j I £ 1 : 1 — i * •V' I November 1Q30 R«n« Bord< -35 Cent>s a Copy ublicationfi [Professionals ^Amateur AFew More of Our Current Photog uccesses Negative? Naturally! ESTABLISHED 1802 CAMERAMEN “The Silver Horde’’ R-K-O. Leo Tover “Play Boy of Paris”. Paramount . T.. Henry Cerrard “Tom Sawyer” Paramount ...Charles Lang “Typhoon Bill”. .Paramount Harry Fischbeck “Sea Legs’’ Paramount Allen Siegler “Virtuous Sin” Paramount. David Abel “A Lady’s Morals” M-C-M George Barnes “Remote Control” , M-G-M. Merritt Cerstad “Reno”.. ...Sono Art... Harry Jackson “Extravagance” Tiffany.... Max Du Pont 'The COUP® Trade Mark Has Never Been Placed on an Inferior Product" SMITH & ALLER, Inc PACIFIC COAST DISTRIBUTORS 6656 Santa Monica Boulevard HOIlywood 5147 HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA FOR DU PONT PATHE FILM MFG. CORP. 35 West 45th Street New York City ANNOUNCING new COOKE LENSES especially corrected for both orthochromatic and panchromatic film New covering power, definition and brilliancy For both Standard and " Wide Film"! LIST OF COOKE S P E E D - P A N C H R O LENSES 24 mm. Cooke F2 40 mm. (1%") Cooke F2 *75 mm. (3") Cooke F2 28 mm. Cooke F2 *47 mm. Cooke F2 „ 4/4 neooke 32 mm. Cooke F2 50 mm. (2") Cooke F2 3 /g") 35 mm. (l Cooke F2 *58 mm. ( 2 V4 ") Cooke F2 *100 mm. Cooke F2 *Fully covering 65 and 70 mm. wide film. For full details and prices covering both unmounted and mounted Speed-Panchro Lenses write to BELL & HOWELL Bell & Howell Co., Dept. W, 1848 Larchmont Ave., Chicago, Illinois. New York, 1 1 West 42nd Street, Hollywood, 6324 Santa Monica Blvd. London (B. & H. Co. Ltd.) 320 Regent Street / r Established 1907 Bei Aufragen und Bestellungen beziehen Sie sich bitte auf die American Cinematographer. 1 Since the advent of sou nd morei than 8000 lighting units have been manu (actured by Mole-Richardson and are renderi ng con- sistent service to the Industry. There is something rather convinci c that fact , as to performance, and dependability of Mole-Ri* products. There is also the ama that more Mole-Richardson "Ink been manufactured and put in all other types of incandescents V---* \ ing else is necessary to reveal tl and consistency of M. R. produ MOLE-RICHARD/ON'nc. studio lighting equipment N. SYCAMORE AVENUE HOLLYWOOD, CA Veuillez faire mention de I’American Cinematographer en ecrivant aux announceurs. 2 . AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER A Technical and Educational Publication, Espousing Progress and Art in Motion Picture Photography HAL HALL HAL MOHR Editor-in-Chief and General Manager, A. S. C. EMERY HUSE SUITE 1222 GUARANTY BUILDING, HOLLYWOOD. CALIFORNIA President, A. S. C. Technical Editor, A. S. C. BOARD OF EDITORS: William Stull, Herford Tynes Cowling and Ned Van Buren Volume XI NOVEMBER, 1930 Number 7 CONTENTS Page TEN YEARS OF PROGRESS, by Hal Mohr, A. S. C 9 COLOR CORRECTION IN THE “COOKE.” “SPEED PANCHRO” AND “PANCHRO” LENSES, by J. A. DUBRAY, A. S. C 10 THE MEASUREMENT OF DENSITY IN VARIABLE DENSITY SOUND FILM, by Clifton Tuttle and J. W. McFarlane 14 S. M. P. E. OFFERS FILM RATIO 16 SCREEN DEFINITION, by Dr. L. M. Dieterich.. 17 HAL HALL SAYS 18 A LETTER FROM HOLLYWOOD, by Joe Doakes 20 MAKING “WHOOPEE” WITH INKIES, by Fay Lawrence 33 AMATEUR MOVIE MAKING, by Wm. Stull, A. S. C 34 PROFESSIONAL AMATEURS, by Wm. Stull, A. S. C 36 CINE-KODAK COES ON ALASKA LOCATION, by J. W. Boyle, A. S. C 39 MAKING MULTICOLOR TWO MILES UP, by Wm. Stull, A. S. C 44 FOREICN REPRESENTATIVES Georges Benoit, c-o Louis Verande, 12 rue d’Aguessau Paris, 8e John Dored, Paramount News, Paramount Building, 1 Rue Meyerbeer, Paris IXe, France Herford Tynes Cowling, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, Eastern Representative Harold Sintzenich, Eastman Kodak Company, Bombay, India PUBLISHED MONTHLY by THE AMERICAN SOCIETY of CINEMATOGRAPHERS, INC , HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA Established 1918. Advertising Rates on Application. Subscription: U. S., $3.00 a year; Canada, $3.50 a year; Foreign, $4.00 a year; single copies, 25c Telephone GRanite 4274 Copyright, 1930, by the American Society of Cinematographers, Inc. 3 A scene from “Morocco,” a Paramount Picture. and now, even more faithful! for 44 Wi di es ** and ii Cotor" The talking-si nging-Z/fing pictures have devel- ripple of rhythmic movement — every accent of oped more exactions from light and photog- light and shadow-— ability to serve the difficult raphy in the past year than pictures developed close-up or long-shot. in ten years before. National Photographic Carbons — as reliable And “light men” find that National Pho- as a shaft of sunlight — as sensitive as the play tographic Carbons have advanced in step with of moonlight on the surf —Taithful friends of every development . the new areas of “light men,” cinematographers, and stars. “Wide” films . the finest of values for color NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY, Inc. photography. Carbon Sales Division: Cleveland, Ohio Unit of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation National Photographic Carbons for every Branch Sales Offices: New York, N. Y. Pittsburgh, Pa. delicate nuance of color — every charming Chicago, 111. Birmingham, Ala. San Francisco, Calif. National Photographic Carbons Please mention the American Cinematographer when writing advertisers. 4 leadership ^(eadership is attained through the proven ability of a product to render per- formance and service superior to that of any competitor. In the development of the motion picture industry is offered a product, the exceptional performance and service of which has gained for it the distinction of being foremost in the lighting equipment field. "If it's not it's not silent!" LAKIN CORPORATION 1707 Naud Street LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA CApital 5387 Bei Aufragen und Bestellungen beziehen Sie sich bitte auf die American Cinematographer. 5 I Still by Milton Brown GRACE MOORE and LAWRENCE TIBBETT in •• THE NEW MOON ” Cinematographer, OLLIE Marsh, A. S. C. Make-up Artist, GEORGE WESTMORF. A METRO-GOLDYWN-MAYER PRODUCTION Max Factor’s Make-up USED EXCLUSIVELY MAX FACTOR MAKE-UP STUDIOS Highland Avenue at Hollywood Boulevard HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA Tel. HO-6191 Chicago Office-—444 West Grand Ave. Cable Address "Facto” Other Foreign Branches Max Factor’s Max Factor’s Panchromatic No. 4-C Her Majesty’s Arcade Paseo de la Reforma 36 Vi, Mexico City. and Sydney, Australia. Theatrical London Office: 10 D’Arblay St., T echnicolor No. 39 Escolta St., Manila, P. I. London, England Make-up Make-up for the Corner Joubert & Kerk Sts., 500 Sarmiento, Buenos Aires, Argentina. for the Johannesburg, Screen So. Africa Edificia Mineria, Lima, Peru. Stage H-l 30,Vedado, Habana, Cuba. 720 South Street, Honolulu, T. H. Per piacere menzionare il Cinematographer quando scrivendo a! annunziares. 6 ) SURPRIZED IN HIS LABORATORY Dr. Tanar lecturing on the System Full information on Dr. Tanar’s Unique Portable Sound-on-Film System which has been so successful in bad cases of run * down Commercial Film Business, will be mailed free if you tear out the prescription at the bottom of the page and mail to, TANAR CORPORATION, LIMITED General Offices: 5357 Santa Monica Blvd., Laboratories 1110-1112 North Serrano Ave., HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, U. S. A. Telephone: HEmpstead 3939. Cables: TANARLICHT. I * To remove prescription easily, DR. TANAR fold on dotted line, press with Care Tanar Corp., Ltd. luke warm flat iron; bend for- 5357 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood, California, U. S. A. ward and backward several times to weaken structure of paper; then apply a thin coat Patient's Name of Aftricannel (double strength which can be purchased at any Address drug store handling Nitro- 1 Folder with pictures and full description of the Tanar Clycerine. Let stand fifteen sec- portable sound system. onds and you will find the 1 Book “What Owners Say.’’ prescription can be easily de- (Dose; 1 dose will be plenty) tached with a sharp razor blade. Copyright 1930. Tanar Corp., Ltd. Var god omtala den Cinematographer in skrivning till annonsers. 7 LOYALTY-- PROGRESS —ART— DISTINCTION BASED ON MERIT s i ^ THE MEN WHO MAKE MOTION PICTURES VOL. I. NO. I LOS ANGELES. CALIFORNIA. NOVEMBER I. 1920 TEN CENTS A COPY OUR BILLION DOLLAR FILM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY IDEAL FOR PICTURES Motion Picture Making Attracts Philip E. Rosen, president of the Notable People to Los Angeles THE CAMERAMAN American Society of Cinematogra- and Southern California — Im- phers, and a director of all-star portant Developments in Evi- casts for the Metro organization, dence in All Studios. The man who works the camera must be athoroughly decent fel- an authority on matters of pho- tography in motion pictures, who low or else he could not hold his position, as he has much to contend has toured most of the interesting Los Angeles is steadily forging with and much is laid upon his unhappy head which should be blamed sections since establishing his ahead as the greatest of all motion elsewhere—faulty direction, faulty chemicals, or faulty work in the picture producing centers of the dark room. home in Los Angeles about two years ago, is pronounced in his world. Millions of dollars are be- The importance of the cameraman is paramount. Without him praise regarding the charming ing paid ont annually in salaries no good picture can be taken. He must be a many-sided individual to beauty of this wonderland of and operating expenses by com- continue in his position successfully. He must, first of all, be able to California for moving panies located in this city, and take good pictures, apart from that, he must necessarily he a brave Southern pictures. lie says: prominent writers familiar with man and ready to attempt anything asked of him. He must be clear- “There is every evidence that the subject, state that about 80 headed, so that he can stand on the edge of a skyscraper, and lean over the charms and alluring nature- per cent of the motion pictures the top of a precipice, for that matter.