Download Report - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

the previous night, was exhibited, and is now in the
custody of the American Society of Cinematographers
for the benefit o{ all companies and persons
authorized to have them for examination.
Wednesday night's session of the week's meetings
was devoted to the artistic subjects connected with
incandescent illumination, namely, color of artist's
make-up, costumes and sets, and all color values as
influenced by incandescent illumination. This meetings
was attended by more than 100 interested
pefsons.
Thursday night's program consisting of technical
subjects with papers on Mazda lighting, flame arc
lighting and camera lenses in motion picture phography,
was equally well attended.
Records of all demonstrations, investigations,
meetings, papers, reports, etc,, have been kept and
are available
In conclusion the Secretary desires to personally
thank all members of the Technicians' Branch of
the Academy and all of the producing companies
and the many other persons inside and outside the
Academy who have been of most valuable aid in
lightening the duties of the Secretary's office.
A. S. C.,REPORT
BY JOSEPH DUBRAY
It is of course very difficult at the present time
to give a real report on this momentous subject, but
I will endeavor to express the opinion gathered from
several cinematographers during and affer the conduct
of the extensive investigation carried on for a
period of six weeks.
Possibly we should have prepared a written report,
but as most of the meetings held by the S. M.
P. E. and the Academy during the last week and
a half have been dealirtg in the subject oI Mazda
lighting, we did not feel we could write such a
report until the results of these meetings and discussions
derived from them, were concluded. Nevertheless,
we can perfectly visualize the results
obtained through these demonstrations and meetings,
and we will endeavor to express them to you.
I would state that this "Mazda Marathon" has
been conducted as an investigation to ascertain the
value of Mazda lightings in motion picture production.
It has been perhaps too much the prevailing
idea that this investigation was conducted as a
competition, so to speak, or comparison, with other
systems of illumination. Of course a certain amount
of comparison is indispensable in any such matter,
but the main scope of this investigation was to
study and understand the practicability of Mazda
lighting equipment and the results that can be
derived by the exclusive use of this system of
illumination.
The conclusion is that Mazda lighting is a very
efficient system of illumination for motion picture
purposes. In fact, I can state that if through some
cataclysm all other illuminants were destroyed from
tsel
the face of the earth today we could make pictures
and good pictures, phcitographically speaking, with
Mazda lighting alone. But I do not infer by this
that Mazda lighting is the only illumination that
can be used, and perhaps should be used, at least
at the present time, for making motion pictures of
the photographic standard that is required in
modern production.
A great deal has been said about the color rendition
of Mazda lights as compared with carbon
arcs, but we have practically always made the
comparison between Mazda and White Flame Arcs.
It must be kept in mind that the development of
Orange Flame Carbon, called Panchromatic Carbons,
put them at par as photographic color rendition
with the Mazda lights, for the possibilities of
obtaining better rendition of skin texture,'color of
eyes and lips, which will permit the performer (the
actor) to express himself without any fear of his
expressions being lost in the final results on the
screen.
I will not say that the investigation recently
conducted onMazd,a lighting in motion pictures has
been carried as far as it could and should be, but it
has been a great start, a sort of a great push given
to a great ball, which has started to roll, and will
roll indefinitely. In other words, Mazda lighting is
not brought up to a perfect point of development.
In fact, if it were brought up to the point of perfection,
if nothihg else could be done to improve
this system of illumination, so as to increase the
photographic quality of pictures, we would repeat
the phrase that Dr. Mees told the Cinematographers
at one of their meetings. Dr. Mees stated then that
if photographic emulsions were easy to make and
€verything was known about them, there would be
no more fun in making photographic emulsions.
We state here that if pictures were easy to make,
there would be no more fun in making them.
It is our opinion that in sets of normal size,
Mazda lights can be used exclusively with great
efficiency for obtaining very good results, but whenever
the sets are very large and in some specified
conditions where special photographic results and
efiects are wanted, it would perhaps be advisable to
use a mixed system of illumination of Arc lamps
and Mazda lamps. I am of course thinking of
panchromatic carbons and panchromatic films.
lWhen we have to illuminate very large areas or
we find ourselves facing the impossibility of bringing
our source of light sufficiently near the surface
to be illuminated we doubt the efficiency of Mazd,a
lamps and equipment in their present state of
development.
I am quite sure that most cinematographers will
give quite a preference for a certain time to come,
to the use of mixed Panchromatic Carbon lishts and
Mazda lights, but againl state that if through some
cataclysm all arc lights should disappear we would
not be forced to stop making pictures.
Another system of illumination, the Cooper-
Hewitt system, is very interesting. Cooper-Hewitt