3. Checking-in and house rules – Methodology
3.6 Methods
Se está todavía en la época del cine mudo y aquellos asistentes pudieron ver cómo C.T.
Russell aparecía en la pantalla y pronunciaba un discurso de presentación...
combinación de película y disco sonoro sincronizados: cuando él empezaba a mover los
labios, se ponía en marcha un gramófono. Los espectadores fueron transportados, por
palabra, imágenes en color y música, incluso con algunas secciones de fotografía
acelerada (en la que se podía ver cómo se abría un capullo de una flor o un polluelo
saliendo del cascarón) a un viaje por la historia bíblica.
1Todo ello explicado en 96
presentaciones audiovisuales con una duración de ocho horas que, lógicamente, no se
proyectaban en una única función. Se dividía en cuatro partes de dos horas cada una,
que se proyectaban en teatros, auditorios, etc. de grandes ciudades, ferias o
exposiciones, estaciones o barcos e incluso ante grupos de soldados en zonas de
conflicto.
2Mientras una de las partes de proyectaba en una ciudad, las otras 3 se
proyectaban simultáneamente en otras ciudades, de manera que con un juego completo
del Foto-Drama se podía presentar ante un gran número de asistentes.
“The title of the DRAMA is along the lines foregoing. It therefore includes everything appertaining to the creation of earth--animals, man, the experiences of mankind for the past six thousand years and the work of the thousand years of Messiah's Kingdom. It divides these into four Parts--four Entertainments with appropriate music, etc.
Part I. carries us from star nebula to the creation of the world and down to the Deluge--down to Abraham's time.
Part II. reaches from Israel's deliverance from Egypt, wilderness experiences, etc., down through the period of the Kings to the time of Elisha, the Prophet.
Part III. continues the story from Daniel's time down to the time when the Logos was made flesh at the birth of Jesus, His boyhood, manhood, baptism, ministry, miracles, crucifixion, death, resurrection.
Part IV. begins at Pentecost and traces the experiences of the Church, during the past nineteen centuries to our day and beyond for a thousand years to the glorious consummation. […]
Each set of the DRAMA is capable of serving four cities. After serving one it is passed to another, another, another, and then back again to the starting point. This is giving the desired opportunity to many of the dear friends who have been learning how to operate the Moving Picture Machines. More is needed than merely to know how to turn the handle--a thorough knowledge of the Machine is necessary, and a considerable knowledge of electricity, wiring, etc. Friends who are unincumbered and who have learned the operation of a Moving Picture Machine, and especially those so proficient as to be capable of obtaining a license, are
1 Proclamadores, p.59 y 60; Anuario 1975, p.59 y 60.
2 “Creation Photo-Drama.” En: The Watch Tower, 1914, May 1, p.142 y 143; Reprints, p.5456 y 5457; “Eureka Drama Shown in Station.” En: The Watch Tower, 1916, March 15, p.95; Reprints, p.5875; “1915—Annual Report--1916.” En: The Watch Tower, 1916, vol.37, no.24, December 15, p.388 y 389;
Reprints, p.6022; HALL, W.P. “The Golden Age—From a Soldier’s Viewpoint.” En: The Golden Age,
invited to advise us of their readiness for this means of serving the Lord.”3
“Entre bastidores
¿Qué ocurría entre bastidores durante las proyecciones? ‘El Drama se iniciaba con una película del hermano Russell —dijo la Estudiante de la Biblia Alice Hoffman—. Cuando aparecía en pantalla y empezaba a mover los labios, se ponía en marcha un fonógrafo [...,] y disfrutábamos de escuchar su voz.’
Con referencia a la fotografía con tomas a intervalos prefijados, Zola Hoffman recordó: ‘Estaba allí sentada, con los ojos abiertos de asombro, contemplando la representación de los días de la creación. Veíamos lirios abrirse poco a poco ante nosotros’.
Karl F. Klein, un amante de la música que forma parte del Cuerpo Gobernante de los Testigos de Jehová, añade: ‘La proyección de aquellas imágenes iba acompañada de música magnífica, con joyas como
Narcissus y Humoresque’.
También hubo incidentes dignos de recordarse. ‘A veces se producían contratiempos graciosos —recordó Clayton J. Woodworth, hijo—. En una ocasión estaba sonando la música de ‘Huye como un pájaro a tu montaña’ mientras en la pantalla aparecía la imagen de un enorme gigantosaurio, un animal antediluviano de gran tamaño.’”4
A.O. Hudson, un EIB inglés que vivió de cerca aquella experiencia
“sensacional”, recuerda algunos de los aspectos que implicaba. Igualmente, un EIB
anónimo que colaboró en las presentaciones del Foto-Drama proporciona algunos datos
de sus recuerdos.
“Two factors rendered the Photo-Drama of absorbing public interest. One was the fact of the films being in colour, at a time when even black and white films were relatively new and colour photography had not been invented. The art of imposing successive pictures on a moving film to produce the illusion of movement had been invented by Edison only so recently as 1892 and it was early in the present century before public ‘cinematograph theaters’ began to open. These Photo-Drama films were the first colour films ever to be seen and they were regarded at the time as sensational. They were in fact produced by hand colouring, frame by frame, a colossal task involving the treatment of nearly a quarter million individual pictures each measuring only one and a quarter inches by one inch – the work must have been done under magnifying glasses. The second factor was the employment of ‘talking’ coloured slides. These were the orthodox three-inch square glass optical lantern slides of the times, specially made for the purpose; others were photographed from existing scientific data […] There were just under fifteen hundred of these slides altogether. Each of the four presentations comprised twenty-four gramophone speech recordings descriptive of and synchronised with the associated groups of slides. At appropriate intervals there appeared a short film which covered a particular Bible story or theme for about twenty minutes accompanied by appropriate musical pieces on the gramophone (musical accompaniments to silent films were normal in those days and talking films had not been invented).
3“The Photo-Drama of Creation.” En: The Watch Tower, 1914, April 1, p.104-106; Reprints, p.5433 y 5434.
4 “Estén de pie completos y con firme convicción. Una obra maestra.” En: La Atalaya, 2001, 15 de enero, p.8 y 9.
The ‘mechanics’ of the operation were quite complicated. There had to be an optical lantern with its operator for the slides, focussed on the screen. Secondly, a cine-projector for the films, with its own operator, similarly focussed. Down below, at the foot of the screen, two gramophones, each having its own operator, working alternately to ensure continuous speech consistent with the removing and replacing of records (which at that time could only run for a few minutes each). […]”5
“A letter from a Photodrama operative
In the 1970s I used to do a slide and motion picture talk on the history of the Watch Tower Society – doing a balancing act with a slide projector, cassette tape recorder, and eventually cine projector, plus microphone and my own voice. It was somewhat fraught, but the Photodrama of Creation played a big part in this.
Initially my ‘slides’ were actually photographs of the 40 plus postcards of the Photodrama that I had obtained via another hobby. Later, copies of slides became available. But some odd frames of film of CTR were in circulation – often stuck on cards as souvenir bookmarks. I managed to track down their source and in the early 1970s visited an elderly JW who had been a projectionist in 1914. I managed to retrieve from his attic a roll of film of CTR, and to cut a long story short, that piece of film now features in the reconstructed Photodrama videos available online. (The person who put it all together with extreme dedication has subsequently managed to complete the sequence, adding the bits that my source had sadly already cut off the roll for souvenirs)
My source, who had the initials HR, told tales of being imprisoned in a metal projection box at some places. Because most commercial film was nitrate stock – although surprisingly the Photodrama films weren’t – they were highly inflammable, and after some disasters with picture houses burning down, in the UK at least it was customary for the projectionist to be buried in a metal box. If the film caught fire – well, he could trust in the resurrection – but the audience could get out. HR told tales of working in his under garments, it was so hot in the box at times.
There were about half a dozen who were trained at the same time, he did the work for about six months, and met CTR in person at the London opening. (He also knew Jesse Hemery, Paul Johnson and others of that era, but that’s another story).
In 1974 I wrote him for some further information – asking about such matters as how many staff were needed for a full performance, how many films of Pastor Russell were shown, how the heralded synchronized sound was achieved (or not as the case may be), and how the Eureka Drama worked? I don’t have a copy of my original letter – these were pre- computer days – but I do have his reply, in very neat handwriting for someone who was then in his late eighties – and still travelled around by motorised bicycle (moped).
I am reproducing his reply here – and the questions I must have asked him initially will be fairly obvious.
Dear ....
Thank you for your letter. I am very pleased to have been able to contribute something towards the picture.
It is going back nearly to the ‘Dark Ages’ to try and recall what happened. Now to your five questions:
1. Floor manager, operator, sister on gramophones (2 of them), 4 to 8 sisters acting as ushers, complete with torch light – dressed in black frocks, with white frilled aprons.
5 HUDSON, Albert Owen. Bible Students in Britain : the story of a hundred years. Hounslow, Middlesex : Bible Fellowship Union, 1989, p.63-68.
No. required according to size of Hall.
Sometimes the projector operator would see all 4 parts through – other times he took his part 1,2,3, or 4, to another exhibition.
There was one part shown each night. 2. Film of Bro Russell opened each part.
The ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ was played just preceding, and as it stopped, the film of CTR came on screen.
3. The synchronization of the films with the talking record was achieved by the skill of the operator – one controlled the film according to the voice and movement of CTR’s hands.
As one example in part three, there was a Frenchman (I think) singing ‘La Rameau’ which also had to be synchronized.
If you were too quick (not understanding French) he would walk off – while song was still on!!!
The variable speed of the m/c (machine) was only the skill of the operator. Machines had a ‘Maltese Cross’ which jerked the picture down each revolution to the next.
4. No such thing as sound track was even heard of in those days – but music was played with films.
5. The ‘Eureka’ was an entirely different matter, and only used, as far as I know, where no electricity was available – such as country villages – I did six of them – I cannot remember now if any music was used with these.
Re: no. 1 addition – 2 gramophones were used where it was possible to get them (on loan from local shop)
Trust this information, to the best of recollection, will fill in some details. The films gradually wore out, particularly part 3, where Jesus in coloured robe, required more light and thus heat, so the films tended to cockle, resulting in broken sprockets – most machines would not take such film – the Guilbert machine, with a little coaxing, would pass it – hence No 3 part had to have that machine, which incidentally, I got stuck on quite a bit, latterly.
I enjoyed the work, and to this day the sound of the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ will quicken my pulse.
I can’t think of anything else, but a question from you may jog the memory, so write if you wish too (sic)
Best wishes, I am sure your effort will be much appreciated. H”6