American television directory (1946)

V isual continuity is the stock in trade of television. Pictures are its “reason for being,” and on the production of good pictures, woven together in smooth continuity, its very existence depends. Curiously enough, because television is a new medium, there seem to be many who consider it quite unnecessary to take advantage of the wealth of pictor¬ ial knowledge and the time-tested fun¬ damentals that have evolved through centuries of picture making. There are those who would blunder ahead — delay¬ ing the advancement of television by so doing — completely disregarding the val¬ uable knowledge that has been gained at great cost during fifty years of mo¬ tion picture continuity production. There is more to making good tele¬ vision pictures than appears on the surface. They don’t just happen, and there is nothing suddenly new about them. They are not made by any one who happens to come along. A Godgiven gift, a high sense of selectivity, a lot of “know how,” and a flair for showmanship are essential. Good Composition Builds Interest Good pictures are compounded out of the principles of art and the laws of what we call composition. Without composition there is no picture, for it is the thing that makes the picture good, bad, or indifferent. Pictorial items thrown together without the application of these principles may have statistical value, but they certainly have no pic¬ torial significance. The piano keyboard, for instance, is able to produce many different musical notes. If they are struck at random there is no music, but if played by someone who knows how to put them together, customers stand in line at the box office. Unfortunately, for those who like short cuts and the easy road to success, there are practically no rules for com¬ posing pictures. The few that can be laid down “hard and fast” are negative rather than positive. They are “don’ts.” But there are guiding principles and basic factors which may be learned and Condensed from Hoyland BeHinger's forthcoming book, "Television Program¬ ming" (Harpers & Bros., 1946). FUNDAMENTALS OF VISUAL CONTINUITY Programming quality demands preplanning. Here are the basic forms employed in Hollywood story-board planning, illustrated with drawings by the author. _By HOYLAND BETTINGER Former Program Manager, Station WRGB used as working tools in the creation of good visual continuity. A design is an arrangement of shapes. A picture is a design plus a story or mood. A great picture has, in addition, a spark of the artist’s personality. Shapes are made up of line, mass and form. Our emotional reaction to shapes is very pronounced. We react quite dif¬ ferently to a huge bulky shape than we do, let us say, to a petite blond. It is because of the known and predictable reaction to shapes that the artist and photographer are able to compose pic¬ tures that attract an audience. Shapes Create Moods The arranging of shapes into pictures that will convey a story or mood re¬ quires an understanding of the psycho¬ logical factors which control our re¬ sponse to pictorial effects. These factors can be traced directly to our reactions to things commonly experienced in life. To make this clear: when in a prone, relaxed position, we rest or go to sleep; hence, the picture in which horizontal, quiet lines predominate, gives us a feel¬ ing of restfulness and repose; whereas, the picture built on strong diagonals gives us something of the same reaction we get from watching violent action. From this it will be clear that the basic structure of the picture — the ab¬ stract form around which it is built — governs our emotional response to it. These basic forms or structures can be listed, described, and memorized. They can be utilized to create and control audience reaction. Before considering them in detail, however, we should become familiar with the significance of line, mass and form. Significance of Line Line, as it is thought of in a picture, is formed by the edge of a mass or an area. It may be a line that is actually seen, or a line that is suggested by a repetition of spots. These are called transitional lines — a means of getting from one place to another. Our mental reactions establish lines where none act¬ ually exist. We “feel” a line running from head to head in a scene involving a number of people, provided they are arranged in some geometrical pattern, such as a triangle. Line may also be felt by direction of movement. We think of lines as being straight or curved or broken, and as being horizon¬ tal, vertical or diagonal. Each has its psychological meaning. The Psychology of Line Straight lines give a feeling of direct¬ ness, rigidity, masculinity and the like. They should be used where those feel¬ ings dominate a scene. Curved lines express charm, grace and femininity. The curved line is the line of beauty and graceful movement. Broken lines express informality, inde¬ cision, disorder, and similar states. ( Continued on page 62) 60