British Kinematography (1953)

10 BRITISH KINEMATOGRAPHY Vol. 22, No. 1 be balanced — as I have demonstrated to-night — to the point where the treble control will be unnecessary. A Member : The response curves suggest that we cannot expect to get anything above 5,000 c/s. on 16mm. prints. Does Mr. Leevers think that good musical reproduction is possible under these conditions ? The Author : I do not suggest that faithful reproduction of music can be achieved with this limitation, but a very satisfying result can be given. We can, of course, exceed the 5 kc/s. limit if we re-record on to the print or use a non-slip printer. Mr. W. S. Bland : Does Mr. Leevers think that the optical reduction process should be abandoned in favour of 16mm. contact printing ? The Author : If possible, yes, but I do not see that it is possible. In this industry at present more 16mm. prints are produced by the optical reduction process than by all other processes put together. That condition will persist for some time. Much picture material is on 35mm. and both 35mm. and 16mm. prints are required from it. Mr. M. V. Hoare : I feel that undue attention has been paid to the use of the 35mm. " compensated " negative. In my opinion the trade is becoming increasingly aware of the better prints obtainable with contact printing from a 16mm. sound negative, and this is replacing the use of a compensated 35mm. negative. But this does not get over the problem of getting 16mm. prints from old 35mm. negatives where the cost of a re-recorded sound negative is not justified. The Author : I agree. There is no cheap alternative where old films are concerned. The purchaser either pays for a re-recorded negative and gets good sound or he pays a rock bottom price for an optical reduction from the old negative and gets inferior sound. A Member : 16mm. sound prints are being used for television transmission and this use will probably increase. Which of the recording characteristics shown to-night is recommended for this purpose ? The Author : I have no practical experience of the suitability of the two alternatives yet, but my Company is committed to two development projects which will include further investigation of this point. On the one hand the desirability of using the same recording for television as for theatrical release prints implies the use of the usual motion picture dialogue characteristic as described in my paper. On the other, we must remember that television sound is primarily intended for reproduction at low volume in domestic surroundings rather than in large auditoria, and for this the more level speech characteristic used by the B.B.C. would seem more logical. In both cases supplementary equalization in accordance with the acoustics of sets must be used and the recommended fixed equalization for the printing process added. The Chairman (Dr. D. Ward) : What method do you recommend for getting the best sound quality on Kodachrome duplicates ? The Author : The method used in the recording demonstrated to-night, that is, a 16mm. direct positive recording using the normal equaliser for speech to which is added the 16mm. printing equalizer and compressor. Duplicates made by contact printing from such a master show a better volume range and a wider frequency response than can be obtained by other processes. Mr. M. Raymond, Jun. (in proposing vote of thanks): At the present time the standardization of print quality is very important, and as the industry develops it will become vital because so many of the smaller cinemas at present operating on 35mm. film will change over to 16mm. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS OF PHOTOGRAPHY The Royal Photographic Society celebrates its Centenary in 1953 and will hold an International Conference on the Science and Applications of Photography from Saturday, September 19, 1953, to Friday, September 25, 1953, in London. The Conference will cover many aspects of the science, technique and applications of photography, and will be divided into sections dealing with : (1) Photographic science (including theory of latent image and development, sensitization, sensitometry, resolving power, granularity, properties of photographic materials). (2) Cinematography and Colour Photography. (3) Technique and Applications of Photography (including industrial radiography, photomicrography, spectroscopy, aerial photography, photogrammetry, high-speed photography, nuclear track recording, and other physical, chemical and biological applications ; photocopying ; apparatus, processes, manipulations). (4) Photomechanical Processes. (5) History, Literature (including abstracting and documentation) and Training in Photography. All persons taking an interest in photography or its applications are cordially invited to attend the Conference and to submit papers for discussion. Titles and indications of the scope of such papers should be submitted before February 1, 1953. Further details will be sent on application to the Hon. Secretary, R.P.S. Centenary Conference, 16 Princes Gate, London, S.W.7.