FILM CARTOON

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22685, 24 March 1937, Page 10

FILM CARTOON

AUCKLAND PRODUCTION 1 FULL COLOUR AND SOUNB many difficulties overcome After nearly three years' hard work, a group of Aucklanders has almost completed a unique and very difficult enterprise—the making of a .cartoon film in full colour and complete with sound. Only a certain amount of printing remains to be done, and it is probable that " Raspberry Revolts," the epic of a New Zealand'dairy farm, will be ready for its screen debut a fewweeks hence.

Well over a dozen people have taken part in the venture, but the moving spirit has been Mr. R. F. Way, who not only wrote the scenario atul did the whole drawing, but took a leading part in the dialogue as well. Mr. Gerald Jones, F.R.F.S., was responsible for the colour-photography, which involved most intricate technical processes. The music was written by Mr. J. Clough and recorded by Mr. J. Baxendale, and the printing was carried out by Mr. V. Farnall. A number of willing collaborators helped with the instrumental and vocal music, sound effects and the colouring of the drawings. Skit on Dairy Farming The film has a decidedly New Zealand flavour and might even be regarded as good publicity for the Dominion's dairy industry, although it makes the dairy farmer a ligure of fun. Raspberry, a champion milker, is tlu: leader of a herd of cows owned by aw bones, a grasping person; hen he demands a 50 per cent increase in butter-fat, Raspberry first argues the injustice of the exaction, and then summons the herd and delivers an oration. The cows resolve that henceforth they will be milked only once a day and not at ail on Sundays. Jn the sequel. Haw bones and his helper Skinflint are chased over' j,ill and dale. Raspberry is acclaimed the heroine of „the lioirr and brings down the curtain with a song of triumph. Although it takes only nine minutes to show, "the film is made up of nearly 15,000 photographic " frames," each representing a separate exposure. Mr. Wav spent 18 months on the drawings, all the moving elements in which were painted upon sheets of transparent celluloid. In many scenes three or four of these sheets were superimposed on the paper background. Recording of Sound The technicians had to meet endless difficulties, and much of their work was done with apparatus which they devised and made themselves. Two special colour-sensitive films, with their emulsion layers in contact, were exposed simultaneously in the camera to obtain the negative "and in printing a positive Jilin, coated on both sides, was placed between them. ' Music and speech presented many problems. The movements of the figures on the screen had to be planned according to an exact rhythm, and the sound was required to synchronise exactly with the beat. This was accomplished with a sort of electrical buzzer metronome, to which the instrumentalists and singers listened through headphones while they were performing. After many rehearsals the result was impressed on the film negative as a "sound-track." Wide Circulation Hoped Mr. Wa v is very proud of the fact that this is the first colour cartoon produced in Australia or New Zealand. America so far has had almost a monopoly of the field, although a start lias been made with pro- . duction in England. His original intention was to make a black-and-white cartoon for Empire circulation, but he was encouraged by a British film organisation operating in Australia to make use of a colour process that had lately been developed. This meant considerable replanning of ! the work, and when it had been aceom- ! plished the process was found to be unsuitable. He and Mr. .Tones then decided to utilise a standard European type of film according 'to more or less experimental methods. These *are considered to have been most successful. It is hoped the. "Raspberry Revolts" I will be shown in" England and else- ! where. If it proves acceptable, Mr. "Way j and his associates propose to make others which will cost much less trouble than their pioneering effort.