Film and TV Technician (1957)

270 FILM & TV TECHNICIAN May 1958 COMMERCIAL TV (Continued) B.B.C. engineers was asked when he thought that it would really come in. His answer was illuminating and typical. " It will start ", he said, " in my opinion, Ave years from some, as yet, unspecified date ". Looking back on the history of television, one is amazed at the speed of its development and the breadth of its achievement. I think we may congratulate ourselves; but. for heaven's sake, let us not be complacent. Let us not imagine that television has succeeded because of the excellence of the product. It has not. Television has captured its audience because it appeals to the lazy and the impoverished, because it calls for an expenditure, on the part of the viewer, neither of money nor of effort. Compared with the general run of its rival arts, the theatre and the cinema, its standards are dismally low. There is still much to be done. ONE-MAN SHOW Cornel Lucas, personality photographer with the Rank Organisation, who has been in photography for twenty years and a member of A.C.T.T. for the same length of time, is holding a one-man exhibition of his work at Kodaks, Kingsway, until May 21st. The exhibition includes many examples in colour and black-andwhite of personalities he has photographed over the last twelve years. During this time he has photographed some of the world's most attractive women. He has travelled round the world twice photographing the faces of film personalities. He has also covered film festivals wherever the British Film Industry is represented. Cornel Lucas has had many exhibitions of his work throughout the country but none of them as large as the present one which is tlic first one-man exhibition of a photographer in the film industry. At the conclusion of the London showing the exhibition will go on tour. Cameramen on the Move In an average year, cameramen in Pictorial, News and Documentary departments travel many thousands of miles abroad. They work hard, but at least they do see the world, while the rest of us have to keep in the picture with guide books. Recently, however, the administration " backroom boys " have been holding aloft the Pathe standard overseas. They include: Terry Ashwood, General Manager of the Production Division, accompanied by Harry Field, Production Executive of the TV Commercials Department, recently returned from a ten days visit to the Warners, Columbia, and Desilu studios convinced that film production over there is still thriving. Judging from the general enthusiasm everywhere there are very few indications of the truth in rumours that times are bad, they report. Bob Fitchett, Production Manager, TV Commercials, has had ten days in Italy, supervising company interests in Rome. An interesting aspect of the business over there noted by Bob is the fact that commercials on television are transmitted every evening in one quarter-hour programme, so that viewers can switch off if they so desire. On the other hand, with all due respect to the advertising spots produced in this country, some of which are quite good, the two-minute twenty-second Italian commercials have considerably more entertainment value. The comparative tranquility of our busy Wardour Street studios was threatened recently by the arrival of a ferocious looking leopard, booked for a session on the set with Director Eric Fullilove and his crew. Extensive precautions were taken, and, needless to say, heavy insurance taken out in view of the jungle cat's reputation. It says much for the composure of the technicians that they stood their ground firmly as the leopard stalked In, dragging his trainer behind. But when the studio lights were switched on. the overgrown pussy-cat rolled over on to its back, and literally asked for its tummy to be scratched! Filming went off without a hitch (which is more than we can say when dealing with highly paid human artists). Incidentally, the Pic cameramen can probably claim to be the most experienced of all in dealing with wild animals. Among the incidents that spring to mind is the time that . . . Stan Goozee filmed at the flat of two spinster ladies who kept two huge crocodiles in the bath! Another is when Martin Rolfe escaped unscathed after filming a fully grown " tame " lion in someone's back garden, only to be bitten next day by a tiny bear cub at London Zoo. 3P^5-~ d 3 0 0 I'll say it's a luxury cinema — look how you sink into the carpet Talking about animals reminds me that John Parsons, who handles Casting for TV Commercials, really has his hands full these days. And besides the leopard I mentioned before, there seems to have been a heavy demand of the domestic sort — not always with gratifying results. For example, iust to add to Eric Fullilove's burden, a band of cats was booked for a cat food commercial. For a whole day they fought when they should have purred, and purred when they should have fought, until it was decided to make a fresh start at the home of the cats. Roy H. Lewis