Page 21 - 2015-06

BY ALAN E. LOTT
From the earliest days of the cinema various standard. These films, to DIN standards, (DIN
inventors have produced different film gauges = Deutsches Institut für Normung - or in English, the
and systems, sometimes to circumvent patents, German Institute for Standardization) could be pro-
sometimes to try and make improvements in jected on machines built to SMPE specifica-
picture quality and/or sound reproduction. Ac- tions by revering the films laterally in the gate
cording to Rogge, Ref. 1, a hundred years of and then placing a reversing prism in front of
cinema has yielded almost one hundred film projector lens to reverse the image to show
formats. An interesting and informative ac- correctly on the screen. (The 17.5 mm and 9.5
count of many of these is given in Ref 2. Most mm S.O.F. systems developed primarily for
of these have long since been consigned to home use during the mid to late 1930s are
oblivion. considered to lie outside of the context of this
article).
The origins of narrow gauge (I hate the descrip-
tion sub-standard) non-theatrical and amateur Once 16mm S.O.F. had been demonstrated to
films go back to 1912, the year when 28 mm be a practical proposition it quickly became
was the first gauge to use the new non-flamma- used by travelling showmen, schools, industry
ble tri-acetate film base invented simultaneous- and science as well as home entertainment for
ly in France and the USA. Ten years later in the small number of the more affluent members
1922 9.5 mm was launched by Pathè Freres to of society. It was also used extensively during
be followed six months later in 1923 by 16mm World War Two by the various armed services
developed by Eastman-Kodak in the USA. to all combatant powers for training and enter-
tainment of the troops.
Commercial/theatrical 35 mm sound-on-film
became firmly established in the period 1927- However, during the early days of 16mm S.O.F
30 whilst development commenced in 1927 to in the 1930s, although acceptable for many
achieve acceptable sound-on-film on 16 mm. purposes, the sound quality left much to be
The first projector for 16 mm S.O.F. was Model desired. Film manufacturers were struggling
PG.30 manufactured in 1930 by the Radio Cor- with emulsion problems because of the consid-
poration of America, Ref.2. erably different characteristics required for op-
timum picture quality and optically reduced, or
A proposed standard for 16mm S.O.F. (1932) re-recorded 35 mm sound tracks. Printer and
was published in the Journal of The Society of recording optics were not coated to reduce flare
Motion Picture Engineers (SMPE) in Novem- and amplifiers were basically crude with large
ber 1932 and is reproduced on page 113 of thermionic valves. The concept of negative
Ref.2. This was adopted by the American feedback was still a novelty and not always
Standards Association in 1935. This progres- fully understood or used. The struggle to im-
sively became accepted as an international prove sound quality on 16 mm led to many
standard enabling 16mm "talkie" films to be different recording systems from unilateral var-
distributed and shown in virtually every major iable area to bilateral variable area to variable
country. Initially Germany adopted a similar density to name only three.
standard but with the optical sound track and
perforations on opposite sides of the film to the Enter Martin Harper, an employee of the Miles
American Aircraft Company of Woodley, Reading, Berk-