Download Report - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

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Mn. BnnrsoN: In general, I cannot add anything
to that, Mr. Woods. The Bureau will be established
any day, as I announced last night. I had
hoped at that time that we could have announced
the appointment of the candidate. That will be done
very soon. The start will be a Bureau of Technical
Research with the highest trained man that we can
secure to operate the Bureau. That man will start
by making a contact with the various gentlemen in
this room and, selfishly, we will start by usingwhich
we know we are welcome to use-all research
laboratories for the immediate benefits that we ourselves
can gain. It would be folly to think that we
can do anything independently in the manufacture
of the Mazdalamp, or the manufacture of Carbon,
or the manufacture of lenses, etc., that this Bureau
will do by contract with the various technical research
departments of the manufacturers represented
here. It will check right on through to the Department
of Standards at Washington. We will learn
why a certain paint is a proper paint, and when we
use a certain paint, we will know why we are using
it. We will go into the different kinds of wallboards,
etc., and other similar inatters and probably
reduce the many items we are using in the construction
of our sets. There may be seven or eight
or nine difierent kinds of wallboards used, and by
checking with the Bureau of Standards at Washington
we will find the best one at the lowest cost
and adopt it. In a few words, that sums up the
workings of the actual start of our Bureau. We
are glad our plan has met with the approval of you
gentlemen. When the articles used by us and manufactured
by you are perfected to the last degree,
it will no doubt then develop that we have certain
things here in Hollywood that can only be perfected
by ourselves. When we reach that point' a{ter conferences
with the technical men' etc.' and get our
program established, then is when we will establish
our laboratory.
In a few years we will begin to have the same
feeling that you h2vs-rvs will be trained to look
upon research as insurance. We will expect to spend
a vast amount of money for something that may be
'used three, four or five years later, so that when
that time comes we will be prepared for any event
and know exactly what we need. About twenty
years ago the motion picture business was almost
nothing, while now it is thirty-two years old and is
the fourth largest industry in the country. In the
event an entirely new form of entertainment should
develop, that is where our laboratories should come
in to protect us. Take the matter of television.
That is most important. We should be up to date
on it. We should know all there is to know about
it, Sound efiects we are studying, as you know, of
course.
The necessary money for all this will be forthcoming,
and I am delighted at the evidences of the
keen interest everyone feels. Some seven or eight
weeks ago when Dr. Luckiesh was giving a lecture
in this room and was drawing something on the
board illustrating a certain point, scientifically it
was all Greek to me, but close by me a cameraman
was sitting and when Dr. Luckiesh got through this
cameraman said, "I would like to go to the mat
with him on that." When we have boys with such
active brains as displayed in this instance, I believe
you will agree with me that in the near future we
will be keeping pace with the gentlemen of the
Society of Motion Picture Engineers. I thank you.
Tun CrrernltaN: We will now have the report
of the Academy Committee that has had charge
o{ the program and management of the demonstrations
on behalf of the Academy. Mr. A. George
Volck.
Mn. Vor-cx: Mr. Chairman, fellow members
o{ the Academy and guests. These three months o{
Incandescent tests, experiments and demonstrations
have probably been one of the outstanding activities
of this Academy. I believe that our three
months of experiments and this Convention have
brought to the front as much as anythinq else the
tremendous possibilities of the Academy. Our Technicians'
Branch is merely one of the five Branches,
and we Technicians do not want to claim any particular
energy or credit, but we are working very
hard in our Branch and have been able to accomplish
results, o{ which we are all very proud, and
hope the whole Academy also is. Possibly we have
pioneered to a small extent in bringing about a concrete
result of an idea that was considerably nebulous
in the beginning. The thought originated about
three months ago to have a series of Incandescent
demonstrations and tests, and from that thought developed
the idea of having these tests over a definite
period of three months culminating in this Convention,
and the inviting of the various Societies that
are represented here tonight and who have been represented
during all of the demonstrations and the
week of this convention. All of the best got together.
We called upon our big brothers, the
American Society of Cinematographers and the
Motion Picture Engineers, and the results of this
week. I believe. have been acknowledged a tremendous
success throughout the industry. Many of the
truly big men in this town connected with this industry
have talked with me at considerable lengih
that in their opinion the results of this week and the
three months of experiments and Incandescent tests
that went be{ore it are as fine an example of the
concrete possibilities of achievement as can be put
forth by and for the Academy. It has been something
really concrete. We can say, here is an exampL
of what the Academy can do. If nothing
elre has been accomplished by our Branch than that,
I believe a tremendous lot has been accomplished
in that it has shown an example of what the Academy
really can accomplish that is definite and
brought to a successful conclusion with specific results
accomplished. Besides that, there is another
vast achievement- it is the bringing together of
the various elements of the Academy working toward
one point, and in this Convention we have
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