LOCAL YOUTHS CONSTRUCT MACHINE FOR TAKING MOVING PICTURES

Have Perfected Their Invention and Will Sell Their Productions to a Local Theatre-

Only Machine of its Kind in Canada

[Welland Telegraph, 12 March 1912]

Two local boys who are of an inventive turn of mind, have invested, constructed and about perfected what is probably the only machine in Canada used for taking of moving pictures, with the exception of course, of those owned by big moving picture companies.

These boys-Arthur Cox and Gordon Kappler-are both still under fifteen years of age and the story of their work in building this very wonderful machine shows that they have a remarkable amount of perseverance for youths of that age.

Began Last November

They first got the idea, or rather the notion, to build the machine last November. An outline of the necessary requirements they found in a popular magazine and following the suggestions made, began work.

However, the scheme didn’t work as well as they hoped and their first attempt ended in a failure. Then they decided to try out an idea of their own so they set about to make another machine. Since that time they have been at work on the latter and a few days ago took their first picture.

The Machine

The contrivance fits into a wooden box six and a half inches wide, twenty inches high and sixteen inches long, with a small recess projecting on the top for the film. The only tools used in its construction were a hammer and a saw. The lens was secured from a local photographer, the gears and several other small appliances from two local factories. The total cost did not exceed twelve dollars.

First Pictures

Last Thursday afternoon they made their initial experiment taking as their subject a number of skaters at the Cordage open air rink. Being the first attempt something was certain to go wrong but even at that the experiment was really successful. Thirteen feet of film worked and pictures taken on this strip but at this point one side of the film caught and tore. The other thirteen feet developed fairly well but the lens was not set exactly correct to secure a perfect picture.

Will Be Shown Here

The film is very expensive and to meet this the youthful inventors have made arrangements with a local moving picture theatre within a short time, but have not yet selected their subject.

The pictures are taken by the turning of a handle on the side of the machine which rapidly opens and abuts the camera and at the same time pulls the film over the lens. Two films are required in the perfection of the work. Sixteen pictures are taken every second requiring one foot of film a second.

The machines such as are used by the big picture companies cost about ten thousand dollars.