

Amperes.

Watts.

1.04

54-1

2.08

108.2

100

.64

64.0

100

1.28

128.0

• SI

64.0

1.16

128.0

Where 8 c.p. lamps are used in decoration two of them equal
one 16 c.p. lamp in current consumption.

Light frosted or ground glass globes reduce the illuminating
power of incandescent lamps by about 12 per cent. The average
life of an incandescent lamp is about 800 hours of use. Many
will burn much longer and some much less, but this is the aver-
age. Old lamps are poor economy in a theater, as they burn
dim and destroy the illumination.

TABLE NO. 3.
This table will be found of much use in conjunction with
Table No. i. As has been said, there is drop in voltage in long
leads, due to resistance. This table gives the data in this con-
nection so far as it will be likely to be of the least use to the
theater man or operator.

Voltage-

292

625

370

780

473

1000

602

1252

749

1575

940

1984

n86

2542

1500

3162

1897

3997

2387

5100

Wire No.

Browne & Sharpe

220

Gauge.

1247

1586

1957

2499

3175

3976

5012

6355

8032

lOIIO

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

To use this table multiply the distance in feet from the point
of departure to the end of the circuit by the number of amperes

riGS

you wish to use on the circuit. Look in the table under the
voltage heading corresponding to the voltage of your lines and
find the number nearest to the product you have obtained by
the multiplication. Opposite this, in the right-hand column, will
be found the size of wire necessary to carry this current with
3 per cent. loss.

In running wires along a wall it is often necessary to pass a
metal pipe which the knobs will not be long enough to allow the
wires to clear. This should be taken care of as per Fig. 3.

A is hard rubber insulating tubing. B is the pipe.

Another electric wire of opposite polarity may be crossed in
the same manner. A joist or timber may be passed as shown in
Fig. 4 or the wire may be run directly through it by insulating
with porcelain, glass or hard rubber tubing.

In making a wire splice, or joint, it is of the utmost importance
that it be done right, since a poorly made joint will invariably
heat, with consequent loss of power and liability to eventually
burn off. Fig. 5 shows some of the ways of making different
joints in wire. "A" shows the right and wrong way to skin
a wire. If done as at 1 you are likely to cut a slight ring around
the wire and this will cause it to break very easily. "B" shows
the "Western Union" joint which is most used by wiremen. In-
variably use two plyers in making this joint and pull it up per-
fectly tight. "C" shows the proper method of tying a wire to

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

an ins';latin£i k.io!). U;e wire (\vit!ic'.:t removing the insulation)
the same si;-,' :.. the line yon are tying. At "D" is seen the

nci

^^SBfe^ess^

proper me'.'-'d cf :r.:,!.;n2 a splice in a twin wire. When the
joint is done i and 2 should be wrapped with insulating tape
after which the whole length from which the outer insulation
has been removed must be thoroughly taped. Twin wires (two
insulated wires enclosed in one outer insulation) should be used
only in metal conduits. To make a splice in a flexible cable strip
the insulation from about three inches of each end. Clean the
strands thoroughly and separate the wires of each end into
about four equal parts two-thirds of the way back to the in-
sulation. Now put the ends together so that the strands of
each end will come between each other and wrap them down
tight and solder.

Before making a wire joint always CLEAN THE WIRES
PERFECTLY, scraping them until they shine. It is impossible
to make good electrical contact unless the metal is perfectly
clean. After making a wire joint always cover with insulating
tape at least as deep as the original insulation.

To solder a joint first heat the wires with a gasoline torch
and rub on a soldering compound, which may be had in stick
form from electrical supply houses. Then, using solder wire,
melt sufficient solder by holding the solder to the joint and
playing the flame on it to thoroughly fill the splice. Care should
be had not to heat the wires, especially if small ones, too hot,
as it has a tendency to weaken them. Those who cannot secure
soldering compound may make a flux as follows : Saturated so-
lution of zinc chloride 5 parts, alcohol 4 parts and glycerine i
part. A well-made joint may be used temporarily without solder-
ing, but a permanent joint should ALWAYS BE SOLDERED.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 19

Before leaving this branch of the subject of wiring I will tell
you how to figure the resistance of wires. You probably will
never need to use the rule, but for the sake of completeness I
will supply the information. Electrical calculations having to
do with wires are based on the "circular mil." The term really
means the cross section of a circle i-iooo of an inch in diameter.
The resistance of a commercial copper wire having a length
of one foot and a cross section of one mil is 10.8 ohms. This
resistance increases as the length increases and decreases as the
cross section increases. In other words, the longer the wire the
more resistance, and the larger it is the less resistance it offers
to a given current. To find the resistance any copper wire will
offer you simply multiply its length in feet by 10.8 and divide
the product thus obtained by the number of circular mils the
wire contains. To turn this rule to practical account we must
go further. To find the size wire necessary to transmit any
given current a given distance with a certain percentage of loss
proceed as follows : Multiply the number of amperes by the total
number of feet of wire in both legs of the circuit and multiply
this by 10.8. Multiply the voltage by the percentage of loss you
propose to allow and divide one product by the other and
the result will be the area of the required wire in circular
mills.

B. & S. Gauge.

No. 16 wire has an area of 2,583 c. m.

No. 14 wire has an area of 4,107 c. m.

No. 10 wire has an area of 10,380 c. m.

No. 8 wire has an area of 16,510 c. m.

No. 6 wire has an area of 26,250 c. m.

No. 4 wire has an area of 41,740 c. m.
The above table contains all the sizes of wire likely to
be used in an ordinary theater.

SWITCHES.

Those attempting to pass an examination will find it quite
essential to know considerable about switches, especially the
correct names of those in most common use. To this end
illustrations of some of them are incorporated. Fig. 6 shows
a single throw, double pole knife switch such as is almost
invariably used for light circuit service switches, also for
the projection arc lamp circuit. This is the switch most

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

commonly encountered, but it comes in many forms. The
"snap" switches which are enclosed in a small, round metal
case and operate with a button are one form of this switch.
A, Fig. 6, is arranged for link (A, Fig. lo) and B for cartridge
(Fig. 9) fuses. Fig. 7, A, shows the triple pole, single throw
knife switch; Fig. 7, B, the single pole, single throw knife
switch, and Fig. 7, C, the double pole, double throw knife
switch. Fig. 7, A, is arranged to carry cartridge fuses (Fig.
9), while Fig. 7, B and C, must have link fuses (A, Fig. 10)
or plain fuse wire.

Where a switch is made with two sets of contacts, as in
C, Fig. 7, so that it may be thrown clear over making another
contact on the other side, it is called a "double-throw"
switch; otherwise it is a "single-throw."

Taking A, Fig. 6, as an example: the wires attach to bind-
ing posts 1-2-3-4, being intended, in this case, to be soldered
into the lugs (called "Terminals") shown. These lugs are
by no means necessary, however, as the wires may be attached

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 21

directly to the switch binding posts. C-C are the switch
"contacts." The fuses attach between binding posts a-a and
b-b, this switch requiring the use of link fuses (A, Fig. lo)
or plain fuse wire. B, Fig. 6, is arranged for cartridge fuses,
such as are shown in Fig. g. B, Fig. 6 and A, Fig. 7, shows
cartridge fuses in place.

Switches should invariably be mounted on slate, porcelain
or other insulating base, slate being the most common mate-
rial for this purpose. Tt is important that contacts c-c. Fig. T.
6, be kept clean and smooth. They will, where strong current
is used, become roughened in course of time, due to arcing
when the switch is opened. This may be smoothed off
with a fine file, but if the contacts are charged at the time
you must stand on an insulating mat or a wooden chair
while doing it and avoid touching both contacts at once, or
anything which will ground you, or you will get a shock.
Live wires may be handled with impunity provided you are
completely insulated from the ground and don't touch bcmh
wires at the same time.

A dry wooden chair insulates you for ordinary voltages.
An asbestos, rubber or lineoleum mat does the same. There
is no danger from an ordinary shock from lines charged up
to 220 volts, though you can get a "jolt" that will make you
take very decided notice. Also it is possible to be painfully
burned by even that voltage, though such a thing is very
tmlikely to occur. The point T wish to make, however, is
that you may touch and work with a "live" switch contact or
wire when necessary by exercising care in keeping yourself
insulated.

SWITCHES SHOULD INVARIABLY BE MOUNTED
EITHER HORIZONTALLY OR SO THAT THE
SWITCH HANDLE WILL HANG DOWNWARD WHEN
THE SWITCH IS OPEN. This is of importance, since if
mounted the other way there is always liability of the switch
lever accidentally falling into place, thus closing the switch,
which might cause you to get some unpleasant shocks, and even,
under certain circumstances, do other and much worse dam-
age.

The fuse end of the switch (where the fuse is attached
i!o the switch base) should always be the "dead" end. That
is to say: binding posts, i and 2, Fig. 6, A, should be the

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

"live" end, and not posts 3 and 4. The "live end" means the
end attached to the supply, the other end being "dead" (not
charged) when the switch is open. In the case of the oper-
ating room arc lamp switch the live end would be attached to
the wires coming from the main house switchboard. In the
main house switch it would be the end attached to the wires
entering the building.

FIG. 7 B.

Contacts d-d, Fig. 6, must be kept as tight as may be
without unduly binding the action of the switch. Unless
these contacts are kept snug they will heat more or less,
moreover the switchbars will "wabble" and won't strike
contacts c-c squarely when closing. Always keep the con-
nections between the handle crossbar (e, Fig. 6) tight. A
loose, wabbly switch indicates a slovenly workman. In pur-
chasing switches LOOK CAREFULLY TO THE LAST
NAMED CONNECTIONS. In some makes of switches this
joint is very poorly made and causes constant trouble, par-
ticularly in the smaller switches.

INVARIABLY OPEN A SWITCH WITH A QUICK
JERK, especially if it be one carrying heavy current. This
reduces the arcing. Arcing roughens and injures the con-
tacts and the less there is of it the better.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

Triple pole switches are, of course, used only on the three-
wire system. A switch enclosed in a casing of sheet metal
is called an "enclosed switch."

SWITCHBOARDS.

It is not designed to go deeply into this subject, but merely
to give you some ideas from which you will be able to trace
out ordinary switchboard connections for yourself. In most
theaters where there is a switchboard it will be found ar-
ranged about as Fig. 8, A or B. ^

A, Fig. 8, is a two-wire board, a-a being the feeding mains,

FIG. 6

b-b the fuses, c the main house switch and d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d
the circuit service switches. The two rows of circles are the
circuit fuses, being of the "plug" variety, (B, Fig. lo). Look-
ing closely you will see screw heads in the face of the bars.
These screws indicate the contacts, circuits being run in
either direction from each contact. As tothe two-wire board,
I do not believe any explanation is necessary; but the three-
wire board is more confusing, though it is quite simple after
all. Now an examination shows us that the first circuit has
contact with the right hand and neutral bars, as has also the
next one, which means that these four circuits (there are
two circuits to each contact, if all are working) are on one
"side." The next two, however, we find to have contact with

24 " MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

the neutral and the left hand bar, which means that they are
connected with the opposite side. Thus far, if the circuits
are all working and have equal number of the same candle
power lamps the board is equally "balanced." The next, or top
circuit, however, wc find to be connected to the neutral and
the right hand bar so that there are three contacts with six
circuits on one side and two contacts with four circuits on the
other. COUNTING THE SCREW HEADS IN EITHER
OUTSIDE BAR WILL TELL YOU THE NUMBER OF
CONTACTS THERE ARE ON THAT SIDE. One side of
ALL circuits are connected to the neutral (center) bar. To
lind which side a circuit is connected to, disregard the screw
heads in the center bar and find the screw connecting it to
the outer bar. This will show you which side it is on. These
two illustrations are given that you may study them closely.
Large switchboards are very confusing, but as a matter of
fact they are extremely simple. Remember that the light
circuit running from a three-wire board HAS BUT TWO
WIRES, NOT THREE. Remember, also, that a circuit can
be, and usually is, run each way from a switchboard con-
tact; in other words, each contact usually carries two separate
and distinct circuits.

Pulling switch c kills the whole board, of course, and ex-
tinguishes every light it controls. Blowing a fuse on the
two-wire board has the same effect, except that the wires
will still be alive in the sense that a shock will be had if
you touch them. Fuse-blowing on the three-wire board is
more complicated, however. If one of the outer fuses blows
the lights on the circuits connected to that side will go out,
but those on the other will still burn. If the central (neutral)
fuse blows out there will be no effect at all provided the
board is evenly balanced — has an equal number of candle
power on each side. This is by reason of the fact that under
these conditions there is no current in the neutral wire at
all, the lamps of the two sides burning in series with each
other. If, however, there be a greater candle power on
one side than on the other there is curent flowing in the
neutral wire equal to the difference and if the neutral fuse
blows the side having the lesser candle power will burn above
candle power until the fuse is reinstalled. This is the practical
effect of the blowing of a neutral fuse since the even balanc-

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 25

ing of a three-wire system is seldom accomplished, though it
might be balanced evenly enough on one board to show no
perceptible effect through the blowing of a neutral fuse. The
reasons for the installation of three-wire systems will be
explained under "Wire Systems" further on.

The main house switchboard should invariably be mounted
on slate, marble or other insulating, non-combustible mate-
rial and the whole board should be enclosed in a metal
cabinet with a door having a substantial, easily manipulated
latch. If the board is of considerable size it should be placed
in charge of some competent man and none other be allowed
to touch it. The fuses of all circuits, except the stage, exit
and operating room arc lamp circuits should be located on
the main switchboard.

The proper place for the main house switchboard is the
lobby, preferably at a point from whence a view of the stage,
or curtain, may be had. The writer considers it exceedingly
good practice to have the main switchboard equipped with
two main switches, as follows: The main house switch which
pulls everything except the exit lamps and a sub-main switch
which pulls all lights it is desired to extinguish to darken
the auditorium, with the exception of one circuit handled by
the operator as afterward explained. Darkening the audi-
torium by pulling half a dozen circuits one after another
makes a very bad effect. This switch should not prevent the
installation of all the regular circuit switches but be supple-
mental to them. This applies to large houses only, where
there are several auditorium circuits. On large switchboards
it is well to label all switches plainly, indicating just what
circuit they control, thus: "Proscenium," "Ceiling Clusters,"
etc., etc.

EXIT LIGHT CIRCUITS.

In some cities it is required that exit lights be operated
with non-explosive oil burned in suitable lamps. If electric
light is allowed for exit lamps the circuit should in all cases
be controlled from the box office, never from the main
switchboard, and this circuit should in no case be controlled
by the main house switch. There is no telling what a nervous
man will do when excited. He might pull the main house
switch at an alarm of fire, thus throwing everything, in-

26 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

eluding the exit lights, in darkness. Tap in your exit light
circuit ahead of the main house switch (i. e., between the
switch and the street mains) and run it directly to a switch
located in the box office, where proper fuses should be in-
stalled. Thence run the service wires to the various exit
lamps. Exit lamps should be enclosed in a box with ground
glass front on which the word "EXIT" has been blocked out
in translucent red, the letters not less than five inches in
height. These signs should be placed over all exits and the
lights in them be kept burning at all times when an audience
occupies the auditorium.

It is desirable that one of the auditorium circuits, prefer-
ably the ceiling lights, be controlled from the operating
room, as well as from the main switchboard. This is ac-
complished by running the circuit service wires from the
main switchboard service switch through the operating room,
bringing them past a position on the wall DIRECTLY IN
FRONT OF THE OPERATOR and in easy reach from
operating position. Install a sub-service switch so that the
operator can reach both it and the dowser at the same tirne.
Now when the signal is given the operator to start, all the
circuits except that controlled by him are pulled from the
main switchboard. The operator, when ready to start, pulls
the above described switch with one hand as he pulls the
dowser or starts the machine with the other. The effect is
to darken the house and throw the picture at one and the
same instant. In stopping the order is reversed and the pic-
ture is off and the lights on simultaneously. It is NOT ad-
visable to have all circuits handled thus, since the man at
the main switchboard should be able to light the auditorium
instantly, in casie of alarm, which he could not do were all
circuits controlled by an operating room switch, until the
operator threw in his switch. The main switchboard service
switch of the circuit controlled by the operator is not touched
at all — is left shut at all times except when the house is
closed.

STAGE SWITCHBOARDS.

Stage switchboards should all be assembled at one point,
preferably just to the right of the proscenium arch — the right
as you face the auditorium from the stage — and mounted on

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 27

insulating, non-combustible material. Each circuit must have
its own service switch, as: "ist border," "2d border," "Foots,"
etc., etc., and each switch should be plainly labeled with the
name of the circuit it controls. NOTHING BUT EN-
CLOSED FUSES SHOULD BE ALLOWED ON A
STAGE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Plug fuses (B,
Fig. 10) or cartridge fuses (Fig. 9) are proper fuses for stage
use. Great care should be taken to have all binding-post con-
tacts and wire joints tight to prevent any heating, and espe-
cial care must be had that the insulation of wires, switches,
etc., is perfect.

FUSES.

As has been stated, the electric current generates heat by elec-
trical friction as it passes through the wires. A short circuit,
ground or overload, might cause such large quantities of current
to flow as would heat the conductor red hot, thus causing in-
numerable fires, or an excess of current might burn out large
numbers of incandescent filaments were it not for the protection
aflforded by what is called the "fuse." This latter is a short
piece of soft metal possessing very high conductivity (current
carrying capacity), but which fuses (melts) at about the same
temperature as does lead, of which metal it is largely com-
posed. Hence, inserting a short piece of fuse wire in a circuit
protects both lamps and wires from excess of current since the
instant the current flow increases above the capacity of the fuse
it "blows out" (melts), thus automatically breaking the circuit
and stopping all flow of current until a new fuse has bt-en in-
stalled, which cannot be done until the cause of excess has been
removed. It follows, however, that the size of fuse used on any
given circuit must be proportionate to the current used on that
circuit. To install a six-ampere fuse on a circuit carrying but
three amperes would not protect the wires except to a lim-
ited extent, the lamps practically not at all. To install a
fuse of greater carrying capacity than the wires it is designed
to protect would be almost as bad as installing none at all. It
is not desirable, however, to put in fuses barely large enough to
carry the ciirrent flow of a given circuit, since, if this is done,
there is likely to be excessive and needless blowing of fuses,
but it must be borne in mind that fuses ordinarily will carry
about 20 per cent, overload. In the smaller fuses it is well to

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

allow just a little leeway over even this, but not too much.
Use common sense and judgment. The lamps and wires must
be fully and adequately protected, still there is such a thing as
excess of caution. The writer knows of nothing in this wide
world not capable of being overdone. The novice will do well
to proceed carefully in this matter, however, until he knows
just exactly what he is doing. He would better be too safe

Fig 0.

Fi§. iQ

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 20

than not safe enough. In time he will learn just how far he
may go without encountering the danger signal. There are
several types of fuses in common use besides plain fuse wire,
which latter is simply attached between the binding posts the
same as you would a piece of copper wire. Before going further,
let me, caution you on one point: never, under any circum-
stances, put a piece of copper wire, or anything else but the
proper size fuse, in place of a fuse that has blown out! Have an
ample supply of extra fuses at all times. When a fuse on an
incandescent circuit blows out it is a pretty certain indication
that something is wrong.. If you install another and it blows
as soon as you close the switch you may begin to hunt for a
ground or short circuit at once.

Fig. 9 shows two types of what is commonly known as "cart-
ridge" fuses. These are reliable, quickly and easily installed
and emit no visible flash when they blow out. They are in
every way excellent. Fig. 10, A, shows the "Link" fuse, which
is installed by simply compressing the hooks under the binding
post screws. This type is an excellent, inexpensive operating
room fuse. Fig. 10, B, shows the "plug" fuse and receptacle,
the whole being commonly known as a "plug cut-out." This
form of fuse is in very general use and is most excellent for
circuits of moderate capacity, say not exceeding ten amperes.
For heavier current better use one of the other types, though
the plugs are made to carry as much as fifty amperes. They
are easily and quickly installed, and the contacts are excellent.
Be sure, however, that you screw the plug in tight. There is
no possibility of fire from this type, as the fuse wire is entirely
enclosed by the brass, or mica, cap. Switches may be had with
this type of fuse receptacle if desired. All things considered,
this type is perhaps best to install on your switchboard unless
you care considerably about extra fine appearance, in which case
Fig. 9 style might be preferred. Plug and cartridge fuses are
the only ones which should be allowed on a stage.

The operating room projection lamp circuit is a thing to itself.
It is subject to heavy and frequent fluctuations of current and
must be fused accordingly. There is absolutely nothing about a
projection arc lamp which momentary excess of current, within
reasonable limits, can in the least injure. The writer uses No. 6
wire for his operating room projection circuit and fuses with
fifty ampere fuses. He has never experienced the slightest

30 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

trouble through so doing. Of course, where lighter wires are
used, a smaller fuse must be installed. A good rule is "fuse
ten amperes over the current you pull under normal conditions."
Be careful, however, that the main house fuses (fuses attached
to main house switch) are equal in capacity to all circuit fuses,
plus your operating fuses, else they might blow and leave every-
thing in darkness. Link fuses (Fig. 10, A) are excellent for
operating fuses, as they are cheap and easily installed.

When using plug or cartridge fuses promptly throw them
away when they blow out. They are of no more use to you or
any one else, and, if they get mixed with the good ones, it sim-
ply causes aggravation. Keep the various sizes separate and the
whole lot in some handy place near the switchboard.

Be sure and have your fuse connections tight. Loose con-
nections heat and very little heat will melt a fuse. A dirty
contact is equivalent to a loose one.

WIRE SYSTEMS.

There are two wire systems in general use in incandescent
lighting, viz. : the multiple arc and the three-wire. But there
are two others occasionally encountered, viz. : the multiple series
and series multiple. To this must be added the high potential
system, which is, in practical use, a multiple arc. What is known
as a series arc system is used exclusively in arc lighting and is
of no interest to the operator except that he be able to know it
when he sees it, so that he will let it severely alone. A projec-
tion arc lamp cannot be connected into this system under any
conditions.

In the following diagrams the circle represents the dynamo
and the X lamps; -j- indicates positive and — negative.

X X X X ^ ^

ncn

Fig. 11 is a diagram of the series arc system. This system
carries about hfty volts pressure for each lamp in the circuit.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

A twenty-lamp circuit would have about 1,000 volts pressure.
Each lamp must carry the entire pressure and all the current,
which latter seldom exceeds ten amperes. You cannot connect
a projection arc lamp to this system under any circumstances.
Fig. 12 is a diagram of the multiple arc system of wiring,
illustrating the method of connecting a projection lamp thereto.
You may connect in anywhere, simply attaching one wire to one
wire of the light circuit and the other wire to the opposite, being
sure that the wires, switches, fuses, meters, etc., are large enougn
to carry your current. Before connecting ascertain the voltage
of course, and arrange the amount of your rheostat resistance
accordingly. In practice lamps are not usually attached between

1 .27y>^i»o
J, , /!l\.tosid.i
3 ■ /4m p. .

riGi2.

the main wires, as is shown in the illustration. Light circuits
are run from the mains, as shown, and are called "service
circuits."

2 ■ /»c«.nde5Cff/it Circalt

i, I /f (l t Off i t s

FID 13

Fig. 13 shows the three-wire system, which is used mainly for
direct current. In this system two dynamos are run in series,
producing a pressure across the outer wires of 220 volts (usually)
or a pressure of 110 volts between cither the outer and center

32 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

("neutral") wire. As has been said, the main reason for the
use of alternating current lies in the fact that it can be generated
at high voltage, carried to the place desired at that pressure
and there easily transformed to lower voltage. This cannot be
done with direct, or at least it is not practical to do it. Direct
current is to be preferred, but for this one objection
and the three-wire system was evolved as a means of
carrying relatively large quantities of direct current electro-
motive force without prohibitive wiring cost. The dia-
gram shows two methods of attaching a projection lamp
to this system. In one we attach to the two outer wires
and will get the full series pressure of the two dyna-
mos, usually (practically always) iio-volt machines, which
will be 220 volts, and we must provide rheostat resistance for
that pressure. The other and usual method is to attach to the
center (neutral) and one outer wire, which gives us the pres-
sure of one dynamo, usually 110 volts. Incandescent service
circuits are run by attaching to one outer and the neutral wires
and using 110-volt lamps. Service circuits may be attached to
the two outer wires, however, by using 220-volt lamps, but it
is not desirable to do so, since the high resistance lamp is not
so efficient. In this system the center wire is called the neutral,
and is both positive and negative. In practice the service circuits
are run from both sides and kept as evenly balanced as is prac-
tical. The lamps of the circuits on the two sides burn in series,
and the neutral only carries current equal to the difference in
the load on the opposite sides. If the load of the opposite sides
is evenly balanced there will be no current at all flowing in the
neutral. It is possible, therefore, for the fuse of the neutral
main to blow without affecting the lights of the system at all.
As a matter of fact, however, it is seldom or never that a sys-
tem is thus evenly balanced. You may cut your projection
lamp in on any service circuit, which is heavy enough to carry
the load by simply attaching, as instructed for Fig. 12 system.
You may also attach direcly to the mains if desired.

Fig. 14 is a diagram of the multiple series system of wiring,
not much in use, however. In this system a very considerable
range of voltage is possible, the lamps being burned in series.
Ascertain the voltage of the lamps by looking at the tag pasted
on them and multiply the voltage of the lamp by the number of
lamps in the series, and the product will be the total voltage car-

FOk MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

ried by the mains. Thus, if you find the lamps are 110-volt
and there are two in series multiply 110 by 2. If there are five
SO-volt lamps in a series multiply 50 by 5 for the line voltage,

)

t 3C

1 ..^^ 1

< ;

c ;

c y-

ntiM

etc. You may attach a projection arc lamp, as shown, by pro-
viding rheostat resistance according to the line voltage.

SERIES MULTIPLE.

The series multiple system is a very bad form of wiring and
is so little in use that it is hardly worth while describing. A
projection arc lamp may easily be connected to it.

HIGH POTENTIAL ALTERNATING SYSTEM.

The high potential system is a two-wire system, in effect the
same as the multiple arc system. It is always alternating and
the mains carry pressure from 2,000 to as high as 20,000 volts,
usually about 2,000, however. With the mains we have nothing
at all to do, since they must be handled only by an expert elec-
trician. Never attempt to touch, handle or meddle in any way
with the mains of a high tension system, unless you hanker to
reach the hereafter by a very expeditious route.

In this system there is what is called a "primary" and a
"secondary" current. The current on the mains is high tension,
but is, by means of a transformer (Fig. 15), reduced for com-
mercial use, usually to 110 volts. The secondary current is taken
from the secondary coils of the transformer on two-wire service
circuits, which are the same as the multiple arc system (Fig. 12),
and your connections are made exactly the same as directed for
that system. A full explanation of the transformer will be

34 MOTION PICTURE. HANDBOOK

given under the head of "Resistance Devices" further on, but for
the benefit of road operators and showmen the following instruc-
tions are given :
Fig. 15 shows a transformer attached to a pole. That is where

iJ - .r

A I

Fig. 15.
you will usually find them. 1 — 1 are the high tension wires,
which you must, on no account, touch since they will probably
be charged with a pressure of at least 2,000 volts. 2 — 2 are the
secondary wires, carrying usually 110 volts, to which you may
attach your arc lamp wires. A — A are the fuse boxes, some-
times set in the sides of the transformer and sometimes, as in
this case, isolated. The fuses are carried in iron plugs, which
may be pulled or screwed out. For ordinary service circuits
these fuses will be very small. The reason is this : they carry
high tension current, being located between the mains and the
transformer. One ampere of current at 2,000 volts becomes
about 10 amperes after it is reduced to 110 volts pressure, so
that a three-ampere transformer fuse on a 2-000-voIt system will
carry what will become 30 amperes at 110 volts after passing
through the transformer. In many places it will be found that
the wires entering the building (ofttimes a church) where the
show is to be given are not large enough to carry projection

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 35

arc lamp current, and it will be necessary to run your own
temporary wires to the transformer. First ascertain from
the light company whether or not the transformer is
large enough to carry your current plus whatever else
it must take care of. This is important, since, if too
small, you might burn it out and have to pay for it.
Commercial transformers will stand a pretty heavy over-
load for two or three hours without damage, but this is easily
overdone. Next, be sure that the transformer fuses are large
enough to take care of your current plus the other load they
must carry. These two points taken care of, you may climb
the pole and attach your wires to the secondary wires (2 — 2,
Fig. 15), just as close to the transformer as possible. If the
machine is large enough to carry your load the secondary wires
will not likely be smaller than No. 8 or No. 10, and either of
these will carry your current for the few inches from where you
attach to the transformer coils. Attach by stripping the insula-
tion, scraping the wires perfectly clean and wrapping the well-
cleaned ends of your wire around very tightly five or six times.
Run your wires through your switch, fuses and rheostat to the
lamp in the usual way. Of course this direction is for a tem-
porary job, to use one or two nights only. Your wires may be
supported on temporary insulators in any convenient, safe man-
ner. If the wires running into the building are heavy enough
you can attach to them just as you would to the multiple arc
system (Fig. 12), but in all cases ascertain whether or not the
transformer and its fuses are large enough or you may have
trouble. A high-tension transformer is a dangerous thing to
fool with, and unless you are very certain you know just what
you are doing you had better let it severely alone. Sometimes,
however, the operator on the road is practically forced to do
these things, and the above directions may be of great as-
sistance.

METERS.

When on the road one must frequently hitch up on wires
controlled by a meter. Let me caufion you that you must in all
cases ascertain positively that the meter is large enough to carry
your projection current plus whatever else it must take care of
or it will burn out. If too small, arrange with the light com-
pany to allow you to hitch on ahead of the meter and pay a flat
rate for the current used. (See Miscellaneous Section.)

36 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

Resistance Devices.

Resistance is perhaps the one most important thing to the
operator, and many have been the heated arguments as to the
relative merits of various types of machine made for this pur-
pose. Generally speaking, resistance devices may be divided into
four classes, viz. : rheostats, transformers, choke coils and arc
rectifiers.

The rheostat is the oldest form of projection resistance, and
for direct current is the only one available. Resistance is neces-
sary from the fact that the carbons of a projection arc lamp
form a dead short circuit when brought together. Means must
therefore be provided to allow of but a certain limited quantity
of current passing through the short thus made or the wires
would burn up instantly were it not for the fuses, since the
lamp would take far more current than the fuses and wires
would carry. In fact, could such a condition be maintained, the
only limit to current flow would be the capacity of the dynamo
feeding the system. To prevent this, resistance is inserted in
the circuit, and we will hrst consider that form known as the
rheostat. Difil'erent metals possess different degrees of con-
ductivity (current-carrying power), copper wire being the best
of any metal commercially available. That is to say, a copper
wire of a given size will carry a larger amount of current with-
out heating than a wire made from any other metal combining
the toughness and ductility necessary and at the same time not
too costly. On the other hand, an alloy of certain other metals
possesses high resistance to current, and wire made from this
alloy is used in rheostats. The resistance device is to the elec-
tric circuit exactly what the valve is to the water pipe. If you
wish to get a certain quantity of water from a water pipe you
don't take the cap off its end — you install a valve and open it
just enough to let through the desired quantity. If you wish
a certain quantity of current — say forty amperes — from a wire
charged at 110 volts, you cut the wire and connect in a certain
length of resistance wire calculated to allow 40 amperes to pass
at a pressure of 110 volts. If the pressure were suddenly raised

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS' 37

to 220 instead of. 110 volts, you would have to insert more resist-
ance wire or you would get more current and your resistance
would heat unduly. The more resistance wire of a given size
you insert in a circuit at a given pressure the less current you
will get, and the less resistance the more current will go through.
The higher the voltage the more resistance you must have to
get a given number of amperes. The rheostat is nothing more
nor less than a case carrying a certain number of feet of resist-
ance wire wound into coils to save space and mounted on insula-
tors. Some are so arranged that a part of the coils can be cut
out or cut in by moving a lever or changing a connection. In
the non-adjustable rheostats there are two binding posts, one
being attached to the end of the first coil and the other to the
end of the last coil, the current thus being obliged to pass through
the entire length of all coils in the machine. Now, if a binding
post be attached to the end of the fourth coil of a rheostat con-
taining six coils and one of the wires be attached to that post
instead of the one at the end of the sixth coil, two of the coils
would be "cut out," thus decreasing the resistance by one-third
and correspondingly increasing the resultant current. When you
see a rheostat with more than two binding posts, it is that kind
of an arrangement exactly. One post is always a "permanent"
and one wire must always be attached to it, but you vary the
amount of current according to which post you attach the other
wire. The adjustable rheostats, which have a sliding lever,

■B

ElkM

amount to the same thing, each contact being in effect the same
as a separate binding post as above described. The coils of
rheostats are connected with each other, as shown in A, Fig. 16.
Taking A, Fig. 16, as an example : 1 is the permanent binding

38 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

post to which one wire is always attached. 2 is the binding
post at the other end, 3, 4 and 5 being intermediate posts and
A and B the wires. Now, if you attach to binding posts 1 and 2,
you, of course, will see that the current must pass through the
entire resistance, and you will thus be cutting down your cur-
rent all you can with that machine. If, however, you were to
attach a wire to binding post 3, connecting it with wire B. with
a switch at X, you would "cut out" half of one coil when the
switch was closed, since the current seeks the line of least resist-
ance. If you attach in the same manner to binding post 4, with
a switch at X, you cut out two whole coils when the switch is
closed, but cut them in again (compel the current to pass through
them), when it is again opened. If you attach in the same way
to binding post 5 with a switch at X, you would cut out three
coils when the switch is closed. I have sketched this out to
show you that you may connect your wire anywhere, even in the
center of a coil and cut in or out as much resistance as you
desire; also to show you the principle on which the adjustable
rheostats operate. B, Fig. 16, shows a type of rheostat often
encountered. In this sketch we are looking down at the top ends
of the coils. You will observe that the two rows of coils are
connected at one end but not at the other, binding posts being
placed at 1, 2 and 3. Now, if you connect your wires at 1 and 2,
it will readily be seen that the coils are all placed in series and
the current must pass through them all. If connection is made
at 1 and 3, you will be using just half the machine, the other
half being idle. If you connect at 1 and 3 and then connect
binding posts 1 and 2 together with a piece of copper wire
(jumper it is called) as per the dotted line, you will have placed
two halves of the rheostat in multiple and will get approximately
twice the amount of current you would get by the second-
named connection.

ri&j7

Right here let me explain the terms "series" and "multiple."
This is something which confuses many, but which is, in reality,
very simple. Series, as applied to rheostats, means that all cur-

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

rent which reaches the lamp must first pass through all the
resistance in two or more rheostats one after the other, Fig. 17.

I think this is simple and plain enough to require no further
explanation, except to say that adding rheostats in series reduces
the current. Multiple puzzles many, however, and I will explain
it fully.

Fig. 18 is a diagram of two water pipes connected together
with two valves, and the effect is precisely the same as connecting
rheostats in multiple (Fig. 19). By opening both valves you get

just double the quantity of water through into pipe No. 2 that
you would with only one valve open, just as you get additional
current to the capacity of each rheostat added to multiple. I

jUfCLY W/^f

r/c 19 <

think a little study of Figs. 17, 18 and 19 will make this matter
clear to you. It certainly ought to.

Some rheostats are composed of a number of separate "cells,"
each cell being in itself a complete rheostat. They are really

40 MOTION PICTUkE HANDBOOK

two or more complete rheostats enclosed in one case. One oi
the best known of this type is the "Chicago Stage Lighting Rheo-
stat." This tj^pe of machine is quite flexible, as the cells may,
by means of "jumpers," be connected in any desired manner,
both series and multiple, or each cell may be used separately.

RHEOSTATS.

In the matter of rheostats their design is almost legion,
but the really good ones are limited. The writer would
like to personally recommend a few he has found to be strictly
first class, but in a work of this sort it is manifestly im-
possible. Moreover he has not tried or even seen all kinds
and might do an injustice to some excellent machines with
which he is not acquainted. In view of this circumstance he
has concluded to confine his remarks largely to the rheostats
sent out with and as a part of machine outfits.

In setting up your rheostat be sure to insulate it thor-
oughly. True, the coils are insulated from the frame, but
this insulation is not always to be relied upon. A coil may
weaken and swing out against the casing or other things
may happen to produce the same effect. If the casing itself
is not insulated this will mean serious current loss unless
the "ground" be heavy enough to burn itself out, blow a fuse
or otherwise evidence its existence. Set your rheostats on
heavy asbestos board, slabs of marble, slate, glass or other
non-combustible insulating material. If they be placed near
a wall other than stone, brick or tile protect the wall with
sheet asbestos with air space of one inch back of it. Never
set rheostats near anything inflammable, as they are liable
to become very hot, especially if overloaded — as rheostats
too often are. Be sure to connect your wires tightly, setting
the binding-post screws down with plyers. Don't overdo
this, however, and twist the screws ofif. Use a little judgment
and common sense. Don't let the plyers slip and mangle
the screw tops — that is an evidence of carelessness.

Clean the wire thoroughly before inserting it in the bind-
ing post. A dirty connection is almost as bad as a loose one.
If the wire is too small for the post (and most rheostats
have binding-posts with too small a hole in them — manufac-
turers take notice) use a copper terminal, cut of which will
be shown later. If the wires of the rheostat show red the

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 41

machine is overloaded. If the coils are all in and show red
the machine is too small for the work and you should in-
stall a larger one. If not all in cut them in and add another
rheostat in multiple. It is very, very poor economy to over-
load a rheostat. It won't last very long with that sort of
usage and will waste much current through excessive heat-
ing while it does last.

When using an adjustable rheostat with sliding contacts
keep the contacts clean and see to it that the contact is tight,
otherwise they will quickly become roughened by almost in-
visible arcing. Should this happen, remove the lever and care-
/ully, with a fine file, smooth up the contacts and face of
lever contact and fix the latter so that it will make firm con-
nection with the contacts. Remember this: a poorly con-
structed rheostat is the most expensive article you can buy.
By all means get a good machine. It will save you money
every hour you run if you are on metered service. For
motion picture work it is best to get one with which morr-
current than is normally used may be cut in by the operator.
You will occasionally get a very dense film and if the oper-
ator is able to increase his current strength in such cases it
is a great help. Unless required by local law the rheostat
should not be located in the operating room in Summer
unless there is a hood over them connecting with a vent pipe
to carry off the heat. They may be placed in a dry base-
ment, being very sure that they are thoroughly insulated
from the ground and protected from contact with anything
inflammable. In Winter one rheostat may be placed in the
ticket office, where it furnishes heat without extra bother or
expense. Unless for mere temporary use the best rheostat
is always the cheapest in the long run. A poorly constructed
one is an abomination and makes for heavy current bills and
poor light. Without good light you won't have a good show
and without a good show the nickels will — well, if you don't
know what they will do, experience (the fool's only teacher)
will demonstrate the matter in course of time. Some rheo-
stats are made with cast metal resistance instead of wire
coils. The writer has had no actual experience with this type
of resistance, but sees no reason why it should not be all
right if made of proper alloy. Possibly it might even be
some better on alternating current, since it ought not to havQ

42 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

the vibration so-frequently present in wire coil machines when
used on alternating. These machines are, however, consider-
ably heavier (some I have seen are excessive in weight) than
the wire coil rheostats and this is very objectionable in
road work. In purchasing a rheostat see to it that the
machine complies fully with requirements of local law; that
its coils are well separated, well insulated, well fastened to
the insulators and are not loose and "flabby." See to it that
♦he binding posts will accommodate wires the size you pro-
pose to use — and that should be No. 6 if used on motion pic-
ture lamp. If adjustable, with sliding contact, see to it that
the contacts are ample in size and that the contact is such
that it can be kept tight — this latter is of the utmost import-
ance. Don't look at the price half as closely as you do the
machine. With direct current the writer prefers connecting
the rheostats on the positive wire, since this gives a some-
what lower voltage at the lamp. The effect will be the sarpe
whichever wire the resistance is on, but if you get a "jolt"
(electricians' name for shock) it won't be quite so heavy.
With alternating either wire is the same. How to determine
which is the positive and which the negative wire will be
fully explained later on. The rheostat cuts the voltage down
somewhat since resistance always causes drop in voltage.
The more resistance the greater the "drop." The arc itself is
supposed to cause a drop of 40 volts through internal re-
sistance. Owing to this resistance an arc cannot be sprung
(started) with less than 40 volts pressure.

Fig. 20 shows the 25 ampere, adjustable rheostat put out
with the Powers machine. This rheostat is well made, but
does not comply with Underwriters' requirements in that it
has no casing. It supplies a maximum of 25 amperes on no
volts direct or 104 volts alternating. On the left is one
binding-post to which one of the wires must always be at-
tached. This post connects directly with the adjustment
lever. The adjustment cuts out or in one coil for each con-
tact. On the right are two binding posts. When the wire
is attached to the inner one, two of the coils are dead and
with all resistance cut in eight coils are working. With
wire attached to outer post all ten coils are working when
all resistance is cut in. The inner post is only useful when
working on very low pressure current. The Powers people

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

also put out with their machines a rheostat identical with
the above except that it is non-adjustable and has casing,
thus complying with Underwriters' rules.

Let me say here that when using an adjustable rheostat

Fig-. 20.

on which appear the words "in" and "out" on opposite sides
of the contacts, swinging the lever, or knob, towards the "in"
cuts in more resistance and reduces the current. Swinging
toward the "out" has, of course, the opposite effect. Before
turning current on an adjustable rheostat for the first time,
set the adjustment clear around to "in," then close switch
and move the lever until you get the current you want.

Fig. 21 shows two other rheostats put out with Powers
machines. The smaller is well made and has a maximum capacity
of 35 amperes on voltage ranging up to I20. The construction
is first class, the contacts excellent and the adjustment ar-
rangement very convenient. There are but two binding posts.
Attach a wire to each is all the instruction necessary, setting
the lever so that the resistance is all in before turning on
current, of course. The larger machine may be used on
voltage from 52 to 240. It is exceptionally well made and
is quite light. The writer has found it par-excellent for road
work. There are two binding-posts, one of which connects,
of course, directly with the central adjustment lever post,
and the other with the end of the coil opposite the post.

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

On this machine by side of a binding post appears "in 52"
with an arrow, meaning that for 52 volts the lever should

Fig. 21.

be in this position and moved in direction of arrow to cut in
resistance. Be very sure not to turn on current when the
lever is against the stop post on this side, as then the re-
sistance is all out and it would be a dead short circuit when
the lamp carbons were closed and there would be fireworks
and blown fuses. For 52 volts set the lever back about five
points before turning on current and then move it to suit.
From the contact beside "in 52" the coils connect straight
around the machine and the further you move the lever the
more resistance you have. For no volts set the lever around
about seven contacts, turn on current and move to suit. For
220 volts set lever clear around against stop post, opposite
the "240" and move back to suit. This machine is divided
into two halves which may be used singly, in series or in
multiple. As the machine reaches you the two halves are
connected in series by a wire jumper between the eighth and
ninth contacts. To use the two halves separately on different
lamps remove the jumper, set the lever against post on the
2^0 side. Connect one set of wires to the "in 52" binding

rOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

post and to the eighth contact and the other set to the other
post and the ninth contact. The last named half will be ad-
justable but not the other. To use in multiple remove the
jumper, set lever against stop post on the "220 out" side.
Connect one wire to both binding posts and the other to both
the eighth and nintli contacts. The "220 out" side will be
adjustable but not the other. There are eight coils on one
side and six on the other but the wire is different gauge so
that the resistance of the two sides is essentially the same.
With the two contacts inside the circle you need not con-
cern yourself. At that point two coils are cut in or out in-
stead of one, though for what reason the writer himself is
unable to understand.

Fig. 22 shows the very flexible rheostat put out by the
Viascope Company (Chicago) with the Viascope machine.
On no volts one may get 10, 20, 25, 30, 35 or 40 amperes

46 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

by manipulating three switches — an excellent arrangement
for the operator. The machine complies with Underwriters'
rules and may be used on any voltage from 52 to 220. The
resistance wire in this machine is all in one piece, which is
an advantage in some ways but makes it difficult to replace
coils, should such an operation be necessary. The coils are
in two rows, the rows joining at binding-post i. By con-
necting one wire to post 2 and the other to post 3 the two
sides are in series (switch 4 being open, of course). When
using the machine thus be very sure that switch 4 cannot be
closed, as that would cut out all resistance, making a dead
short circuit. By connecting at posts i and 2 or i and 3,
with switch 4 open, you use one side singly, the other being
idle. Close switch 4 and the two sides are in multiple.
Switch B cuts in five additional amperes when in lug 4 or
ten amperes when in lug 5. Switch C in lug 6 adds 15
amperes, in lug 7 it adds 20 amperes.

Fig. 23 shows the two excellent rheostats put out with the
Edison machines. The smaller is an adjustable, climax wire

Fig. 23.

coil machine, each coil being independent and quickly re-
moved by loosening two set screws. The coils, terminals,
contacts, etc., are well insulated. The machine supplies a
maximum of 25 amperes on no to 125 volt direct current.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

May be used on alternating also. The contacts are good and
the machine in every way well made, complying with Under-
writers' requirements. There are but two binding posts.
Attach a wire to each, set the lever to "in," turn on current
and adjust to suit. The larger machine is of the cast metal
gird tj'pe and the company claims for it great excellence.
It gives a maximum of 40 amperes on 100 to 125 volt current.
It is adjustable, with excellent contacts inside the casing and
therefore well protected. The girds are well insulated. The
top and bottom is covered with perforated, and the back,
front and sides with solid sheet metal. No instructions are
necessary. Connect the wire to either binding-post, set the
knob around to "in," turn on current and adjust to suit.

nMMk

Fig. 24.

Fig. 25.

The makers of the Motiograph machine put out three
rheostats with their machine. The writer has, at the request
of that company, very carefully examined these devices
and in justice must say that they certainly are very finely
constructed machines. All comply fully with Underwriters'
rules. Their "A C R Dandy" is similar to the "Universal"
(Fig. 24), but non-adjustable and but 25 amperes capacity
on no volt pressure, either direct or alternating. It has but
two binding posts. Attach a wire to each. Fig. 24 shows
the "Universal," which has a capacity of 45 amperes. It is
in effect two separate rheostats in one case. The two cells

48 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK '

may be used singly, in series or in multiple. By different
connections you may get, on no volt pressure, 12, 25 or 45
amperes. There are four binding-posts located on bottom of
machine. There is one cell in each end of the machine and
the two binding-posts opposite each other across (the thin
way) the machine belong to the same cell. By attaching
your wires to either of these two sets of posts you will be
using one cell singly and fet a little less than 25 amperes.
By attaching one wire to both posts on one side the long
way of the machine and the other wire to the other two posts
the two cells will be in multiple and you will draw 45 amperes.
By attaching one wire to either of the four posts and the
other wire to the post at opposite diagonal corner and con-
necting the other two posts with a jumper (piece of copper
wire) the two cells will be in series and you will get about
12 amperes. All the above refers to no volt pressure.

Fig. 25 shows the "A C R Adjustable, Underwriters'
Model." This machine has two binding posts, one of which
connects, of course, directly with adjustment lever. Connect
a wire to each post. Move lever clear over to "in," turn on
current and adjust to suit. The contacts are excellent. Keep
them clean. In case the contact spring should ever get loose
remove the lever and bend the spring down a trifle. The
adjustment is on a slate base, located under a heavy metal
cap. The machine is quite light and the contact arrangement
being so well protected it is an excellent rheostat for road
work. Capacity 45 amperes on no volts or 25 amperes on
220 volts. All these machines are protected by perforated
sheet metal casing. The coils are independent of each other
and are very easily removed and replaced. The coil connec-
tion is through machine turned lugs, the coils being held in
place by two set screws. As a matter of plain justice to the
Motiograph people it must be said that their rheostat con-
struction is very fine.

The rheostat put out with the Standard machine is of the
metal gird type and is very light in weight. It complies fully
with Underwriters' requirements. The makers claim it will
supply 75 amperes, although built for normal load of but 25.
This is rather a large claim, it seems to me. Has but two
binding posts and is non-adjustable.

There is a rheostat put out by the Chicago Stage Lighting

FOR MANAGERS' AND OPERATORS 49

Company and another of the same type put out by the Kleine
Optical Company which are in such general use that they
must be mentioned, though not put out with a machine outfit.
These machines comply with Underwriters' rules and consist
of a number of cells in one case. They are well made and
in every way first class machines. Each cell is in effect a
separate rheostat and the various cells may be used singly,
in series or in multiple. The five-cell rheostat is an excellent
machine for road work.

TRANSFORMERS.

The use of the rheostat form of resistance on alternating
current is out of date. Too much power is wasted in heat,
besides which they do not furnish nearly so satisfactory
projection current as does a rightly constructed transformer.
The "Inductors," "Economizers," "Compensarcs," etc., so
widely advertised, are nothing more or less than low voltage
transformers. The claims made as to current saving through
their use are probably somewhat exaggerated, but that they
are very much more economical than is the rheostat is be-
yond question. There is, however, a very decided difference
in different makes of these machines and you will do well to
investigate carefully before purchasing, especially as they
are somewhat expensive in first cost. Their weight renders
them undesirable for road work. In ordering it is well to
state the number of cycles of the current it is to be used
on. A good transformer used on the current cycle it is de-
signed for is absolutely noiseless and you should be able to
lay your hand on it anywhere, at any time, without feeling
undue heat. Usually they are adjustable, giving about three
different amperages, ranging from 30 to 50, from 35 to 55 or
40 to 60 in different machines. It is quite possible to get
practically as good projection light from 60 cycle alternating
current, by the use of one of these machines, as from direct
current, but very close attention must be paid to setting the
carbons, as will be explained further on under different
heading.

The current you get from a transformer has no kind of
mechanical contact with the street mains. It is not the
same current as that with which they are charged, but an
induced current of much lower voltage. The transformer

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

operates as follows: Within a soft iron core (shell type,
Fig. 26), made up of laminated plates of soft iron, are four
coils of insulated wire, two of which are called the "primary"
and, two the "secondary" coils. The two latter (I am speak-
ing now of the projection transformer, though all transform-
ers operate in essentially the same manner) are connected
directly with the projection lamp. The relative number of
turns and size of wire in the primary and secondary coils

FIG. 26

will determine the pressure and amount of current you will
get from a given line voltage. The secondary coils will have
a less number of turns of larger wire than will the primary.
Were this condition reversed the machine would then be a
"step-up" transformer, furnishing current of higher voltage
than that of the line. Should you connect your line wires
to the wrong set of binding posts this is precisely the con-
dition you would establish and fireworks would be due real
soon. When current is switched on the primary coils the iron
plates become magnetized and a current is induced in the
secondary coils to which your lamp is attached. Those who
wish to learn all about induced currents should consult stand-
ard electrical works at their public library.

In Fig. 26 P, P' are the primary and S, S' the secondary
coils. Wires a, c would connect to the binding posts marked
"Lamp." Shell type transformers are the kind used almost
exclusively in projection work. Transformers cannot be used
on direct current under any conditions. In making connec-
tions you will find, on most machines, two binding posts

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS Si

marked "Lamp." Connect a wire to each post and run one
(either one) to one lamp binding post and the other to the
other lamp binding post. Some machines have but two other
binding posts, they being marked "Line." Run wires from
operating room switch to these posts. That is all there is
to it. Other machines have four line binding posts, connec-
tions being made to different posts for different voltages.
Instructions will come with these machines for connecting.
A well built transformer, used on the current it is designed
for, will last indefinitely. If at any time there is smoke or
odor of burning insulation coming from the machine it indi-
cates that one of the coils is burning, due to overloading or
faulty insulation. The machine must be cut out at once and
the coil removed and rewound — which is a job for the manu-
facturer. Do not attempt to run the machine after it begins
to burn else you may injure the other coils, thus very greatly
increasing the damage. Transformers should be set on in-
sulation the same as directed for rheostats. Cuts of the
various machines may be seen in the advertising columns of
the Moving Picture World. They are a comparatively new
thing and manufacturers are changing their designs so often
that it is not advisable to run cuts of them in this matter.
The Nicholas Power Company, J. H. Hallberg, New York
City; Kleine Optical Company, General Electric Company,
Electric Appliance Company, Bell & Howell Company, Chi-
cago—any one or all of them will send you full information
about their machines, all of which are standard, well made
and efficient.

MERCURY ARC RECTIFIER.

This is a new device put out by the General Electric Com-
pany. It is too new to the trade to be well known as yet,
but the company claims big things for it. This machine
transforms alternating current into direct. The machine
operates somewhat as follows: In the first place it is not
attached directly to the street mains, but behind a trans-
former, working on the secondary circuit. There is a large
glass bulb with two wings standing out on either side, near
the bottom, to each of which the alternating wires are
attached.

At the bottom is a short tube in which is a small quantity

52 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

of mercury. Near it, also pointing downward, is another
short tube containing mercury. By tipping the tube, or bulb,
slightly an electric arc is sprung between these two bodies
of mercury and this arc creates a mercury vapor which fills
the whole bulb, acting as a sort of conductor for the main
current which enters through the two side wings, passing
down and out of the bottom mercury tube, to which is at-
tached the positive lamp wire. As has been stated, alter-
nating current flows first in one direction and then in the
other, changing direction 120 times per second in a 60 cycle
current. When the current direction is toward the left hand
wing (called an anode) it enters and passes to the lamp as
indicated above, but when the direction of the current is
reversed it cannot flow up and out by reason of the exces-
sive resistance. The opposite wing (anode), however, is con-
nected to the other v/ire of the circuit and when the direction
changes the current in that wire is then flowing toward that
wing and passes through to the lamp just as it did on the
other side, but it will be noted that this brings the direction
of current flow through the mercury tube always in one di-
rection. This is the principle the machine works on. There
are other very important details concerning reactance which
maintains the arc during the instant of time in which the
direction of current movement is reversed, but this matter
would be too deep for the average operator and is of little
importance from the operator's point of view. The machine
seems to be entirely practical and the company claims it
reduces current bills. They are quite simple to operate.

MOTOR GENERATOR SETS.

Another very satisfactory method of changing A. C. to
D. C. is by means of an alternating current motor driving a
direct current dynamo of low voltage. The motor and dy-
namo may be on the same shaft, which forms a very com-
pact outfit, or they may be separate and connected by belt.

By this method the current is transformed from A. C. to
D. C. with slight loss, provided the machines be mechanically
and electrically eflicient. In such a set, the lower you can
have the dynamo voltage the less resistance you will have to
have in the lamp circuit, therefore the less amount of loss

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 53

there will be. It is, of course, understood that the dynamo
cannot be less than a 50-volt machine, since it requires about
45 volts to overcome the internal resistance and strike an arc.

The motor generator set merely amounts to driving a
D. C. dynamo with A. C. current. Such sets are in use in
many houses and give satisfaction.

Certain companies put out a D. C. "current saver," for
which large claims are made. These sets amount to a D. C.
dynamo of the line voltage driving a D. C. dynamo which
supplies the arc, at the arc voltage, thus eliminating rheo-
stat heat waste. The only loss is through the mechanical
and electrical friction in the two machines. The motor and
dynamo are both on one shaft and the outfits are very com-
pact. They are, or should be, practically noiseless.

54 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

The Operating Room.

Before taking up lamps, carbons, lenses, machines, etc.,
etc., we will consider the operating room itself. In nine cases
out of every ten, particularly in theaters of the "store room"
variety, the operating room of the past has been miserably
planned and constructed, the prevailing idea seeming to have
been that any space which could not possibly be used for
anything else on earth, and that was in sight of the curtain,
would do for the operating room. As to size, some man-
agers seem to have considered anything above 4 feet square
by 4 deep as a sinful waste of space. The whole show, or
the greater portion of it, at least, comes from the operating
room, and to expect an operator to produce the best possi-
ble results on the screen when cooped up in a little 2x4
iron-lined cracker box is expecting just a little too much.
The very least permissible operating room dimensions should
be 7 feet square by 6 in the clear from floor to ceiling. The
writer well knows it is often difficult to get the latter di-
mension, but a room that is too low to allow plenty of
head room below, floor thickness and 6 feet above is not fit
for a theater. A 13-foot ceiling will do it easily. In build-
ing the operating room be very sure and get the floor per-
fectly solid. The least vibration will produce very bad ef-
fects on the curtain, especially when the stereo picture is on.
The writer has seen an operating room floor so loose that
every time the operator would move, when running the
stereo, the picture would jump. The walls may be built
of 3 or 4-inch hollow tile, set in rich cement mortar, plastered
inside and out: or they may be made of wood and fireproofed
with sheet iron and asbestos, covering floor and ceiling
with the fireproofing also, of course. Where studding walls
are to be covered with iron and asbestos they should be first
covered with rough lumber. Nailing the iron and asbestos
directly to studding is very objectionable from any point of
view. Cover walls, floor and ceiling completely with sheet

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS SS

asbestos, which should be at least V^ inch and preferably %
inch thick.

Cover this with sheet iron or steel, with joints well nailed
down. This latter is very important, as otherwise the seams
will buckle and open up with the heat of a fire. If the walls,
floor and ceiling have been completely covered with asbestos
and iron, properly put on, the room will stand a surprisingly
heavy fire without material damage. Where depth is limited
by reason of lack of head room below, 2 inches may be made
to answer for floor thickness instead of the usual 5 to 7
inches. Cut good, sound 2x12 planks, sized on one side,
the length you want your operating room. By length I mean
from front to back. Ship-lap them % to % inch and lay them
side by side with plenty of dowel pins between. The back
end may rest on a 2x6 lag screwed to inside of front wall.
At other end, on top and flush with ends of planks lay a
good, sound 2x4, to which fasten each plank with two ■'/i x
4%-inch bolts. This completes the floor, which may be
supported from balow or hung from the ceiling joists with
one y-i inch rod every 3 feet. The floor will be solid if you
have used plenty of dowel pins and set them in tight, and
will be just 2 inches thick. It may be covered with sheet
metal below and painted or covered with canvas and papered.
If the planks are more than 8 feet long there should be some
rod hangers in center of floor. Use dry, seasoned lumber or
cracks will open. In the smaller cities it is not usually re-
auired by law that operating rooms be made fireproof.
Better do it anyhow, however. It may save your whole house
from destruction. By thoroughly fireproofing the operating
room as above it is quite possible to burn a whole reel ot
film, or even two of them, and the audience hardly know of
the disaster. To accomplish this, however, you must protect
the lens and peep holes, which may be done with small, in-
dividual shutters for each hole, arranged to slide up and
down in grooves, or hung from a hinge. The latter method
is not so good, however, as the shutters will not close tightly.
All must be held up by one cord which must be so arranged
that the operator can reach it and instantly close all shutters.
The cord should be carried directly over the machine head
so that the fire will reach and sever it quickly should the
operator lose his head. Another and better way is to hang a

$6 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

wide sheet of iron in grooves on the front of the operating
room wall. This sheet should be wide enough to cover all
holes and be stiffened so that it will remain perfectly flat.
Hang with cord running into room, so arranged that operator
can drop it instantly, or fire will sever the cord quickly. In
addition to this there must be a large vent pipe from the
ceiling of the operating room to the open air. This pipe
should be not less than i and preferably 2 feet in diameter.
With such an operating room the films may burn and the
audience scarcely know it. Where a large vent pipe is im-
practical an ordinarj^ stovepipe, with firmly riveted joints,
run from near the operating room ceiling to a chimney flue
will help a lot, though of course it will not carry off near all
the smoke from a burning film. It helps amazingly in ven-
tilating the room, too, in Summer. In the front wall should
be a window arranged to open for ventilation. It may be
covered on the outside with ornamental lattice if the bare
window detracts from the appearance of the front. The door
to the operating room should open outward, being held shut
with a stiff spring. If a trap door is used it should be not
less than 30 inches square.

FITTINGS FOR OPERATING ROOM.

Every operating room should have a small, substantial
work bench, made from 2-inch lumber and equipped with
a small, solid vise with anvil attachment. Repair bills may
not be so heavy if you give the operator a fair show to fix
things himself. But if you won't even give him a decent
work bench and vise (a "work bench" made of i-inch stuff
isn't "decent") he is not very much to be blamed if he
takes no great interest in trying to make repairs. Around
the wall should be plenty of coat hooks or stout nails on
which to hang things, and a substantial shelf should be con-
veniently located high enough to be out of the way. Always
and invariably there must be a metal can in which to throw
carbon butts and the operator who puts them anywhere else
should be promptly fired, before he fires your house. It is
well to locate a small shelf jlist under the peephole, to be
used for announcem.ent slides, oil can, cement, song slides,
etc. There must, of course, be an electric fan, but its loca-
tion will depend on circumstances, but under no conditions

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS !>7

should the air current from it be allowed to strike the con-
denser directly, or even the lamphouse itself.

TOOLS.

The best and most satisfactory plan is for the operator to
own his own kit of tools. Tools furnished by the house
will usually be neither complete or satisfactory. The fol-
lowing list contains nothing superfluous and may be added
to at will, but it constitutes a fairly good kit and costs but
a few dollars; in buying tools it always pays to get the best
puality obtainable: One pair "Button" plyers, 8 or lo-inch;
'^ne pair 8 or lo-inch lineman's side cutting plyers (I leave
the matter of size open, as some prefer one and some the
other); one pair 8 or lo-inch gas plyers; one large and one
medium screw driver; one screw driver with good length of
carefully tempered blade for small machine screws; one lo
or i2-inch cabinet rasp for sharpening carbons; one small
riveting hammer; one plaw hammer; one small cold chisel;
one medium size punch; one very small punch for star and
cam pins; one pair small tinner's snips; one blunt nose film
shears (such as clerks use); one small gasoline torch for
soldering wire joints. With this kit you will be able to do
almost any ordinary job, but you will have use for them all.
In addition to the above the house should furnish one 8 and
one lo-inch flat file, one % round file, one 8-inch "rattail" file,
a small bench vise with anvil, some soldering flux, solder wire,
film cement, slide cover glass, mats and binders, and wire
of various sizes likely to be needed.

Tools should be arranged neatly and conveniently on the
wall, preferably over the work bench, though plyers and
screw drivers should always be hung within reach of the
machine. The writer has found the clamps, such as are used
to fasten mental conduit to the wall, to be the neatest and
best tool holders. They are very cheap and may be had in
any size. Get %-inch ones for plyers and smaller sizes for
other tools. Never, never leave tools lying around. When
through with a tool put it back in its place instantly. It
will take a second or two to do this, but "I had that screw
driver a minute ago, now where in thunder is it?" is alto-
gether too common a remark and it spells Slouchy Workman
in big letters. Keep your tools in place and don't have tQ

58 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

rummage all over the room every time you need something.
It is cheaper by far in the long run. It is a shame, but it is
a fact, so far as the observation of the writer goes — and he
is frequently called to theaters to straighten things out, there-
fore has seen many operating rooms — that not one operating
room in ten is equipped with a half-way complete set of tools
and in not one in fifty are even the few tools there hung up in
orderly fashion. All this means wasted energy and lessens
a man's chances of Heaven (if the showman has any, any-
how) through fracturing the third commandment. I might
add that it is a good plan to wrap plyer handles and screw-
driver blades to within a couple of inches of their ends with
insulating tape. It will save you many unpleasant shocks.

OPERATING ROOM SWITCHES.

The operating room switches must be installed in com-
pliance with local law, which, in many cities, requires a metal
cabinet with a door. All switches should be assembled
directly in front of the operator, as he sits in operating posi-
tion, except that the dissolver switch, if one be used, may
be located convenient to that machine. In wiring an operat-
ing room make the electrical connection of each machine
entirely independent of every other machine. A tremendous
mistake is frequently made, where two machines are used,
of installing a double throw switch attaching one machine to
each end. This is very bad if the machines are to be used
alternately on steady run, since it is desirable many times
to have both lamps burning at once. To explain: You are
running one machine, but must switch over to the other
when that film runs out. Now with independent wiping your
helper can start the lamp of the other machine and start that
machine so as to not leave the curtain dark for an instant,
but with double throw switches between you must stop your
machine, throw the switch, start the lamp (perhaps with new
carbons) and start the other machine all while the house is
standing dark. It is surprising how many good houses
have their machines wired on the foolish double throw
switch plan. It is to be condemned from any and every point
of view. Have your operating room incandescent lights
equipped with snap switch sockets, but also have a snap
switch on the wall beside the peephole with which you can

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 59

put them all out. If one of the auditorium light circuits is
handled by the operator, as it should be, have this switch
located by the side of the peephole. Keep all switch contacts
clean, smoothing them up occasionally, if necessary, with a
fine file. Keep the handles and crossbars of switches tight;
a loose, wobbly switch is an abomination and none but a
lazy, shiftless workman will tolerate it.

Keep your operating room clean. Under no circumstances
allow loose papers or trash of any kind to accumulate on
the floor. Make it your invariable practice to sweep the
room thoroughly once each day. The operator who has not
enough ambition to keep his operating room at least decently
clean had better quit and go into the junk business. He
can then mess around all he wants to. If he doesn't leave, I
would earnestly recommend that his pay be stopped. Keep-
ing an operating room clean is so small a matter that there
is absolutely no excuse on earth for failure to do so. When
running it is necessary to have the operating room in dark-
ness if you get the best results. With lights burning in the
operating room you cannot nearly so readily distinguish
shadows on the picture. It is harder on the eyes, too. The
darker the room is, the better. In front of the lamp house,
especially if the floor be ironclad, should be an insulating
mat about 24x30 inches in size. This may be rubber, heavy
linoleum or asbestos board — not sheet asbestos, but asbestos
board. But whatever it is it should be well fastened down,
or let into the floor flush with its surface. The writer insists
on a comfortable chair with a back. He doesn't propose to
sit bunched up on an uncomfortable stool. He tries to give
good service, as every man should, but he demands reason-
able comfort in his work as, also, every man should. Of
course this item does not make much difference on a short
evening run, but for long runs it does.

THE LAMP.

A good picture cannot possibly be produced without good
light and the better the light is, other things being equal,
the better will be the picture. Good light cannot be had with
a poor, dry lamp with 2 or 3 inches of the cable ends burned
to a crisp. It is astonishing how little attention many op-
erators pay to their lamp. I have been sent for by theater

60 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

managers to see what was the trouble that their light, was
so poor and found that I could only move the lamp ad-
justment screws by grasping the handle and twisting hard
enough to very nearly break things. And that was all in
the world that was wrong. No matter what make of lamp
you use, take it entirely apart just as soon as its adjustments
move the least bit stiff and proceed as follows: After re-
moving all screws and taking the lamp entirely apart, grease
all parts thoroughly with vaseline. Now wipe off the sur-
plus grease and drop the parts into a box of good graphite.
Shake (don't wipe) off the surplus and put the lamp together.
If you have been using a dry lamp you will be astonished at
the difference and how much more accurately you can adjust
your light. A very common fault with many, in fact, almost all
lamps, is the tendency of the carbon* arms to "wobble" side-
wise, due to the fact that the rack bars (the bars which
slide up and down to adjust the carbons) being too small.
With these small bars, if there be the very least play in the
boxing which holds them it is magnified many times out at
the ends of the carbon arms, which frequently you can swing
fully Vs of an inch. These lamps may be all right when
new, but after being used a short time the fault develops.
The metal warps a trifle through heat — at least I suppose
that is what causes it — and then there is lost motion. The
rack bar should be flat and wide. From front to back it
need not be more than ^ inch thick, but the other way it
should be at least i inch wide. Exactly like a flat tongue in
a wide slot so it cannot wobble sideways. In that case
a little lost motion wouldn't count for much.

This fault is one that is very aggravating, especially when
working with alternating, which requires very close ad-
justment of the carbons for the best results. With direct
current the play is not usually enough to do material damage.
Every few days dress off the inside of your carbon contacts.
They gradually accumulate scale and get rough so that good
contact with the carbon is not had. This is very bad since
it adds electrical heat to the natural heat from the arc, re-
sulting in loss of power and the weakening of the carbon
arms and clamps. The bronze -clamps put out with most
lamps have but little strength when hot. If you are troubled
with excessive breakage have a blacksmith make you a set

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS'

of arms and clamps of Bessemer steel, using the old one
for pattern. They will last for years. Another almost uni-
versal fault with lamps is too small a binding post hole. If
your binding post won't take No. 6 wire run a drill through
the old hole if there is metal enough. If not, then attach
your wires by using a copper terminal, an excellent form of
which is the Bell terminal, shown in Fig. 27.

Fig. 27,

To attach a copper terminal to a flexible cable, strip the
insulation from about 2 inches of the wire, cleaning it and
the inside of the clip thoroughly. Now lay the wire in the
clip, as shown in the top illustration. Fig. 27, leaving
enough wire projecting beyond small lug to bend back and
reach well into the large lug. Clench small lugs down tightly,
bend wire back over and clench down large lugs, as shown
in lower illustration. Fig. 27. Large lugs are intended to
hold the insulation in place, but clenching them down on the
raw wire ends makes just that much additional contact. To
attach to lamp, remove binding post screw and put some
washers on it, put it through hole in clip and screw down
tightly, clamping clip to binding post. These minute direc-
tions may seem unnecessary to some of the older operators,
but you would be amazed at the number of "operators" who
can't, or don't, do the smallest job properly.

Unless there is an extension on the carbon arm for the
purpose of removing the cable from the intense heat of the
arc it is not advisable to attach your cables directly to the
lamp binding posts if you are using a powerful light. The
heat from the arc is so intense that the cable ends soon

62 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

become charred, thus necessitating the removal of 2 or 3
inches, frequently. Also the wires are liable to burn off at
any time. The reason for this is that copper, when sub-
jected to heat, has a tendency to oxidize or scale and when
the individual strands of a cable are so fine and each is
subject to the action over its entire surface it does not take
long to reduce the available current carrying cross section
to a point where it is too small to carry the current. Elec-
trical heating is now added to the heat of the arc and
of course the whole thing soon burns off. Some manu-
facturers have recognized this condition and have added
an extension to their carbon arms which takes care of the
matter nicely. Where these are not present you may over-
come the difficulty by making, from No. 8 steel wire, an
arrangement like Fig. 28.

Fig. 28.

Attach one end to the binding post the same as you would
a copper terminal and to the other attach the cable end,
using a small stove bolt with washers and clamping the cable
and wires together tightly. Make the extension of a length
to suit your own individual case, but 3 inches usually is
plenty long enough. If too long it will interfere with the
free movement of the lamp. This kind of extension will
last indefinitely. When you get a new lamp, or put in a new
carbon arm, remove the lamp, put in two long carbons,
clamping them firmly in place. Now squint along the two
carbons and see if they line with each other sidewise. That
is to say (to make myself clear), would they appear in line
with each other were the lamp in place and you looking
through the condenser opening? If not, carefully file your
carbon arms, with % round file, until the carbons line
exactly. This is of much importance, especially with alter-
nating, if you expect to get the best results and get them
all the time. Where the lamp house is not asbestos lined
the writer has found it a good scheme to lay a sheet of
asbestos in the bottom, letting it bend up in front as far as
bottom of condenser opening. Where lamps have a back-

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 63

ward and forward movement adjustment screw with fine
thread, the writer disconnects this screw entirely and at-
taches a handle so that he can pull the lamp back or push
it ahead. The handle must extend through back of lamp
house, of course. Be very, very careful that the insulation
between the carbon arms and lamp is perfect. If it is poor
on both there may be current leakage which will be waste
pure and simple and will keep your lamp house charged all
the time. Sometimes the lamo house may be charged and
and you cannot discover where it comes from. After ascer-
taining that none of the fine cable strands are doing the
mischief brush off the top of the lower carbon arm care-
fully. Sometimes carbon dust or a piece of carbon will
bridge the insulation enough to carry current to give you
a lively shock.

THE LAMP HOUSE.

Little need be said on this subject. All lamp houses have
their good and bad points and all, so far as the writer knows,
lack ventilation which can be controlled by the operator,
except to a very limited extent. Personally the writer pre-
fers ample ventilation in a lamp house, but arranged so far
as possible to avoid direct currents of air, though he is not
sure that even these are hurtful. Lack of ample ventilation
creates excessive heat in the lamp house, which in turn ab-
normally heats the back condenser lens, as well as the wires
inside the lamp house. The hotter your lens the greater the
exnansion and consequent liability to breakage. Some say
keep the lamp house tightly closed or you will br-r-eak
your condensers — let's see! The front condenser lens gets
pretty warm itself, doesn't it? It is exposed to every vagrant
breeze that blows, is it not? It scarcely ever breaks, does
it? It seems to me there is a moral lying around loose
here somewhere. The writer firmly believes, and has proven
it to his owm satisfaction, that there will be little condenser
breakage (provided other conditions are right, see "Con-
densers") if one could run with the whole back out of his
lamp house. But running with closed lamp house and then
opening the door, if for but a second, soen after the lamp
is cut off, produces a sudden change in temperature, and bing!
there it goes. Give the back condenser plenty of air all

64 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

the time, the same as the front one has, is the rule I have
adopted. Of course, there is somewhat greater liability of
breaking the back lens, since that gets the hottest, but the
front one gets pretty hot, too. There is not so much dif-
ference after all. I don't assert positively that I am right,
but I think I am, and I'm not breaking many condensers
either — maybe one in a month, maybe not so often. Keep
your lamphouse clean and the rods it slides on well lubri-
cated. Keep the screen which covers the vent holes clean.
It clogs up rapidly with a fine, white ash, the residue of the
water glass contained in carbon cores.

l^OR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 65

Lenses.

Hundreds of managers and operators have written the
writer asking whether the high priced condensing lenses
were really to any appreciable extent better than the cheaper
grades. Unquestionably they are, provided you deal with a
reliable firm which send you the really high-grade lenses in
return for the higher price. I am sorry to say, however,
that some unscrupulous firms, well knowing that the average
manager or operator is qualified neither by knowledge or
experience to judge the quality of a lens, ship out a cheap
lens to the man who has paid for a high grade. One manager
sent me a fragment of a condensing lens he had paid $2
for. I make no pretense to expertness in judging lenses, but
even the novice could see it was a very poor quality of lens,
probably one retailing for 75 cents. The high-class lens,
being made more carefully and of better materials has, or
should have, more even density, therefore withstanding the
shock of expansion and contraction better. The glass does
not have the greenish tinge present in the cheaper lenses
and therefore yields a considerably whiter light. More than
this, they are much more accurately ground and for that
reason give a greater amount of light at the aperture
plate for a given arc strength. To sum up: The high-grade
lenses give a whiter, stronger light and do not break quite
so readily, though they will break, as will any glass subjected
to rapid and extreme expansion and contraction. When
the condensing lens fits into a metal round, it should fit
loosely, with fully 1-16 inch play. The glass expands more
in diameter than does the metal round and if the fit is snug
when cold the round will bind and may crack the glass when
heated. If your lens is too large you can easily grind it down
on a coarse grindstone. An emery wheel, unless very fine
and low speed, will chip the edges badly. You cannot tell
when a condenser is dirty (unless very dirty) simply by look-
ing through it. Look through the casing vent holes when
the arc is burning and if the lens looks foggy it is dirty

66 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

and needs cleaning. The outside you will, of course,
polish thoroughly every day before starting the run. Lenses
may be cleaned by wiping with a wet cloth or breathing
on them, polishing afterward with soft, dry cloth or
chamois. Wood alcohol is best, however, for the pur-
pose. Wet (not dampen, but wet) a bit of cloth with
alcohol and wash the lens off with it, polishing quickly,
before the alcohol evaporates, with soft, dry cloth or cham-
ois. Keep the alcohol tightly corked, as it evaporates very
rapidly. Don't keep alcohol in the operating room. In case
of fire it would help things along amazingly. As to the dis-
tance the condensing lens should be from the film; the writer
considers 12 inches about right, but has been unable to
see that a variation of an inch either way makes any mate-
rial difiference, though under certain circumstances he has
been able to remove a "ghost" (dark spot in center of cur-
tain) by moving the lamp house forward or back. As to the
matter of condenser breakage the writer does not feel justi-
fied in saying much more than hcs already been said. He has
a grave suspicion (may be all wrong, though) that up to a
certain degree of heat there is small danger of breakage,
other things being right, but when that point is passed the
dr.nger is very largely increased. He has about come to the
conclusion that this, fitting lenses too tightly in metal rounds,
and very sudden changes in temperature, due to excessive
heat in lamphouse, are the three causes responsible for nine-
tenths of all condenser breakage. Where condensing lenses
of the same focal length are used front and back the writer
believes danger of breakage is materially reduced if when
putting in a new lens it be placed in front, the old lens being
moved to the rear next the light. He believes a lens that has
been used in front for some time has become "seasoned"
(I use that term for want of a better), so that it will stand the
comparatively severe service next the lamp better than will
a new one. This may be imagination, pure and simple, but —
try it out, anyhow.

That condenser breakage is a serious item of expense in
many cases is proven by the fact that the writer has re-
ceived more than five hundred letters from managers and
operators, during the past year alone, on this very subject.

Some believe that placing a new lens in cold water and

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 67

bringing it to a boil, then allowing it to remain in the water
until cold anneals the lens to a certain degree and reduces
liability of breakage. Personally, the writer does not believe
in it much, but it does no harm, anyhow, and may do some
good.

FINDING THE FOCAL LENGTH OF LENSES AND

FINDING THE SIZE LENS REQUIRED TO

PROJECT A GIVEN SIZE PICTURE

AT A GIVEN THROW.

Finding the focal length (commonly termed the "focus")
of a lens is a very simple operation, but one very little un-
derstood by operators. To ascertain the focal length of a
condenser lens, pin a sheet of blank paper on the wall oppo-
site to. and removed at least ten feet from, a window through
which comes strong light. Next,
holding the lens as in Fig. 29 A, with
the flat surface square with the wall,
move it back and forth until the im-
^(?^^ age of the window appears sharply
-■pfa.^ defined on the paper. Holding the

lens at point of sharpest definition,
measure from its flat side to the wall,
and this measurement is the focal
length, or "focus," of the lens. An
incandescent lamp will answer equally

ijT well for illuminant if not less than

" i "u 3 ten feet distant. Get sharp image of

< >*»\giK ^ the lamp filament on the wall and

measure as before.

Measuring focal length of projec-
tion lenses is done in precisely the
same way, except that you must first
make the central point between the
two lenses (see Fig. 29 B) and meas-
Fig. 29. lire from that point. This will be the

equivalent focus of the lens. The dis-
tance from the lens nearest wall to wall will be the back
focus of the lens.

Finding the focal length of lens required to project a
certain width of picture at a given distance is equally sim-

68 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

pie, though a dense, dark mystery to very many operators.
Multiply the distance from lens to curtain, in feet, by width
of picture opening (aperture opening in motion pictures and
slide mat in stereo), in inches. Divide this result by desired
width of picture, in feet, and result will be equivalent focus of
required lens, in inches.

Example: What lens will project a is-foot motion picture
at 60 feet? Answer: 60 x iO (aperture plate is it inch wide)
equals 56j4. which divided by 15 equals 3}i, so we shall want a
3^-inch lens. Example: What lens will project a stereo pic-
ture 15 feet wide at 60 feet? Answer: 60x3 (width of stand-
ard slide mat) equalb 180, which divided by 15 equals 12, so
we shall want a 12-inch stereo lens. This will not be abso-
lutely accurate, since aperture plates are about 15-16 of an inch
wide and mats usually exceed 3 inches by about l-i6th
inch.

Moreover, the cheap lenses are not ground absolutely accu-
rate and there will be some variation there, too. But the rule
answers for all practical purposes. The same result is at-
tained by dividing the distance by the size of the picture
and multiplying by the opening. In using this rule, don't
guess at distances and expect accurate results. Measure from
curtain to lens with a tape line, no matter if someone has
"told" you it is a certain distance. Reject any odd inches in
the measurement below six and add a foot if the fraction be
more than six inches. If throw is more than fifty feet, meas-
ure the aperture opening and multiply by its exact width to
get accurate results, as on long throw the least variation of
aperture will mean considerable on the curtain.

Before starting the day's run remove the projection lens
and make sure there is no oil on its back lens. If there is,
you cannot get a clear picture. When using a lens-tube, the
position of the picture may often be shifted on the curtain as
much as a foot, up, down or sidewise, simply by turning the
tube around in the jacket. About once a month take the pro-
jection lens all apart and clean the lenses thoroughly by
washing with wood alcohol and polishing carefully with a
soft dry cloth or chamois. Because the projection lens looks
perfectly clean and clear when you look through it is no
evidence that it is so. Be very careful, however, to get the
lens back just as it was, or you will have trouble galore. In

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

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70 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

projection work the lenses should be ground accurately
enough to give clear, sharp definition, but beyond this, quality
does not seem to count for very much in the motion picture
lens. There is probably a difference, but the eye does not
seem to be finely discerning enough to catch it. In the stereo
lens, qualit}-- cuts more figure, but even here it is size that
counts. A good, clear-cut stereo picture cannot be pro-,
jected with what is known as a "quarter-size" lens, which is
the article which usually (always, I believe, unless otherwise
agreed) goes with the regular machine outfit. These lenses
are a nuisance. A really good stereo picture cannot be pro-
jected with anything less than a "half-size" lens, and that is
what you should by all means have. The foregoing refers
only to stereo lenses of greater equivalent focus than lo
inches. Below lo inches equivalent focus, the quarter size
stereo is satisfactory. The road man should have stereo
lenses for various distances and a motion picture lens jacket
with lens tubes for various distances.

Be verjf sure to have your picture in exact focus. It may
look all right to you from the operating room, still, a frac-
tion of a turn of the adjustment screw may improve it con-
siderably. With the stereo it is a good plan to throw a pic-
ture on the screen before the show and get someone to
work the adjustment screw for you while you go down in the
house and direct him. Get it so that every detail comes out
sharp and clear. A scene with grass, flowers, shrubbery or
trees is best for focusing. Once set, it will, of course, remain
so until disturbed. It is close attention to such details as
this that marks the real operator. The "Oh, that's good
enough" man never gets ahead — he oughtn't to! Knowing a
thing does no manner of good unless you apply your knowl-
edge— remember that.

Once in a great while a peculiar accident will happen to
a stereo lens. In some of these lenses the two pieces
of glass which go together at each end are cemented
together with balsam gum. Poor gum is sometimes used
and it melts under heat and runs in between the two
glasses, which, however, remain glued together. You may
get them apart by placing in cold water and bringing to a
boil. Take the lens out of the boiling water and, working
very fast, with considerable force, slip the*two lenses 'apart.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 71

Don't try to pry them apart. Slip one off the other — they
don't come apart easy even when hot. Clean the balsam oft
with turpentine, polishing carefully afterward. After having
cleaned the lenses carefully, you may use them without ce-
menting. Of course the really better way is to send the
lens to the maker, who will clean, repolish and recement it
for a dollar or two. You may have to drop the lenses in
the boiling water several times, slipping them a ilttle more
each time, as the balsam holds very tight. Be very sure
you get the lenses together again the same way they were
or you will have trouble.

Should one of the lenses of a projection lens get broken
the whole set is ruined. It cannot be replaced, or, at least,
it would cost more than would an entire new lens. To test
your motion picture lens for accuracy of projection, get a
piece of clear mica four or five inches long and cut it the
width of a film. Now with ruler lay it ofif both ways for two
inches near one end with straight lines about one-eighth inch
apart, scratched with the knife point, forming a sort of
miniature checkerboard. Put this ruled portion over the
aperture plate in exactly the position the film would occupy
(as regards the tracks and tension springs), close the gate
and turn on the light. Now focus the scratch marks on the
curtain, and if they appear clear, straight and without dis-
tortion of any kind the lens is true and accurate. In making
this test be certain the lens is clean, particularly that it has
no oil on its inner end. This mica strip can be used every day
before the show to test the focus and get it exactly right; but
you must get it in the machine in exactly the position the
film will occupy. In this relation let me say that the lens
sometimes gets blamed for what is really the fault of a worn
aperture plate. The variation of as little as i-64th of an inch
in the distance of the film from the lens as it passes through
the machine will affect the focus. Now, it frequently happens
that aperture plate tracks do not wear evenly. There may
be a sort of bow, or, worse yet, double bow, in the tracks
where the short spring contact comes, or the pressure of
the tension springs may cause the outside or inside of one or
both tracks to wear faster than the other side. These things
have a decided tendency to cup ihe film in such manner that
it is impossible to get the whole picture in focus. Under-

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

stand, I do not mean by the above that i-64th inch would
make any difference provided the whole picture were moved
that much to or from the lens, but the cupping I refer to
causes one portion of the film to be nearer the lens than
another, and this will not do, even though the variation be
but the amount named. The ."Im must be perfectly flat as it
passes the aperture opening.

THE SPOT.

Many operators govern their light almost entirely from the
appearance of the light which shines on the gate, called the
"spot." This is decidedly wrong. Aside from the length of
the arc and effects produced by something wrong in the
carbons the thing which should be your sole guide in regulat-
ing your light is the picture itself. Aside from the two
above named things it will tell you every lamp adjustment
you should make, tell you when you have made it just right,
and tell you better than can anything
else. Looking at a bright, brilliant
spot, or sitting, as the operator must,
where it strikes the eyes, is very hard
on them. The writer protects the spot
with a rather light (but not too light)
strip of green glass. This glass, which
must be made different sizes and
shapes for different machines, he has
a tinner bind the glass in a narrow
frame of tin to which is soldered a
flange, by which it is attached by two
screws to the gate or cooling plate.
Fig. 30 shows the idea. You must
drill screw holes in the cooling plate
or gate, usually, to attach it. The
glass should stand out about V/i
inches and be deep enough up and
down to show the whole spot, espe-
cially its top edge. This glass takes
away all the glare and one may look
straight at the spot as long as one
likes with absolutely no eye strain at all. After you have

FOR MANAGERS' AND OPERATORS 73

used it a day or two you will wonder how on earth you ever
got along without it, though at first it will bother you some.
Use hard solder for fastening on the flange or have it made
in one piece with the frame. Some operators use a metal
plate instead of the glass, but the latter is best. The shield
should be set back about 5^ of an inch from the picture
opening, on the operating side, of course.

The writer has said in his hand-books and in various arti-
cles, and now repeats, that the operator who produces the
best results watches his picture and not his spot, making his
lamp adjustments according to what he sees on the curtain.
Like all other rules, however, this must be qualified. At
times it will be found impossible to get the desired result
by any lamp adjustment you may make. This indicates that
there is something radically wrong, and nine times in ten
the trouble will be found in the arc itself. Perhaps a "mush-
room" has formed on the lower carbon tip. Perhaps your
carbons are not set just right. But to ascertain precisely
what is wrong and intelligently remedy it without stopping,
you must be able to closely examine the arc. This may
be done as completely as you would examine the flame of
a tallow candle, and with less eye strain. When burning
a crater on a new carbon before the show starts the writer
frequently opens the lamphouse door and watches the whole
operation. He can gaze right into the crater and examine
every detail of his carbon tips and does do it several times
in the course of each day. How? Simply by the use of
two pieces of glass, 5 inches long by 4 wide, one red and the
other green. But the shade must be just right to get the
best result. A red or green glass alone is of small practical
value in examining the arc, unless it be a very weak one.

The top edge of the spot is the best guide in shortening
the arc (closing the carbons). When the carbons are too
far apart (too long an arc) there is usually a sort of nebula
of light forms at the top of the spot. With direct current
it will be orange with a purple center when it gets large,
and with alternating it will be purple. With your carbons set
just right this nebula (I use the term for want of a better)
will form quite rapidly and the careful operator will not let
it get more than J4 inch wide, closing the carbons just so

74 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

that it disappears. If closed more tlian that the light will
usually sing, indicating that the arc is too short. Trim your
lamp little and often is the only right rule. The nebula will
vary somewhat with the set of the carbons, also with the
size of carbon used, but if the carbons are set right it nearly
always appears and forms a perfect guide for trimming the
lamp. If it does not form it is usually an indication that your
carbons are not set right or are not burning right. An-
other guide to carbon adjustment is to drill a ^-inch hole
in the front of the lamphouse on a line with the top of the
condenser and about i^ inches to its left. Through this
hole will be thrown on the wall two points of light with a
purple band between. The width of the band will indicate
the relative length of the arc. Still another way is to set
the condenser vent-hole (if you have a condenser casing
which will allow it) on top, or a little to the right of the
top, and bend the forward edge of the hole in a trifle.
Through the hole will be projected on the wall, magazine
or film guard a multi-colored band edged with orange or
white, indicating the relative length of the arc. But, after
all, the top of the spot is the best guide for carbon adjust-
ment and he who can read all that it tells will find it a great
assistance in securing good light. The spot should be as
small as possible and get a good, clear picture, since all
light which does not enter the picture opening is wasted.
But even this must be qualified. Looking through the light
beam j'ou will usually see a clear, white center edged, top
and bottom, with a more or less deep strip of orange. This
latter portion of the light is, of course, very poor for pro-
jection and it is possible that by using it you will not get as
brilliant a picture as though only the white center were
utilized. This depends on circumstances and how "orangy"
the light is. Just what causes this phenomenon the writer
is unable to say, but believes it to be due to (a) wrong set
of carbons, (b) uneven heating of crater, (c) imperfect lenses,
one alone or all combined.

The spot should be perfectly round. An oblong spot cor-
nerwise of the gate indicates carbons out of line with each
other sidewise. Oblong straight across the aperature in-
dicates crater too low down. Move bottom tip ahead or top
one back according to circumstances. The size of the spot

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 75

is controlled by moving the lamp toward or away from the
condenser. If the spot is edged with light, bright blue and
has a sort of "puckered" appearance the lamp is too far
from the condenser. This is a condition which will usually
only appear when using long focus condensers. It is pos-
sibl'e with short focus lenses, but it is not likely you will
ever get the lamp that far back with them.

THE PRINCIPLES OF OPTICAL PROJECTION.

Reproduced by courtesy of Bauscli & Lamb, Rochester, N. Y.

The following brief review of the leading principles of
projection is designed for the reader who, having no knowl-
edge of the science of optics, wishes to understand the
operation of projection apparatus.

With the aid of the apparatus we throw or project upon
a screen an enlarged image of a transparent object (a slide
or film). The process is almost the reverse of ordinary
photography. For example, in photographing a scene by
means of the photographic objective or lens we obtain a
reduced image of that scene on the ground glass. This
glass is replaced by the sensitized plate and by the use of
chemicals the image is fixed thereon. Now in projection we
reverse this process. From the picture made with the lens
we make a transparent slide, or we use the film negatives,
and by means of a condensed light we strongly illuminate
these, and with an objective lens an enlarged image is pro-
jected upon the screen, and this screen image corresponds
with the real objects first photographed.

From this illustration it will be seen that the first essen-
tial in projection work is the lens or objective. Just as in
photography the quality and tone of the picture depend to a
very great extent upon the quality and character of the lens,
so in projection the objective is the factor which determines
the excellence of the screen image.

The condensing lenses must be of a diameter slightly
greater than the diagonal of the slide or film in use. The
size most commonly used is 4^ inches in diameter.

As the condensing lenses are in close proximity to the arc
or other source of light, they arc, of course, subjected to
considerable heat and will expand and contract accordingly
as they are heated or cooled. Some arrangement should,
therefore, be made for this expansion and contraction so that
it will be as even as possible. We have done this in our

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

patent ventilated mount, which provides for the circulation
of air and ensures the even expansion and contraction of the
condensers.

The optical principle of projection for both lantern slide
and moving picture apparatus will, perhaps, be more readily
understood from the diagram on this page.

At E is an electric light or other suitable illuminant the
light from which is caught up by the condensing lenses or
condenser C; this condenser is an arrangement of lenses so
constructed as firstly, to gather up as great a volume of
light as possible, and secondly, to concentrate the light
which it gathers at the center or diaphragm plane of the
objective when the objective is located at the proper dis-
tance from the slide or film, which distance is determined
by the focal length of the objective.

Diagram Showing the Principles, of ODIical Projciiion.

The slide or film should be placed at such a point that
the entire area of the opening is fully illuminated, and it
should also be placed so that the greatest number of light
rays possible should pass through it. Taking into consid-
eration the fact that the opening in the mat in the lantern
slide is 2)4 x 3 inches and in the moving picture film is
^i X H inches, it will at once be evident that the slide must
be placed at the point D in the diagram in order that its
entire area be covered, and the moving picture film must
be located at the point F in order that it may take in the
greatest number of light rays.

Proceeding from the slide the light passes through the
objective O, where the rays cross, and the object is hence
reversed, and by means of the objective the object is imaged
or delineated upon the screen S. The degree of sharpness
and flatness of the image depends upon the optical corrections
of the lens.

The relative positions of the arc, condenser, and objective

FOR MAiSTAGERS AND OPERATORS 11

must be such that an image of the light source will be
formed at the diaphragm of the objective. All the light
coming from the condenser is then utilized and the image
on the screen is at its brightest.

Oftentimes lantern slides and films are to be used inter-
changeably, and approximately the same sized image is
desired with both. As the opening in the slide mat is ap-
proximately three times that of the moving picture film, it
is, therefore, necessary to have a lens for lantern slides
approximately three times the focal length of that of the
lens used for films. It is possible to match the size of the
images in one dimension only (either width or height) as
the two openings are not proportionate in size.

It is necessary, therefore, in ordering to specify whether
the images are to be the same height or width.

The Selection of a Lens.

The most important consideration in projection work is
the lens, for on its selection depend the quality and size of
the image on the screen. Not the lens mounting, nor even
the diameter of the lens itself, but its equivalent focus and
distance from the screen, determine the size of the image.

At a given distance the greater the focal length the smaller
will be the image. Shorter focus lenses, therefore, will give
large images. Do not make the mistake of selecting lenses
of such short focus; that the magnification will be so great
that when the observer is near the screen much of the
definition and perspective will be sacrificed.

Brilliant pictures of medium size are far more satisfactory.

The projection distance must be measured from the film
or slide to the screen.

The tables on pages 80 and 81 show the size of image
obtained with lenses of different focal lengths at varying
distances. Other sizes, focal lengths and distances can be
computed as follows:

Size of Image. — This can be determined by multiplying the
difference between the distance from lens to screen and the
focal length of the objective, by the size of the slide, and
dividing the product by the focal length.

For example:

Let L be the projection distance, 40 feet (480 inches); S,
the slide mat, 3 inches; F, the focus of the lens, 12 inches;

78 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

then we have the formula (in which d is the size of image).

S(L-F)

d = —

Substituting for the letters their known values we have

3 (480—12)

d=: =117 in. or g.)^ ft.

Focal Length. — To determine this factor multiply the size
of the slide or film opening by the distance from the lens to
screen, and divide the product by the sum of the size of the
image and the size of the slide.

S XL

Thus we have the formula F = and substituting their

d + S
values as before

3 X 480 1440

= = 12 inches.

117+ 3 120

Distance from Slide to Screen. — With the other factors
given we can get this by multiplying the sum of the size
of the image and size of slide mat, by the focal length,
and divide this product by the size of slide mat, thus:

F(d + S)
L = , substituting values

12 (117 + 3)

L = ^480 inches ^40 feet.

Adjustment of Xight.

Successful results in projection depend largely upon the
correct adjustment of the lamp, which must throw a bril-
liantly illuminated circle upon the screen.

After the objective is focused, as will be evidenced by a
sharp, clear image on the screen, remove slide and slide
holder, and examine the illuminated circle. If the light is
centered and the lamp correctl}' adjusted this circle will be
clear and entirely free from coloration or shadows.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

The following diagrams illustrate the results of defective
centering, showing the shadows and stating the causes.
These can be speedily remedied and a little practice will
soon make one adept in centering the light accurately.

In Figs. I and 2 the radiant, i. e., the crater, needs to be
properly adjusted laterally, it is too far to the right or left.

In Figs. 3 and 4 it is too high or too low.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 it is too near or too far from the con-
denser.

Fig. 8 shows it to be in correct position, the field being
entirely clear.

CONDENSER BREAKAGE.

An operator in Winnipeg, Canada, suggests a very simple
and inexpensive method of preventing condensers from crack-
ing. It is passed on for what it is worth. He places a new
condenser in the kitchen oven for four or five days, allowing
it to heat and cool off again and again as the fire is used.
By this method of tempering he saj^s that a condenser lasted
fourteen months and was then broken only by accident while
being cleaned.

Boiling the condensers has also been suggested, but the
method of baking and cooling appears feasible and is based
on logical reasons,

80 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

Table showing size of screen image when
moving picture films are projected.

Size of Mat opening ]l x ^-^ indi

Eqiilv. focus

100

Inches

ft.

It.

ft.

21/3

4.8

6.4

8.0

9.6

',,.3

12.9

14.5

16.1

6.5

8.7

11.0

13.2

15.4

17.6

19.8

22.0

2y2

5.4

6.8

8.2

9.6

10.9

12.3

13.7

16.4

7.4

9.3

11.2

13.1

14.9

16.8

18.7

22.4

4.5

5.7

6.8

8.0

9.1

10.3

11.4

13.7

16.0

6.2

7.7

9.3

10.9

12.4

14.0

15.6

18.7

21.8

i'A

4.9

5.8

6.8

7.8

8.8

9.8

11.7

13.7

15.7

6.6

8.0

9.3

10.6

12.0

13.3

16.0

18.7

21.4

4.2

5.1

6.0

6.8

7.7

8.5

10,3

12.0

13.7

15.4

5.8

7.0

8.1

9.3

10.5

11.6

14.0

16.3

18.7

21.0

4}4

4.5

5.3

6.2

6.8

7.7

9.1

10.6

12.2

13.7

15.4

6.2

7.2

8.4

9.3

10.5

12.4

14.5

16.6

18.7

21.0

4.8

5.4

6.8

8.2

9.6

10.9

12.3

13.7

6.5

7.4

8.4

9.3

11.2

13.0

14.9

16.8

18.7

i'A

4.3

4.9

5.6

6.2

7.4

8.7

9.9

11.2 12.4

5.9 6.7

7.6

8.4

10.2

11.9

13.6

15.3 17.0

1 4.5

5.1

5.7

6.8

8.0

9.1

10.3 11.4

11 6.2

7.0

7.7

9.3

10.9

12.4

14.0 15.6

i'A

4.7
6.4

5.2
7.1

6.3
8.8

7.3
10.0

8.4
11.4

9.6 10.6
13.0 14.5

4.4
6.0

4.9
6.6

5.8
8.0

6.8
9.3

7.8
10.6

8.8 9.8
12.0 13.3

4.5

5.4

6.4

7.3

8.2 9.1

6.2

7.4

8.7

10.0

11.2

12.3

5.1
7.0

6.0
8.1

6.8
9.3

7.7
10.5

8.5
11.6

Example; With a lens of 5}4 inch focus at a distance of
35 ft. the screen image will be 4.3 x 5.9; at 40 ft., 4.9 x 6.7;
a.t45ft., 5.6x7.6 etc.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

Table showing size of screen image when
lantern-slides are projected.

Size of Mat opening 2^ x 3 inches

Eguiv. focus

1 30

1 85"

1 50

100

Inches

ft.

iiL.

ft. ! ft.

Uj^

ft.

! ft.

ft.

ft^

it._

8.0

10.8

13.5

16.3

19.0

8.8

11.8

14.8

17.8

20.8

S'A

7.3
7.9

9.8
10.7

12.3
13.4

14.8
18.1

17.3
18.8

19.8
21.6

6.6
7.3

8.9
9.8

11.2: 13.5
12.3 14.8

15.8
17.3

18.1
19.8

20.4
22.3

6y2

6.1
6.7

8.2

9.0

10.4 12.5
11.3! 13.6

14.6
15.9

16.7
18.2

18.8
20.5

5.7

7.6

9.6

11.6

13.5

15.5

17.5

19.4

6.2

8.3

10.5

12.8

14.8

16.9

19.0

21.2

7.1

».S

10.8

12.6

14.4

16.3

18.1

7.8

8.8

11.8

13.8

15.8

17.8

19.8

6.8

8.4

10.1

11.8

13.5

15.2

17.0

204

7.3

9.1

11.0

12.9

14.8

16.6

18.5

223

i'J

6.2

7.9

9.5

11.1

12.7

14.3

16.0

19.2

6.8

8.6

10,3

12.1

13.9

15.6

17.4

20.9

5.9

7.4

8.9

10.5

12.0

13.5

15.1

18.1

21.1

6.4

8.1

9.8

11.4

13.1

14.8

16.4

19.8

23.1

8'i

5.6

7.0

8.5

9.9

11.4

12.8

14.2

17.1

20.0

6.1

9.2

10.8

12.4

14.0

15.5

18.7

21.9

5.3

6.6

8.0

9.4

10.8

12.2

13.5

16.3

19.0

21.8

5.8

7.3

8.8

10.3

11.8

13.3

14.8

17.8

20.8

23.8

5.5

6.6

7.8

8.9

10.1

11.2

13.5

15.8

18.1

20.4

6.0

7.3

8.5

9.8

11.0

12.3

14.8

17.3

19.8

22.3

5.6

6.6

7.8

8.6

9.6

11.6

13.5

15.5

17.5

19.4

6.2

7.3

8.3

9.4

10.5

12.6

14.8

16.9

19.0

21.2

5.8

6.6

7.5

8.4

10.1

11.8

13.5

15,2

17.0

6.3

7.3

8.2

9.1

11.0

12.9

14.8

16.6

18.5

5.1

5.9

6.6

7.4

8.9

10.5

12.0

13.5

15.1

5.6

8.4

7.3

8.1

9.8

11.4

13.1

14.8jl5.4

5.3

6.0

6.6

8.0

9.4

10.8

12.2

13.5

5.8

6.5

7.3

8.8

10.3

11.8

13.3

14.8

S.4

8.0

7.3

8.5

9.8

11.0

12.3

5.9

6.6

7.9

9.3

10.7

12.0

13.4

5.5
6.0

6.6
7.3

7.8
8.5

8.9
9.8

10.1
11.0

11.2
12.3

Example: With a lens of 10-inch focus at a distance of
20 ft. the screen image will be 5.3 x 5.8; at 25 ft., 6.6 x 7.3;
at 30 ft.. 8.0 X 8.8; at 50 ft., 13.5 x 14.8 etc.

82 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

Carbons.!

This subject is one of greatest importance since it involves
the matter of light — the very foundation stone of projection.
1 believe it will be valuable to the operator to know what
carbons are made of and how they are made and to that end
a short dissertation on their manufacture will be included.
Carbons are made from 6 inches to as much as 30 inches in
length. They are supposed to be perfectly round and straight,
but a variation of 1J/2 per cent of the nominal diameter is
allowed in the matter of roundness and a 6-inch carbon may
be 1-32 or a 16-inch one 1-16 out of true as to straightness
without being rejected. Carbons are made from a mixture
of three substances in varying proportions, viz.: soot ob-
tained from the imperfect combustion of pitch, tar, naphtha-
line, oils or resins; retort carbon formed in process of making
illuminating gas and petroleum coke obtained in process of
distillation of mineral oils. Soot is the best form of carbon,
retort carbon comes next and petroleum coke is poorest.
The quality of the carbon depends largely on the percetage
used of the above named materials. Quality is judged by
breaking a carbon and examining the fracture also by the
sound when struck, but this is beyond any but the expert.
Some operators claim they can judge of the quality of a
carbon by its color and gloss, but in this I believe they are
mistaken. The expert in carbons might be able to tell
something from the exterior of a carbon but hardly an
operator. In manufacturing carbons the materials are first
thoroughly pulverized into a dust, then purified and metalic
particles removed by action of a powerful electro magnet.
The binder is now added and the mass mixed to a stiflf dough
or paste. For binder common coal tar is most commonly
used, though some makers employ a special syrup (sugar
syrup, I understand it to be). After the binder is thoroughly
incorporated the mass is passed between heavy rollers under
great pressure and is then stamped into blocks 12 inches
in diameter by about 16 inches in height. These blocks are

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 83

placed in a hydraulic press in which is a steel die the size
of the carbon being made. If it is to be a cored carbon a
steel needle the size of the core is placed in the center of
the opening. The press now forces the mass through this
die under pressure of several thousand pounds per sq. inch.

As the carbon rod is leaving the die a steel wheel runs
along it printing the maker's name and other marks, usually
denoting quality. The rod is next cut into 36-inch lengths
which are allowed to roll down a slightly inclined table to
straighten them. They are then tied in large bundles and
baked for several days at a temperature of about 2,700 de-
gress F. This baking reduces the binder into a substance
closely resembling very hard coke. The rods are now cut
into stock length, tested as to straightness, examined for
imperfections and pointed. Those to be cored have forced
into their centers a stiff mass formed of a powder obtained
by grinding up defective carbons which have been baked
mixed with water glass. The percentage of water glass in
the core is a most important matter. The more there is of
it the longer arc, within certain limits, can be pulled with
a given current. The carbons are thoroughly dried after core-
ing, but not again baked, and are then ready for use.

In purchasing carbons it is better to get as long stock as
you can use in your lamphouse and considerable saving is
effected if you can use 12, or even lo-inch carbons, at least
for the upper. There is just so much waste to each carbon
in the form of a butt, averaging, usually, three inches in
length. This waste is the same with a six-inch as with a 12-
inch carbon, but if your 12-inch stock is cut in two and used
in the form of two 6-inch pieces there are two butts instead
of one. Do you see the point? In other words, when using
6-inch carbons you waste one-half the stock in the form of
butts, whereas with 12-inch carbons you waste but one-fourth.
Where a house runs all day and evening too this item will
amount to more dollars than you would imagine in the
course of a year. In a house using strong light, running con-
tinuous II hours per day, there will be about 350 more 12-inch
carbons used in a year if cut into 6-inch length than would
be consumed by burning 12-inch stock. Where 12-inch stock
is cut into 6-inch lengths the whole bundle may easily be
sawed in two with an old carpenter's handsaw, provided it

g4 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

be done before the bundle is loosened. A coarse, low-speed
emery wheel is best to sharpen carbons on, but in lieu of that
a ID or i2-inch cabinet rasp is excellent. If you are using
alternating current be very careful to sharpen your carbons
with a true point, being particular to get the small, flat
space at the end always about the same. The point, par-
ticularly the flat space at the tip, will be your guide in setting
the carbon and, as will be later explained, it is of utmost
importance that you get your carbons set exactly right with
alternating current. Cracks running lengthwise of the car-
bon are not faults but rather evidence that the carbon has
been well and thoroughly baked. Cracks running around
the dfameter, however, are serious faults and any such should
be promptly thrown away. In making your purchases in-
sist on examining ends of cored carbons and reject any
bundles in which are many carbons containing imperfect
cores.

You cannot get a good light with a carbon that has a
bad core. The core is for the purpose of holding the cur-
rent central in the carbon. The soft core has a relatively
higher conductivity than has the hard carbon surrounding it.
This holds the current to the center of the carbon and
enables you to maintain a better crater and keep it where
you want it. When using direct current it will frequently
happen that the lower carbon will burn to a long "needle"
tip and there will be a little heap of black powder on top
of the lower carbon arm. This is due to the fact that the
binding material is burning out, thus leaving the carbon itself
free and it drops away without being consumed. This is
due to abnormal heating through higher resistance of the
carbon and may be remedied to some extent by using a larger
carbon, though even the ^ size will do it sometimes when
j'ou are using a heavy current. That it is due in consid-
erable extent to poor carbon is proven by the fact that one
carbon will not needle at all while the next one, of same
size and kind, will needle for 2 or more inches. This shows
there is a vast difference in the resistance of carbons — or the
writer thinks it does anyhow. He may be wrong, but this
is the explanation which appeals to him. The formation of
glass-like beads on a carbon tip is evidence of high quality,
this being the only residue of voltalized soot. It frequently

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS' 85

iiappens that a thin-stemmed, mushroom-shaped tip will form
on the lower carbon when using direct current. This is due
to the carbons being held too closely together, thus ex-
cluding the free passage of air to the crater. Under this con-
dition particles of voltalized carbon are carried along by
the current instead of being consumed. In the arc they
are converted into graphite and cling to the tip of the lower
carbon. This graphite "cap" presents high resistance to
combustion and remains until it falls, or is knocked off. Once
started by too close contact of the carbons the mushroom
grows until it is sometimes half an inch long and you will
have poor light as long as it is there. It can be consumed
by burning a long arc but the best way is to knock it off
with a screwdriver blade and be more careful in future.
The white ash which forms inside the lamphouse when using
cored carbons is the residue of the water glass contained
in the cores.

As to the size and kind of carbons to be used, that will
depend on several things and will vary with individual cases.
For alternating current it may be said that ^ cored above
and below is the thing in practically all cases. For direct
current 5^ cored fills the bill above, but either §^, 9-16 or J^-
inch cored or 9-16 or J^-inch solid may be best below, accord-
ing to individual preference or the current strength used.
If solid is used below do not get too hard a carbon or your
light will have a tendency to be yellow. Try the different
carbons until you get the one which gives best results, but
don't decide by burning one carbon. Give each one a day's
trial at least. In putting you carbons into the clamp it is
necessary to use considerable pressure on the clamp, since
if there is not good contact, much heat will be generated
through electrical resistance due to poor contact. If the
contact is very poor there may be arcing between the carbon
and clamps and this will consume carbon, still further loosen-
ing the connection and unduly heating the carbon arm and
clamp. Don't overdo the matter of pressure, however, as
the carbon arms and clamps put out with many lamps are
very weak, especially when hot. Use judgment and common
sense. Some advocate using an upper carbon which has
been flattened on one side with alternating current, but the

86 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

writer has been unable to detect any material advantage from
this practice.

SETTING THE CARBONS.

Whether you are using A. C. or D. C. (alternating current
or direct current) practically all available illumination comes
from the "crater," a saucer shaped depression which forms
on the upper (positive) carbon tip with D. C. and on both
tips with A. C. (though with the latter the craters are usu-
ally flat, rather than depressed in the center, as with D. C.)-
The whole endeavor in setting the carbons should be to
get the crater to form of good size and face the condensing
lens as squarely as possible. Setting the carbons with D. C.
is comparatively easy and simple. All projection lamps
are so made that the top may be set further back than the
bottom (angling the lamp, this is called) so as to aid in
getting the crater square with the condenser. In all lamps
but the Edison, I believe, this angle may be varied within
certain limits. With D. C. the lamp should be angled back
just as much as possible and not get the lower carbon tip,
or any part of it, between the crater and condenser.

Whether or no the lower tip is interfering is somewhat
difficult to tell unless one is able to closely examine the tips
by aid of the glasses before mentioned. Draw a line with
the eye, when the arc is burning normally, from the lower
edge of the crater to the lower edge of the lens and if such
a line strikes the lower tip there is interference and loss
of illumination, though if slight it may not amount to much.
The greater angle you can give the lamp without this inter-
ference the greater illumination you will get from a given
arc, but the amount of angle will be checked by the lower
carbon arm striking the front wall of the lamphouse when
the lamp is wide open, or the lower carbon doing the same
thing when a new one which projects below the arm is in.
This must be taken into consideration since angling beyond
the point where the carbon arm interferes involves burning
a shorter lower carbon with consequent greater carbon waste.

I have already spoken, I believe, of the size of carbons
best to use. With A. C. it matters not at all which wire is
connected to upper or lower binding post of lamp, but with
D. C. the negative must be connected to the lower and the

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

positive to the upper. There are several methods of ascer-
taining which is the negative and which the positive wire,
but the following is simplest: Connect one wire from one
binding post of operating switch to lower binding post of

lamp. Connect other wire through the rheostat to upper
lamp binding post. Now, first being sure the resistance
is in if using an adjustable rheostat, close the switch and

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

light the lamp. Let it burn for five minutes and shut it
off. Examine the carbon tips. If the lower is burned to
a round point and the upper has a saucer-like depression you
are all right, but if just the opposite condition exists change
the wires at the lamp and cut the rheostat in on the other
wire. The latter is not necessary but the writer prefers

F\^3l

the rheostat on the positive wire, since he thus has a little
less voltage on the lamp and this makes any shocks he may
get somewhat lighter. Otherwise it makes no practical dif-

ference which wire it is on. Having ascertained that your
carbons are in perfect line with each other sidewise (see
"The Lamp") set your carbons in place as per Fig. 31. Some

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 89

operators prefer setting the top carbon parallel with the
lamp rack-bars and angling the lower one slightly ahead,
but this is merely a matter of individual preference. We
have now arrived at the one most important thing in secur-
ing good projection light, and that is to get the advancement
of the lower carbon tip exactly right, since this is what will
in great measure determine the position of your crater. If
you set it too far back your crater Avill be too low down and
the light will be thrown downward instead of straight ahead
as it should be. If, on the other hand, you get it too far
ahead a long "skirt" will form on the back edge of the upper
carbon tip. This is not a good condition, since when it
prevails the crater is not in the best position and more-
over there is tendency of this "skirt" to break off, often fully
half way up the crater. Fig 32A shows lower tip too far
back. Fig. 32B, tip too far forward. Fig. 32C shows an
ideal condition, and this latter condition may be at all
times maintained, barring imperfections in carbons, by close
attention. But let me impress upon you that it is more than
anything else the exact amount of advancement of the lower
carbon ahead of the upper which makes it. I am assuming,
of course, that you have experimented and found what car-
bon, or combination of carbons, are best suited to your needs.
There is little or no difference of opinion among operators
as to the best set for D. C. carbons, but there is a vast
difference in the matter of care to get the set exactly right
so that the best possible results will be obtained.

With A. C. it is quite another story. Fig. 31 shows one
method of setting A. C. carbons and Fig. 33, A and B, two
more, each of which have their advocates. It is, however,
significant that whereas three years ago you could hardly
find an operator setting his carbons as per Fig. 31 (the D.
C. set) you will find at present that nearly all the high-
class men set their carbons the same for either D. C. or A.
C. They have discovered, as did the writer, that while
freelv granting a higher candle power for Fig. 33 sets, the
crater cannot be controlled or maintained, hence steady light
with these sets is an impossibility, -especially with set B.
(With set B, Fig. 32, the lamp itself should be set straight
up and down.) I shall, therefore, confine my remarks largely
to the set shown in Fig. 31, which I strongly advise all op-

90 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

erators to use. It is precisely the same as the D. C. set,
except that the top carbon should be set parallel with the
lamp rackbars and the lower carbon angled forward a trifle
In using this set I cannot caution you too strongly to be
exceedingly careful to get your carbons set exactly right.
"Pretty near" will not do at all. They must be exactly right.

Use the round points of the carbons as your guide in
setting and find out just how far to set the lower tip ahead
of the upper and then keep it that way. When you have it
right the craters will be about as shown in Fig. 33C, which
is ideal. With such a crater you will have white, steady,
strong light at all times. If the upper crater burns too flat
advance the lower tip just a very little. If the lower tip
shows a tendency to form, as in Fig. 33D, move it back just
a trifle, but remember that a little movement of the tips
backward or forward may make a big diflFerence in the
form of the craters. The craters are small and i-16-inch move
of either tip makes a big change in their forms. With al-
ternating the carbons must be fed little at a time and often
and the arc must be comparatively short, but if too short a
condition such as shown at Fig. 33E will arise. Such a
condition means carbons kept too close together. The remedy
is, if you get them in that shape, burn a long arc for a time.
In fact whenever your crater is going wrong and you change
your carbon tips, lengthen your arc for a couple of minutes
until the crater form changes. With A. C. the colored glasses
I have spoken of are almost an imperative necessity, since
to get good results one simply must watch the ar« itself.

Operators may argue and tell what they can do until they
are weary and breathless, but one thing they cannot do, no
matter what they claim, and that is get a good, steady light
with alternating without looking at the arc itself when any-
thing is wrong with the light. With A. C. use 5^ cored car-
bons above and below, also you should have not less than
45 amperes to get good results, 50 to 55 if you are using
rheostat resistance. Right here let me oflFer a criticism which
applies to nearly all lamps. I have shown the importance
of backward and forward movement of the carbon tips, espe-
cially with alternating current. It is of prime importance
that the operator be ;iblc to accomplish this movement at
any time while running and frequently the necessary move-

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 91

nient will be not to exceed 1-16 inch. Yet important as is
the matter, most lamps have absolutely no provision for
tilting the carbon arms except to pound them up or down
or accomplish the desired result by tapping the carbon tip
itself, which is imreliable and may result in breaking the
carbon off entirely. The Motiograph lamp has a screw by
which the adjustment may be made, but it is not a practical
arrangement, or rather it does not work well in practice —
still it is much better than nothing at all. I am told there
is one lamp with an excellent arrangement for this movement
of the lamp arms, but I have not as yet seen it. It seems
high time that lamp makers woke up to the necessity of
.this provision- and gave us some practical method of tilting
the lamp arms while running it. It is difficult to accomplish
I know, but surely is not impossible. When you put in new
carbons always burn a very long arc until the crater is
formed.

92 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

The Film.

There are comparatively few operators who thoroughly
understand the proper care of a motion picture film and, judg-
ing from conditions, very few exchange men either. It seems
hardly necessary to say that the film is a strip of specially
prepared celluloid which comes from the maker in 200
feet lengths. This strip is i}i inches wide and of varying
thicknesses, though supposedly 5-1000 of an inch of which
i-iooo is the emulsion. This thickness has recently been
somewhat increased in the new non-inflammable stock.
On one side of this celluloid strip is a photographic emul-
sion, on which appears a succession of what are nothing
more or less than photographic snapshots, 54 by i inch,
taken at the rate of about one thousand per minute. There
are 16 photographs to each linear foot of film, each taken
about one-sixteenth of a second later than the next preceding.
AH this has been told so often that its repetition seems
almost like waste of space, but the facility with which the
most beautiful, as well as the poorest, examples of film de-
velop into "rainstorms" is proof positive that, while some
points concerning film may be well understood, others are
not, since there is an amazing amount of ignorance or care-
lessness, or both together, displayed in the handling of films
by both operators and inspectors. To such an extent is this
carried that it amounts to nothing less than an outrage —
an outrage against the owner of the film and against the
public who pay their money to see a picture — not a bunch
of junk. And the damage is fully nine-tenths due to just one
cause and one cause only, viz., what is known as "pulling
down," i. e., holding the reel stationary while revolving the
reel to tighten the film roll. This, of course, causes the
whole roll of film to slip on itself under considerable press-
ure, thus applying friction to both sides of the whole film.
Now it seems to the writer that the commonest kind of
horse sense ought to tell one what this will do to a film,
particularly to the comparatively soft emulsion side. Look

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS S>3

through any light ray and you will see that the air is con-
stantly full of dust, and it does not require the wisdom of
Solomon or an examination with a microscope to know that
some of it is bound to adhere to the film, the more especially
since celluloid, under combined influence of heat and fric-
tion of the tension springs, ger.erates considerable static
electricity.

To be sure, these particles of dust are very fine, but some
of them are very hard and some particles contain metal, which
is attracted by the electricity in the film. When the film
slips on itself, in pulling down, these pieces become miniature
plows, producing scratches coarse or fine, according to size
and pressure. Of course, all dust particles are not large
enough or hard enough to produce material damage, else we
would have a film utterly ruined in a week of ordinary mis-
usage, since they are present by the million. But the process
is repeated many times in an ordinary day's run and then is
duplicated at the exchange itself. What is the remedy, you
ask? Well, it is very simple; but getting it applied is another
matter entirely, since it involves a little more time and con-
siderably more labor in rewinding — a job the operator cordially
hates at best. Also it involves slower work by the inspector.
Rewind slowly, applying considerable tension — at least as
much as the average takeup supplies. That is all there is to it,
since there would then be no reason to "pull down." One of
the prolific causes of this pernicious practice is, however, too
much film for the size of the reel. Reels are too small. Cus-
tom puts between 900 and 1,000 feet of film on a reel. This
fills a lo-inch reel chock full with ordinary stock, and if the
film happens to be a trifle thicker than ordinary it fills the reel
more than full. Ten inches is too small. They should be
II inches and no more than a thousand feet of film ever
be placed on one reel. In some theaters where the work is
rapid there is no time to rewind as above indicated and the
operator has no choice, when running a thousand feet of film,
except to pull down. With an ii-inch reel the necessity
would not be present in nearly so great a degree, though
with rapid rewinding either there must be no tension or else
the labor is very hard. If there be no tension then the roll
must be pulled dowm some or it will wind so loosely it will
"flop." Rewinding should be done by motor in such cases and

94 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

then the tension can be left on. I have dwelt on this matter,
since I consider it one of vital importance — perhaps of more
importance than any other one thing in the motion picture
business to-day — and in time this will come to be recognized.
There arc other minor causes which contribute to the pro-
duction of rainmarks, the principal one being the practice of
holding the film flatwise between the thumb and fingers
when rewinding. This does not produce deep scratches, but
undoubtedly it is responsible for a multitude of very fine
ones. Anything which applies friction to the surface of a
film produces injury. There is at least one machine which
still has idlers with a flat surface extending clear across.

This is bad. Nothing at all should touch the film in its
passage through the machine except on the track. Such
idlers may do slight damage when properly adjusted, but
unfortunately they are not always thus and, worse yet,
are not always even revolving. Idlers of this type have
been discarded on most machines and should be on all. The
long, deep scratches frequently seen are usually chargeable
directly to the ignorance (I use plain terms), carelessness
or laziness of the operator. In running new film on which
the emulsion is still comparatively soft some of it is likely
to deposit on the magazine fire guard rollers, particularly
if they are not turning. This deposit increases rapidly,
also catches particles of dust and dirt, and may form a sharp
point, which plows through the emulsion, leaving a long,
deep scratch. Magazine rollers should be carefully examined
and cleaned every day, especially if you are on "first-run" film.

Outside the damage as above set forth there is little or
nothing to injure a film either in its passage through the
machine or at any other time except for wear of sprocket
holes and tension spring marks. The writer asserts that, given
a modern machine, in proper adjustment, he can run a film
through, under ordinary show conditions (being given ample
time for rewinding or given a motor for fast rewinding), 500
times and have scarcely a mark on it — not a single one that
will be discernible on the curtain. To do this he would not,
however, accept more than 850 to 900 feet of film on a 10-
inch reel. Another thing I must mention in this connec-
tion, since it is productive of much damage to new films:
some new film is quite stiflf and has a decided tendency to

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 95

rewind in the takeup in octagon shape, nor can this be pre-
vented by any ordinary tension. It follows that it will do
the same thing in rewinding unless heavy tension be applied
to it or it is. frequently pulled down. This condition is pres-
ent only in new films on which the emulsion is, of course,
comparatively green, soft and very easily injured. Even pull-
ing down will not get it wound closely enough but that a
thousand feet will very much overrun a lo-inch reel. There
is room for display of at least ordinary intelligence, on the
part of exchange men, in the stock placed on a lo-inch reel,
if they care anything at all about their own property. In
running new film (first run) the emulsion is often green and
soft, with decided tendency to deposit on the tension springs.
This matter should be closely watched when running first
r:in film. If the deposit is bad it will sometimes evince its
presence by a jerking of the springs, but not always. Care-
fully examine the surface of the tension springs after each
run and don't forget it. The deposit, if allowed to remain,
makes a bad tension spring mark the full length of the film.
After considerable experimenting the best preventive the
writer has been able to discover is to rub the springs with
an ordinary tallow candle before each run. Uusually this
will prevent deposit, but not always. In removing deposit
be very careful not to roughen the spring or you will then
have trouble and plenty of it. Every film should have a
tail piece 2 feet long, but a 3 to 4-foot leader is an impera-
tive necessity under present conditions, since it takes from 2
to 3 feet to thread into the takeup. If the title is of ordinary
length, even with a new film, by the time you have threaded,
started your machine, centered your light and framed up, the
audience is left to wonder what the picture is about; the
title being "all in" the takeup. But this does not apparently
interest the average exchange man, who seemingly is only
concerned in "getting the money." I will therefore endeavor
to show him where he would actually save money by putting
on a leader and thus attempt to touch his heart through his
pocketbook. Almost any old film will do for leader, while
title is worth good money. In threading into the takeup the
average operator folds the film end on itself an inch a couple
of times and then thrusts it under the reel clamp. Now in
rewinding what happens? I'll tell you. If the reel clamp be

96 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

stiff this folded end may pull off instead of pulling out and
there is something like two inches of film (title) gone. Any-
how when the film pulls ofif it usually whips around from once
to half a dozen times, according to the carefulness (or care-
lessness) of the o-^erator, and what is done to the title would
be a shame to tell. It is safe to say each operator who runs
it will amputate from i to 4 inches during the time it is in
his possession. Now, Mr. Exchange Owner, wouldn't it be
cheaper for you to have that much junk leader lost each day
than have your title gradually eaten away, thus depre-
ciating the value of the film until a new one is attached?
But, say you, "operators persistently steal leaders." Yes,
that's so, dear sir. Can you blame them? They well know
that if they are fortunate enough to get a film with a leader
on to-day it's a moral certainty the one they get to-morrow
won't have one or will have one too short. Send out all films
with not less than 3 feet of leader, preferably 4, and notify
operators that all films will be so equipped. Just as soon as
operators discover you mean what you say you will find leader
stealing will stop. They will have no cause to take them.

Moreover, you can put a stop to it by charging it up at
the rate of 2 or 3 cents a foot — or even more. By thus equip-
ping your film and keeping the leaders proper length your
titles will last just as long as ony other portion of the film.
And now I come to something that will interest you, Mr.
Exchange Man. Do j'ou know how operators get leaders
when you won't supply them? I'll tell you a state secret.
The operator has to have a leader for his film. He proceeds
to get it — how? Very simple. He runs it once without leader
and then he amputates one anywhere he thinks a jump won't
show in the body of the film. He has his leader and you
would have to do some mighty close inspecting and com-
parison to catch up with it. Perhaps you don't know this
is done much? Well, there are probably several things you
don't know yet and this is just one of them. It serves you
right, too. Equip your films as they should be and the prac-
tice will stop. You can't stop it in any other way. Film
exchange men can well aflford to take this matter up seriously,
for lack of leaders, now that takeups have become of general
use, is costing them far more dearly than they know or real-
ize. Nine operators in every ten resort to the above scheme

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

and they get the necessary leaders that way, too, though they
wouldn't know a single thing about such a thing if you asked
them — dear me, no! We have had a good many "'Associa-
tions" in which film renters have played a prominent part,
but the writer would suggest, humbly and in all seriousness,
that an organization to teach them how to care for their
own stock would be a blessing both to them and to those
who use the films.

Making mends is another matter of great importance and
it is a somewhat sad fact that not one operator or film ex-
change inspector in fifty makes a perfect patch. The oper-
ator is to be excused to some extent, since he seldom has
time to do the matter rightly. But what about the exchanges?
In only one exchange in all Chicago has the writer seen a
film properly mended. That is a broad statement, but true.
Let it be understood that film cement when properly used
welds the film as much as it glues it. To properly make a
patch it must have the heavy, even pressure of a clamp for
4 or 5 seconds. A properly made mend is not more than yi
inch wide and is nearly as strong as the original stock. To
make such a patch as this, however, is usually impractical

I D FlCr. 33;£

in an operating room; but there is absolutely no cxcnsc for
the exchange making any other kind.

Nor is there any excuse for operators not making a reason-
ably narrow, strong patch. Proceed as follows: Cut your
film as per Fig. 33^, making stub end A not to exceed 3-16
inch long, and cutting end B exactly on dividing line between

08 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

two pictures. Cutting the film any other way will cause
a misframe. Now lay a small metal straightedge in position
shown by dotted lines, Fig. 33H- With a sharp knife scrape
the emulsion from the stub right up to edge of straightedge,
scraping right down into the celluloid until a rough, whitish-
gray surface is produced. Be sure to scrape well around the
sprocket holes, since this is where the patch usually begins
to loosen. Now turn end B over with emulsion side down
and, again using straightedge, scrape back of film for a space
about equal to width of stub end A. This latter proceeding
is very important, since there is likely to be oil on the cel-
luloid, but even if there is not, the patch will not adhere
nearly so well if back of film is not well scraped. It takes
a very sharp knife to do the scraping properly. (A bit of
emery paper fastened to a block of wood makes a good
substitute.)

Be sure emulsion sides of both ends are either up or down,
apply your cement liberally to the stub end and, working
fast, since cement evaporates rapidly, join the two ends so
that the end B just covers stub A. Match the sprocket holes
perfectly and press the patch together firmly, applying all
the pressure you can for a few seconds, when the cement will
have set and the patch is finished. Be very sure to get your
sprocket holes properly matched, as they are your guide, and
unless they fit together the mend will be crooked or two
holes will be too small, causing a jump as the film got^
through the machine. It may also cause the intermittent to
climb a couple of sprocket holes, thus producing a misframe.
A film mender with a pressure clamp is a fine thing if you
have the time to use them — without the clamp they arc
merely a nuisance. They are hardly a practical appliance in
an operating room. In making patches watch closely the
following points: Get emulsion on same side on both ends.
Scrape well and apply plenty of cement, especially around
sprocket holes. Be sure the sprocket holes match perfectly
There has been some argument as to whether a patch should
be. made as per "C," Fig. 33^4, or "D," Fig. 33J^. Cement
may be had from any film exchange, but you should now
get none but the N. I. cement, since it will answer for both
N. I. and ordinary stock, whereas ordinary cement will not
do on N. I. film at all.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 99

WET FILM.

Should you by accident get the film wet, no matter how
wet, it will receive no material damage if you immediately
unroll it and stretch it in such manner that the emulsion
touches nothing until it is dry. This does not apply to col-
ored or tinted film, though even this may sometimes be
saved by prompt action. But the unrolling must be done
very quickly.

REMOVING EMULSION— MOISTENING DRY FILM.

When it is desired for any reason to remove the emulsion
from film it may be done by soaking in warm water to which
has been added sal soda (common washing soda will do).
Use plenty of the soda and let the film soak for say 15 min-
utes, and you can then wash the emulsion off easily. It may
also be removed by soaking in ordinary cold water and then
scraping. Proceed as follows: Soak the film until emulsion
is soft. Lay film, emulsion side up, on a flat board or table
and draw it under the blade of a knife. If the knife blade is
long enough and the edge straight enough the whole sur-
face of the film will be cleaned at one wipe. Film should,
so far as possible, be kept in a cool, moist place, though the
matter of moisture may be overdone. If you get too much
of it the emulsion will stick to the back of the film. It is a
mere waste of space telling operators not to keep spare film
near the ceiling of a hot operating room. They will keep
it where it is most convenient. However, films not on the
machine should be kept in a solderless metal box or cabinet
located near the floor, and if fastened to the wall it should
be so attached that it may be instantly lifted away and car-
ried outside in case of fire. Where a film tank is used it is
well to have the bottom covered with a coarse screen held
an inch from the bottom by wooden or metal cleats. In the
bottom of the tank keep some water to which has been added
just a little glycerine — one part of glycerine to 33 of water
is about right. This will be very beneficial to the films. Old,
brittle film may be made pliable as follows: Get any metal
can large enough to hold a film when unrolled loosely. The
can must have a tight cover. Cover the bottom with a
coarse screen, leavino^ an inch or two below it. Into this space
place a mixture of water and glycerine as above. Unroll the

100 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

film into the can and leave it in a moderately warm room for
from one hour to half a day, according to condition of film.
Examine frequently. Don't leave long enough to soften
the emulsion too much. Another way is to give the film a
bath in the aforenamed solution. To do this build a drum
by nailing lattice lath around a couple of barrel heads. Place
the solution in a washtub or other suitable receptacle and
draw film through it, winding immediately on the drum with
emulsion side out. The drum should be geared so as to run
fast enough to throw oflf all surplus liquid. Be very careful
in handling the film after it is wet, as the emulsion is then
soft and the least scratch will play havoc with it. This
operation must be done in a room where there is no dust.
Sprinkle the floor well before commencing. It will perhaps
be best for the novice to place the liquid in a long, shallow
pan, merely drawing the film slowly through the mixture as
it is wound onto the drum. The drum must be revolved until
the film is dry. Glycerine absorbs moisture rapidly and that
is the reason it is beneficial to a film. Don't use more than
one part to 3S of water, however.

LEADERS— INSPECTING.

When you have an old film with a short title, put on a good,
long leader, attaching so it is in frame with the title. Frame
up on the leader and when the title comes it will have to be
very short if the audience cannot catch it, provided you run
slowly. Right here let mc caution you to always start your
machine slowly. If you start fast and have to frame on the
title it is gone before there is any chance to read it, especially
if it be a short one. Also the practice of speeding up on
the last few feet of the film is bad and should not be
tolerated as it is hard on both the film and the ma-
chine. When the operator has the opportunity he should
invariably inspect his film before running it the first
time, cementing all loose patches and making any other
needed repairs. An ounce of prevention in this respect
is worth several hundredweight of cure. The inspection given
films in some exchanges is very largely a matter of vivid
imagination. If the film isn't clear in two somewhere it is.
enthusiastically O. K.'d by the inspector, who is expected
to '"inspect" (???) a thousand feet of film in ten minutes or

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 101

less. I know I am roasting the exchanges a good deal, but
unfortunately it is all "coming to them"— or to sorhe of them.

Those whom the shoe doesn't fit need not wear it. In look-
ing over film, unwind into the tank or takeup and rewind
slowly, holding film by edges with pressure enough to "cup"
it. You will thus by sense of touch be able to detect all broken
sprocket holes and loose patches. If more than two sprocket
holes are missing in one place, cut it out. In case you should
ever be caught without cement, an emergency substitute may
be had in ordinary liquid glue. Proceed as you would with
cement, but use the glue instead. Don't put much on, though,
and give it ample time to dry. This should only be done in
case of emergency, however, as it is by no manner of means
good practice and makes but a very, very poor JoB at best.

You can measure the exact length of a film by running
through a machine, counting the turns of the crank. The
Power's, Edison, Motiograph, and, I believe, the Lubin, also,
pass exactly one foot of film to each turn of the crank. The
Viascope passes nine inches. And now let me call your
attention to the fact that, at a normal speed of 60 feet per
minute, 960 separate and distinct photographs must stop dead
still — dead still, without a. quiver or particle of vibration, each
occupying precisely, to the thousandth of an inch, the exact
space filled by its predecessors — each minute. It requires
slight discernment to see that to accomplish a result so mar-
velously rapid and accurate not only the mechanism, but the
film itself, must be in good condition.

FILM JUMPING.

The writer has had hundreds of letters asking why some
new films apparently sway sidewise with rhythmical motion
and others continually jump on the screen. The first named
fault, usually attributed to lost motion in the camera, is due
to the use of a rotary perforator. The last named fault lies
in the perforation also. It would occupy much valuable space
to enter into detailed explanation as to the exact why and
wherefore and could accomplish no corresponding good. Old,
dry films jump because (a) the sprocket holes are shrunken,
(b) sprocket holes are worn. The first named fault may be
remedied by moistening the film as before set forth. Films

102 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

will jump more or less when run on a machine with worn
intermittent sprocket teeth or where the star movement is too
loose; also, the}-- will jump badly when run on a finger feed
machine the fingers of which are worn. The film gradually
cuts a little groove in the fingers on the under side. It is
hardly discernible until they are taken out and closely ex-
amined, but the effect is there just the same. Remember that
with a fifteen foot picture a jump of i-iooo of an inch becomes
180-1000 on the curtain, while 1-64 inch v/ould become almost
three inches. In other words, a fifteen foot picture magnifies
the film photo 180 titncs its diameter, and it follows that any
defect is magnified that many times also. From this you may
see how absolutely accurate must be the perforation of a
film to secure an absolutely steady picture. The marvel is
that old films run as well as they do, the more especially
when run on a worn machine.

HOW FILM IS MADE.

In closing this subject, I believe it well to give a very brief,
crude description of the way a motion picture film is made.
Celluloid is a composition of camphor and pyrolyn, the
latter being nothing more or less than ordinary cotton which
has, by a bath of nitric and sulphuric acids mixed in nearly
equal proportions, been converted into gun-cotton. But it
must not be inferred from this that celluloid is in any degree
whatever explosive, for it is not. A certain mixture of py-
roxylin and camphor, dissolved, or partially so, in alcohol or
ether, produces the crude celluloid, which may appear as
lumps in the bottom of the acid tanks or in blocks in a press,
according ta detail of manufacture. The crude celluloid i«
worked by cold and then by hot steel rolls and is then sub-
jected to prolonged, heavy pressure, after which it is dried in
kilns for several days. It is now in the form of cakes, which
are worked into strips 200 feet long by 22 inches wide.

A machine next coats this strip with photographic emulsion
by passing it beneath a hopper filled with emulsion, in the
bottom of which is a narrow slit. Another machine now
splits the 22-inch strip into ribbons i^ inches wide, which
are then ready for sale to the film photographers, or film
makers, as distinguished from film stock makers. The film

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 105

u ^ . '■ '• \ \
stock maker only perforates such stock as is ordered per-
forated, since film makers usually do their own perforating.
The perforating is done by a punch press, of which there are
several kinds. Some are rotary, some punch two, one hole
on each side, and some punch four at a time. There are ex-
actly four perforations to each 54 inch of film. The film is
fed to the press by an intermittent movement or by a pawl
and ratchet. Negative films (the ones the photographs are
taken on) have a much "faster" emulsion than have the posi-
tives. Such is a rough sketch of the process of manufacture
of motion picture films, and one has but to glance at the con-
stituent parts of celluloid to understand why it is so inflam-
mable.

SPEED.

The matter of speed is of much importance, but no rule
can be laid down governing it. Speed must be left entirely to
the discretion of the operator, except that with inflammable
film forty feet per minute is as slow as is safe, with ordinary
light. Theoretically, the machine speed should be the same
as that of the camera which took the picture being projected,
but in practice this is often far from true. The camera man
grinds out a set speed, supposed to be sixty feet per minute,
though often he varies widely from the mark. The actors
act the scene as seems best to them, but ofttimes when the
scene is projected it is discovered they have misjudged the
speed of action necessary for best effect. Right here is where
a really good operator who closely watches such details be-
comes of great value, helping out the scenes amazingly merely
by changing speed on different scenes. Take, as an example,
Pathe's "Faker's Dream." If run straight through at camera
speed the film is dull and of comparatively little effect. Where
the actors are moving about their speed is too great and while
on the various amusement devices of the park the speed is
altogether loo slow. But by running about a fifty foot speed
in the first instance and close to seventy-five in the other,
the film creates much laughter, but it is necessary to change
speed radically many times on this film. Another example is
"A Ride for a Life," by Edison, I believe. If run at normal
speed while the auto ride is on, the "Ride for a Life" develops

104 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

into a howling farce, but if speeded up just as fast as you can
run, it is excellent, but as the ride is cut three or four times
in its length by other scenes-, you have to slow down for each
of them or the farce would be reversed. As an example the
other way, we all know that the slower the Passion Play is
run the more impressive it is. Forty feet per minute is best
for it. The only rule for speed, except in starting the machine,
which should always be done slowly, is, "Watch your subject
and be governed entirely by its action." Twenty-five minutes
is the extreme limit of time for l,ooo feet of film. Fifteen to
twenty minutes is ordinary time for most subjects.

THE THROW.

There is a misunderstanding among most operators regard-
ing the throw, i. e., the distance the picture is projected.
Within reasonable limits the throw has very slight effect on
the brilliancy of a given sized picture, provided the at-
.mosphere be reasonably clear. It must be remembered that
you are passing a certain intensity of light through the
aperture plate. This light is to be distributed over a given
amount of space. An open arc lamp, a candle or a lamp dif-
fuses its rays in every direction and over a complete circle,
but the light from your lamp, at least all which passes through
the aperture plate, is confined to a space the size of youi
picture. Every bit of light which passes through the film
reaches the curtain, save the amount diffused by impurities
in the atmosphere, and that for a distance of even 150 feet
is very sltght. Of course, there is some loss, and if the throw
were extended to several hundred feet it might be consider-
able, but very little in 100 or even 150 feet. In fact, some
operators claim that a better picture is had at 100 feet than
at 50 by reason of the fact that the long focus lens is a
better article than is the short focus. When you increase the
size of the picture, however, it is quite another story, for you
are then diffusing your light over a greater area, and this
counts rapidly. With a picture 8x10 you cover a space of
80 square feet, while a 12x14 picture takes up 168 square
feet, or ^ore than twice the area. You are therefore lessen-
ing your illuminating power by about one-half with the larger
picture, or rather you -are lessening the brilliancy in that
degree.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

105

LENS, THROW AND SIZE OF PICTURE.

We are indebted to the Selig Polyscope Company for the
following table showing the height and width of a picture
at given distances with lenses of various focus. Elsewhere
we give other computations and any slight differences in
scale may be explained by variation in size of aperture.

FOC(/S IJV /NCNES.

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106 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

Machine Heads.

It was the original intention of the writer to give detailed
instructions for the adjustment of each make of machine.
In looking over the field, however, this is deemed to be im-
practical. Not only are there many makes of machines, but
nearly every one has two or more models, and to cover them
all would take up an immense amount of space. Instead,
therefore, I have concluded to give general instructions which
will cover the essential adjustments of all but two machines,
touching somewhat, however, on each one individually, in so
far as the model most in use is concerned. One excep-
tion is the Motiograph. This machine is of such radically
diflferent construction from anything else on the market that
I feel it necessary to include detailed instruction concerning
it. One thing in particular which equally applies to all ma-
chines is, keep them clean. This is not much of a task if
the head be wiped off each day, and there is nothing looks
more slouchy than a machine head covered with gum, oil and
dirt. "Cleanliness is next to godliness," and it applies here
as elsewhere. As to oil: Any good grade of medium oil that
will not gum is suitable for a machine, but cheap oils should
by all means be avoided, since they are diluted with kero-
sene. There is no motion picture machine bearing which is
not adequately lubricated with one drop of oil. More than
this is too much and will just run, or be thrown ofif, making
a dirty mess and perhaps injuring the film. A drop of oil
doesn't look like much, true, but it will cover more surface
than you may imagine, and once a bearing is covered with
oil an additional gallon would not make it run one whit
better. Some operators wash out the bearings once in a
while with gasoline. This does no harm and may do some
good, although the writer thinks the benefit derived is largely
imaginary, unless a gummy oil is being used. To do this,
just run the machine slowly while you flood the bearings
with gasoline from an ordinary oil can, continuing until the
bearings are thoroughly washed out. A piece of old Turkish

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 107

towel is ideal to clean a machine head with, as it can be drawn
into the crevices and- gathers all the oil and dirt.

Of intermittent mechanisms there are two types, viz.: the
cam and star and the cam and pawl, the latter being com-
monly known as the "finger feed." It is not the purpose of
this work to discuss the relative merits of the two methods
of moving the film, but merely to give necessary instructions
for their adjustment. The adjustment of the Power's, Edison
and American intermittent movements are practically the
same, so that one instruction will do for all. It is of the
utmost importance that there be absolutely no lost motion
between the star and cam, while at the same time there must
be absolutely no binding. The adjustment to eliminate lost
motion between the star and cam is a very simple operation,
but few there are who make it right. The cam shaft of the
machines named all run in bronze metal bushings, which
may be removed and renewed, and they should be just as
soon as they become worn. The operation is too simple to
require much explanation. To renew the old one, loosen the
set-screw which holds the bushing and slip it (the bushing)
out and the new one in. With the Edison machine it is best
to first remove the gears, so that you may readily get at it.
The one on the left-hand end is more difficult, especially in
the Power's, since the shaft must be taken out, but even this
is readily done. Just examine the mechanism closely before
you begin and you will be able to see how it is done. Right
here let me caution you. Don't imagine you are working on
a freight-car or a locomotive. Don't go at it with a four-
pound hammer, a Stillson wrench and a cold chisel. If some-
thing sticks a little, have a little patience and remember that
your getting mad at it won't help to any appreciable extent.
You may feel like going after it with an axe, but while that
might cool your temper down it won't improve matters a
particle and will probably make them considerably worse.

You are working on a delicate piece of machinery and you
must proceed gently, else, instead of repairing, you will do
precisely the opposite. Motion picture machine parts are
accurately made, and if something doesn't come out readily
you can pretty near be sure it is for the reason that you are
not going about it right. Of course, it may be necessary to
use a punch and tap a boxing or shaft lightly, but in such

108

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

cases one should use a soft steel or brass punch or a piece
of hardwood. Be very chary about using a tempered punch
except for very light tapping. The star shaft runs in bronze
metal bushings also, but the holes in these bushings are not
central. They are what are called "eccentric bushings," and
turning them slightly has the effect of raising or lowering
the star shaft in relation to the cam shaft, thus tightening or
loosening the star in relation to the cam. Now in making
this adjustment it is absolutely essential that the star shaft
be kept exactly parallel with the cam shaft, and right here
is where all but the very best operators fall down. If one
bushing be turned more than the other a condition, or its
exact reverse, such as is shown in Fig. Zly is produced,
though in the picture it is exaggerated.

n&^7

To take up lost motion between the star and cam, loosen
the set-screws which hold the bushings. These screws will
be found in the face of the casting opposite the bushings.
Now, with a screwdriver, turn the bushings until there is
no lost motion in the star when the cam pin is clear of the
star slot. But be very sure to turn both bushings exactly

®KD

FlQB'i

the same amount. There are several waj'S of knowing when
you have turned the bushings the same, but the three I shall
name are simple enough for anyone to carry out successfully.
One is to lay a straight-edge across the end of ei^ch bushing

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 100

and with the point of a knife blade make a scratch-mark at
one edge of each bushing, extending it on to the frame, as
per Fig. 38. When the bushing is turned the marks will, of
course, separate, and with a machinist's steel rule, using a
condenser lens for magnifying, you may easily measure just
how much you have turned each bushing, or you can, after
making the scratch-mark, set an ordinary carpenter's compass
open about half an inch and setting one point on the scratch-
mark at edge of bushing, make a mark on the casting wher-
ever the other compass point comes. Now by using this
latter mark you can tell with the compass when you have
turned each bushing the same. Another and better method
is to have a pair of small, inside calipers, calipering the dis-
tance between the two shafts as near their ends, inside the
bearings, as you can get. It will require some little ingenuity
to do this, as the shafts are not the same size throughout
their length; by calipering the shafts before moving the
bushings, marking the measure of each caliper and then
measuring for the same increase of measure at each end,
you will get it right, assuming that the shafts were parallel
to start with.

The best way of all I can recommend is to make a tool like
Fig. 39. It is a half-inch square piece of iron with two
screwdriver points held in place by set-screws. With this
tool you will move both bushings precisely the same if you
are at all careful. If you produce a condition such as is
shown in Fig. zi you will wear both the cam and star face
on a bevel as well as cutting the side of the cam, star, star
slot and cam pin. You may say, "Oh, it won't be enough to
amount to much," but I say to you, there is where you are
much mistaken. So rapid and accurate rnust be the work
of the star and cam that they must be absolutely mechan-
ically correct, and this is impossible under the condition
shown in Fig. ZT- The time is at hand when the best pos-
sible results are going to be demanded of the operator. The
"picture as steady as a rock house" will be an actuality in
the near future, and the operator is going to be expected to
produce it. This he cannot do unles::. his intermittent move-
ment, at least, is in perfect adjustment and condition. The
haphazard, "guess-at-it" adjustment of machine mechanism
must be abandoned and accuracy substituted instead.

no MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

The American machine bushings are a little different from
the Power's and Edison in that they are longer and are
turned by inserting a pin in holes in their sides. Also they
are clamped by short bars instead of by set-screws. Their
action is precisely the same, however. The Motiograph star
movement will be dealt with further on.

The star, the pin of the cam and the intermittent sprocket,
especially the iirst and last named, should be watched and
promptly renewed when there are signs of serious wear. In
the nature of things, the thicker the star is, other things
being equal, the longer it will wear, but as soon as the
points wear sharp or the slots are loose on a new cam-pin
the star should be renewed. The spurs on the intermittent
sprocket wear faster than is imagined, and worn sprockets
are responsible for much mischief. Examine these spurs
occasionally, looking at them carefully, and if one side — the
side bearing on the film — is worn concave the sprocket
should be promptly renewed. With the finger feed machine
the film gradually cuts a slight groove on the under side of
the pawls, or fingers. This is hard to detect by looking at
the pawls while attached to the machine, and it causes a
slight but constant vibration on the curtain. If there is such
a vibration, remove the pawls and examine them, replacing
with new ones if a groove is discovered. It doesn't have to
be a deep groove to make mischief. Remember that every
i-iooo of an inch becomes noticeable when magnified on the
curtain. The aperture plate is another thing to be closely
watched. You must remember that a very slight variation
of the film from the projection lens seriously affects the
focus. With some machines using short, pliable tension
springs the pressure of the short spring on the film wears a
short depression in the aperture plate tracks. When the film
passes through this depression, which is usually deepest in
Its center, there is a decided tendency to "cup," and in any
event the entire picture is not exactly the same distance from
the projection lens. This is bound, to some extent, to affect
the focus. Worse than this, however, sometimes the springs
wear one side of the track more than the other or wear
depressions at either end of the springs with a hump in the
middle. This will cup the film every time, and, if it is bad.
affect the focus very much. Plates worn thus should b**

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

111

replaced immediately. In threading, the operator should
make it an invariable practice to run his finger around the
edge of aperture. Dirt and dust will collect, and a grain of
dust the size of the head of a pin will look like a cobblestone
on the curtain. A picture fringed with ragged edges caused
b}' dirt in the aperture is a standing advertisement of the
carelessness or incompetency, or bolh. of the operator in
charge.

SETTING THE SHUTTER.

Setting the shutter is a simple operation, but compara-
tively few men in charge of operating rooms know how to do
it correctly. Here is a method which is correct and will
work equally well on any machine: Loosen the shutter on
Its shaft and take it off. On the wide blade lay out the
center line A, Fig. 40. Now replace it loosely on its spindle.
Next cut a short piece of film (say a foot long) exactly on
the dividing line between two pictures. Thread this into the
machine and by looking through the projection lens, frame
it up carefully. Be very sure to get it exactly in frame.
Now carefully, with the flywheel, turn the machine in the
direction it runs until the end of the film is exactly half way
across the picture opening. Turn the shutter, in the direc-
tion it runs, on its spindle until mark A, Fig. 40, is exactly
half way across the aperture opening. Tighten your

shutter on its spindle and the job is done. It is best
to set your framer in central position while doing this
job. With the Motiograph machine set the crease in
the center of the inner shutter blade opposite end of
film and set outer shutter in exactly the same posi-

112 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

tion. That is to say: set inner blade as directed and
tighten it on shaft. Then, without moving machine a parti-
cle, set the outer blade central back of inner blade. A mo-
ment's thought will convince you that a shutter set thus
must be right if the shutter itself is properly proportioned.
The office of the wide blade of the shutter is to cover the
aperture entirely during the time the film is in motion and
not an instant longer. With some machines the film begins
to move just a trifle before the opening is entirely covered.
This is for the reason that unless it be too much the effect
is not noticeable on the curtain and every bit taken from
shutter width increases the amount of light which reaches
the screen.

The narrow blade of the shutter is of no particular inter-
est to the operator except that he wishes to study the pecu-
liarities of optics. It is added to the shutter simply for the
reason that the flicker caused by one blade alone comes
far enough apart that the eye catches them more noticeably
than the more rapid flicker of two blades. Perhaps that
particular explanation is somewhat crudely put, but in the
main it is correct. Take all the spokes but one out of a
v>agon wheel and revolve it rapidly. You see that one spoke
plainly all the time. Put in all the spokes and revolve the
wheel at the same speed and you see no spokes at all — just
a sort of blur. Project light through the revolving wheel
with one spoke and you will see the spoke's shadow plainly.
Project light through the revolving wheel with all its spokes
and you will see no spoke shadow at all, but the amount
of light going through will be reduced. Right here let me
say that those purchasing machines should closely examine
into the matter of its shutter width. If the intermittent
movement be comparatively slow the shutter must perforce
be wider than in a machine with faster movement, and this
naturally reduces the light you will get to the curtain from
a given arc intensity. In other words, you must have a
more powerful light to get the same result on the curtain
if your machine has slow intermittent movement with con-
sequent wider shutter. Look into this carefully. That is
the secret of the one pin movement being better than the
two pin. Its star movement is necessarily very much faster,
which allows of material reduction in shutter width.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 113

On machines where the side of shutter hub and spindle
can be plainly seen it is a good plan to mark the shutter
while it is set right. Do this by making a small prick-punch
mark on the spindle close to the hub. On the hub, exactly
opposite the punch mark make a scratch mark. You may
now set the shutter correctly any time it slips by simply
bringing the two marks together. To set a shutter quickly
and with approximate accuracy turn the machine by its fly-
wheel in the direction it runs until the star has completed its
movement and the cam pin is just half-way out of star-slot.
Now revolve shutter on its spindle in the direction it runs
until aperture just begins to open, and tighten shutter on its
spindle. With some machines it is necessary to have aper-
ture quite a little open when pin is half-way out of star-slot.
By "half-way out" I mean half its diameter out of the slot.
This will, or should, be very nearly right. It applies equally to
the finger feed machines, but cannot be used with double shut-
ter machines. With them the leaves of the shutter should be
set so as to just barely close the opening (in its exact center)
should, be very nearly right. It applies equally to the finger
feed machines, but cannot be used with double shutter ma-
chines. With them the leaves of the shutter should be set
so as to just barely close the opening (in its exact center)
as the star begins to move. Ordinarily, however, double
shutters require very fine adjustment. I would recommend
to purchasers of machines that they insist on being provided
with an exact pattern cut from paper, of the shutter of eech
machine under consideration. By placing these patterns one
on top of the other you can see at a glance which one cuts
the most light. In this test both the small and large blades
should be taken into consideration. On double shutter ma-
chines the width of both blades must be counted; that is
to say, you must add together the width of both wide and
both narrow blades. Another accurate method of setting a
shutter is as follows: Set fram;, in a central position. Turn
flywheel in direction it runs until cam-pin has entered half
its diameter into star slot; make scratch mark on rim of fly-
wheel and exactly opposite it, on some fixed part of machine,
make a light prick-punch mark. Now turn flywheel until
cam-pin has emerged one-half its diameter from star and
exactly opposite the prick-punch mark make another scratch

114 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

mark on rim of flywheel. Now measure around flywheel
between the two scratch marks and exactly half way between
them make a third mark. Now set this last mark exactly
opposite the prick-punch mark and set line A, Fig. 40, ex-
actly half way across the aperture and your shutter will
be right.

Sprocket idlers should never run clear down on the
film. There are setscrews for the purpose of holding
the idler away from the sprocket and they should be
set so that the idler is oflf the sprocket by about the thick-
ness of a film or a trifle more. Idlers running clear down
have a tendency to make the film climb the sprocket teeth.
The tension springs which hold film against aperture plate
should be set so as to provide just enough pressure to
prevent vibration in the film and no more. Some operators
who are too lazy or ignorant to keep their intermittent
movement in adjustment seek to take up the lost motion by
added pressure of tension springs. The result is accom-
plished all right, unless the case be too bad, but at expense
of heavy wear on driving gear, star, cam-pin, aperture plate
and film. The office of the tension springs is to stop the
small section of film between the upper loop and the in-
termittent sprocket and hold each picture absolutely sta-
tionary before the aperture during the time of its exposure.
More tension than is required to accomplish this is very
bad practice. Keep your intermittent movement in accurate
adjustment and a very slight tension will do the required work.
Automatic fire shutters all depend on the same principle,
viz.: centrifugal force. They are too simple to require re-
mark other than that they are rather delicate in their action
and should be kept scrupulously clean and in the best of
order.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS llS

Machines.

THE EDENGRAPH.

The Edengraph machine is new to the projection frater-
nity, therefore it is in order to give detailed instruction.
The gears are incased in a dustproof casing, the back side of
which is a plate of metal sliding in grooves which lifts out,
disclosing the entire gearing of the machine. To set the
shutter remove the gear cover plate and you will see, just over
the fly-wheel, a thumbscrew on the end of a universal joint
shaft. Loosen this thumbscrew and you may turn the shut-
ter at will. Now turn the fly-wheel in the direction it nor-
mally runs until the intermittent sprocket is just ready to
move. Hold fly-wheel stationary and revolve shutter until
it covers all but about one-quarter of an inch of the lower
part of the aperture opening. Now hold the shutter (not the
fly-wheel) stationery with one hand while you tighten the
thumbscrew on end of universal joint shaft with the other,
and the job is done.

You will notice the frame-up carriage is counterbalanced
by a spring held by a rod which terminates in a large, dark-
colored, smooth screw on top of machine, near right front
corner. Look at this arrangement carefully and you will
see how it works. But the mere adjustment of this counter-
balance is not always sufficient. Should the frame-up car-
riage be too loose and work up or down as the machine
runs, you may tighten it by first loosening the three large
screws in upright bar which forms one angle of front, right
corner of machine. Next tighten (or if frame-up works too
hard, loosen) the four small screws which are seen up and
down near edge of machine at front, right-hand corner.
Adjust these screws so that carriage works just right and
then re-tighten the three screws you loosened first. The
sprocket idlers must be so adjusted (you can easily see how
it is done) that they will set away from the sprockets by
about twice the thickness of an ordinary film. The automatic

116 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

(fire shutter) .^vernor is inside the fly-wheel. To get at
it remove the*"' screw in center of fly-wheel, as well as the
washer linden it. Tap the washer lightly and it will fall out.
Next set the intermittent sprocket just so it is beginning to
move. Grasp the sprocket tightly and liold it stationary
while you twist the fly-wheel in tJie direction it normally runs,
pulling outward on it at the same time, thus working it oflf
the shaft.

The automatic governor may be easily removed by first
taking fly-wheel off and then opening the gate, after which
remove the screw, the head of which is right beside edge of
large gear, and which holds Y-shaped lever carrying cone-
ring. When you have this scre\*' removed just pull the whole
thing straight out, being careful you see how it all comes
apart, so that you can get it together again. To remove the
intermittent movement from machine proceed as follows:
Remove fly-wheel and governor as before described. Next
remove the lens holder on operating side of machine. You-
will now see the heads of three large, flat screws on operating
side of machine. Remove the lower one and pull out the
shaft and gear it holds. Take off the lower (^take-up)
sprocket and pull out the spindle. Remove the collar on
crankshaft and pull shaft and gear out. Now look inside the
machine -and just to one side of intermittent oil casing you
will see aMarge, flat-headed screw, with another immediately
below' the casing. Remove them and you can pull out the
whole casing, tapping lightly on center of end of intermittent
sprocket if necessary to start it. Be very careful thatf you
don't injure the intermittent sprocket teeth on bottom of
apertiwe plate tracks as you pull casing out. To take up lost
motion between star and cam remove cover of oil casing, and
in top edge of casing, just over shaft, v^iU be seen a small
set screw. This screw holds the star shaft bushing, which
extends through casing and clear out to the sprocket and
is eccentric. By loosening the screw you may turn the bush-
ing and tighten or loosen (according to the way you turn it)
the star in relation to the cam-wheel. To remove star just
drive out small (taper) pin in hub of star and pull shaft out.
To remove cam, drive out pin (taper) in its hub and pull
shaft out. .. To remove the revolving shutter take off thumb-
screw at end of universal joint shaft and pull gear off. In the

.^i^^

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 117

back of the square casting, held by cast elbow arAi, you will
see two screws. ^

Remove these two screws and the whole sliutter, bevel
gears, shafts and all, comes away. Once in six months re-
move cover of intermittent oil casing and clean oil-well out
good, filling with fresh sperm oil. Fill the well up to half the
diameter of the cam-wheel. The foregoing, I believe, covers
all essential operations at all apt to be necessary with the
Edengraph. Some of the operations described may seem
complicated, to read the instructions, but really they arc sim-
ple enough, the main thing being that you study each move
carefully so as to be sure to get things together again right.
Engine yalve-oil will be excellent for the gears of the Eden-
graph, thbugh ordinary oil will do nicely; wash gears 'out '*
once in a while with gasoline or benzine. The take-up ten-/
sion^iinijjde tight or loose by loosening split collar on lower^
magazine shaft and turning it one way or tlje other. This
^tightens or loosens the belt^&tfcofding to whicf^b, way ip is
moved. *' ^f - _1

EDISON UNDERWRI^RS' MODEL.

Edison Underwriters' Model, Type "B."^-The Edison "B"
Model is a somewhat new' type of projector, tli-oat^^fgllow-
ing in general along th^ /amiliar. iines W tlfe* Edison con-
struction. This machine has the adv9nta,g^, over p'revious
Edison types, of a rigid iron frame^'^whicH makes for elim- i,^
ination of vibration.

The upper and lower steel sprockets '■are flanged, the idea
being to prevent b^dly worn film jumping off. The idlers are
held against "the sprocket by springa,**and are kept the proper
distance away by means of flanges on the sides, so that
adjustment by the operator is not lig cessary. These flanges
revolve independently of each other. The intermittent idler
is held in place, though it bears directly on the film and is
self-aligning. These idfers can be easily removed for repairs
or renewal, merely by driving out the spindle upon which
they revolve; first, however, loosening the tiny screws in
the center of the face of each idler.

The framing lever can be made to work hard or easy by
loosening or tightening the screws in either bearing holding
the rack and pinion shaft.

118 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

The aperture, or picture gauge, is held upon the face of a
casting, which in turn rests upon the back side of the frame,
and held in place by two screws. If, for any reason, this
plate is disarranged, it can be adjusted by loosening the
screws, aligning properly and tightening again. Care should
be taken to have these screws tight at all times.

The shutter of this machine is set as follows: Set the
framing lever in the center of its travel. Now, remove the
lens, and looking in through the lens hole, turn the balance
wheel of the machine in the direction it runs until the cam
pin has entered half of its diameter in the star slot, first,
of course, having loosened the shutter on its spindle. Hav-
ing the cam pin entered half of its diameter in the star slot,
grasp the balance wheel firmly to hold it stationary, and
revolve -the shutter in the direction it normally runs until
the solid wing of the shutter covers three-quarters of the
aperture. This is, or should be, about right. Tighten the
shutter on the' spindle slightly, put in a film, and try it. If
there is travel-ghost, slip the shutter slightly one way or
the other until it is just right and then tighten it securely
on its spindle.

To eliminate lost motion, between the star wheel and cam,
])roceed as follows. The star shaft runs in eccentric bush-
ings, one at either end. These bushings are held in place
by small set screws in the face of the casting. Loosen
these set screws and turn the bushing at either end slightly
— just enough to take up the lost motion. This operation
is more full}- described on another page. The end of the
right hand bushing may be got at by sticking the screw-
driver through one of the holes in the main crank driving
gear and balance wheel. T!ie intermittent sprocket and shaft
may be removed by slipping out the left hand bushing, re-
moving the aperture plate and the lower film guard which
comes up between the rims of the sprockets. The star,
shaft and sprocket may then be removed. The cam shaft
may be removed as follows: Take out the screw at the end
of the crank shaft and pull off the gear. Now remove the
large intermediate gear next below the top sprocket gear.
This exposes two screws, one in the upper, and one in the
lower end of the casting which holds end of balance wheel,
or cam shaft. Remove these screws and carefully pry off

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 119

this frame side cap. Next loosen the set screw in face of
casting which holds bushing at opposite end of cam shaft,
and slip the bushing out. You may now, having first re-
moved the aperture plate, pull the whole shaft, balance wheel
and cam away.

The take-up is so arranged that it can be placed in front of
mechanism or beneath the baseboard, to suit conditions.
The take-up is of the frictional type and may be adjusted
by compressing the tension spring on the take-up reel shaft
to increase the friction, or loosening to decrease it. When
magazine is in lower position (or beneath baseboard), the
driving belt is arranged with idler pulley and a weight to
keep a constant tension on the belt, obviating the necessity
of cutting the belt for readjustment.

THE LUBIN CINEOGRAPH

The new model of the Lubin Cineograph presents cer-
tain peculiarities worthy of notice. It is. of the familiar star-
and-cam type of construction, but the movement is unique
in that the ends of the intermittent shaft are counterbored to
receive the cone-shaped tips of the intermittent eccentric
bushings, instead of the shaft entering into and extend-
ing through the bushings as is usual. Lost motion between
the star and cam wheels is eliminated in the same manner
as is described on page io8. Great care must be exercised
that the bushings set up snug against the ends of the inter-
mittent shaft on either side, and that the intermittent sprocket
spurs be kept exactly in line with the center of the tracks
of the aperture plate. The intermittent bushings are re-
leased in their setting by loosening the screw in the
face of the casting opposite each intermittent bushing. In
the ends of each bushing is a screwdriver slot by which it
may be turned. The intermittent sprocket star and shaft
may be removed from the machine by taking off the apron
which comes up between the flanges of the sprocket, loosen-
ing the left-hand bushing, slipping it back, and lifting out the
whole intermittent shaft and star.

The framer may be made to work easy or hard by tight-
ening or loosening the two screws in the center of the face
of the machine casting almost opposite the intermittent idler
roller. The balance wheel shaft and cam may be removed

120 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

from the machine by moving the lower apron and the two
boxings which hold it in place. The idler brackets of this
machine are supposed to be held the proper distance from
the sprockets by the springs, and the only adjustment pos-
sible is by bending the end of the springs slightly where it
fits in the flat space on the bracket spindle.

End motion in the shutter shaft should not be tolerated.
It may be eliminated by moving the brass collar which
sets against the boxing inside the machine up tight against
the boxing, at the same time holding the shutter spindle as
far forward as possible. The whole shutter gear and spindle
may be removed from the machine by taking off the front
plate and removing the two screws holding the boxing and
the bracket of the carriage frame. The shutter of the new
Lubin machine is of the three-wing variety, and sets out in
front of the mechanism in front of the lens. To set this
shutter, loosen it on its shaft, and turn the machine by its fly-
wheel in the direction it normally runs until the intermittent
has moved and the cam pin has emerged exactly half of its
diameter from the star slot. Now revolve the shutter on its
spindle in the direction it normally runs until the wide blade
covers a trifle more than half of the lens, setting the shutter
as closely to the lens as you can get it, tighten one of the
screws slightly on the shaft, put a film in the machine and
try it. If there is no travel-ghost, you have it right; if
travel-ghost develops, slip the shutter a trifle on its spindle
until you get it just right, tighten up both screws and the
job is done. Use a good grade of medium heavy oil on this
machine.

The automatic fire shutter is too simple to require any
detailed instructions, as, I believe, are all other points of this
machine.

THE MOTIOGRAPH.

The Motiograph so far as its principal elements are con-
cerned, differs but little from other well-known motion pic-
ture machines, with the exception of the fireproof shutter,
which is operated by a ball governor that is similar in prin-
ciple to that used for governing a steam engine. It also has
a geared connection from the main crank shaft through the
upper reel arm so as to make it possible to rewind the films

FOR MANAGERS' AND OPERATORS 121

from the main crank, an operation not provided for in other
machines. Another feature that differs from most other
machines is that the gearing is encased within the frame
instead of being exposed. Its mechanism is simple and by
a little careful attention it will be easily understood. It is
a well-built mechanism and, like other well-finished pieces
of machinery, it needs intelligent care and attention.

The manufacturers of the Motiograph have issued a very
complete instruction book and I shall make an effort to
cover only a few additional points that are liable to require
attention in actual service, and more especially with the 1909
No. I Model. In the 1910 Model, several of the features re-
ferred to herein have been arranged in a manner that the
instructions given herewith would not apply to them. In
fact, instructions for the 19x0 Model, in addition to those
found in the manufacturers' instruction book, are, I believe,
unnecessarj'-.

The iron pedestal on which the machine rests should be
fastened very firmly to the floor, otherwise it is liable to
rock slightly when the films are rewound rapidly.

The automatic shutter governor may be removed by.
loosening the two bushings in which the ends of its shaft
run and slipping them out. They are held in place by
set screws. In replacing same set the inner bushing just
so that the shutter is completely closed when the shaft
is against the bushing. Tighten bushing in place and set
the outer bushing in against the hub of the governor and
withdraw just the barest trifle, barely enough so that there
will be neither lost motion endwise or binding. If set so it
binds the result would be excessive wear besides making the
machine run hard.

The star and cam are inclosed in a cast metal casing which
may be removed in its entirety as follows: Open the film-
gate. Remove the front plate which holds the lens. Inside the
machine, to the left as you look in, you will see a flat bar
extending up and down, which connects the frame-up lever
with the intermittent casing before mentioned and which
we are to remove. In the side of this bar is a thumb screw
which goes through the bar and bears on the casting to
hold the bar over in place, since it, the bar, is only attached
to the intermittent casing by slipping on a pin. Loosen

122 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

this thumb screw and press the bar to the left to detach
from the pin. You will see, also to the left, a round, upright
rod terminating in a thumb screw on top of the machine.
This rod passes through two split lugs on the intermittent
casing, and it is by tightening or loosening the screws in
these lugs that the frame-up lever is made to work easy
or hard. Loosen these screws and by the thumb screw
on top of machine remove the rod entirely, which will leave
the intermittent casing loose and ready to pull out, except
for its connection with the tumbling rod, called the ball arbor.
This tumbling rod connection is a loose connection and the
whole intermittent casing may now be pulled out by a little
manipulating, first setting the slot in tumbling rod so that it
points directly toward you. To replace, set slot in tumbling
rod hub so that it points toward you and enter tumbling rod
hub so that it points toward you and enter tumbling rod
in its place. Now enter the fork in casing casting on the
upright rod directly behind tumbling rod hub, swingirig
casing into place, replacing upright rod at left, attaching
the frameup bar, not forgetting to tighten thumb screw and
leaving all as it was when you began.

To install a new star or cam remove intermittent casing as
above directed. Next remove the guard plate on casing (cata-
logued as "Stripper Plate") by removing the three screws
which hold it in place. Next loosen the set screw in hub of
tumbling rod connection hub. Inside the tumbling rod connec-
tion hub j-^ou will see the end of the cam shaft, which is held
by the set screw just named, and it may now be driven out by
tapping with a soft steel, or brass punch, or a piece of hard-
wood. Don't use a hard steel punch under any conditions
Having removed the cam and shaft the star is released by
removing the two screws in hub of sprocket wheel. Just
loosen them and pull out the star. The bushings in which
the star shaft runs are removed by loosening the set screws
holding them which are directly above them on top of cas-
ing casting.

To adjust the star and cam to eliminate lost mo-
tion, loosen the set screw in top of casing directly above
cam wheel. In front, by the side of the tumbling rod con-
nection will be seen the flange of the bronze bushing with
a hole in it and a set screw bearing on each of its beveled

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 123

sides. Loosen the bottom screw and tighten the top one
until lost motion is eliminated, but don't get it tight enough
to bind. Tighten all set screws tight when through. There
is no need to pay any attention to the alignment of shafts,
since manipulating the set screws takes care of everything.
One point should be looked carefully to, and that is in re-
placing the cam shaft (if j'ou have had it out) to get the
set screw hole directly over the hole in the shaft. This
is important, since the shaft is slightly tapered and a part
of the office of the set screw is to draw it home.

To remove balance wheel, take ofif the bridge and remove
the set screws in hub of wheel. I say "remove" them for the
reason that they go deeply into the shaft. The flywheel may
then be pulled off. The flywheel shaft and inner bushing
may be removed as follows: Remove the film gate and
under where its back edge was, directly in line, up and
down, with the flywheel shaft will be seen a set screw. Re-
move this and the shaft and bushing can be pulled out,
first, however, removing first gear wheel above shaft, back
of where flywheel was.

Some of the operations described, such as removing the
main shaft, may never become necessary, but then again
it might be one of the first things an operator would have
to do, and unless he knew exactly how to go about it he
might experience some trouble.

To remove the main shaft, take off the gear cover and
you will see a sort of gridiron, called the "bridge." Re-
move this, carefully replacing the screws in their holes so
they will not get lost. Incidentally you will notice in
the bridge two bronze boxings in which the shafts of
the flywheel and automatic governor run. These boxings
may be readily renewed by loosening the set screws
boxings may be readily renewed by loosening the set screws
which hold them, slipping them out and the new ones in.
Having removed the bridge, slip off the large gear wheel
on end of crank-shaft. Now look at crank-shaft hub on
other side of the machine and half way down on either side
see a small hole in the casting. Remove the crank and
looking into the hole where its shank was you will see
a pin extending through the shaft and projecting on either
side. This pin engages in the slot in end of crank-shank

124 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

and drives the machine. You must now set this pin ex-
actly opposite the small holes in the hub and with a small
punch carefully drive it out. It is not a taper pin, but per-
fectly straight and drives either way. When you get the
pin placed just right have someone grasp the opposite end
of the shaft and hold it in place. Insert the shank of the
crank a quarter of an inch or so, so as to divide the shock
of the blows between the shaft and the cast hub. Tap the
punch sharply (but not too hard) with a light hammer.
A sharp, light blow is the thing for such a job. The pin
removed, you may pull the shaft out at the gear end. To
replace, just reverse the process. You will have to reset
the shutter, however, since removing the bridge throws it
out.

The operator taking charge of a Motiograph for the first
time should examine the machine very closely and be very
certain he finds all the oil holes. As has been stated, the
machine is well built and if you overlook bearings when oil-
ing the bearings may bind.

The shutter of this machine is set the same as before de-
scribed, except that the crease in the wide blade is used as
line A, Fig. 40, and the second shutter is set central with the
first, being sure that the machine does not move at all until
the second blade has been tightened in place. I believe the
foregoing takes care of all the special features the operator is
likely to contend with in operating the Motiograph. And
now I think this is all I shall say concerning machine heads.
It is a hard subject to handle, under the circumstances, at
best.

THE PATHE PROFESSIONAL PROJECTOR.

The Pathe Professional Projector is perhaps the simplest
moving picture mechanism on the American market, and by
reason of this simplicity the necessary directions to the
operator will occupy considerably less space than those of
other machines.

The machine is threaded by b'-inging the film out of the
upper magazine, over the top of and down between the top
sprocket and its idler. From the upper loop the film goes
down through the gate, the lower loop being formed in
a protected recess between the intermittent sprocket and

FOR Managers and operators i^s

the lower take-up or feed sprocket. Care must be had
not to have loops too long, or film will rub against the iron
of the machine and become scratched. Use a little judgment
and common-sense in forming the loops with this machine.
The tension is taken care of by two long tension shoes set
in the gate and held in place by two flat springs on the front
of the gate. Should the aperture plate film tracks become
worn, they may be removed by loosening the three small
screws seen in their face. Should top gate idler spring
become too slack and not hold the idler in its place, remove
front fire guard and the spring which holds the idler bracket
and carefully bend it (the spring) slightly. The shoe which
holds the film against the intermittent sprocket should be
renewed whenever it shows any considerable sign of wear.
It is removed by merely loosening two springs and slipping
it out of place.

To remove the intermittent sprocket for renewal, first
take off the large crank gear and its shaft. Next remove
the pin from the hub of the lower chain sprocket wheel and
drive out shaft, thus removing the center gear on the operat-
ing side. We next remove the remaining large gear which
meshes, into the small flywheel pinion, by taking out the
screw in the center of its hub.

Now, looking in the front (lens side) of the machine, we
sec two large screws which hold the framework of the
shutter gear and spindle; remove these two screws. Imme-
diately above these two will be seen, on either side, two
more large-head screws which hold the lower end of inter-
mittent casing frame, with two more above holding the
upper end. Remove all of these screws and the whole frame-
work, intermittent and flywheel will lift out. Now having
the intermittent casement thus removed from the machine,
the substituting of a new intermittent sprocket will be a
very simple operation. The putting of the intermittent back
into the machine is merely the reversal of the process of
taking it out, being sure, however, that there is no dirt on
the bearings of the intermittent framework when you put it
back, and that all screws are set up good and tight.

The chain which drives the upper feed sprocket should
be well oiled with a mixture of vaseline and graphite or other

126 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

similar compound. The chain should not be very tight,
neither should it be loose.

On the gate of the machine is the automatic fire shutter,
and right beside the flywheel the lever which operates it.
Immediately under the gate latch is the screw which holds
this lever in place. Should the shutter not work freely it
will probably be by reason of the fact that this screw is a
trifle too tight, the remedy being to loosen it. This lever
is worked by an eccentric on the inner hub of the flywheel.
Looking at the inner side of the flywheel you will see a
wide slot or groove in its surface. It is in this groo.ve that
the automatic fire shutter governor works, and it should be
kept sparingly lubricated with vaseline.

The star wheel runs in an oil well which should be kept
filled with a heavy lubricating oil.

The Pathe Company recommends that the star wheel be
not adjusted or in any way interfered with by the operator.
They claim that the star wheel and cam, if kept properly
lubricated, will outwear the balance of the mechanism.

The holes for oiling are as follows: Two on the shutter
shaft (one in the front and one in the back); two on the
intermittent sprocket, on either side; two on the star-wheel
shaft; one next to the flywheel (which lubricates the auto-
matic shutter mechanism); one on the outside of the fly-
wheel; two on upper sprocket shaft; two on the lower
sprocket and one in the hub of the large gear on operating
side of the machine.

On the inside of the fire shutter are the two steel rollers
which hold the film in place on the lower or take-up feed
sprocket. It is not only necessary but essential that these
rollers shall revolve freely at all times.

The take-up tension on the lower magazine is controlled
by a fibre washer working between two steel surfaces com-
pressed together by a spring, the amount of tension being
governed by the milled thumbscrew on the end of shaft.
We would advise that you take this apart and examine it so
that you will be familiar with its working, being careful, of
course, to put it together properly. The chain plate which
drives the take-up should not be too tight, and the tension
should only be such as will barely take up the film clear
through to the end of the run.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

127

The setting of the revolving shutter to eliminate travel-
ghost is accomplished by slipping it in or out on the spindle.
The screw^ in the head setting, of course, in the spindle slot.

The intermittent movement may be examined at any time
by removing the screws in the side of the casing, but, as I
before stated, the company recommends that the operator
let the intermittent severely alone.

THE POWER'S MACHINE.

The Powers machine is a finely built piece bf mech-
anism _and like all other finely made machines requires in-
telligent attention and care. It is, however, perhaps one
of the easiest machines there is to adjust, since its mechan-
ism is all "in sight." The Power's No. 6 is such an en-
tirely different form of construction from any other machine
that detailed instruction on the mechanism is imperative.
Trusting that the various manufacturers will understand my
position and that I have no desire other than to treat every-
one fairly and impartially, doing even 'and exact justice to all,
and that the fact that I say more about one machine than
another indicates nothing except that the writer feels one to
require more detailed instruction than another, I will proceed.
The New Power's No. 6 Model Cameragraph is such an
absolutely unique departure in projection apparatus that it
also must be dealt with in detail. This machine was de-
signed primarily to compete
in the European markets
where projection machinery
is heavily constructed. It is,
therefore, a more massive,
heavily built machine than
any other American built
projection mechanism. In
this machine the star and
cam, in their old, familiar
form, are dispensed with, the
intermittent movement being
accomplished by means of a
heavy, hardened steel star, somewhat in the form of a pointed
Maltese cross (Fig. 42), and a circular, flat steel cam-ring
(Fig. 42) 5-i6ths of an inch thick, with an outside diameter

Fig. 4'

128 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

of 2^ inches and an inside diameter of i^ inches, these
measures being approximate. This form of intermittent is
absolutely non-adjustable. Do not attempt to adjust this
movement, for there is no adjustment you can make. The
casing covering the intermittent is oil-tight and the small oil
cup should receive from 15 to 20 drops of oil per day accord-
ing to length of day's run. Use a medium machine oil if it is
obtainable. Three In One oil is too light unless mixed with
heavier oil.

T.ost motion occurring in the intermittent movement of
this machine does not affect the film since the star (cross)
and cam revolve in the same direction, instead of in opposite
directions, as is the case with the old style star and cam.
The whole intermittent movement may be removed from the
machine as follows: Loosen the set screw in take-up feed
sprocket and slip sprocket spindle, gear and belt-wheel out
to left. Loosen brass collar on inner end of shaft which
carries the large gear which drives the take-up gear-wheel
and slip gear and shaft out to the left. This will allow you
to remove the cover to the intermittent oil casing, which
is done next. Having removed cover, take out the large
screw in center of fly-wheel and take fly-wheel off. With a
block of hardwood and hammer tap end of shaft lightly, if
necessary, to start fly-wheel off. You may now pull the cam
and shaft out to the left. If you wish to also remove the
cross and its shaft, just take off aperture plate and remove
pins which secure intermittent sprocket to shaft. You can
then pull cross and shaft out. With the latest machines it
is not necessary to loosen the sprocket on its shaft to re-
move the cross and shaft. Just loosen the screw holding left
hand bushing in place, and the whole thing, cross, shaft,
bushing and sprocket will slip out. To replace just reverse
the operation described. Should the intermittent sprocket
shaft at any time have end play, loosen the set screw on the
front of the right-hand boxing and shove the brushing out
to the right up snug against the washer on the end of the
shaft and tighten up the set screw.

With this machine it is essential that all sprocket idlers be
kept away from the sprockets by about twice the thickness of
an ordinary film. This is essential with any machine, but
especially so with the Power's No. 6. Set screws and lock-

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 129

nuts are provided for the purpose. The frame-up carriage
is made to work easy or hard by tightening or loosening the
wing-nut on side of frame-up lever bearing. It is absolutely
necessary that the shutter be placed as close to the lens as
possible. Setting it any distance from the lens will have a
tendency to cause a travel-ghost. To set the shutter, loosen
the two screws in outside shutter-hub (the hub is in two
pieces) just enough so that you can slip the shutter around
by using some slight pressure. Turn the machine by its fly-
wheel until the intermittent sprocket has completed its
movement and just barely come to rest. Now hold the fly-
wheel perfectly stationary while you slip the shutter in the
direction it normally runs until the wide blade (the one with
stamp on it) covers just a trifle more than half the lens.
Now put in a film and set the framer just so that the bottom
dividing line of the pictures shows. If it looks black, without
any flashes of light across it, move framer until top dividing
line is in view (running the film meanwhile, of course), and
if that also shows clear black without light flashes across it
the shutter is right. If there are flashes of light on either
dividing line slip the shutter a little until both dividing lines,
above and below, show the same. Then tighten the screws
in hub and you are done. Be very sure that the shutter
shaft is always clear up as far as it will go. Should the
screws loosen and let it drop a trifle it would have the effect
of throwing the shutter out of time. This shaft is held by two
screws, one over and one under the shaft. Set them both up
tight. Keep the collars which hold the shutter shaft end-
wise set up pretty close to the boxing, as the shaft should
have as little end play as possible without binding. By
means of the loose ring, held in place by three large thumb-
screws the projection lens may be turned until its handle
comes into convenient position for manipulation. To thread
the No. 6 bring the film down from magazine, under roller,
up over sprocket and under idler, thence down through gate,
intermittent, and take up sprockets and into lower magazine
in the usual manner, leaving a rather long lower loop between
intermittent and take-up sprockets. The upper loop bulges
straight out in front. Other points concerning this mech-
anism seem too simple to require special mention.

i30 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

THE STANDARD MOVING PICTURE MACHINE.

The Standard Moving Picture Machine presents several
features peculiarly its own. It, therefore, also must be
treated in detail. Should lost motion develop between the
star and cam it may be easily eliminated by loosening the
four screws holding the steel bar which compresses the
bronze bushings carrying the intermittent shaft at either end.
In the left hand end of each one of these bushings will be
seen a small hole; insert the end of a small nail in these
holes and turn the bushing slightly upward until all the lost
motion, or jjractically all of it, has been eliminated and the
intermittent sprocket feels tight. Be careful and turn each
one of these bushings the same amount, else you will get
the intermittent out of alignment with the cam shaft pro-
ducing a condition described and illustrated on page io8.
This condition must be carefully avoided since, not only
will it injure the star and cam, wearing their surface on a
bevel, but it will also cause the film to bear only on one
side of the intermittent sprocket, thus producing injury to
the film and causing a bad performance.

In adjusting your intermittent sprocket be very careful
that the spurs of your sprocket are in line with the film
tracks of the aperture when you get through. This is very
essential as you will see by careful examination. The film
runs down between two solid guides on either side and if
the spurs of the sprocket set a little over to one side bad
injury to the film will inevitably result. Be very careful on
this particular point.

To remove the intermittent sprocket shaft and star for
repairs or renewal, proceed as follows: Take the machine
head ofif its base, first, of course, removing the magazines
and lenses. Lay the head down on a bench with the film
gate up. The gate will be in the way, we will therefore
remove it. As will be seen, it is held in place by a shaft
at the bottom. This shaft in turn is held in place by a
set screw in the bottom, of the casting. Loosen this screw,
which is not countersunk in the shaft, and drive the shaft
out to the right. In driving out a shaft always use a brass
punch or piece of hard wood, never use a hard steel punch.
Next, turn the machine over with the lens side up and
remove the front plate. Again reverse the position of the
machine with the gate side up and remove the lower sprocket
and shaft by driving out the taper pins in the sprocket and

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 131

in the hub of the small gear wheel. The shaft will then
slip out to the left, releasing the gear and sprocket, together
with the brass chute through which the film passes to the
lower magazine. Next remove the film slide. The film slide
is the plate covering the gate side of the machine and ex-
tending down between the flanges of the intermittent sprocket
into and through the lower film loop recess. This plate is
removed by taking out one screw at its lower end iriime-
diately behind where the lower sprocket was; one flat head
screw on either side just above the steel bars holding the
intermittent bearings, and the two gate latch screws. Next
unscrew the two steel caps which hold the bronze boxes of
the intermittent shaft and the star wheel and its shaft may
be lifted out.

When replacing the intermittent sprocket, star and shaft
be sure that both bronze bushings or bearings are in line,
that is to say, be sure that both these bushings set precisely
the same so that the shaft is held exactly parallel with the
cam shaft. This, as has been before explained, and is fur-
ther explained and illustrated on page io8, is of the utmost
importance. Other than this the replacing of the star shaft
is merely a reversal of the process of its removal, except
that when screwing on the cap nearest the star wheel be
sure to tighten the upper screw as tight as possible first;
then the other three screws may be tightened a little at a
time. Also be careful, as has been before noted, that the
intermittent sprocket is in exact line with the aperture plate
film track.

To install a new revolving shutter you must take j'our
machine apart just as has been already described for the
removal of the star shaft. You must also remove the middle
shaft, that is to say. the large shaft immediately behind the
intermittent shaft. This is done by removing the taper pins
in the hubs of the three gears it carries and driving the shaft
out. The first thing is, set the framing device exactly half
way of its travel, or so that the handle is parallel with the
base of the machine. Next see that your aperture plate is
screwed on in its place. Then the center of the cam pin
which drives the star wheel must be set in the center of the
intermittent sprocket bearing. Then set your shutter so that
the center of the shutter is in line with the center of your
aperture plate. When a new shutter is sent out it is set
and pinned on the shaft so that it will be in correct position
when installed in the machine, but you must experiment by

132 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

moving it forward or back, changing the relation of the
teeth of the large and small gears which drive the shutter,
until it is in position as above set forth. The tension is
supplied by a double shoe having a track on either side,
held in place in the aperture opening of the gate by two
flat springs. Should the tension become weak you may
reach in at the top of the aperture and slip this shoe out,
that is to say, just pull the shoe out over the springs. Bend
the springs inward and replace the shoe, or, should the ten-
sion be too tight, it may be weakened by bending the two
springs backward.

Bearing on either side of the intermittent sprocket is a
split steel shoe which should be set about twice the thick-
ness of a film away from the sprocket by means of the two
set screws provided for the purpose, located immediately
under the shoe. Having set this just right, set up the lock
nut on the set screws very tight with a pair of pliers. To
remove this steel shoe or intermittent tension guide remove
the screws holding the flat tension springs on the face of
the gate. Also the central flat spring near the two small
set screws at the bottom of the shoe. Having done this
the shoe will readily slip out.

The take-up on the lower magazine is adjusted by a milled
thumb screw on the end of its spindle, which acts on a
spiral spring. This thumb screw is locked in place by a
flat head screw in its face; loosen this screw and the thumb
screw may readily be turned. Tightening the spiral spring
with the thumb screw of course increases the tension, while
loosening it lessens the same. The chain belts should not
be kept tight, neither should they be very loose, but they
should be lubricated, preferably with a compound of vaseline
and graphite, though any good lubricating oil will do. In
the hub carrying the upper sprocket wheel of the magazine
will be seen a milled thumb screw on the end of a shaft
working in an upright slot. This arrangement is for the
purpose of tightening the magazine chain belt. To tighten
the other chain belt, that is to say, the one connecting the
magazine with the machine, loosen the screw at the bottom
of the upright casting carrying the two magazine chain
sprockets and swing the whole arm ahead or back according
to whether you wish to loosen or tighten the chain.

The machine should be oiled with a good grade of oil, not
too heavy, but of good body. The oil hole for the shutter

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 133

gears will be found right beside the lower left hand corner
of the aperture opening, with the word "OIL" over it.

To thread the machine, bring the film down out of the
upper magazine through the fire trap, under the top sprocket,
and close its idler, the handle of which is on the left side of
the machine. Now bring the end of your film down and
slip it through the brass chute and into the lower magazine,
attaching it to the reel. Now bring the film down over the
aperture and engage the perforations with the teeth of the
intermittent sprocket, leaving sufficient slack for the upper
loop. The top loop should not be long enough so that it
will strike the top of the machine, else the film will be
liable to injury through scratching. Form the lower loop
in the recess of the machine as large as possible, engage
the perforations with the lower sprocket and close the gate,
all the time, of course, holding the film up tight over the
aperture while you form the lower loop with your left hand.
Now revolve the lower reel until all slack is taken up and
the operation is complete.

The motor of this machine is a self oiler. Do not imagine
from this, however, that it will run for six months without
oil. At least twice a week take off the oil cups, empty them,
and fill with fresh oil, and occasionally put in a new feeding
wick.

In the foregoing descriptions of the various machines,
it would require a vast amount of extra space to illustrate
all the parts of the different mechanisms in full. The manu-
facturers of any of these machines will be pleased to amplify
tlie descriptions given herein by sending, upon request, their
own illustrated catalogues and charts showing all the parts,
both separate and assembled. For addresses of the several
makers, see advertising pages at the end of this book.

134 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

Miscellaneous.

THE STEREOPTICON.

Song slides should be thoroughly cleaned before they are
used. The mark of a dirty finger is not at all decorative.
The audience is not at all interested in the "whorls" of
your fingers. In using a single lamp it is essential that you
handle the carrier gently when taking out and putting in
slides. Shomehow a brick house don't look exactly natural
dancing up and down, or at least I never thought it did.
The least movement of the carrier is magnified many times
on the curtain. The stereo picture should be brilliant and
should be clear all over. Many operators persistently allow
Iheir stereo pictures to have yellow corners. With a very
long focus lens, or one of too small diameter, this is not
always to be avoided. But aside from these circumstances
there is no excuse for such a condition. An excellent colored
flood to be used with the stereo may be made as follows:
Take an old reel and remove the hub. Next drill three
small holes equidistant from each other around the circum-
ference of the two reel sides, making the holes match so
that the two sides may be bolted together. Next cover all
the holes but one in one of the sides with colored gelatin
paper. Lay the other side on and clamp the two together
with small stove-bolts. Now affix the hub to one side and
attach the whole to a suitable standard so that it will re-
volve freely before, and close to, the stereo projection lens.
One hole must be left open so that when it is before the
lens the picture can be projected through or white light
may be thrown. Another wheel like the one just described
may be added, thus giving a considerable range of colors.
Every operator should provide himself with plenty of spot
slides made from ordinary tin or stovepipe metal. The
easiest way to cut them out is to cut the spot pattern from
paper and paste it on the metal. You can then cut out the
pattern with a file accurately. Glass slides are not good for

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 135

spots, since remaining so long in the heat quickly breaks
l^hem. ^

The operator who has a dissolver may work out some
very pretty spotlight effects by having a supply of various
shapes and dissolving one into the other. He may also
select certain blocked out flower song slides and by remov-
ing the emulsion for a spot produce nice effects, particularly
on a singer. The man who has both a dissolver and spot-
light may make some splendid effects by use of the colored
flood before described in conjunction with the spot; also he
may, in conjunction with the spot, produce some new and
beautiful effects on certain vaudeville turns by using the
spot small and with the dissolver at the same time throwing
on slides of ground, moss and other glasses. By slow dis-
solving with some carefully selected glasses, using the small
spot at the same time, some very beautiful effects are
produced.

SLIDE CARRIERS.

There are several forms of slide carriers on the market, the
one most in use being the old-style wooden carrier with two
sides, or slide compartments. This form of carrier is now
made in metal, but it is objectionable from the fact that it
gets very hot and is then difficult to handle. Little need be
said concerning this carrier except that a small handle should
be screwed on the end next the operator so that it can be
pulled towards one, instead of having to reach over and
shove it from the further end. No matter what kind of
carrier you are using, there should be a permanent metal
mat attached to the stationary part, the mat being made of
size to just fit the stage. You can then throw a flood light

Fig. 34.

without plastering the whole front wall with light, and
when, as sometimes happens with certain skirt-dance slides,

136

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

there is no mat on a slide, it fits the stage or curtain, anyhow.
For running song slides with a single lamp the "Ingento"
dissolving carrier (Fig. 34), made by Messrs. Burke & James,
Chicago, is the best article the writer has seen to date. It
does not dissolve, for that is an impossibility with a single
lamp, but the effict, when the carrier is properly handled,
is the best the writer has seen. It is not the purpose of
these articles to advertise anyone's goods, but in some cases
the purpose of the series cannot be served without naming
specific articles. A very good effect is had, also, by taking
a piece of light green Venetian glass, cut in convenient form,
and passing it slowly in front of the projection lens, mean-
while moving the carrier. Properly done, the efifect is really
very nice.

Fig. 35-

Further back I named the Bell wire terminal as ex-
cellent for cable ends. Since then samples have been sent
me of a terminal (Fig. 35) made by the Robert Webb Elec-
tric Co., Pittsburg, Pa., which is perhaps the most substan-
tial of anything on the market. They are made for different
sized wires and appear to be an excellent article.

Where the machine has not an automatic shutter there
should be a foot shutter. In fact, there should be one any-
how, since the automatic may go back on you, and if there
is a foot shutter ready to connect up instantly, you will
experience slight inconvenience and delay.

Fig. 36 shows plainly how to make a quick-acting, service-
able foot shutter. The plan, so often followed, of attaching
a tiny little foot pedal to the floor, is very bad, since it
compels the operator to sit in a cramped position. The
writer uses a long bar made from one-inch wood, set on

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

137

edge about eight inches from the floor. This allows of
placing the foot in several positions, which is a decided
relief, especially on an all-day's grind. This pedal should be
placed about directly under the edge of the machine table
and its height from the floor should be according to the
height the machine sets. With the machine 3 feet 6 inches
from table to floor, the top of the pedal should be 8 inches
from the floor when the shutter is down. If a film tank is
used in place of a take-up, it will be necessary to attach a
flat strip to top of pedal or else set the pedal itself flatwise.
The back end is attached by a screw or bolt to something
substantial and the front end should slide up and down in
a block like A (Fig. 36), attached to the front wall. The

nasi

bottom of the slot in the block should be so that the pedal
will just strike it when the shutter is wide open, thus reliev-
ing the strain on the shutter and chain. The shutter should
be attached to the pedal by a brass chain such as is used on
the flush tanks of toilet rooms. A shutter made as directed
will work, and work right, but it will have to be modified
when there is a film tank in place of a take-up. It will snap
shut the instant the foot is removed. Right here is an ex-
cellent illustration of the slovenly methods employed in very

138 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

many operating rooms. The average foot shutter you will find
attached to the shutter by a scrap of wire — often two or
three pieces of wire patched together. The pedal will be a
little piece of board about 4 by 8 inches, attached to the
floor by a strap hinge, which, in nine cases out of ten, is
partly or wholly loose. Do things right, or get out and give
someone the job who will! One of the Jirst things my father
taught me was "if a thing is worth doing at all, it is worth
doing well."

The longer I live, the more firmly I am convinced that
the old gentleman was absolutely right. The "Oh, that's
good enough!" workman is a miserable failure at any-
thing he undertakes. The "Oh-that's-good-enough-I'll-do-
just-as-little-as-I-can-and-keep-on-the-payroll" man is not an
operator, or much of anything else, for that matter, no mat-
ter how much he may know. In fact, it is not what you
know that counts, but what application you make of your
knowledge. To be a real operator you must not only know,
but you must also do. Wages are too low, I am well aware,
but when the writer gets to the point where he doesn't feel
ambitious enough to do his work right, owing to low wages
or anything else, he will quit, and he will do it very suddenly,
too. There is absolutely no excuse under the heavens for
doing things any other way than right.

THE ELECTRIC METER.

The meter is a very simple affair, consisting of a small
motor which actuates the pointers to the dail by means of
a train of gears. This motor is placed in the series with
the lamps or motors using the current passing through it.
The motor is so constructed that if it were operating under
a pressure of one volt, with one ampere of current flowing,
it would require, under those conditions, precisely one hour
to record one Watt, which would, therefore, be one Watt
hour. It, therefore, follows, that if it were working under
a pressure of no volts with one ampere of current flowing,
the Watts being the product of the volts times the amperes,
the instrument would record no Watts in one hour; or if
the pressure be one volt with no amperes flowing, the rec-
ord for one hour would be no Watts. If, on the other hand,
30 amperes were flowing under a pressure of no volts, then

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

135

in cne hour's time the meter would register 30 times no, or
3,300 Watts. That, in brief, is the way the meter works
and records Watt, or killowatt, hours.

The reading of meters is equally as simple as their op-

Mechanism of Recording Watt Meter,
eration, and any customer can read his own meter if he so
desires, by following a few simple directions which we
give for the benefit of interested persons. Electricity is
measured by the kilowatt hour or by the watt hour, one
kilowatt being equivalent to 1,000 watts.

140 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

When attempting to read a meter, first note carefully the
unit in which the dials read. On all meters used by the Edi-
son Company, the figures above or below the dial indicate
the value of one complete revolution of the pointer, there-
fore one division indicates one-tenth of the amount marked
above or below.

Note the direction of rotation of the dial pointers. Count-
ing from the right on a watt meter, the pointers of the first,
third and fifth dials rotate in the direction of the hands of
a watch, whereas the pointers of the second and fourth dials
move in the opposite direction. Similarly, on a kilowatt
hour meter the pointers of the first and third dials move
in the direction of the hands of a watch, and the pointers
of the second and fourth dials move in an opposite direction.
The dials must always be read from right to left, and the
figures should be set down as read. Always read the fig-
ures on each dial which the pointer has last passed or has
just covered.

Each dial reading depends on the reading of the one next
to it on the right. Unless the one before it has completed a
revolution or passed the o, the pointer which is being read
has not completed the division on which it may appear to
rest, and still indicates the last figure passed over.

Always ascertain if the register is direct reading, that is,
has no multiplying constants. Some registers are not di-
rect reading but require that the dial reading be multiplied
by a constant in order to obtain the true reading. This is
for the purpose of keeping meters of various capacities uni-
form in size. If the constant were not used, meters of larger
capacity would be much larger and heavier than those of
small capacity. If the register face bears the words "multi-
ply by Yz" or "multiply by 2," etc., the actual reading should
be multiplied by J^ in the first case, or doubled in the second,
and similarly for other constants.

Next multiply the difference between the present reading
and that of the last month by the rate per kilowatt hour you
are paying, and you have the amount of your bill in dollars
and cents.

The accompanying fac similies of meter dials give ex-
amples of meter readings which may actually occur in prac-
tice. For example, in No. 2, the dial at the extreme right

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS

141

reads 900. The second apparently indicates o; but since the
first has not completed its revolution, but indicates only 9,
the second cannot have completed its division, hence the
second dial indicates 9 also. The same is true of the hand
of the third dial; the second being 9, has not quite completed
its revolution, so that the third has not completed its division,
therefore we again have 9. The same holds true of the hand

1.000.000 100.000
f2 isk aVe

.6 s 4y \.4 5 6^

KILOWATT HOURS

No. 3.

looaooo 100.000

10,000

WATT HOURS

Facsimiles of Meter Dials.

of the fourth dial. The last hand (the extreme left) appears
to rest on i; but since the fourth is only 9, the last has not
completed its division, and therefore indicates o.

Putting the figures down from right to left, the total read-
ing is 999,900. By similar reasoning the value of other indi-
cations may be obtained.

142 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

General House Equipment.

THE CURTAIN.

The writer has viewed many different kinds of curtain
and curtains covered with several kinds of patent coatings,
but to date has seen nothing he thought was better, all
things considered, than plain, white plaster. Such a curtain
may be readily cleaned by sandpapering lightly with No. o
or y2 sandpaper. Sheet metal may be used by nailing the
joints down level and tight and covering them with a thin
putty made from Spanish whiting and white lead in about
equal proportions, thinned with boiled linseed oil to proper
consistency. This putty should be smeared on with the
fingers and carefully wiped until the nilheads and joint is
covered and leveled up as much as possible. Coat the
whole curtain with white lead mixed with about one-third
boiled linseed oil and two-thirds turpentine, adding a little
ultramarine blue (ground in oil) to the paint to whiten it.
White calcimine may also be used with good effect, but it
is likely to peel on metal. A little blue should be added
to it as well as to paint. If the latter is used on metal be
sure there is no grease or oil on the metal. If there is,
remove it with soap and water. Use two or three coats
of thin calcimine or paint rather than one heavy one.

Ordinary bleached bed sheeting of good quality makes the
best cloth curtain and it may be readily laundried. It may be
had, if I rightly remember, eight feet wide.

If cloth is used stretch it perfectly tight so that there
will be no wrinkles. The curtain should set as nearly as
possible square with the machine — or, rather, the machine
should set square with the curtain. It will be found that
much brilliancy will be added to the picture by painting all
the curtain except the space actually occupied by the picture
a dead black made by mixing dry lampblack with boiled
linseed oil and turpentine, in proportions of one-third and
two-thirds. The objection to this is that the stereo picture

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 143

is not the same size or shape as the moving picture, so that
where both are used it is impossible thus to outline. A neat,
heavy moulding around the curtain adds very much to the
effect, but better yet is a "flare" from eighteen inches to
two feet in depth such as one sees in the proscenium arch
of a theater. The curtain should be of size to accommodate
a picture in which the figures will be at least life size. Nine
by twelve will do nicely for a small house, but for a house
of ample dimensions the picture should be at least fifteen
feet in width. It must be remembered, however, that every
foot added to the picture size adds enormously to the nec-
essary light intensity to produce equal brilliancy. A certain
amount of light is projected to the curtain and is diffused
over a given area, depending on the size of the picture. The
9x12 picture covers 108 square feet, while the 15x18 occu-
pies 270 feet of curtain space — considerably more than twice
as much. The writer has often been amused to hear oper-
ators discussing the matter of current and asserting that
they never use more than twenty-five amperes, or thirty-five
amperes, or whatever the individual's preference happened
to be. Let me say right now that such talk is foolish. The
light intensity, within certain limits, is governed (not alto-
gether, but largely) by the amperage and the light intensity
necessary to produce a given result will depend almost
altogether on the size of the picture projected. In planning
your house this matter should be given due consideration.
Better have a good small picture than a large one bad. The
writer is using forty-five amperes of direct current at the
present time, but he throws a fifteen-foot picture in a house
where there is lots of light, part of it being daylight which
strikes the curtain badly in the forenoon. Under different
conditions he could get better results with one-third less
current.

EFFECT OF DAYLIGHT AND HOUSE LIGHTS ON
THE PICTURE.

Every particle of light, especially daylight, which strikes
the curtain directly dims the brilliancy of the picture, but
if the light rays be shaded from the curtain so that they
do not strike it directly it is astonishing how light the room
may be without causing material damage. This matter of

144 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

lighting the auditorium while the picture is on involves sev-
eral problems. The direct w^hitc rays must not strike the
curtain, neither must they strike the eyes of the audience
from the front. The best plan the writer has seen, taking
everything into consideration, where the ceiling is of mod-
erate height is to use ceiling lights for this purpose, shading
the rays downward by means of a metal cone shade. Light
green globes make a very pretty effect and do not seem to
seriously aflfect the picture unless placed too close to it.
They give oflf considerable illumination. Care should be
taken that the piano lamp rays do not strike the curtain,
either directly or by rays reflected from the music. It is,
of course, desirable to have the auditorium as light as pos-
sible without damaging the picture. Any method which will
not allow the direct light rays to strike the curtain or the
eyes of the audience will serve. By "striking the eyes of
the audience," I of course mean in such manner as to
blind them with the glare as they look forward toward the
picture. Guard these two points carefully and you will be
the gainer.

ILLUMINATING THE AUDITORIUM.

The placing of lights, aside from those to be burned
during the time the picture is on, is a matter which must
be governed entirely by the size, shape and height of the
room and the color of the walls and decorations. As a
guide in this matter it may be said that dark walls will
reflect only about 20 per cent, of the light, whereas a
clean, white surface reflects fully 80 per cent., with vary-
ing percentages for shades between. Added height of ceil-
ing also operates to reduce a given light intensity. The
following table give the approximate general effect produced
by different numbers of sixteen candle-power lamps placed
in a room of medium height with walls of medium shade:

No. lamps per 100 sq.ft. of floor surface. Approximate eflFect.

i.o Dull

1.5 Medium

2.0 Good

3.0 Bright

4.0 Brilliant

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 143

In general it does not pay to be stingy with light in a
theater. Between shows the auditorium should be well
lighted, otherwise it is, if not depressing, at least not cal-
culated to produce the best impression on the audience.
Moreover, lack of plenty of light looks cheap and is an
error from any and every point of view. In general it may
be said that the bulk of the light should be on the ceiling.
Placing a lot of lights around the curtain edge, unless they
be ground glass globes, is a mistake. Their glare is thrown
directly in the eyes of the audience, which, to say the least,
is not pleasant. Taking the ordinary storeroom theater as
an example, seating capacity 300, four ceiling clusters of
eight 16 c. p. lamps each, with a good reflector above each
cluster, will produce an excellent effect, these to be supple-
mented by six or eight 8 c. p. globes on either wall, designed
to burn during the performance. These latter to be either
colored light green or else their rays shaded downward by
a proper reflector which will neither allow the direct light
rays to reach the curtain or the eyes of the audience. On
the floor, under the end chair of each fifth row of seats,
may be placed a small globe enclosed in a small metal
box one side of which is covered by wire screen. The wire
screen is placed next the aisle and the aisle floor is thus
lighted. The wires to these lights are carried under the
floor, coming through a small hole to each lamp, the circuit
being handled from the main switchboard and lighted only
when the house is dark. A light enclosed in a metal box
with glass front in which the word "EXIT" is blocked out,
with letters in red, should be over each exit, this circuit,
as has already been explained, being handled only by a
switch located in the box office. One, two or all of the ceil-
ing clusters should be arranged to be handled by a switch
located in the operating room, as well as from the main
switchboard. By this plan when the show is ready to start
the other lights are pulled when the operator is given his cue.
The operator then starts his machine and pulls the ceiling
lights, thus the picture is on and the house dark at one
and the same instant, producing a very nice effect. When
the picture is done the operator snaps on the lights as the
machine stops. Also if anything goes wrong the operator
can instantly light, or at least partially light, the house.

146 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

it is best to have your lights so arranged that a part
of them may be burned at a time without matefially affecting
light distribution as a whole, merely making the illumination
less brilliant. This saves current when the janitor is clean-
ing up, also there may be other times when you will not
need the full number of lights. The distfibution of light
and the location of the lamps will depend on the size and
shj^pe of the room and the decoration. Aside from what
has already been said there is little to say of value. Each
one must size up his house and plan his light scheme along
lines which seem best for that particular case. But dofl't
imagine because Mr. Jones has his theater lighting dis-
tributed in a certain way you have to make an exact copy.
The light scheme which looks well and produces a splendid
effect in Mr. Jones' house may look very bad in yours.
Where there is a stage used for players it should by all
means be brilliantly lighted. The writer does not know that
there is any established rule setting forth a certain number
of candle power per square foot of stage. He believes
there is not. The following will, he thinks, serve fairly well
on any stage, however: Foots — One i6 c. p. lamp to every
6 or 7 inches the full width of the proscenium opening.
Borders — One i6 c. p. lamp to each 7 inches, full width of
stage, with one row of borders to every 4 feet of stage depth,
counting from the front curtain line. The front row of
borders should be hung as close to the front curtain as is
practical. The number of border lights per row may be
somewhat reduced where the height from floor to borders
is shallow, say under 10 feet. The above stage lighting may
seem excessive to some managers of small theaters, but take
my word that it pays in the long run to have plenty of light
on the stage. Your stage circuits should be so arranged
that each alternate light of both foots and borders can be
extinguished in scenes where not much light is desired.
An effective, cheap border trough is made by placing the
lamp so-kets on the fiat side of a 2x4 and then nailing, a
strip of heavy tin or sheet metal on its edge so that it will
project about 7 inches, the strip of metal to run the full
length of the border, of course. This trough should be hung
at such angle that the lights cannot be seen from the
front row of seats. Paint the inside of the trough white.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 147

This trough is cheaper and almost as good as those used
in large theaters. Anyone can make them.

As to scenery, there is little use in offering advice, but
whatever set or sets you may decide upon they should be
made and painted by people who make such work a business.
It will be far cheaper in the long run, since such scenery
not only will look far better but will last much longer.
Advertisements on the front curtain, or anywhere in the
house, for that matter, are in bad taste. They cheapen the
whole house, just as advertising slides thrown on the cur-
tain do. Better keep aivay from that game. It does not
pay.

The stage floor should be solidly constructed in order to
avoid excessive vibration from dancing. It should have a top
finish of carefully selected narrow hard maple flooring. The
stage floor should be kept scrupulously clean, but very little
water should be used. Wipe it up with a wet cloth, wiping
dry immediately with dry cloths. The footlight gutter should
by all means be deep enough so that the tops of the globes
cannot be seen by the audience from any part of the house.
If this is impractical then flare the front edge inward a
trifle over the globes. Proper dressing rooms should in
all cases be provided in houses in which there will be
actors. Any room where proper and ample dressing rooms
cannot be had is unfit for any but a straight picture show,
if it is for that. Theater managers will do well to re-
member that even the "twenty per" actor (?) is human and
entitled to some consideration — at least to dressing room con-
ditions which make for common decency. Theater managers
provide such conditions, but the rapid growth of the cheap
theater has unfortunately produced a too numerous breed of
would-be managers, just as it has produced thousands of
would-be operators. These men know little or nothing about
the amusement business, though as a rule by the time they
have been managing a small five-cent house from two to
six months they feel ready and willing to offer expert advice
to Klaw & Erlanger. They simply succeed in earning the
contempt of wise theatrical men. Many such men seem
to think a 3x4 toilet room for a man or woman actor is
a sinful waste of space. Put yourself in the actor's place,
friend, and think how you would like to suffer the dressing
room conditions provided in too many nickel theaters.

148 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

VENTILATION.

The matter of ventilation is one of much importance, both
Summer and Winter. There are too many owners and man-
agers who seem to imagine that stirring up the air with wall
or ceiling fans is "ventilation." It is nothing of the sort.
Ceiling and wall fans perform an important office in cooling
the theater, since rapidly moving air, for reasons not neces-
sary to go into, produces a sensation of coolness to the
human body. Ventilation, however, does . not necessarily
have much to do with coolness. The office of ventilation is
to purify the air in a room by removing it, substituting out
of doors air instead. Here we have two separate and dis-
tinct propositions as applied to Summer and one as ap-
plied to Winter, viz.: In Summer a movement of the air
by wall or ceiling fans, or both, to produce coolness, and
a pumping out of the air by an exhaust fan or vent flues
to purify. In Winter we have only the changing of the air, but
that is even more important in Winter than in Summer, since
the house is then tightly closed. As to ceiling or wall fans for
cooling, their size and number will depend, of course, en-
tirely on the size of the house, but comparatively large fans
are always best for several reasons. It does not pay to buy
cheap fans! They are an abomination and source of noise,
continual trouble and expense. By all means get good fans.
It will pay you well to do so. But having procured them
do not imagine you can put them up, make the connection
and let them run for six months without attention. Most
fans are self-oiling, but that does not mean they will run for
six months with one filling of the cups without serious dam-
age to the journals. Nor does it pay to try to make them
do it! Oil is cheap — considerably cheaper than worn and
cut journals and ruined armatures. Where wall fans are
only run three or four hours a day they may be allowed, un-
less something goes wrong with them, to run for two weeks
without attention, but it is an excellent rule to set certain
days, in such cases the first and fifteenth of the month, for
overhauling the fans, and make it an invariable rule to at-
tend to this duty on these days. The "overhauling" should
consist of emptying the oilcups and refilling with fresh oil,
examining the whole fan and cleaning it thoroughly, closely

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS ,149

examining the commutator and brushes, replacing brushes
that are getting too short and seeing that the brushes make
good contact with the commutator bars. If there is spark-
ing" at the brushes the trouble should be remedied or it may
in time cause serious damage. It may be caused by an
almost invisible bit of copper pulled across the insulation be-
tween two commutator bars. This may be removed with
No. 00 sandpaper or by very careful scraping with a 'knife
blade. The oil in the cups may look all right, but it gets
dirty and needs renewing. All this involves some work, but
there is no excellence without labor — and it pays, in the long
run, in dollars and cents, in temper saving and in satisfac-
tion both to yourself and your patrons. You may say.
"O, my fans run all right without all that monkey business!"
Granted, but your fans will be in the junk pile when those
of the man who follows my directions will be practically
as good as new and you will have spent dollars in repairs
where he has spent dimes. Your service will have been
more or less unsatisfactory, at least at times, while his will
have been practically perfect at all times. Wall fans should
be placed at convenient height and set to blow backward diag-
onally towards the audience's faces, but the height of center of
draught should be such that excessive air current will not
be felt in the seats. A little experimenting will determine
the proper angle to set the fans, but it pays to observe these
details closely.

For ventilation there are two methods, viz.: The exhaust
fan and the vent flue. With the latter I do not purpose to
deal, since that is a problem for the sanitary engineer.
Where practical it is best to locate the exhaust fan at the
rear (stage end) of the house, since then the air will be
drawn the full length of the room when the front doors are
opened. The fans should be of ample size, since it is much
cheaper to operate a large, slow-speed fan than a small, high-
speed one; moreover, the low-speed fan is more nearly
noiseless — an important consideration in a theater, especially
if there be acting. The larger, lower speed fan is much the
best in every way. It is stated that in a crowded theater the
air should be changed once in five or six minutes, but the
writer is unable to discover what this assertion is based on.

Other authorities say there should be 1,500 cubic feet

150 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

of air per person per hour. Again I have been unable to
discover what this is based on. The average person, so say
the medical fraternity, breathes about 25 inches of air per
breath and breathes an average of 18 times per minute.
This would indicate an hourly consumption of about 15
cubic feet of air per person. But the human body gives off
gases aside from this which help render the air impure.
Still the writer believes, and is willing to assert, that an en-
tire change of the air once every ten minutes is amply suf-
ficient when the house is full to capacity. In fact he very
much questions if even this time is not much shorter than
there is any real need of. He is a believer in thorough
ventilation and plenty of fresh air, but there is no earthly
sense in throwing away money pumping more air than is
necessary. In Summer the air becomes impure much faster
by reason of the perspiration thrown off which carries with
it impurities. The writer lays no claim to being anything
even approaching an expert in ventilation, but plain reason
seems to tell him that 1,500 cubic feet of air per person
per hour is excessive as is the changing of air every five or
six minutes. You will have to "show me" the necessity for
any such air movement as that. Having decided how often
you want the air changed any fan manufacturer will be
able to provide a suitable sized fan to do the required work.
The fan speed should be regulated by a controller, how-
ever, since it will not be necessary to run it to speed when
the house is but partially filled; also it may be necessary
to slow it down when singing or vaudeville is on. And now
a further word concerning fans. Some makers set their
fan blades at a wide angle and run them slow speed, while
others prefer the high speed and slight blade angle. Com-
mon sense will tell you that the fan with heavy blade angle
will move more air than will one with slight blade angle,
speed being equal. It therefore follows that you can run
the wide angle bladed fan at lower speed and secure the
same results. Such a fan is considerably less noisy in op-
eration, besides requiring less power per cubic foot of air
moved. The most effective speeds for properly designed
exhaust fans will be found to be about as follows: 24-inch
fan, 700; 30-inch, 550, and 36-inch, 450 revolutions per minute
The speed controller should be located either at the main

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS ISl

switchboard, at the stage switchboard or in the operating
room, as seems best in the individual case. In purchasing
an exhaust fan, as in other things, don't look at the price
so much as at the quality. That is to say, don't buy a poor
fan because it is cheap. It will be very costly by and by if
you run it long.

SEATING.

So far as price goes a theater may be seated with opera
chairs costing from as low as $1.25 each to as high as one
wishes to go, a very comfortable, substantial seat being
available at about $1.40 each. Upholstered seats are not
desirable in moving picture theaters from any point of view.
They would be a distinct disadvantage any way one might
look at it. The audience remains seated such a comparatively
short time that the non-upholstered seat, provided it be prop-
erly made, is perfectly comfortable and in Summer it is much
cooler also. Second-hand chairs are often available at very
low figure, but you should either see them or have a guaran-
tee in writing as to their size, condition, etc., with privilege
of examination before paying if shipped from a distance.
Theater seats should always have a wire hat holder beneath
the seat and on the back of each seat should be affixed a
very small ring or staple through which the ladies may
thrust a hatpin to hold their headgear instead of being obliged
to hold them in their laps. Two small staples, one one-half
inch above the other, are best. You will probably have to
throw a slide on the screen calling attention to the arrange-
ment until the ladies become accustomed to it. You will
find it will be highly appreciated by ladies who remove their
hats. Advertisements in The Moving Picture World will
put you in touch with manufacturers of theater seats who
will send prices, descriptions and illustrations of the various
styles of seats.

One very essential and important feature in seating is to
utilize all available space, but at the same time not get the
rows so close together that the user will experience discom-
fort. The requirements of Chicago will serve as a safe
guide in this respect. It is as follows: 32 inches from
chair back to chair back. Chicago law is good to follow in
the matter of aisles also. It calls for aisles 3 feet wide if

152 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

more than one and 4 feet if but one. Taking the above as
a basis to measure seating capacity of a room, proceed as
follows: Measure from the stage to the point you wish to
locate your front row of seats. From this point measure to
the point where the rear of your last row of seats will be.
Multiply this measurement by 12, to reduce to inches, and
divide by 32. The last result will be the number of rows.
Next measure the width of the room and subtract width
of the aisle, or combined width of all aisles if more than one.
Multiply remainder by 12, to reduce to inches, and divide
the result by width of chair you intend using, which may
be 18, 20 or 22 inches. Next multiply the number of rows
by the number of seats per row and the result is the seating
capacity of your room. • Of course if length of all rows is
not the same you will have to subtract the deficiency of
short rows or else measure all rows separately, adding all
together and dividing by chair width. Theaters having curved
rows usually have an architect's floor plan to figure from.

All theaters should have a properly sloped floor. The day
of the flat floor is past. Such a house is hopelessly out of
date and behind the times. What this slope will be will
necessarily depend somewhat on how much you are able to
get if the installation be in a building already erected. All
the slope you can get up to the point where the rows of
chairs must be on steps is an advantage. The best floor
slope result the writer has seen is a newly constructed
Chicago moving picture theater. The floor is of cement and
the slope is about 5 feet in 50. There are two ways of get-
ting a slope in an old flat floor room, viz.: Build an incline
on top of the old floor or drop the front end of the old
floor down into the basement. The latter is much the best
where it can be done. The first named plan has the disad-
vantage of requiring a slope from the entrance up to the
new floor level. Never use steps for this, since in case of
panic people would certainly pile up on them and many be
injured or killed. They are not likely, however, to fall on
an incline, even though it be quite steep, especially if it be
carpeted with heavy coarse matting, securely nailed down.

As regards seating plans, I think it would be somewhat a
waste of space to elaborate upon them. The main thing is
to have no long rows of seats unbroken by an aisle, and so

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 153

arrange your exit, which in all cases should be entirely sep-
arate from the entrance, so that there will be the least pos-
sible congestion when the crowds are passing out. It is by
far the best, where it can be so arranged, to have the exit
at the opposite end of the house from the entrance. This is
in some cases possible where there is an ample passage be-
tween the theater building and the next adjoining, provided
it be not a public alley. This plan relieves all congestion
caused by interference between people coming in and those
passing out. In ordinary storeroom theaters the central aisle
plan is almost invariably the best. Where it is practicable
to have a center aisle and one at either side, it is a most
excellent plan to use the center aisle exclusively for persons
passing out, the incoming ones being steered into the side
aisles, none being allowed to enter the center aisle. As the
people usually do not come in in big crowds, the side aisles,
where this plan is adopted, may be comparatively narrow.
Where there are long rows of seats unbroken by an aisle, it
is dangerous in case of panic; also it is annoying to patrons,
in that late comers have to crowd past many seats to reach
center seats in the row. In picture theaters, the further the
front row of seats is from the curtain, the better, since when
one is very close to the curtain, all sense of perspective is
lost: moreover, the picture is little more than a blur.

It is better to locate the piano in a pit in the center under
the curtain or stage front, since the piano player then has
a constant view of the picture without effort. This is essen-
tial, if he or she is to produce the best results in following
the film action with music. Carpet all aisles with heavy mat-
ting or linoleum. The sound of people walking on the bare
floor is very annoying to an audience. The curtain should be
at such height, if possible, that the head of a man standing
at the front row of seats will not interfere in the picture.
As regards picture size, there is no rule. It depends on the
house entirely. But it may be said that the picture should,
if possible, be at least ten feet wide. A picture twelve feet
wide is called life size from the fact that in this size there
are a greater percentage of life-size figures than in any other.

From twelve to fourteen feet width usually makes the best
appearing picture. Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not
throw the top of the picture clear up to the ceiling. It does

1S4 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

not look so well as when there is a margin of from six inches
to two feet. After all other cleaning is done for the day,
every seat should be carefully dusted. There is nothing more
annoying to a lady in a light-colored dress than to find her
costume soiled by a dusty theater seat. It amounts to an
outrage.

MUSIC.

Music is a matter of greater importance than many mov-
ing picture theater managers seem to imagine. Get a good
piano player, who can read any music at sight and make him
or her attend strictly to business. Pay a salary which will
justify you in demanding the best work and then see to it
that your player makes good. A piano player who cannot
read music at sight has no rightful place in a moving pic-
ture theater, especially if illustrated songs are run. But the
song is a comparatively small matter. Always and inva-
riably the piano player can help out a film wonderfully if
he or she wants to and knows how. Often and often have
I entered a theater while the film was running and seen
the piano player industriously engaged in talking to a friend,
dividing her attention impartially between the friend and a
wad of gum. He or she would have got busy or been fired
in just one minute had I been managing that house. The
piano player should have a wide range of "know it by heart"
music; should watch the picture closely and play suitable
music, with due attention to producing as many of the
noises as are practical with that instrument. There is no rea-
son, where a drummer cannot be employed, why an auto
horn, a chime bell and a whistle cannot be manipulated by
the piano player. They can easily be attached to the instru-
ment within easy reach, and such things help. A piano player
can do much if he or she wants to and mighty little if he
or she doesn't want to and doesn't have to. Of course you
will have to spend more for good service, but it pays to do it.

Where the house has seating capacity to justify there
should always be a drummer. But get a good one. A good
drummer can perform wonders in adding to the effectiveness
of a film, but a poor one is worse than none. The up-to-
date moving picture theater drummer has contrivances for
imitating almost any sound and he knows how to use them.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 155

too. It may be safely said that any 300 capacity house which
has available capacity business should have a drummer and
piano player. More need not be added except in large
houses. I feel that I cannot impress too strongly on man-
agers the advisability of getting all you can out of the
available music.

BELL WIRING.

Where there is simply the installation of one bell to
consider it is a very simple matter. Test your bell or
buzzer (a "buzzer" is just a bell without the bell part) by
holding the binding posts of a battery against the binding
posts of the bell. If it does not ring either the battery or
bell is not right. If it is a new battery it is pretty sure to be
the bell which is at fault. After testing fasten your bell and
push button in place where you want them to be. Run a
wire from one battery binding post to one side of the push
button. Run a wire from the remaining side of the battery
to one side of the bell and run a wire from the remaining
side of the bell to the remaining side of the push button and
the job is done. Where two batteries are used connect the
zinc of one with the carbon of the other with a short piece of
wire, using the remaining posts for your connections as
above set forth. Where more than two batteries are to be
used for any purpose connect the first two as above and
connect the next and remaining ones the same way. This is
series connection and will raise the voltage.

Run-down dry batteries may be renewed as follows: Re-
move them from the cardboard casing and punch them full
of holes an inch from the top, being careful not to punch into
the carbon and break it; also not to disturb sealing wax
around top. Immerse batteries in solution made of I pound
sal ammoniac to i gallon of water. Leave in solution half
an hour, then remove and stand upside down for an hour,
being careful the solution does not, as it leaks out, connect
the zinc and carbon, for it will then act as a "short" and run
the batteries down again. Wipe dry and replace in cardboard
case and they are ready for use.

Few there seem to be who understand the three wire sys-
tem of wiring bells. This system is the most economical of

156

MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

any in amount of wire used and it contemplates the ringing
of any number of bells from one battery, each bell being
rung by its own push button and no other. Nor will any
push button ring any other bell than its own. The system
IS quite simple and easily understood. Common No. i8
cotton covered bell wire is large enough and good enough
unless the distance from button or battery to bell be excessive,
which is not likely in a theater. If the wires are to be run

•l-^ ., •• /.J- 3 s Pvsh-bKn»y\i.

,. 3 : " "

through very wet or very damp places they should be rubber
covered wires through that space or else be insulated on small
porcelain insulators the same as are electric light wires. To
install such a system get your bells and batteries and test them
all to be sure they are in good working order. Put up the bells
(or buzzers) and push buttons wherever you wish them to b«*
If two batteries are used connect the carbon of one to the
zinc of the other by a short piece of wire. Now get three

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 157

colors of bell wire. The reason for three colors is to avoid
mistakes and confusion and to be able to find any particular
wire anywhere afterwards, without tracing it clear from the
battery or bell. The use of three colors of wire simplifies
matters exceedingly. Suppose you get red, blue and white.
You take one color, say the blue, and run it from one
(either) binding post of the battery, to one (either) binding
post of each bell. You may run separate wires from the
battery binding post to each bell or run one wire reaching
all bells or you may branch off to a bell at any point. Next
take another color (red, for instance) and run from the other
battery binding post to one (either) side of each push button.
You now have one side of the battery connected to one side
of each bell and the other side Oi! the battery connected to
one side of each push button. You next, with the remaining
color (white) wire, connect the remaining side of each push
button with the remaining side of the bell it is to ring, and
the job is done. The blue wire (blue in this case) is called
the common bell wire, the red wire is called the push button
wire and the whites are called the individual wires. It is
these latter wires which determine which bell a button will
ring and you may cause a button to ring a different bell by
simply changing the individual wire to that bell. Fig. 41
shows a plan of this system. In running your wires they
may be, except as before noted, simply stapled to the wood-
work with small staples, but you should never run two wires
under one staple, since if you drive the staple a trifle tight
you may form a short circuit through the iron of the staple.
Then, too, if a wire is in a place where it will swing
a little the insulation is likely to wear through, thus form-
ing a short circuit even though not clamped tightly by the
staple. A short circuit may cause your bell to ring all the
time or not ring at all, according to its location. If on the
two wires leading to the push button the bell will ring con-
tinuously until the battery is worn out. If on the wire
running from bell to battery and the wire running from but-
ton to bell the bell won't ring at all. Several wires may
be run together in a bunch by using wood cleats. An addi-
tional bell or buzzer may be installed at any time as follows:
Test the bell and install it and its push button wherever
you want them to be. Now with a piece of first color wire

158 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

connect one binding post of the bell with the first color wire
already in use wherever you can find it. With a piece of
second color wire connect one side of the push button with
a second color wire wherever you can find one. Understand
you can just tap on to these wires at any point you can
locate one of proper color. Now connect the remaining
side of the button with the remaining side of the bell with
third color wire and the job is done. The rules governing
this system of wiring are as follows: One side of the
battery must be connected with one side of each bell by
first colored wire. The other side of the battery must be
connected to one side of each push button with second color
wire and the remaining side of each button must be connected
with the remaining side of the bell it is to ring with third
color wire.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 159

Location and Management.

SELECTING A THEATER LOCATION.

To one embarking in the moving picture theater business
the first and most important consideration is location. This,
as applied to the city and to the small town, presents two en-
tirely separate and distinct propositions, involving quite differ-
ent problems. The moving picture field has been so well cov-
ered that it is now well-nigh impossible to find a desirable
location where there is no immediate competition. So true
is this that the prospective owner may make up his mind at
the outset that it is necessary to "butt into" a field already
more or less covered, unless he buys out some established house,
and even then he cannot be assured of no competition, since
another house may be put in at any time. But the man
who fears competition, provided there be business available
for two or more houses, or for one and partly enough for
another, is not the right man to enter the nickel theater field.

The first thing to do in selecting a location is to thor-
oughly inform yourself concerning local laws governing thea-
ters, particularly the class of house you propose insteilHng.
You will then be in position to look at store rooms, or plans
for the house you will erect, intelligently, and determine
whether or not any given room can be made to comply with
the law as applying to the class of theater you propose to
install, or whether any given plan is available. The main
points to look after in this connection are exits, stage re-
quirements, aisles, and fireproofing, the latter being of im-
portance in some of the larger cities. To cite cost of failure,
considering the last named item to be in Chicago: suppose
you selected a store that suited you and leased it, but later
discovered it to have non-fireproof walls (only stone or brick
is accepted as fireproof), and there were one or more stories
above the theater room. You would, under the Chicago law,
have to cover the entire surface of both walls and the ceiling
with sheet asbestos, covered with sheet metal, before you

160 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

would be allowed to open. Look after such things closely
or you may be the loser.

Now having thoroughly investigated and posted yourself
as to the law, the next step is to seek an available location.
In considering the matter of location, the first thing is, of
course, a suitable room or a site for building. If a store
room, the first consideration is height of ceiling. If under
thirteen feet, the room should be rejected. Even thirteen
feet is too low, but it may be made to do after a fashion,
particularly if the front end of the floor can be dropped
down into a basement, making a slope. Next comes the
matter of seating capacity, which may easily be figured as
before set forth. If the room is available in these two re-
spects (the writer would consider no room with a capacity
of less than two hundred) and it is found that it can be
made to comply in all respects with local laws, the next
thing is the investigation of available business. If the neigh-
borhood be a very wealthy one, a nickel house will likely draw
no considerable patronage except children, servants and
transient. The ideal location is a densely populated working-
men's residence section, with frontage on a much-traveled
business street. There are many problems to consider when
seeking a city location. The matter of race (nationality)
must be looked after carefully, since some sections may be
peopled almost exclusively by any one of half a dpzen foreign-
speaking nationalities. This, under some conditions, might
prove disastrous. Take the lower class Italians. If any
considerable number of them patronized your house you
would have to look to them entirely for your revenue, since
a house patronized by any number of them will have to
depend on them alone for support. Any considerable num-
ber of negroes will queer a house with all other races; and
there are other races to which you must cater exclusively
or not at all, so that the matter deserves close investigation
when seeking a city nickel theater site.

Straight-laced church neighborhoods have, as a rule, been
found to give scant patronage, no matter how clean and
high-class the program be kept. It does not necessarily fol-
low that success may not be had in such communities, but
the chances are that the patronage will at least be smaller
than it would be in another equally populous neighborhood.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 161

Here, too, is another thing to remember: In a city where
there are many forms of amusement, people will not go far
to visit a nickel theater. Your house must therefore be lo-
cated close to its "base of supplies." Where transient trade
is expected to form any considerable portion of the receipts,
a careful computation should be made of the number passing
per hour and the number of hours they will be passing while
your house is open; also, whether or not the location is such
that the passers-by will be inclined to stop to view a show.
To illustrate the last point: Some time since a man opened
a five-cent theater in the first block north of the Clark Street
Bridge, Chicago. I told him at the time the house would
be a failure, basing my prophecy on the following: When
Clark street leaves the bridge (viaduct) on the north, it
slopes down for one block to Kinzie street, the street being
lined with a few cheap stores and dealers in steam-heating
supplies. There are practically no nearby residences (flats),
and the hotels, of which several are close by, and rooming
houses are practically entirely occupied by the cheaper class
theatrical people. The trade must therefore be all transient.
People who start up that incline do so with intent to cross
the river to the loop district, and, having a definite object in
view, they will not stop by the way to see a nickel show.
Coming north, the same, reversed, is true. The house was
a flat failure. I cite this instance to show you that such
things must be considered in seeking city locations, unless
one wishes to deliberately invite failure.

Competition in a city; it is hard to say just when a given
location, if it be densely populated, is fully covered. In one
place on North Clark street, Chicago, there are six houses,
all doing a land office business, within three blocks. People
often start in at one end and go to all of them. It forms
quite a nickel theater center and, as a matter of fact, the
congestion of theaters at this point actually draws people, to
some extent, from quite a distance. They will come and
spend an entire evening in these houses. I do not feel
that any advice of value can be given in this respect.
If there are people enough and you put in as good or a
better house than the other ones and give as good or a
better show, there is no reason why you will not get your
share of the business, and if your show is the best you will
get the most of it, too.

162 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

SELECTING A SMALL TOWN LOCATION.

The selection of a small town location is quite a different
proposition from the foregoing and presents a different set
of problems. Of course, what has been said concerning the
selection of a store room for remodeling into a theater
applies equally in a city or small town. It is the matter of
possible patronage which presents the difference. No rule
can possibly be laid down as to the size of town capable of
supplying the necessary patronage to make the venture a
paying one. Theaters have been installed in villages of less
than one thousand and have been successful in a small way.
In such cases, however, it is usually a strictly family affair,
no help at all being hired. The only expense of amount is
film service, rent and light. These articles are not designed
to deal with conditions of this sort, however. In figuring
the matter of expense for a small town theater the items
^nay be estimated about as follows: Operator, $15.00 per
week; ticket seller and ticket taker, $5.00 to $6.00 each;
piano-player — singer, $15.00; service, with express charges,
$30.00 to $40.00; light, $6.00; rent, $10.00; or a total of about
$100.00 per week. This will be about minimum if you pro-
pose to give a really acceptable show. Of course, I well
know that many small town theaters get an operator for as
little as $10.00, a piano-player— singer for $12.00, and service
for $15.00 (even less, in some cases), but take my word,
they don't and can't put on a show worth seeing. Ninety
dollars per week may be taken as a minimum for putting on
a creditable show in a small town where rents are com-
paratively low. This means 1,800 paid admissions to meet
the expense account alone. It is therefore up to you, Mr.
Prospective Investor, to carefully and intelligently "size up"
conditions and decide that you can see the ninety coming
back to you each week, bringing with it something over
and above for your own pocket.

To accomplish this "sizing up," several things must be
carefully considered. First and foremost, what are the pres-
ent amusements of the people? Have they been accustomed
to purchasing their amusement, or will you have to educate
them to do it? Is the community a straight-laced one,
where there will b'e a howl from the pulpit and from the
little 2 by 4 weekly paper every time the exchange sends

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 163

you an even mildly sensational film? You must remember
that in small communities the preachers and editors are men
of small caliber, usually, but possessed with an exaggerated
idea of their importance as guardians of the public morals.
They may even welcome the chance, even though a slim one,
of getting into the local limelight by jumping on you. This
will not ruin you, but "every little bit helps," and it is well
to look closely at even such matters. Consider carefully
what the source of public income is. If a large percentage
of the workmen are factory employees with semi-monthly or
monthly paydays, you are likely to do a rushing business
around payday and nothing between times. Investigate as
to whether or no the people, as a rule, retire early. If so,
it will operate to congest the business into a short space of
time, thus requiring a larger seating capacity than if it spread
out an hour or two longer. Is the town compact or widely
scattered? In bad weather people will not go far to a nickel
show, therefore this is a point of considerable importance
under some circumstances. Of course, in sizing up a loca-
tion you must use your own good sense and judgment.
Neither I nor anyone else can give directions which will
take the place of your own intelligence. All I can do is
point out a few of the more important items bearing on the
subject, or which may under some conditions bear on it.
But each individual case will be different from every other
one, and a man must use his brains in such matters. Study
all conditions closely. Decide what is the very least clear
profit you would be satisfied with and then estimate as closely
as possible whether or not your prospective patronage will
be sufficient to produce it after meeting the expense bill.
Don't let your wishes warp your intelligence.

EMPLOYEES.

A cheap or poor operator is dear at any money. Get a
good operator and see to it that he produces the results.
Remember, however, that the peaple of old could not make
trick without straw. Neither can an operator produce re-
sults unless h-e has the equipment to produce them with. No
matter how small the house, there should be at least one
ushef, and he should be well and neatly dressed at all times.
The ticket taker should also be neatly dressed, in a uniform,

164 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

if possible. The writer has in hundreds of instances seen a
ticket taker in his shirt-sleeves, unkempt, and even with a
cigar or cigarette in his mouth. Such a spectacle would
convey the impression to my mind that the show was likely
to be as slouchy as the man in the door. Others, I think,
would have the same idea and pass the house by. The ticket
seller should preferably be a young lady of good appear-
ance, minus the usual wad of gum. She must know how to
make change accurately and quickly, of course.

ADVERTISING.

It pays to advertise. But the best methods of advertising
a moving picture show is a subject on which there is wide
diversity of opinion. The neat colored posters which may
now be had with nearly all films at low cost are excellent
for the arcade. Neat showcards announcing the program
are also excellent arcade advertisements. In small towns it
is more than likely that the papers can be induced to give
space to some film synopsis matter, especially if an advertise-
ment be carried by the house. A common arrangement is to
contract for a given space by the month or week, the pub-
lisher agreeing to give an equal amount of space to notes of
the show in his reading matter. Giving of souvenirs is not,
as a rule, good practice. It savors too much of hiring people
to come to your show, paying them with some compara-
tively worthless trinket that is more than likely thrown away.
Spend the souvenir money in improving your program, is
my advice. If you have a competitor and you start giving
"souvenirs," he will follow suit immediately, and neither of
you are the gainer, but both lose just that much.

One good, and perhaps the best, advertising scheme is to
have a genuine feature film occasionally and advertise it to
the limit. The people your advertising draws to see that
film will have their attention effectively drawn to the house,
and if they see a good show they will return to see other
films. Another excellent scheme is to secure some good
patriotic film and have a children's day on Saturday. Secure
the school principal to lecture on the subject, if possible,
and admit the youngsters at two or three cents on that oc-
casion. Have a good comedy film, being careful that it is
strictly "clean." The children will tell their parents all

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 165

about it and the talk will advertise your house, of course.
To do this properly, however, the school teachers should
be interested. In fact, there are many forms of advertising
possible to the man who uses his brains and thinks. You
must be a schemer to make the best success in the show
business. The man who goes into the moving picture busi-
ness thinking it is play, that the money will just roll in with-
out effort on his part, had better try something else. The
show business, moving picture or otherwise, requires hard
work, and lots of it. Of course, in its infancy, while moving
pictures were a curiosity, almost anyone could make big
money with almost any old show at all, and without much
effort. But, take my word, those days are past and gone
— and they aren't coming back, either. There is still money
in the business, and good money, too, for the man of ability,
energy and eternal push.

FILM SERVICE.

In the matter of service you must remember that a flowery
advertisement, full of promises, does not necessarily imply
the best service. It rather indicates that the advertiser has
in his employ an excellent ad. -writer. 'There is just one
really business-like, intelligent way of buying film service.
By subscribing to the Moving Picture World and keeping
its copies all on file you will be enabled to not only see at
a glance just what each new film is — a synopsis of its action
— but also see its exact date of release. Now decide just
what limit you wish to place on the age of films sent you
and then write to several exchanges, asking for quotations
on that service. To illustrate: Suppose you decide you
want no films older than fifteen days. You write, asking for
quotations on the number of reels you want per week,
changed so often, no subject to be more than fifteen days
old. You are now in position to check up and get exactly
what you pay for. If you think some subject is older thaft
your contract calls for, all you have to do is glance at its
date of release in the files of the paper. If you use two reels
you can contract for one reel with ten or fifteen-day limit,
and one twenty, thirty, forty or sixty-day limit. The point,
is, you place yourself in position to absolutely demand and
get what you pay for. You should demand a clause in the

166 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

agreement that any subject over age shall be paid for at
half price or be not paid for at all. This is the sensible,
business-like way of purchasing film service. It absolutely
eliminates all disputes. The terms "first run," "second run"
and "third run," as now used, depend largely on the elas-
ticity of the exchange manager's conscience. "Commercial
run" means nothing at all — or, rather, it means anything the
exchange thinks it can work oflf on you. Of course, ex-
changes will ridicule this, but it is cold, hard facts, never-
theless, as they well know. Keep all film release dates care-
fully on file, buy your service with age limit, and you can't
be buncoed. In the matter of carbons, nearly one-half may
be saved by purchasing in 1,000 lots.

CHANGES.

It is the fashion to change films every day, but to the
writer's mind this is not always good practice. Of course,
whether it is or not will depend to a considerable extent on
circumstances. As a rule, however, taking cost into con-
sideration, I do not believe it pays, especially if film must
be shipped a considerable distance. It is seldom that any
considerable portion of the community will see the picture
in one day. If it be a good picture and it is retained two or
three days it will advertise itself and thus bring added patron-
age. I am firmly convinced that, as a general proposition,
it does not pay to change films more than three times a
week. Some managers are so extreme in the matter of
changes that they demand a daily change of as much as
three reels. In the writer's humble opinion this is sheer
nonsense. It works a hardship on the exchange and whether
it gains the house any additional business is very question-
able— very questionable, indeed. "But," replies the change-
mad manager, "I have steady patrons who come every day
and must have different pictures or I lose them." Granted!
But have you enough of them to make up for the added cost
of such service? I very much doubt it. I am firmly con-
vinced that the manager who gives three changes a week
will have more clear profit on the week's business than the
one who pays for daily change. Also many managers demand
a daily change of song slides. They also demand all new
stuff. Of course, they don't get it, since there is not enough

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 167

produced to meet such a demand. In the writer's judgment
the people better enjoy a song they know, provided it be not
something that has been "sung to death" quite recently.
Many of the new songs are very poor — some of them very
poor indeed. The audience naturally does not care for them
and would, I am sure, enjoy an older, better song far more.
A good song, with good slides, may be run two or three
days with better results than daily change and take what
you get.

TICKETS.

Tickets may be had very cheap of any supply house or
film exchange. The little cardboard is in the hands of the
patron but a moment and the cheap ticket is as good as the
more costly ones. All tickets should be numbered and you
should have a supply of several colors, changing color every
day. Children, particularly boys, will slip past the door-
keeper occasionally and come back next evening with the
ticket they thus saved. Only tickets of the day's color should
be honored. Many houses have the name of the theater
printed on the ticket. Unless you order in large enough
quantities to have this done without extra expense, little is
gained by it. All tickets should be numbered consecutively
so that by taking the number of the first, and the last ticket
sold the day's receipts are quickly computed. Tickets with
stay-over coupons may be had. They are a double ticket and
the patron coming in late retains the coupon, which entitles
him to remain for the next show. The ushers take up these
coupons during intermission. They come in rolls the same
as ordinary tickets, but the roll is double the thickness.
These tickets, provided your exchange does not handle them,
may be had of the Selig Polyscope Company, Chicago. They
are numbered consecutively. The ticket taker takes up the
whole ticket, coupon and all, until the show starts, after
which patron retains the coupon. Occasionally count the
day's tickets and see if they tally with sales. Dishonest
ticket takers may hold out tickets and sell them. Never
allow your ticket taker the privilege of passing people in
at his discretion. If you want anyone to have free admit-
tance, give him a written pass. If allowed this privilege,
ticket takers will very frequently abuse it- Always provide

168 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

a ticket box, of which no one but the manager should have
the key. Oblige ticket taker to deposit all tickets therein as
soon as received. The manager himself should personally
burn all tickets in the box after the show each day. Never
delegate this job to anyone else. Maybe they will burn them
all and maybe their friends will be generously supplied with
tickets. You can't always sometimes tell.

VAUDEVILLE.

Never tolerate any "monkey business" by actors while on
the stage. Make them attend strictly to business. Allow no
smiling at or talking to someone in the wings under any cir-
cumstances. Never allow an actor to "roast" the audience.
Also do not allow an audience, or the hoodlum element
therein, to roast an actor or guy him or her. Provide actors
with reasonable dressing-room conveniences and treat them
right. On the other hand, impress on their minds the fact
that they are there to work and that nothing less than the
best they have will go. Vaudeville acts may be had from
$25.00 per week for a single or $50.00 for a double, to as
high as you want to go. Every large city has booking
agencies from which you may be supplied. Consult the col-
umns of the various theatrical papers for their advertise-
ments, or write your exchange. Acts vary in length from,
usually, ten to twenty minutes. As a rule, the house is
obliged to stand traveling expenses one way. By traveling
expenses I mean railway fare only. AH actors should be
required to be at the theater one-half hour before their turn
is due to go on. If you have vaudeville you absolutely must
have a piano player who can read at sight, not only printed
music but hand-written stuflE as well. For vaudeville you
must have a spotlight and should have color eflfects.

TRAVELOGUES AND OTHER ILLUSTRATED
LECTURES.

The illustrated lecture, or travelogue, is a nice thing pro-
vided it be properly put on. The slides must be clean and
well handled. Not to exceed 18 amperes of current should
be used on lecture slides, since they are likely to remain in
the light several minutes. To cut down the current an extra

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 169

rheostat may be temporarily connected in series. A dis-
solver is almost indispensable to the illustrated lecture, though
the carrier described at Fig. 34 may be used with fairly good
results. The lecturer absolutely must speak slowly and dis-
tinctly. Reading the lecture impairs the effect very much.
Naturally four-fifths of the effect as a whole depends on the
lecturer himself, or herself. The sing-song talker, or the
talker who speaks so fast or so low that the words cannot
be followed except by an effort, spoils it all. Properly done,
the illustrated lecture is excellent. Wrongly done, it rs
worse than nothing at all.

HINTS TO OPERATORS.

Keep your eyes on the screen.

Never imagine that you know it all.

Do not read while turning the crank.

Keep your oily rags in a spring top can.

Do not experiment after the show has started.

Keep your film in a metal box when not in use.

Allow no one in the booth during a performance.

Clean house in the "coop" once a week at least.

There is no use for a match in any operating room.

You are not a clean workman if you have a dirty machine.

Every moving picture booth is a little problem in acoustics.

Whatever the operator says can be heard all over the house.

Some of his words were better left unsaid, and songs
unsung.

The real operator knows a week ahead when the break-
down is coming.

He examines his machine every morning to see where it
is wearing.

When the crank stops the lamp house starts (to get out
of the way).

170 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

Managers' and Operators'
Trouble Department.

Every week tlie Movinq: Picture World devotes three or
more pages to the solution of problems that confront the
operator and theater manager. The following are selected
at random to give an idea of the usefulness and nopularity of
this department in which every reader of the World is in-
vited to participate.

Setting Carbons, Sprocket Holes Show. — Charlestown. W.
Va.. writes saying that the snrocket holes show on right-hand
side of picture at times. Says machine is a new one and
service is 20 to 30-dav stuff. Asks whv blue spot shows in
renter of picture and if setting carbons diflFerent would reduce
the noise. Is working on A. C. iio-volt 60-cycle current,
using a transformer.

With a narrow, steel straightedge see if your top and in-
termittent snrockets and gate idlers are all in line with the
anerture. That is to say, see that none of them set to one
side in relation to the aoerture. Also see if the tension
springs bear squarely on the tracks. Possiblv one spring sets
to one side and occasionally pushes the film over a trifle.
Sometimes the showing of sprocket holes is the fault of the
camera that took the orieinal picture or the printing ma-
chine that made the oositive. Rtit this onlv occurs semi-
occasionally, whereas T understand your trouble hanncns nuite
frequentlv. To test the alignment make a steel straight-
ede^e half an inch or so wide. An old corset steel will do
if it is perfectly straight on one edge. Test it on a square
or machinist's rule. If your sprockets or idlers are out of
line, line them up. If your tension springs don't bear snuarely
on the tracks make them do so. As regards the spot in vour
curtain, it may be due to anv one of several thines. First
try ^moving your lamphouse backwards and forwards as far
as it will go. If that don[t take it out see to it that the
tip of your lower carbon isn't burning up in front of the
crater on the upner carbon; if it is then the spot is doubtless
merely^ the shadow caused bv the tip of the lower carbon
which is set too far ahead. Move it back iust a trifle. If this
is not the cause then try two 7V2-inch condensing lenses. In
vour sketch the carbons are set all right but the lamp sets
straight up and down. If vou are actually using it that way
and get good light from it you can do more than I could.

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 171

Angle your lamp exactly the same as for D. C. Possibly you
might reduce the noise by a diflferent carbon set, but it would
be at the expense of light. I would recommend you to get
a copy of The Moving Picture World of August 7, 1909. in
which is contained (page 187) illustrations of different carbon
sets, both A. C. and D. C, price 10 cents.

* * *

Size of Picture. — Billings, Mont., writes asking what size
of picture would be advisable in a small house, with 50-foot
throw; also whether large or small picture has any effect on
the flickering.

Regarding the size of picture, I would have to know just
what you mean by a small house. I may say, however, that
a ID by 12 picture is usually accepted as life size, from the
fact that more figures appear life size than in any other size
picture projected. It is very suitable for a small house. The
size of the picture makes no difference as regards the amount
of flickering. This is about the only advice I can give you
without knowing the exact size of house, height of ceiling, etc.

Size of Picture, etc. — California (name suppressed) writes:
"What size picture should I throw at 84 feet and what focal
length condenser and projection lens should I have? How
much current should I use (A. C.) to get good results at
this distance? How may I determine the exact current flow?

I cannot answer your query except in this way: The size
picture you should project does not depend at all on the
length of throw. It depends on the size of your house, etc.
Decide what size picture you want and then I'll tell you
the size lenses necessary to give it, but remember that, while
the throw has practically nothing at all to do with the pict-
ure's brilliancy, its size has and the larger you make your
picture the more current you must use to secure a given
curtain brilliancy. You have a certain amount of light, you
understand, and when you increase the size of your picture
you spread that light around over more surface. Do you
see the point? A picture 12x14 has more than twice the
number of square feet surface to illustrate than has one 8x 10.
You must therefore have twice the light to secure the same
brilliancy to each square foot — do you see the point? You
cannot determine the exact number of amperes used without
a reliable ammeter. You know approximately the number
vour rheostat or transformer is supposed to give, however.
The manufacturer carefully computes the amount of resist-
ance necessary to pass a given current on a given voltage
and builts his rheostat or transformer accordingly.^ You
may compute the horse-power of your arc by multiplying the
voltage by the number of amperes flowing, which gives watts.
Seven hundred and forty-six watts equals one horse-power.

172 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

Shaft Level— Lenses.— New York City, N. Y., asks: "(i) I
get a 12 X 14-foot picture at 55 feet. What size lens have I
and what focal length condensing lenses should I have?
(2) How can I measure to see if intermittent shaft of Pow-
ers No. 5 is level? (3) Can a flag be projected on the screen
as if it were waving by means of some mechanical device
or rnust one have a film?"

(i) Multiply throw in feet by exact width of aperture and
divide the result by width of picture in feet. Result will be
equivalent focus of lens. In your case it is about a four-inch
lens and you should have two 7^-inch condensing lenses.
(2) The cam shaft of Powers No. 5 is always level, provided
the bushings are not worn unevenly. Measure from center
of cam shaft at one end to center of star (intermittent) shaft.
Then measure the same at other end and if the shafts are
the same distance apart at both ends the intermittent (star)

shaft is level. (4) No. A film is necessary.

* * *

Ghost Trouble.— Kansas (name suppressed by request),
asks the cause of the dark spot in the center of his curtain.
Says he has tried moving lamp backward and forward as
well as the whole laniphouse

I think, neighbor, you probably have your lower carbon
just a little too far in advance of the upper one. This causes
the lower tip to burn so that it interferes with the light, caus-
ing a shadow on the curtain.

* * *

Curtain Coating. — Minneapolis, Minn., asks what I con-
sider the best water-color coating for a plaster curtain.

The best thing I know of is English whiting rnixed with
water and fish glue, to which has been added a little ultra-
marine blue, enough so that it looks a trifle blue in the
pail, but be careful not to get too much. There should be
enough glue to prevent the coating from rubbing off easily.
English whiting may be had of any wholesale drug store at
about 10 cents per pound, and five pounds is more than

ample for any curtain.

* * *

Inside Decoration. — Mt. Clemens, Mich., asks for decor-
ative scheme for his theater. Sends sketch and says it seats
430 people. Has 18 inch stucco moulding at top and walls
are flat.

I think, Mt. Clemens, unless you were to employ a high
class decorator, you would be able to procure a much rnore
satisfactory effect bv the use of papers than by use of paints.
It is quite possible to work out some really beautiful effects
in paper, and effects which by no manner of means look
cheap. Whether you use paint or paper, however, use bur-
lap for the dado, either of shade to correspond to walls or
plain burlap to be painted after it is put on. No matter

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 173

whether paint or paper is used, block out both ceiling and
walls in panels. If paint is used you may secure, from any
decorator, stencils suitable to properly decorate the bor-
ders of the panels. If paper is used there are many panel
decorations possible. As to the color scheme, there are
many, but a combination of dark red dado, russet or dove
colored walls, with panels of a lighter shade and ceilin"' some
light, complimentary color will look well as also will dark
green dado, lighter green walls with very light yellow panels
(greenish yellow) and ceiling same as panels will look well.
The stucco moulding may be the same as the walls or panels
and picked out in bronze paint.

Measuring Lenses. — Franklin, La., asks which end of a
projection lens should be next the light and which next the
wall when measuring focal length? Also asks if measurement
should be from point midway of the lens to the wall.

In measuring projection lenses, stereo or moving picture,
I usually hold the lens as it would be in the machine, were
the wall the lamphouse and the window the curtain. In other
words, with the front end of lens next the window or source
of light, and with back end towards the wall. Projection
lenses are made up of two sets of lenses mounted in a tube
at a distance from each other varying with the focal length
of the lens. The longer the focal length the greater will be
the distance between the two lenses. The first thing I do
when I measure a lens for equivalent focus is to mark on
the outer surface of the lens tube, or jacket, the point ex-
actly half way between the two lenses. When I have focused
the image of the window, or lamp filament (if I use a lamp
as source of light), I measure from this mark for "equivalent
focus" or from the back side of lens nearest wall to the wall
for "back" focus. Dealers and exchanges usually use the
"back" focus, while lens manufacturers generally use the
"equivalent" focus. In ordering lenses of a given focal
length always state whether you refer to "back" or "equiva-
lent" focus. The diiiference between the back and equivalent
focus of any lens will be the back focus plus half the dis-
tance between the front and back lenses.

Current Strength. — Nashville, Tenn, asks: "(i) What is
best capacity for arc on direct current for long throw on
moving picture work? (2) Assuming that from a light stand-
point 60 amperes at 50 volts is satisfactory, would there be
danger of the film catching fire due to the intense heat of
such an arc, remembering that D. C. would develop greater
heat than A. C? (3) Is it possible to say how many seconds
it would require to set film on fire from heat of a 60-ampere,
50-volt arc?"

(i) It takes no jnore current to project a given size picture

174 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

roo feet than it does fifty. As I have previously explained,
it is the size of the picture that determines the necessary
light strength to produce a given brilliancy and not the dis-
tance the picture is proiected. (2) There is no use "assum-
ing" that a 60-ampere D. C. arc would be satisfactory, for
it would not. I have known of sixty amperes being used,
but I have seen no appreciable advantage in increased cur-
rent strength after passing the fifty ampere mark. You can-
not handle the arc to advantage with current exceeding fifty
amperes — or at least that has been my experience. There
would be no danger so long as the film is kept mov-
ing. I would not care to risk less than forty feet per
minute on that kind of light, however. (3) One-half
second would probably be sufficient. It would depend
to some extent on how small a spot you had. The smaller
the greater amount of heat, of course.

* * *

Carbons Needle. — Sapulpa, Okla.. writes setting forth his
troubles as follows: "My carbons burn back from the point,
sometimes as much as an inch or two. There are two other
houses here and we all use current from the same gener-
ator. One of these houses and myself are using compens-
arcs and the other fellow has a rheostat for resistance. They
both seem to be using more current than I do vet their
carbons burn fine. The same trouble has existed in this
house for a long time — long before I became its ooerator.
Can you suggest a remedy or tell me what is wrong?"

T have not quoted all this letter, but sufficient to show
what Sapulpa is up against. By "burning his carbons back,"
Sapulpa undoubtedly means what is called "needling." That
is to say, his carbons burn to a long, slim point. This^ is
caused by undue heating in the carbon, the effect of which
is to burn out the binder and allow the carbon to drop away
(disintegrate) without being consumed (volatilized) in the
arc. Sapulpa will find a heap of fine, black carbon in the
bottom of his lamphouse just under the carbons. Needling
may indicate several things, or any one of several, rather.
You may be using carbons which are too soft. You may be
using carbons of poor quality. It may be that your trans-
former (Compensarc) is giving an excess of current, some
error having been made in its constniction (windings). I
would suggest that you have the electric light company test
your current flow with an ammeter, if possible. But first
proceed as follows: With a file clean out the inside of your
carbon arms thoroughly so that the carbon will make good
electrical contact with the arms. Get a few of the other
fellow's carbons and put them in your lamp for a trial.
Let the other fellow try some of your carbons. Thus you
will determine whether or no the fault is in the carbons
themselves. If not, then it is pretty near a cinch that you

FOR MANAGERS AND OPERATORS 175

are getting too much current. I assume that you are using
^^ cored carbons, of course. Because the other fellow seems
to be drawing more current than you it does not follow
that it is the fact. Remember this: needling is caused by
poor binder in the carbon or else by excessive heat in the
carbons. The first is an easily discoverable fault, since one
has but to try other carbons. The latter can be found by
searching for the cause of the heating.

* * *

Film Buckles or Bad Lens. — Troy, Ohio, says: "We notice,
especially when any printing appears, that the outside of
picture appears plain, whereas its center is out of focus. In
printed matter the central letters appear confused."

Taking into consideration the machine you have, I would
almost swear your trouble lies in the projection lens. In
other words, you have a poor lens. If there is another house
in your town try to borrow their lens long enough to test it
on your machine and if the trouble disappears with its use
the case is proven. Otherwise have your film exchange send
you a lens to try out. It is also possible the trouble lies in
your aperture plate or tension springs. If tracks are worn
on aperture plate or if one or both tension springs set too
far in or out (do not bear squarely on tracks) it will prob-
ably cause the film to cup out or in a trifle as it passes the
aperture and this would produce exactly the condition you
describe. Remedy is a new aperture plate or set springs
right, as the case may be. I, for certain reasons, believe, how-
ever, the fault lies in your lens. Cheap projection lenses do

not have a flat field.

* * *

Dirty Sprockets. — St. Louis, Mo., writes: "Does or does not
the dirt which gradually collects on the face, or rim, of the
sprockets do any harm. Can you tell me some quick, easy
method of removing same. I clean ofi the face of all my
sprockets every day before the first show. The operator of
a nearby house ridicules me for it and calls me a 'grand-
mother.' What do you think about it?"

I think the operator of the nearby house simply makes a
display of his ignorance. Certainly the dirt does harm. It
most decidedly makes the film jump if it is on the inter-
mittent sprocket and helps along any inclination the film
may have to climb the teeth of the other sprockets if it is on
them. The best, easiest and quickest method of cleaning the
sprockets is by brushing them with a stiff bristled toothbrush.
Every operating room should have a toothbrush for this
purpose. In this connection let me again say that the whole
machine should be kept scrupulously clean. A dirty, oil-
covered machine infers a sloppy workman. A sloppy work-
man in turn infers almost anything else than a first class
show.

176 MOTION PICTURE HANDBOOK

Setting Shutters. — New York City, N. Y., writes asking
that I give illustrated instructions for setting the shutter
of Power's No. 5, Power's No. 6, Edison one and Edison two
pin machines and the Motiograph.

I hardly think this is feasible or even desirable. There
are so many different models of the various machines,
mostly with a somewhat diliferent shutter for each model,
that that one thing would render such instructions of slight
value. I would much rather try to get the operators to
understand the underlying principle of the shutter and they
would then be able to set any shutter with very little trouble.
It must be understood that the office of the shutter is to
cut off the light while the intermittent sprocket is in motion.
That is what the shutter is for and it is for nothing else
under the sun. The wide blade is always the one that
does the business, the narrow blade (or blades, where shut-
ter is in two pieces, as in the Motiograph) being merely
to help to eliminate the flicker. The narrow blade is dis-
regarded utterly in setting any shutter. Now, in order that
the shutter cut as small a percentage of the light as is
practical without developing a "travel ghost" (white streaks
shooting up or down frOm white objects in the picture or
from letters in a title), the shutter is made narrow enough
so that it does not quite cover the aperture during all the
time the film is in motion. It has been found that although
the film may start to move while the aperture is still open
about one-fourth (I speak of all shutters except the double
wing variety like the Motiograph now) there is no evil
effect. This is called making the shutter "late." But, on the
other hand, however, it is usually necessary that the shutter
cover the entire aperture until the film has stopped moving.
In other words, while it is possible to allow some leeway
at the beginning of the movement, none is permissible at the
last end. One thing I must mention, viz.: where the shtit-
ter does not travel with the frameup carriage the frameup
should alwavs be set midway of its travel before setting the
shutter. With the Motiograph, if you have the two wings
just barely come together in exactly the center of the
aperture just as the intermittent sprocket starts to mov«
you will be all right. A'-- to the outside shutters (shutter*
in front of the lens, such as the Power's No. 6), they art
easier than easy. Just loosen the screws which hold it un
til it will slip under slight pressure. Now put in a film an*^
run a couple of feet, stop and slip the shutter a trifle, rur
some more, slip the shutter a little more and so on until
you get it exactly right. You can tell when it is just right
by framing up a little past the lower dividing line and a little
down past the upper dividing line. If the dark dividing lines
between the pictures look all right and not streaked and
your picture looks O. K., too, you have it just right.

BAUSCH & LOMB

PROJECTION

AND

CONDENSING LENSES

SEND US YOUR SPECIFICATIONS
AND WE WILL QUOTE PRICES

Projection Lens booklet containing descriptive
price list of our regular line sent on request.

Bausch & Lomb Optical Co. /^^

Rochester, N. Y. '<^''™'

THE LANG REWINDER

(PATENTED)

STANDARD THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

For Sale bx all Leading
FILM EXCHANGES

The Lang Manufacturing Co.

Olean, New YorK - - - U. S. A..

177

178

EDISON

Projecting Kinetoscope

UNDERWRITER'S MODEL TYPE '' B "

The Perfect Machine

In a Class by Itself

Beats Them All In Competitive

Demonstration

Highest Efficiency Combined With

Durability

Absolutely Flickerless, Steady and

Brilliant Pictures

Minimum Cost for Repairs

Simplicity of Operation

Artistic Appearance

SEND FOR DESCRIPTIVE CATALOG

EDISON MANUFACTIRING CO.

n Lakeside Ave., ORANGE, N. J. 90 Wabash Ave., CHICAGO

179

-iiiirii "r^-

"Electra"

•TRADE MARK'

(PINK LABEL)

'Uk The standard high-
grade carbons for mov-
ing picture projection,
gives a steady, white, brilliant light, economy
of current and longer life than any carbon on
the market, and can be used successfully with
any type of current saver.

"EXCELLO"

Metal Vein Carbons

produce a much
higher candle power
with less loss in volt-
age than any other
foreign or domestic
make of flaming car-
bons.

A trial will convince
you. Suitable for all
types of flaming arc lamps.

HUGO REISINGER

11 BROADWAY

NEW YORK

SOIvE IMPORTER FOR UNITED STATES, CANADA and MEXICO

180

MAB»«'

This bell on film or on machine
Marks highest grade wherever seen.

181

THE IMPROVED

Motio^raph

No. 1 A. Model 1910

Motion Picture Machine

H'i-.?.B IS BY LONG ODDS THE BEST

■ MACHINE MADE.

I It Projects

^^^ The MOST BRILLIANT PICTURES

^^^ ROCK STEADY PICTURES

FLICKERLESS PICTURES
It has a PATENTED DOUBLE CONE SHUTTER
that produces pictnrcs which for brilliancy, smoothness and steadiness
CANNOT BE APPROACHED BY ANY OTHER TYPE.
It is patented. No other machine has it.
It Is a wonderful improvement over other makes. The MOTIO-
GKAPH LOOKS DIFFERENT. IT IS DIFFERENT AND THE
PICTURES IT PHO.TECTS .\RE DFCIDRDLY DIFFERENT.

It is Simple, Rigid, Artistic and Durable, and projects a picture
that is ASTONISIIINGTA' BETTER tlian by other machines.
THE VALUE OF A MOTION PICTURE SHOW IS ALL IN THE
PICTURES.
It's the finality of the pictures that bring the continued and
increased patronage, and the more perfect they are, the more they
are appreciated, while poor quality in the pictures will quickly ruin
a show business.

The Greatest Success in this business may be attained only by
the use of the BE.ST M.\CH1NE that money will buy.

THAT'S THE MOTIOGRAPH

IF YOU NEED A MACHINE, you can't afford to consider any
otiier. The Mntiojrrapli doesn't cost -any more money than other
machines, but it's wortli many times the value of any of them,
and will be found a bis money saver, as well as a his money earner.

The Motiosraph is dosiffned especially for tlie ITE.WY CONSTANT
CRIND and the oxactinjr work of the MOTION PICTITRB THEATER.

The First Motiograph has been runnins THREE YEARS. 20
SHOWS PER DAY. and owner says PRACTICALLY GOOD AS NEW.
Motiofrraplis need little attention except oilin?.

IT'S EXTREMELY SIMPLE AND PARTS EASY TO GET AT.
With only a screwdriver, almost strip It and assemble In ten minutes.

FOR DURABILITY the Motiosraph is FAR AHEAD of other
machines and WE CAN PROVE IT by What Users Say.

Read "what users say" and .von will be convinced.

We GIT.\RANTER that the Motiopraph will do what we say it will.

QUALITY WINS. Discard yoi.r old machine, get a MOTIOGRAPH
and SEE YOUR BUSINESS GROW.

IT'S A WONDERFUL JfACHINE. astonishingly tetter than others.

Write for Catalog and particulars.

Manufactured and .Tobbed bv

ENTERPRISE OPTICAL MFG. CO.

564-572 W, Randolph St., CHICAGO, U. S. A.

European Agrent

J. F. BROCKLISS LONDON, PARIS and BERLIN

For Sale by all Progressive Dealers.

182

PATHE

Professional
Model

FLICKERLESS :: STEADY
REQUIRES NO REPAIRS

Built Entirely in Europe

SUPERIOR WORKMANSHIP
:: :: BEST MATERIAL :: ::

The U. S. Government

USED BY ^' ^' ^^"^®****P«
William Hammerstein

■ All Leading Theatres

THIS IS THE TRUE TEST

Gall and See the Machine in Operation

PATHE FRERES

NEW YORK: CHICAGO:

41 West 23(h Street 35 Randolph Street

183

Power's Cameragraph

= No. 6 =

Unqualifiedly the best Moving
Picture Machine ever made

Simple,

Easy

Running,

Durable,

Quiet,

Steady,

Flickerless

Guaranteed free of repairs for one year.

The only machine sold under such a
guarantee.

Manufactured by (he

NICHOLAS POWER COMPANY

115 Nassau Street
New York

184

The "STANDARD

THE MACHINE THAT GIVES RESULTS

FIREPROOF— FLICKERLESS

Only Machine Approved by the New York

Board of Fire Underwriters Where

Motor is Used

WRITE FOR ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE. DEPT. H.B.

MANUFACTURED BY THE

American Moving Picture Machine Co.

101 Beekman Street : : New York

Licensed by the Motion Picture Patents Company

185

Managers and Operators

You Want to Know Each Week the

Synopses of Licensed
Films.

Synopses of Independ-
ent Films.

Release Dates of Li-
censed Films.

Release Dates of In-
dependent Films.

You Should Read Each Week

Answers to Operators'
Questions.

Timely Articles on
Film Manufactur-
ing and Selling.

Tlieatre Equipment,
Theatre Manage-
ment, Theatre
Construction, Pro-
jection, etc., etc.

Advertisements of the
Leading Film Man-
ufacturers,Machine
Manufacturers,
Manufacturers of
Electrical Equip-
ment and Apparat-
us,Theatre Seating,
Carbons and all the
leading firm$ in
the moving picture
trade.

EVERY WEEK, ONLY $2.00 PER YEAR
Canada and Foreign Countries, $2.50

THE

Moving Picture World

125 EAST 23d STREET

NEW YORK CITY

186

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Full text of "Motion picture handbook; a guide for managers and operators of motion picture theatres"

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