British Kinematography (1953)

January, 1953 DORTE : B.B.C. TELEVISION NEWSREEL 15 a big music library soon becomes very familiar. We have considered tackling this problem in various ways, including eliminating music entirely as we do in our Science Review which could be regarded as a specialized form of Newsreel. Recently we produced what one might describe as an experimental edition of Television Newsreel with the idea of trying it out on a number of people in a Review Theatre and getting their reactions. It consists of three stories ; on the first one there is no music at all, on the second there is title and playout music but no more, and on the third there is music to the extent that we normally use it — that is when sound effects, natural or dubbed, are inadequate on their own because, for some reason, a story seems to demand music of the right mood to help it " flow." The experimental music edition of the Newsreel was then projected. Problems of Gauge Size. 35mm. versus 16mm. film— is not a future problem for Television Newsreel but one of the moment because many of the television broadcasting organizations being set up overseas are not being equipped to televise 35mm. film, and their film units are thus being provided with 16mm. camera equipment only. This disturbs us because we like to enter into news-film exchange agreements with other television broadcasters. Our own production policy on this is quite straightforward : up to literally a few months ago, there was no 16mm. film scanning equipment which could give picture quality comparable with that of the 35mm. flying-spot equipments which has been at Alexandra Palace for some years now — and in consequence a hasty change-over from 35mm. to 16mm. in so far as B.B.C. film productions were concerned was undesirable. Recently, however, Electrical and Musical Industries, Ltd., have developed a type of 16mm. flying-spot film scanner which gives very good results indeed. The plan now, therefore, is to modify that part of our film transmitting equipment which is normally used for Television Newsreel, so that 35mm. mute, 16mm. mute and 35mm. magnetic sound can be run-up in syn chronization and will stay in synchronization for the running time required to transmit 2,000 35mm. feet. It will be in operation some time during 1953, and Television Newsreel will then often be composed of these three separate films, picture changeovers being effected electronically by the operators from a cue-sheet. The blowing up 16mm. film obtained from outside sources will cease, and slowly a change will be made to the sub-standard gauge for silent shooting. With that in mind the B.B.C. are, as a matter of interest, now standardizing for silent coverage on the Eclair Cameflex camera which, as you doubtless know, operates either 35mm. or The Cameflex Standard cine camera, which operates on either 35mm. or \6mm. film according to the type of magazine loaded. 16mm. in accordance with the type of magazine with which it is loaded. For sound coverage, Television Newsreel will continue to use its Vinten/Visatone single-system 35mm. cameras as it is not desired to degrade location sound unnecessarily by recording on the sub-standard gauge. Possible Future Developments. What is the future of Television Newsreel ? Television Newsreel heads nearly every popularity poll and it is illogical that it should remain indefinitely at five editions a week when American Television is now carrying two and even three news programmes a day. These news programmes are not wholly film i