SEARCHING THE EARTH

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 380, 4 May 1910, Page 7

SEARCHING THE EARTH

ike moving picture business, kinematograi'us for the HOME. Within the last few years the entertainment provided by the kinematogvaph an.l its ever-changing spools of gelatine iiliii. has established itself upon; an extremely substantial foundation ot popular approval, with the result that the face of the earth is now beins? literally scoured by armies of men in search of new pichira subjects. In New Zealand, as elsewhere, the moving picture lias to a large extent supplanted other forms of amusement, and there is an ever-increasing business in the Dominion, for the manufacturers of film. Pathe Freres have now opened a distributing depot in Wellington, and appointed Mr. E. J. Hyams as their permanent representative in New Zealand. He gave a Daily Times reporter some information regarding the latest i developments in the production of pictures. Not content with providing for | public entertainments, the: manufacturers of projecting apparatuses have now devised a machine for use in pri-. vate houses and schools. It will use any film of the standard size,'and its cost is so low that it will probably shortly be as general and as useful as the gramophone. Another departure has been made in the direction of employing English artists to perform in Paris hefor the kinematographie camera, in order to overcome the prejudice that appears to be somewhat general in the colonies against pictures in which the characters are performed by foreign actors and actresses. Any factor that might affect the popularity of the entertainments is immediately attacked, and means taken to overcome it. Projecting machines are now turned out with fire-proof boxes. Mr. Hyams said I that he had been informed by Mr. Leopold Sutto, the Australasian representative of the firm, that in England and on the Continent, interesting events were now being kinematographed and finished pictures displayed the same evening, so that the moving pictures were now entering upon the domain of the daily newspaper. Mr. Hyams said that the Commonwealth Government had made an arrangement with Pathe Freres. subsidising the firm to the extent of some thousands of pounds to produce a complete series of pictures of the industries and scenery of Australia. Some 30.000 ft of film had been used, and about 12,000 ft had been selected for reproduction. The pictures would be copied and some hundreds of copies distributed throughout the world, giving the Commonwealth a huge advertisement in return for its contribution towards the cost of production. A particularly fine series of about 1000 ft had been prepared illustrating tne wool industry of Australia, from the lamb-;, through the process of shearing and the inspection of wool in stores preparatory to sale, and its shipment to England. A similar series was being secured in New Zealand by Mr. Franklin Barrett, who had already spent some time in the Dominion and would return shortly from Fiji. The pictures of Australia and New Zealand would be shown throughout the Dominion and other parts of the within a few weeks.

Complete plants have been installed in Melbourne for tiie production of films, and distributing offices have been opened in Melbourne, Sydney and Wellington. So large is the Australian business that provision has been made in Melbourne for the display of films to intending purchasers. As an indication of the magnitude of the moving picture business. 'Mr. Hyanis said that his firm alone produced 5(lO,00(!ft of film iper week, and there were other firms operating on a similarly huge scale. It was not hard to understand why so much film was required. An ordinary programme consisted of individual pictures varying in length from 300 ft to over 1000 ft, and aggregating about 7000 ft of film, and every permanent show required a new programme once a week. Mr. ITyams said that the films taken several weeks ago in New Zealand by Mr. Franklyn Barrett had been sent to Paris for development, and should arrive in New Zealand in a few months' time.