Systematic Attempt to Make the Fight Intelligible by the Cinema Few of those who read that an attempt is to be made, by means of the screen, to explain to this and future generations the various phases of the Battle of Jutland, can have any conception of the vast undertaking to which Sir George Aston and his helpers have set their hands.
Even before work can begin on' the film itself, weeks have to be spent in making tests, says the "Times." Minute calculations have been necessary to decide the size of the board on which the ships have to maneuvre. It was soon. proved that any idea of working strictly to proportion and scale was impracticable owing to the great distances covered.
To take in a rectangle 30ft. by soft. a special scaffolding would have to be erected for the camera, and the models would appear so small as to be scarcely discernible on the screen. Tests were made, and it was decided to use a board Sft. square, and, in order to get as large an area as possible in the field of the lens, the camera was set above it at an oblique angle. Gearing was attached to the camera so that it could be turned from the ground. The painting of the board was another difficulty. Sir George Aston insisted that the ships must not be black, as they would look unnatural. Distinct white is a bad photographic colour, and the background and both sets of ships had to be painted in' carefully graduated shades of grey. The models used are: in. three sizes—4in., for the "close-ups," gin. for the medium shots," and lin. for the "long shots." Each ship has to be moved separately, as no apparatus could be devised which would move as many as 70 or 80 ships in different directions in and out and at varying speeds. "A model ship can only be moved 1-16 of an inch for each picture.
There are 16 pictures to each foot of film, and to show the formation of the Grand Fleet on its way across the North Sea took 90ft. of film and necessitated 80,000 separate movements. To show the journey of the German Fleet 60,000 movements were necessary. It_is a fascinating experience to follow out Sir George Aston's plans. He has succeeded in work. ing out. the course of both Fleets throughout the action, with the result that in many.cases in checking tha positions of two vessels at a given time and comparing them with the ranges in the gunnery commander's log they have been found to vary only by a few yards. By means of the screen the producers hope that the public will be able for the first time to follow he movements of each individual ship.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.