Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/762

 734

��Popular Science Monthly

��the subject of constant experiment. Theoretically the blues are the most sen- sitive, yet some companies insist that other colors be used. The net result of color on the film is gray, and provided the right tint is obtained, the color pref- erence of the individual make-up special- ists does not matter at all.

Browns are depended upon to make up Indians, Malays and other characters o f dark skins ; but a very little brown goes a long way, for brown is a combination of red, black and grey, evidently a danger- ous and dark-col- ored combination.

For mulattos or negroes a darker shade of the same pigment is all that is required, al- though there are special prepara- tions for the negro make-up. Of course, our knowl- edge of film color- value teaches us that other dark tints might be used instead of brown or black, but the use of the correct color has an- other advantage. It tells the usually ig- norant "super" or "extra" what he is for the moment. There is a good deal in feeling the part, most actors tell us.

Occasionally an actor will be found wnth a peculiar skin, one that contains unusual pigments, and it invariably pho- tographs very dark. The cure, in case of extreme darkness, may occasionally be accomplished in the developing room. Ghastly faces to accompany death scenes are obtained by a liberal application of white make-up.

Both facial make-ups and costumes are influenced by the color of the back- ground. An experienced actor, called in to take part in a certain picture, will, be- fore making up, carefully examine the color of the set in front of which he is to act. He does not want to make up, especially in the matter of clothing, too nearly the color of the set, for in that case he would not stand out from the background. Yet he has a still greater

���Any sort of cardboard box can be opened

without breaking the contents if this

handy knife is used

��fear of dressing so as to create too sharp a contrast, for too great contrast is the despair of the man in the darkness who develops the film. If an actress wears a white shirt-waist against a black back- ground, one of two things happens, either the film is over-exposed, or it is under-exposed. It takes much less time to develop the white than it does the black, and if both are shown in con- trast in the same scene, one or the other will suffer. This theory of con- trasts also holds for the c o lo r s. Reds and blues make a poor com- bination, either in the setting or in the actor's or ac- tress's clothes, or in the facial make- up, for the blues develop faster than the reds. In fact, it is always better to use in one scene adjacent colors of the spectrum. Occasionally 3'ou will notice an actor or actress with lips and cheeks to which the color has been too liberally applied. This is over-zealousness in an attempt to counteract the blue rays from the overhead lamps by means of which the studio scenes are lighted. As all lamps in common use give off a large percent- age of blue rays, reds and yellows suffer in proportion, so that it becomes neces- sary to apply a color that will compen- sate this elimination.

��A

fact

��Novel Box-Opening Knife

NOVEL knife for opening paste- board boxes of groceries and in any sealed cartons without dan- ger of cutting one's fingers or project- ing the knife into the contents of the box, has been recently invented.

The knife is a short blade project- ing centrally from an angular shoe, the sides of which are at right angles to each other, so as to form a channel adapted to run smoothly along the edge of a box while the blade slits its edge.

�� �