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Show BOYS' HANDICRAFT By A. NEELY HALL Author of "Handicraft for Handy Eaya" and "The Boy Craftsman" rPNlfWsH 6 fL -r,ji " ii i- - ! " i I i I - Jw - FlS.3-5TEEET SCENE FIG 4 - ROOF-TOP SCE.NE JJ Lil JJi hk WFtG.5- FOBEST SceHejI FIG 6-THE CAPTUBED DOG Scenery fob a pictuefstoey etitlep'A dog chase" A MOVING-PICTURE THEATER. Every boy can give moving-picture shows at home after constructing the miniature theater described below. This is easy to build and you will find the work Interesting; while planning new ideas for pictures will furnish enough additional occupation to keep fou from growing tired of the toy. If you can get an old picture-frame with about a 16 by 30-inch opening it will form a splendid stage front, but If you cannot obtain one make a rough frame out of boards four inches wide. After producing the frame, prepare a box about 18 inches high, 4 feet long and 8 inches deep, for the stage framework. Notch., one edge of the top li inches from each end, making mak-ing the notches one inch square (A, Fig. 2); then prepare the socket blocks B 3 inches square, bore a one-Inch one-Inch hole through each, and screw or nail them to the stage framework so the holes will come directly under Blots A. Cut the rollers C from the straight ends of broom-handles or from curtain poles, and prepare a number of them. Tack a piece or cloth about eight inches square to each four Inches from the lower end to pin the ends of the picture strips to. Prepare, the two wooden buttons D and screw them to the top edge of the framework in the proper position " to hold the rollers in the slots. Prepare Pre-pare the cranks E as shown in Fig. 2. The purpose of sticks F is to hold the strip of pictures close to the front of the stage. Place them close to the front of the framework and about three inches from each side of where the front frame opening will come. The flickering of the light of a moving-picture show can be produced toy preparing a cardboard cylinder with a number of circular openings cut through it, and pivoting It at its center in front of the lantern. When the disk is whirled rapidly it will produce pro-duce the desired flickering effect. The pictures should be lighted from the front. If you haven't a magic lantern, lan-tern, get a small box, cut a hole In the front for the light to Bhlne larouga, and place an electric-light Fig. i.-TmcCcwplctcd TntATCE -'-'I: FiC 2 View rt:OK P.fE (TEroeE rp-'-iT fi.-- n ATTAC-irD lamp or an oil lamp inside. This will be your "moving-picture machine." For the picture strips use white cheesecloth or muslin. Cut them about eight inches wide, and sew together to-gether as many lengths as are necessary neces-sary for the set. of pictures you plan. You will find an unlimited assortment assort-ment of pictures from which to make selections, In newspapers and magazines. maga-zines. Before preparing a set of pictures, select the subject and write out a synopsis of the story. Perhaps you can think of a good set of pictures that you have seen at a moving-picture theater. Suppose you choose "A Dog Chase" for the story. Hunt up a picture showing a dog running and paste It upon one of your cloth strips; then select pictures of boys, girls, men and women, afoot, In automobiles automo-biles and other vehicles, and after leaving a space of about two feet behind be-hind the dog arrange the pictures one after another. You might start the chase with a small boy, then have a policeman chasing after him, then a butcher running behind the police man, after him a lady pushinga baby carriage, and so on. Fig. 1 shows the boy operator exhibiting ex-hibiting Just such a strip of pictures. Of course the picture-frame opening above and below the strip of pictures must be filled up to prevent the operator op-erator from being seen. This may be taken care of by tacking a piece of white cloth of cardboard wide enough to lap one-half Inch over the edge of the picture strip to the back of the picture-frame, above and below the picture strip. But here Is a better Idea. " Prepare scenery to fill In tbose places. This may be prepared very roughly upon cardboard. Cardboard from boxes may be used, and, if this Is colored, white paper may be pasted over it, for a working face. With scenery, it will be possible to use one strip of pictures for several scenes. Taking "A Dog Chase," for example, you might prepare the four scenes as suggested In Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6. In the first scene the dog and his pursuers should be shown dashing dash-ing down the street and in through the front door of the cottage at the left. It would be an unusual sight to see automobiles and other vehicles running through buildings In everyday life, but not so In movlng-plcture shows. The effect of the figures going go-ing into the house may be bettered by cutting a window where indicated so the audience will see the figures passing it. Scene 2 shows the dog sitting upon a roof top. In an instant the dog must leap off, and then his pursuers must dash across and leap off after him. A picture showing a dog in a sitting position must be selected for this scene, be pasted upon a piece or cardboard, and- pivoted by means o! thread to the back of the roof scenery scen-ery so it may be swung down out of sight. In the third, or forest scene, the pursuers should be seen passing behind be-hind the trees, and In the lourth scene all fhoulil be shown grouped about the captured dog. For this, last scene you will require a new set of figures, and a piece of cardboard of the size of the frame opening upon which to arrange and paste them. (Copyright, 1312. by A. Neely Hall.) |