KINEMATOGRAPHY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 698, 24 December 1909, Page 14

KINEMATOGRAPHY.

A CHAT WITH PATHE FRERES' EXPERT. A BOUNDLESS HELD.

The kinematograph has ccasod to bo conI Bidered. a marvel. A few short.years, of close and continuous acquaintance with animated photography" litis relegated it to tho order of established tilings, in .which are located tho telephone, the electric light, the X rays; and the phonograph.: Tot tho kinematograph has never lost its grip on the publio, and its popularity to-day "as an educative entortainment is greater ,than at any timo' sinco Lnmicre first showed tho results of his experiments in animated photography, made per medium of a: sensitised celluloid ribbon passing rapidly behind a good lens. Did lie foresee tho development of his magic? Did he imagine that within a few short years live 'photographs would play a dominant part in the worlds amusements? • It is not likely. Years elapsed before even the 'sharpest wits" began; to; rcaliso the potency of ; the new. dis-. coverjv; but ■ as. the invention was /improved and the vibration in'the projected picture was gradually. lessoned' and- the effect, of watching them. becamo less hurtful .to the ojta, they

.grew and'grew in popular favour until to-day .'■'WS?.-,. 1 -?.. or/town of any size in the civilised world without its.kinematograph hall, lurning .'oyor these y thoughts,' .'a;; Dominion reporter 011 .Mr./W. I'ranklyn Barrett, tho;representative^'..of Patho Ircres, who is in ■'New/Zealand to steal - oiu* 'scenery/: for'. the :odification: : of'- a . picture-hungry world. :/ /-. ;s"Some-people imagine. that pictures are, like,: ping-pong, 'that; they'-,,wi1l go out /of. favour. SflFj 'Sfl L ?ro only' ;on ;tho.. fringe bfjt'ifi miirltks' .v&tl surface . has '/hardly beoii: scraped:. ,To a .largo extent we have only, taken;; pictures/'of,: scenes ;and. incident? - that stare - everyone. in the fact.,. Wo havo only touched the industries slightly—what a wealth ..of/pictures: /yet before, the' ikihematograpfc alono; /Look.'at. its possibilities' as a 'recordci': of that people, Governments, and kings will /be 'interested :to recall' : in', future ' years. Ask the naturalist what remains for the kinematograph to do—ho could give you a' thousand subjects at once, .all of the most' intense. in-: tercst.' .Did 1 you;., see. that young, doctor has been/able to do; in Paris—kinematograph; tho action of baccilli at war in'/tho blood., That-is/ an" oyc-oper.sr., for' those .who fancy, tho .kinematograph is ; a,passing fad." : ' ; . ' •'■" Do you know, what .they. are. doing in Paris to-day question Miv Barrott, who spent , a few weoks in the Pathe laboratories', last year. "They., are.,actually having r operations ;in hospitals kinom'atOgraphod;/for,.! the: medical' auth'oraties..;Of.:courso these are not.shown to the public—thev , aro too, horrible. I had to develop somo films of an operation" in which a man's leg was sawn off. It made me quite sick." K'/'/ , //v//:':.•/:./'. .••"':.;/' / ' •,•'" -.V

Patho Freres. ,'Tathe> Frorcs is ths biggest kinemato.graph 'business' in the world. They employ GOQO; people-rr3o<)o in .France, and the rest .out in the world.- '.'I am on? of, the rest. "They have -the; greatest system r .oii earth. > Thougn probably -.hundreds: of . pictures- are taken ;.tor ■thorn weekly,\ only sixteen hew films; aro published /-overy week.:. It.-, is. a complete programme. That is.'.taken, by:"so -many .'clients in.';all.-'the ; largest. cities > of-"Europe.:, and America, who-exhibit it for a week, and then it : to the; neit largest towns; and so' down to the country towns and yillagesj so that .all the world sees Patho pictures. System— they-know in Paris now'that I am here, they know- the" number of: my/ machine arid- how many; film-boxes I've got Sometimes -I believq; thoy .knim* the- number of my room and how' many 'cigarettes I have .left.' Got'one to spare? 1: Their, object, I -assume, inY acquiring this; knowledge is in ease of , eventualities. Something may happen that might;be worth, cabled/instructions "to 'me—you. never-; kitow'. what.,'is going' to ,-turn ,'up; at. thisbusiness." Taking a Road Race. i ■ -It was Mr.' Barrett who "took" the Dunlop ' road' race from Warrnambool to .Melbourne a few weeks ago. He relates how it was done. "Tho, Dunlop people did not think a. long road race offered;much .scope for ( the kinemato: graph, -, but .!> asked, them to let me, try.. They did so, and I started in. First I started on?'the preliminaries—took the .'numbers being served'out to tho men, and tlioir bicyclcs' being sealed. This latter has' become 'nedessary as some might /easily,, change . their 'bikes' on the road for, clean;;, newly-oiled, machines 'with fresly-inflated tyro 3. They block -that sort, of thing with a seal. .Then 'Invent down to Warrnambool on a fast; Siddeleiy;'car'. : ;;l)id not ,got '/the liniit men, they; got 'away soon after 5 'a.m.; when-itho light-was. bad. ;I; started, [.taking starters at about 6,15. a.m. - There ,were, about 100 of them; so wo had any amount to ;work on,'-and left about ton; minutes after the scratch -man. As he averaged about 22 • miles an hour ' throughout the race,, jrou' can imagine; how : we had to go. Wo (lid-not catch him; until.we had; covered twelve miles. Then passing through-a . mob of. them;, scorching along, at'.a break-neck pace, we waited at a point where a.stream and tho railway line; crossed the road, and the cyclists had to pass over' a -narrow bridge."; ; By .the ;time we; got bnr. picture,; the scratch: main; had .-come .up on us, and. we had to get ahead ngaiu to arrive at tho place where the / food-bags were .given , out. These, which the riders ■ /grabbed in ; passing, contained chocolate, pjasmon biscuit,; sticks, of celery, etc.. We got a view of this incident, then got ahead to. a point where pari nikins of warm milk were being served oUt to the cyclists as they hurried by....- Agrtin we i had to dash ahead to a point where the, riders -had to be checked as they, passed through a' gate in single file. This wai considered necessary. to prevent a ..rider; taking a lift; in tho; train on .the sly.. Then at Wcrribee we took; the leaders,, and then hurried 'on ■to Helbourno in time to take the finish at'the Haymarket.:. What ■ a finish it; was! -Thcf winder only won by half a lennth,' and it wiis said that the'last mile was cut out in track time. The .whole 400 cyclists: were present at. West's on the Monday night to seo the, film, and; tho; Dunlop people were; so delighted .< at the, result that thoy: aro going 'to have, their works .kincmatographod. when ! get iback."