Caught!
A jungle-fowl brought down by a leopard.
Animated photography is nothing more than a Kodak worked by machinery. Instead of the shutter being actuated by hand to make an exposure, and the film afterwards moved by turning a roller so as to bring a fresh area before the lens, the two movements, in the cinematograph, are combined. The rotation of the handle alternately opens and closes the lens, and moves the film forward a defined distance after each exposure. Therefore, speaking generally, if the beginner knows how to use an ordinary camera and is familiar with subsequent operations of developing and printing, he should be able to accustom himself quite readily, with little waste of material, to the different conditions of motion photography.
There is practically but one process that he should not at first attempt. This is the perforation of the film. The film is a celluloid ribbon and is punctured near either edge, at intervals, so as to enable it to be gripped by the claws of the mechanism and moved forward intermittently a definite distance—three quarters of an inch—through the camera. This puncturing or perforation of the film is the most delicate of the whole cycle of operations. It can only be done by a machine of unerring precision manipulated with extreme care. The machines, though many are on the market, are somewhat expensive, and it is upon them that the steadiness of the picture on the screen depends. The inaccuracy in the perforation may be slight, a minute fraction of an inch, but it must be remembered that each picture on the film is magnified more than fifteen thousand times upon the screen, and the errors are magnified in proportion. But these considerations need not trouble the amateur. He can purchase his "stock," as the unexposed film is called, perforated ready for use.
In spite of the great reduction in the cost of both camera and outfit the expense of cinematography is still its drawback. The film is the culprit. It costs from 2d. to 4d.—say, from 4 to 10 cents—a foot. Yet in this case, as in others, reduction seems to be within sight. The increased demand is sure to cheapen the process of production. If the price is not then lowered as much as could be hoped the cause will be in the cost of the basic materials. These also, perhaps, will become less dear in time. Cinematography is an industry in revolution. Its possibilities are only beginning to be seen; its followers are only beginning to be counted; but it can hardly be doubted that the ranks of the amateur and independent workers are certain to increase considerably and rapidly. The attractions and inducements to practise the craft are too alluring to be ignored.