The Exhibitor (Jun-Oct 1939)

BETTER MANAGEMENT BM-23 Unretouched Photograph Did you ever throw a carpet away because the BACK was worn out? SMPE Tele Committee Reports to the Body That the motion picture industry will not be caught napping by the advent of television, as it was with the revolutionary appearance of the talkies, was indicated in the report of the tele¬ vision committee of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers read at the recent semi-annual con¬ vention. Outlining the scope and organization of the committee’s activities, Dr. Alfred N. Goldsmith, the chairman and one-time SMPE president, said "the committee will endeavor to collect, formu¬ late, clarify, and disseminate useful information to the motion picture industry as to television film and pictorial requirements; and to the radio television groups as to motion picture capabilities and availability. "It is hoped to avoid conflicting standards or practices in the two arts. The membership of the committee includes prominent members of both industries so that an automatic liaison will exist. The first aim will be to collect existing informa¬ tion; second, to guard against misunderstanding, misstatements, unnecessary conflicts of aims or opinions, and to obviate or reconcile these whenever possible. The third purpose is to act as one guiding agency in directing technical activities common to the two industries, and furthering interchange of mutually helpful data.” Two sub-committees have been established: one, on production and technique, under the chair¬ manship of O. B. Hanson, chief engineer of the National Broadcasting Company; two, on film properties and laboratory practice, under the chairmanship of O. Sandvik, of the Eastman Kodak Company. The sub-committees will de¬ vote themselves to establishing a glossary of terms and nomenclature; to preparing a list of books and articles dealing with television and its re¬ lationships to motion pictures; to providing data on equipment, methods, use of films, with respect to their present status and probable trends; to establishing standards; to handling special prob¬ lems such as inter-industry co-operation, future equipment needs and specifications. "It is impractical at the present time to re¬ port specifically on a number of items falling within the scope of the committee,” the report states, "because the technique of television is in the state of flux, and many phases of the art are really in the experimental stage. As a basis of a temporarily acceptable policy for the motion picture industry, the opinion appears to be that the present motion-picture standards are accept¬ able for television, and that television will try to work toward those standards. "There are, however, differences between the requirements of the television art and those of the motion picture art. For that reason, much of the early work of the committee is to be of an educational nature. There are differences as to set construction, scenery, and limits as to detail size and coloring. There are also limitations of systems in relation to the sensitivity of the television camera, types of light sources, floor and overhead lighting, long shots and close-ups, moulding and air-conditioning.” IN THE THEATRE. Here is the Baird tele¬ vision equipment as set up in the Marble Arch Pavilion, London. Pictures are projected on an auxiliary screen. The special speakers for the audio portion of the broadcast flank the sheet. No, of course not. It’s the face of the carpet that gets the wear. That’s why Alexander Smith puts all the wool . . . every single ounce into the face of CRESTWOOD Carpet. l00c/° wool face is one reason for CRESTWOOD’s amazing wear record . . . one reason why CREST WOOD is America’s biggest-selling carpet. There are many other reasons of course. We’ll he delighted to demonstrate them to you. Just telephone MUrray Hill 4-7S00, Extension 17. Or write Contract Carpet Division, Alexander Smith & Sons Carpet Co., 295 Fifth Avenue, New \ ork. ALEXANDER SMITH Crestwood Carpet May 17, 1919