movie operator would be glad to pay the addi- tional few cents for this security.-M. K. H., Chicago. Most film sent in for processing is received third-class mail: Most film is returned in the same manner. And only very, very, rarely does it go astray. Even then the fault but seldom can be laid at a post office door. Gen- erally, the difficulty can be traced to an incorrect interpretation by a proc- essing station worker of a none-too- legible return name or address on the original film carton. Such as, for example, the one reproduced below. Please Print Plainly EASY ON THE EYES times as great as the amount of Pho- Dear Sir: toflood light needed for an indoor exposure even at You can Most of my indoor shots will be made of our f /3.5. It has been our experience that the baby. And most of the shots will be Koda- double that figure for an 7 indoor f /2. difference in postal rates is not indica- chrome, too. I have read about the "daylight" exposure-and just about double the tive of a paralleling variance in watch- Photofloods now available. Are they easier on gap again for an f /1.9 exposure. the eyes of subjects? Should I use "daylight" fulness by postal workers. It is, instead, Photoflood light is only brilliant by bulbs and regular Kodachrome indoors, or is a barometer of the speed with which comparison with ordinary room light- "Type A" with regular Photofloods still prefer- mail is handled. able? My first consideration is our baby's eyes. ing. Demonstrate this to yourself some- Eastman processing stations will be -A. L. D., Schenectady, N. Y. day by switching on a Photoflood in a glad to return film under any desired There is no real need to concern room generously illuminated by sun- yourself about the possibility of eye light streaming in through windows. Page 3, Please injury resulting from Photofloods, The trick in using artificial light, whether they are regular Photofloods from the viewpoint of eye comfort, is or the blue Daylight Photofloods. The to bring it into play gradually-not Eastman Kodak Company has put the to urge subjects to "look at the birdie" question to eminent eye specialists and then blast them with the light. and has their assurance that there is Turn your lights on the wall for a not necessarily a direct connection minute. Then swing them into action. between eye comfort and eye injury. Your subjects, in a matter of seconds, Infants, or adults-and the eyes of the will generally forget all about them. former are frequently the "stronger," For a comparison of regular and will blink and squint when the truly dim Daylight Photofloods-see page 3. ordinary room lighting is suddenly augmented by the brilliant beams of Photofloods in Kodaflector. Yet prob- SPECIAL DELIVERY* ably far less than when they step out- Dear Sir: doors to face "blinding" sunshine. I have been concerned from time to time The amount of sunlight required for because film sent to you for processing is not an average outdoor shot is easily five returned first-class mail. I think that every You can store your projector in a sturdy, protective case, operate it from a shining end table. But you can't keep out dust. who readily admits that he, or she, has some- And dust, unfortunately, will mar thing to learn about personal movie making- film. and wants to learn it .... easily quickly .... Dirt in an easily cleaned camera's non-technically. For rnore advanced fibners gate may cause scratches which look there's a "Senior Class" on page 8 of this issue .. like this on the screen ... Yet a return to the fundantentals outlined below may well prove of frequent value to all. magnification. We just look at them, and, on a comparative basis, they fall into three general classifications: So-so. Good. Excellent. And the "good" shots make "Good Shots" only when there aren't enough "excel- lent" ones to go round. "Looks," then, is the yardstick. And "looks" is just another term for com- position. Dirt in an easily cleaned projector's When you hold a framed picture gate may cause other scratches which against a wall on which you wish to look like this . hang it, and ask "How does that look?" you are simply asking about the composition of that side of the EYES RIGHT room as affected by the picture. The centerspread of this issue is There are rules to the "looks" of devoted to "Good Shots"-better- things. There are rules to composition. than-average cine frames gleaned But most of us, who wouldn't know an from the film clippings, complete outstanding example of circular cohe- scenes, full reels, and enlargements sion if it walked up and snapped at us, sent to the Editor. still know whether a subject looks Readers ask about the standards by "right" or "wrong," or just fair-to- which such scenes are judged. "How," middling. Our eyes have become they inquire, "do I know if I have educated from looking at thousands of some 'Good Shots'? And how do you paintings, photographs, advertising know it when you see them?" layouts, model rooms and homes. And Frankly, we just look at them. Not our eyes are generally right. Dirt and dust on film will very defi- from the angle of their unusualness. So look at the images you see in nitely collect at the projector aperture Not, unfortunately, solely from the your camera finder. There's the com- to cause screen "whiskers" like this ... viewpoint of their qualities as movie position you're going to see later on scenes-because all motion must be your screen. You probably cannot arrested ... all color translated into alter its elements. But you can change monochrome ... all detail strained by your position. You can step forward. You can move back. You can crouch In picture making it's' 'finders keepers.'' Study down. Somewhere there's a best view- the image you see in the camera finder, for that, point. And the image in the finder and only that, is what you will see on the screen. will tell you when you've found your "Good Shot." KEEP IT CLEAN* One of life's eternal mysteries to a mere male is the ceaseless cloth-flail- ing, chair-upending and cleaner-push- A speck of gritty dust in a camera's ing crusade carried on against dust in gate ... one bit of loosened film his apparently spotless domicile. cement in a projector's gate .. dust The fairer sex know better. along any film path-and scratches They know that dust will IN-but may occur. that you can't will it OUT. You have Your camera and projector manuals to chase it. will describe the simple steps of re- You can use a lighttight camera ... moving and cleaning film gates. Do it open it carefully only every now and periodically. Keep the film, itself, then to insert and remove film. But clean. Rewind it, frequently, through dust will get in. a bit of soft plush cloth lightly held in You can keep your film carefully the fingers. Don't squeeze the film. coiled in film cans, watch it to see Don't wind a full reel through the that it never touches the floor during cloth without periodic halts and cloth projection. Yet dust will get in. shakings. Don't soak the cloth with 2 Page 5, Please LONGEVITY Most of the projection lamps being Dear Sir: supplied today have an opaque coat- What is the best way to preserve films? We ing on their tops which makes it un- Continued from have several good films of our daughter and necessary to use the metal lamp caps Page 1 are anxious to do everything possible to keep with which most projectors were them safely.-Mrs. J. H. L. , Rocky River, Ohio. equipped. You are, in fact, specifi- Keep film clean. Keep film cool. cally advised not to use the metal caps postal classification. If you wish to Keep film dry. with these new-type lamps. To do so have your film sent back to you first- Moisture, however, is film's number will seriously decrease lamp life. class, registered mail, parcel post, one nemesis. Seldom is it necessary special delivery, air mail, or air to humidify film-and then the only The old and the new style in most projection express, merely enclose a note of lamps. Don't use metal caps on pre-capped justification is to render the film suf- projection lamps. instructions with the original film ficiently pliant for projection. shipment, together with the additional In some southern states, or along postage required over and above the the seacoasts, there may, however, usual third-class mailing charges. be an over-abundance of moisture in Any film cartons containing written the air. Unless it is extreme, this need instructions, incidentally, must be not cause concern if your film is kept sent to us first-class mail. And please snugly wound in film cans. But where enclose such instructions with the the climate is unusually moist, store film! Mailed separately, they may not the film cans in a large can-a sugar overtake your film before it has been or cracker tin, for example. Obtain processed and returned third-class. some ordinary rice and bake it in an oven until it is brown. Toss a pound or two of this in the bottom of the INDOOR INQUIRY* large tin-and you'll find that this inexpensive hygroscopic agent, aided Sir: In the December, 1940, issue of "Cine- by an occasional re-baking, will satis- Kodak News" I found the "Here's a New Slant factorily absorb excess moisture.