Business screen magazine (1946)

ire wc" h;icl the rollback system, hich they arc aware of ami are very iterested in installing. From I cnmpr.iil wc went to last cmiany and visileil the old UFA tudios in Potsdam which is now illed Df:FA Studios. This is one of le largest studios in Germany and le oldest. Marlene Dietrich. Max cinhart and Karl Freund arc prod'^ :ts of this studio, which should speak )r itself. We visited some of the sets nd again noticed how elaborate they ere. In touring the stages we noticed ne particularly elaborate set vshich ."sembled something we would use )rthe American picture 2001 . In the processing department we VH new 70mm background projec)rs. These pieces of equipment were ery beautifully built. Due to the time mit we did not visit the film processes ig laboratory. We were very well -eated by Professor Wilkening, Di^ Xtor of Production and Technique. K We noticed for the first time that lis studio can buy what equipment chooses from various countries withul having to manufacture its own or uy strictly behind the iron curtain. Potsdam has been practically rebuilt ince the end of World War II. at 'hich time it was totally demolished. (1 its reconstruction they have tried } retain the appearance of the original uildings so the town looks very much s it did many years ago. From East Germany we went to 'rague, Czechoslovakia, and here we pent a full day at the Barrandov Stuios. We were hosted by Executive 'roducer Petr Capek. This also is uite a large studio and they showed s some very elaborate plans for exanding into approximatLly double its resent size. It is located a short disuice outside of Prague on a high ilateau overlooking the city, and all if the editorial rooms open out on a eautiful landscape view. We visited me of the sets where th;y were shootng a waterfront cafe scene to play »ack. An interesting thing was the fact hat the camera was on a dolly and he dolly track had a 90 degree curve n it which enabled them to go around I beam on the set. The sound peopLm this set were all women, and we ooked up and saw that an electrician vho was moving a big light also was I woman. We visited the editorial department. vhich is a different building set off lom the rest of the studio complex. 3ach editor — and again these were all vomen — had her own individual editng room fashioned like a small apartnent, with French doors on one side vhich open out onto a patio. There were a few other touches of home in hese editorial rooms, such as potted plants, pictures on the walls, a small kitchenette, and the ever popular coffee pot. We noticeil the eililori.il equipment here anil at the oilier sludios was ol the Hat ilesk l\pe aiul the lilni moves horizontalK. similar to the Stcenbcck. All equipment used in this studio — cameras, sound equipment, editorial, processing, etc. — is manufactured by a supply company inside the organization of Barrandov Studios. Again the workmanship seemed to be excellent, and as their equipment is available for export sales, we were given an equipment catalog. We were particularly impressed by an edge numbering machine of rather unique design. We had lunch in the board room and met Jaroslav Fiala. Chief of the Technical Department, and several other engineers. The\ expressed a desire for technical information from the West, which they had not received for the past eighteen months, and we promised that we would do our best to gather the available technical manuals and forward them to Barrandov through the Czech Embassy in Washington. This we did and wc have received an acknowledgement that the material was received intact. Jack Clink observes 300-year old bronze bell, one of the world's largest, inside the Kremlin. The afternoon was spent mainly in their sound department where we saw dubbing facilities and rerecording facilities, scoring stages, portable sound trucks that carried 35mm magnetic recording equipment — all of their own manufacture. Mr. Capek explained that most production is in b w because of the high expense of color. We were amazed to find out that they make very few prints, possibly not more than 50, because they just service Czechoslovakia. Many very noteworthy pictures have been made at this studio, among them "Closely IVaichcel Trains," and the Acadcmv Award winning "Store on Main Street." We were very impressed by their special effects department, and their facilities which are available to foreign producers. We saw some American Western barroom sets, as well as covered wagons on the back lot. All iiueresling sidelight is thai there IS a \ery delinile separ.itmii between motion picture studio theatre production and television. Television has its own production facilities and uses Idnim. The features that do go on television are projected in .■?5mm. Television production is mostly documentary and news. There is no videotape at all connected with the studio. What little there is is strictly in the television studios. Our travels behind the Iron Curtain were arranged and supervised by Intourist, a very efficient government operated tourist bureau. Many appointments were made by them, in addition to the arrangements made in advance by the (EC with various studios, as well as our guides acting as interpreters when needed. These guides were always efficient and courteous. We had all of the freedom anyone could ask for. After we finished our twenty-one days behind the Iron Curtain, we decided to visit Munich for a rest and a visit to the Arriflex factory where we were greeted by Klaus Bockmann. He in turn took us to the Bavaria Film Studios in the outskirts of Munich. primarily to see the ARRI processing installation. In this big laboratory there are 25 processing machines. Being all of the same manufacture and color, they gave a very startling appearance as we walked in. An interesting thing was one of the procesing machines had been in this laboratory since prior to World War II and was evidently still doing a very good job. ■At every studio we visited we found the personnel to be extremely courteous and quite willing to sit down and exchange ideas. It seemed that except for the language barrier we could more or less work sid: by side with the film production people of each country. All in all. our film studio tour was a valuable one for all who participated. It showed us how we can help our counterparts in Europe, in improving their film production and processing — and it opened our eyes to the availability of some interesting equipment ideas and possible savings for our clients. We would sincerely recommend that other film representatives — producers, sound and recording experts, equipment salesmen, and specialized SMPTE committees — made a point of visiting thesj studios. We will benefit in two specific ways: through helping creative film people produce a better product for their publics — and gaining a real appreciation for the similarity of our production methods. July/August. 1971 25