5h. The proper running speed of silent film
Description
This article is from the alt.movies.silent FAQ, by Rick Levinson Rick.Levinson@sympatico.ca and Emily Way emily@vex.net with numerous contributions by others.
5h. The proper running speed of silent film
There are infrequent disputes over the proper running speed of
silent film. Please don't mention this. It's been known to cause
nervous breakdowns.
Okay; if you want the goods on the proper running speed, check out
David Pierce's peerless Silent Film Bookshelf Web site:
http://www.cinemaweb.com/silentfilm/bookshelf/
Bob Lipton notes: "there is no 'proper' running speed for silents.
As both cameras and projectors were hand-cranked, the action running
speeds varied according to the dictates and whims of the cameramen
and projectionists. Comedies were typically run faster than
dramas."
In his book SEDUCTIVE CINEMA: THE ART OF SILENT FILM (Knopf: New
York, 1994), James Card, the founder of the famed George Eastman
film archive housed in Rochester, New York, discusses among other
things the holy grail of the "proper" running speed for silent
film, on pp. 52-56.
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