British Kinematography (1952)

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August, 1952 47 TELEVISION FILMING V. E. Hughes* THE association of television with film making is a new application which is proving to be one of the most successful of recent innovations in the world of television. In the film industry it is also being followed up enthusiastically for, not only does it mean a great saving in time and money during the making of films in studios, but it also allows on-the-spot events to be filmed and then projected on to a kinema screen with only ninety second time lag, at the same time providing permanent record on film. Unlimited prints may be taken from the negative version of such a record for wider distribution. For the past few months this system has "been used at the Palais de Chaillot, in Paris, during the deliberations of the United Nations Organization, and it has enabled a completely edited film to be shown over the B.B.C. television system the same evening of the day the events took place. These films have also been shown on the New York systems the morning after. In Paris the three-camera television unit was installed and operated by engineers of Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Co., Ltd., while Paramount Pictures Corporation provided the Theatre Television (or Kinescope) unit which takes the television pictures from a master monitor and films them. Television r. Film Technique To appreciate fully the great value of this merger the fundamental differences between film and television production must be considered. Of major importance in film making is the sequence when a mass of celluloid must be sorted, foot by foot, arranged into a sequence giving perfect continuity, and cut and spliced to give the finished product. Apart from the high labour cost, there is the added cost of the waste film which can easily be twenty or thirty times the amount contained in the finished picture. Reprinted from Electronic Engineering, July, 1952, by courtesy of the Editor. Scenes are shot many times over and sometimes angles are altered and camera positions moved after scenes have been shot necessitating more film, more time, and more editing. Television production, on the other hand, is instantaneous. The producer uses more than one camera at a time — three is the usual number — and he is presented with a picture from each at his production point. Each camera is equipped with three or four lenses (at the Palais de Chaillot, four lenses) and there is therefore a choice of twelve different " takes." The three cameras will usually be in different positions, at different angles, and at different elevations. This combination provides the producer with a wide choice of final picture. In practice the major " plot " for shooting is drawn up beforehand and during transmission the producer instructs two of the cameramen which angle, position (if they are on dollies) and lens to use next, while accepting a picture from the third. The facility and rapidity with which twelve lenses, three cameras, three positions and three angles can be varied and used makes for smooth and fluid continuity. Combined Film and Television Technique The new technique, then, is the fusion of television production with the permanency of films, the slightly inferior definition of the television picture being offset by the enormous saving in time, labour, and cost. In Paris the complete organization started with three television cameras strategically placed in the Chamber in use and their respective cables led to the television control room. In this control room the camera control operators, engineers, and producer took the three transmissions. Following normal television practice the producer used his cameras to give a completely edited programme, the master picture of which was reproduced on an eight inch cathode-ray Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Co., Ltd.