THE SEARCH FOR THE CELLULOID FILM
In the struggle towards the perfection of animated photography the use
of glass plates was a great hindrance. Investigators were hampered
very seriously; they were thwarted at every turn. True, the appearance
of the dry plate somewhat facilitated their efforts, but nevertheless
the inevitable glass was bulky, heavy, fragile, and awkward to handle.
Finally, the number of pictures obtainable upon a single surface was
limited.
Realising the restrictions incidental to this sensitised medium, the
energies of many investigators were devoted to the discovery of a less
bulky, lighter, and more convenient substitute. Gelatine appeared
promising at first sight, but failed to give the anticipated results
because it lacked stability, and when immersed in the developing
solution precipitated a variety of unexpected disasters which placed it
out of court completely. The next expedient was the use of transparent
paper, similar to what we call grease-proof paper, covered with the
gelatine emulsion, invented by Morgan and Kidd, of Richmond. When
the exposures were made, the paper was opaque and resembled ordinary
bromide paper, the essential transparent effect being secured by an
operation after development and fixing. This failed to give a clear,
distinct positive, and the grain of the paper so broke up the resultant
picture that this alternative was abandoned. A suggestion advocated by
the Rev. W. Palmer also was attempted. The picture, after development
and fixing, was stripped from its opaque support, and attached to a
stiff sheet of insoluble gelatine. This gave a somewhat better effect,
but it was a round-about method, and the stripping operation was one of
great delicacy, involving extreme care, and uncertain in its results.
These substitutes failing one after another, the hopes of the
experimenters became centred upon celluloid, which from every point of
view appeared the most suitable medium. The application of celluloid
to photographic purposes had been advocated many years previously, but
there were many obstacles of a technical character which prevented its
use at the time. The investigator, however, continued the struggle
towards bringing the celluloid film into the realm of practicability.
He was baffled in one particular direction. Celluloid could not
be employed with the collodion process, for the collodion which
constituted the sensitive surface in the old wet process with glass
plates, and which in itself is a solution of pyroxyline, a kind of
gun-cotton--one of the basic constituents of celluloid--dissolved
the celluloid which was coated with it. The perfection of the
gelatino-bromide process removed this defect.
Then another difficulty loomed up. Celluloid at that time was not made
in sheets sufficiently thin to render it applicable to photography,
and the manufacturers of the commodity could not be prevailed upon
to prepare the substance in this form. They argued that there was no
promise of a sufficiently remunerative market to warrant the design of
special machinery for the manufacture of such a product. Consequently,
the experimenters were forced to prepare their own film bases.
The experiences of those who grappled with this question and faced
trials and tribulations innumerable in this particular phase of
operations make interesting reading. One reduced the celluloid to
a liquid consistency and poured the plastic mass over large glass
plates, rolling it out to form a thin skin. The surface of the glass
previously was cleaned carefully to prevent the mixture adhering
thereto. The pouring had to be carefully done so as to secure an even
thickness, and to avoid the formation of air bubbles. In this way a
thin sheet was secured--a decided forward step. In the dark room this
“base,” as it is called, had next to be covered with a thin layer of
sensitised emulsion, and the whole left to dry. Afterwards the sheet
was cut into strips of the width required for the camera and apparatus.
Unfortunately, in drying, the celluloid was found to play many sorry
tricks. It buckled, twisted, and shrank into strange contortions, and
the films thus produced were still somewhat too substantial, being, in
fact, very similar to those used in the pack-film camera of to-day.
Another worker was more fortunate. By dint of importunity he succeeded
in inducing one manufacturing firm to produce sheets of celluloid
no thicker than drawing paper for his experiments. But when the
sheets were delivered they were far from being satisfactory, being
deficient in uniformity of thickness. Before the surface could be
coated with sensitised emulsion a tedious task had to be performed.
The inequalities had to be scraped and pared off, and finally the
whole sheet had to be made thinner by being rubbed down with emery
cloth and sandpaper. Hours were occupied in this process, and often
a maddening accident happened in the final stages which irreparably
injured the sheet and wasted not only time, but costly material. Even
when sensitising was carried out successfully, it was found extremely
difficult to keep the material flat. It is not surprising that after
a prolonged experience of these disadvantages, this particular
investigator abandoned his experiments for a time.
In the majority of these efforts the pictures obtained were about four
inches in width by three inches deep, while the modern cinematograph
film is only 1⅜ of an inch in width by three-quarters of an inch deep,
and almost as thin as a shaving. The celluloid made at that time was
not very transparent, and as the pictures were somewhat dense, the
results were far from being satisfactory.
It began to look as though celluloid were doomed to follow in the wake
of the other expedients that had been tested and found wanting. Such
would have been the case but for the indefatigable efforts of one
man who persevered with his experiments in the face of heartrending
failures and disappointing results. This was Mr. Eastman, of Rochester,
in the State of New York, who worked in conjunction with Mr. Walker.
These two gentlemen had established a dry photographic plate
manufacturing process, which had developed into a conspicuous success,
and become known as the Eastman Dry Plate Company, now familiar as the
Eastman Kodak Company.
The story of their innumerable experiments and ultimate success
constitutes a fascinating chapter in the story of animated photography.
As early as 1884 Mr. Eastman realised that a substitute for glass was
in demand to facilitate ordinary photography. Accordingly he set out to
discover a system of photographing on films. As he admits himself, it
was by no means a new idea. From time to time spasmodic attempts in the
same direction had been made by enterprising inventors, the earliest
known dating back as far as 1854, a year or two before the invention
of Parkesine, now known as celluloid, by Mr. A. Parkes, of Birmingham.
All of these experimenters, however, had been baffled by the technical
difficulties confronting their quest, and Mr. Eastman had no tangible
assistance to aid him in his work of research. He was compelled to
create the foundation upon which to carry out his developments, and to
reap success from mortifying failures.
In 1884, when Messrs. Eastman and Walker commenced operations, the
problem to be solved in the production of a suitable film, and the
evolution of the means to handle it in the camera, were formidable
obstacles. The mechanical part of the work proved the easier, and
in 1885 roller photography, which has revolutionised the art of
photography, at any rate from the amateur point of view, was invented
and put on the market. This principle is now well known. A length of
film, wound upon one roller, is passed behind the lens in sections
for exposure, and then rolled up on a second roller, until the whole
has been exposed. The device simplified the process very appreciably,
and it may fairly be accused of being the parent of the modern “Kodak
fiend.”
Though the mechanical part of the problem had thus been solved
successfully, the film question was perfected only partially at this
time. The film itself was far from satisfactory, but it sufficed to
meet the requirements of the day, and to enable roller photography to
come into vogue.
To meet the peculiar demands of roller photography, Mr. Eastman had set
himself the task of producing a transparent base or support for the
sensitised emulsion. That is to say, he sought and produced a stable
substitute for the glass plate upon which the sensitised emulsion
to record the image could be mounted. It was no easy search, as he
speedily found to his cost, for it involved scores of experiments, one
after the other, all of which resulted in heartrending failure. He
sought to build up such a base as he had in mind by means of successive
layers of collodion and rubber, but the result did not possess
sufficient substance and strength.
Then he had recourse to paper, which he used merely as a temporary
support. The roll of paper was first coated with soluble gelatine, and
afterwards with the sensitised emulsion, which was rendered insoluble
in itself by the addition of chrome alum. This produced a substantial
film which was exposed by means of the roll holder attached to the
ordinary camera. The image was developed and fixed. Then, still
attached to the paper, the film was placed while wet, immediately after
washing, upon a piece of glass coated with a thin solution of rubber.
As soon as the surface had dried, hot water was applied to the paper,
which as the gelatine dissolved became detached, leaving the film
adhering to the surface of the rubber-coated glass. In place of the
paper a moistened thin sheet of gelatine was substituted. When the
whole had dried thoroughly it was detached from the glass, and the
result was a perfectly transparent negative.
The process was necessarily somewhat intricate and occupied some time,
but the results obtained were sufficiently practicable to render it
commercially exploitable. Mr. Eastman, however, soon recognised the
fact that the trouble of transferring the image from the temporary
paper base to the gelatine support decreased the practical value of
the process. He decided to dispense with the paper support entirely,
and in his search for a suitable substitute his thoughts turned toward
celluloid. He communicated with the various manufacturers of that
material, but not one was prepared to supply him with the substance in
sheets of sufficient size and thinness. Consequently he was compelled
to devise ways and means to supply the deficiency; and this was
achieved partially by accident.
In the early part of 1889 some experiments were being made to discover
a varnish to take the place of the gelatine sheets. One of his chemists
drew Mr. Eastman’s attention to a thick solution of gun-cotton in wood
alcohol. It was tested to prove its suitability to take the place of
the gelatine, but was found wanting in practical efficiency. However,
Mr. Eastman recognised the solution as one which might prove to be the
film base for which he had been searching. He had had such a medium
in mind when engaged in his first experiments in 1884, which resulted
in the production of the stripping film. He decided to utilise this
solution of gun-cotton in wood alcohol and to fashion it into the
foundation for the sensitised emulsion, so that stripping and other
troublesome operations of a like nature might be avoided. He was
moved to this experiment because this solution could be made almost
as transparent practically as glass. Accordingly he set to work to
devise a machine to prepare thin sheets such as he required from this
mixture. Success crowned his efforts, and in 1889 the first long strip
of celluloid film suited to cinematograph work appeared in the United
States.
Messrs. Eastman and Walker had not been alone in their quest. In
England experiments were being carried out in the same field. Curiously
enough, the main idea in this instance was to evolve a form of roller
photography, the British experimenter being Mr. Blair. He likewise met
with success; and the film was manufactured at St. Mary Cray in Kent.
Though this film was far from being perfect, showing considerable
variation in thickness, it served to assist the experiments in animated
photography to a marked degree. The celluloid strip thus produced
was about twice the width of that now used in cinematography, and as
in the early attempts towards moving pictures, no effort was being
made towards projection--the illusion was received by looking into
an instrument through which the film travelled, and behind which a
light was placed--it was made with a matt surface, so that it closely
resembled ground glass, upon which the images stood out distinctly and
brilliantly. The width of the film was gradually decreased; but this
film-manufacturing industry never got a firm foothold in England. The
Blair company was merged in that of the Eastman company in America,
and it was not until many years had passed that another bid for
participation in the manufacture of celluloid film for moving picture
purposes was made by a British firm.
So soon as it leaked out in America in 1889 that Mr. Eastman had
succeeded in his difficult search, and that a film with a transparent
rigid support which was no more difficult to handle than a glass plate,
and yet which was flexible and free from fragility, was commercially
available, another experimenter appeared on the scene. He had been
labouring in the field for some years, but, realising the futility of
glass plates, had postponed his investigations until such time that a
substitute could be obtained. His apparatus was ready, but the film was
the missing link. Immediately it was available he secured some of the
material and completed his apparatus. That man was Thomas Alva Edison,
and his “Kinetoscope,” was the first commercial appliance to show
pictures in natural movement. Animated photography was lifted from the
realm of experiment into that of commercial practicability.