A Movie Trip Through Filmland (1921)

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1. 

   Armoreska

   translation of intertitles
   

   quote:

   Movie film is a tiny thing but supplies come in by the trainload.
   
   The basis of the film support is cotton. Four million pounds -
   about eight thousand bales - are used each year at Kodak Park.
   
   First the cotton is washed - Cleanliness is the first consideration
   at Kodak Park - and then it goes through huge dryers.
   
   After drying, the cleansed cotton is packed in moisture-proof cans.
   
   The cotton is fed through chutes to nitrating machines where,
   as the scientists say, "the acid esterifies the cellulose complex".
   In plain English, the acid so changes it that it can be
   dissolved in wood alcohol.
   
   Exhaust fans carry off the nitric acid fumes — thus protecting
   the workmen.
   
   The two stacks that help to keep Kodak Park clean and healthful
   by dissipating the smoke and fumes 366 feet up toward the clouds.
   
   After the acid has finished its work, it is thrown off by
   centrifugal force, the cotton, in wire baskets, being whirled at
   tremendous speed.
   
   Then there is more washing and more centrifugal wringing.
   
   The laundry work continues.
   
   And then a few weeks of repeated washing in these tanks.
   
   The cleansing completed, the cotton is fed through chutes to
   the mixers where it is dissolved in wood alcohol.
   
   The solution that results is a thick syrup-like substance known
   in Kodak Park parlance as "dope".
   
   The dope is piped to great air-tight tanks.
   
   These tanks are carried by electric crane to the coating machines.
   
   The dope is evenly spread on highly polished wheels and forms
   a continuous transparent sheet, 3-1/2 feet wide and five
   one-thousandths of an inch thick.
   
   Winding up the transparent film support preparatory to its
   going to the coating rooms where it receives the sensitive emulsion.
   
   The variation of thickness of the film is never more than
   one eight-thousandths of an inch.
   
   The original "dope" mixer. Thirty years ago (before the days
   of the movies) this little barrel and its twin brother
   sufficed for all the film dope made.
   
   So much washing requires lots of water. A private water
   system with a daily capacity of 12,000,000 gallons pumps
   the water from Lake Ontario, six miles away.
   
   The daily flow is recorded by a Venturi meter.
   
   The water storage tank.
   
   Noon.
   
   A midday stroll through the grounds.
   (End of Part One.)
   
   Just as the basis of the film base is cotton, the basis of
   the light-sensitive coating that makes the picture is silver.
   
   Excepting only the U.S. Mint, Kodak Park is the largest
   consumer of silver in the world. Over 3 tons of pure bullion
   are used every week.
   
   Nitric acid attacks silver as fearlessly as it does cotton.
   
   Only it makes more fuss about.
   
   She boils.
   
   When the fight is over, white crystals of silver nitrate are
   formed by the evaporation of the spent acid.
   
   Like a frosted window frame.
   
   The laundry work begins again.
   
   The Silver Nitrate is stored in aluminum drying closets.
   
   We now come to the dark-room stage in the manufacture of film.
   
   Mixing nitrate crystals, potassium bromide and gelatine
   dissolved in hot water forms the compound, sensitive to
   light, that makes the picture. It is called the "emulsion".
   
   Coating machines spread this sensitive emulsion evenly on
   the transparent base that was made from cotton. The film
   that comes from the machines is very similar to the film
   you buy in the yellow carton for your Kodak.
   
   Absolute control of both temperature and moisture is neces-
   sary at this stage of film-making to insure quality and
   uniformity, Temperature is controlled by means of several
   great refrigerating machines.
   
   The film is carefully inspected for the tiniest flaws or
   specks as it passes from the coating machines to the
   slitting knives.
   
   There are two kinds of motion picture film, the "negative",
   which is used in the camera and is very like what you use
   in your Kodak, and the "positive", which is this minute
   running through the projection machine and throwing this
   picture on the screen.
   
   Both negative and positive films are perforated on both edges
   with the utmost exactness.
   
   The perforation machines must work with perfect precision,
   else there will be jumpiness in the picture on the screen.
   
   The film is now ready to wrap up for packing in the cartons.
   
   While you have been taking this hurried trip through Film Land,
   three and a half miles of motion picture film has been made
   at Kodak Park.
   
   Each year, 147,000 miles of motion picture film, enough to
   girdle the earth six times, goes out from Kodak Park to tell
   you the news of the world, to make you laugh and cry, to teach
   you science and history, and to show you the uttermost parts
   of the earth.

   
   source
   https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/mbrs/cdmmi/s1/22/9m/02/11/9/s1229m02119/s1229m02119.pdf 2 months 4 weeks ago
2. 

   Jumping Elephant

   Thanks for the link @martinrs. Astonishing! 3 months ago
3. 

   HenkMul

   Pages 3 to 5 in this document indicate that the YouTube-video is indeed just an excerpt. So, no eligible check. 4 months 2 weeks ago

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