British Kinematography (1951)

January, 1951 SWINGLER AND PULMAN : MOTION PICTURE PRESENTATION 17 it is impossible to produce a print which is going to give reasonable results over all projection conditions. Until the limits are closer, I do not think the halls are ever going to be encouraged to improve their illumination, and we shall get a very bad discrepancy from one place to another. In regard to screen masking, the standard does actually show a rectangular opening with round corners if required. I am particularly interested in the sound level of news-reels. So often news-reel dialogue comes over much too low. One possible reason is that the dialogue of news-reels is recorded considerably louder .than that of features, because it is declaimed somewhat, and therefore it should be louder than the normal spoken dialogue. Mr. Pulman : I think any motion picture engineer would agree that the present standard of screen illumination is very wide. In regard to the third point, the good projectionist will obviously use his intelligence in order to compensate and produce the best possible level. News prints are very variable, and I do not think that most projectionists alter the fader unduly. Mr. Buckle : Is it not a fact that news-reels are recorded at a high level? The average programme is run at a fader setting of between 5 and 8 ; we find by experience that a news-reel can be run on 3, and still give quite an audible response. Mr. Simpson : Copies vary considerably in density, and no matter how much screen illumination we give, we are handicapped by the copy. The majority of kinemas in this country are without adequate heating and ventilating. In America there is no smoking. They are viewing a copy in the best of conditions, as in the studio. Mr. Pulman : Until we provide a fairly close range of screen illumination, production and laboratory people cannot grade prints according to our wide variation. Considering this, they turn out prints that are very good. It is the exhibiting side that needs to get screen illumination tightened up. Mr. L. Knopp : I was a member of the British Standards Committee that prepared the recommended standards for screen brightness. The Committee comprised a number of skilled observers who determined the limiting levels of illumination which, in their opinion, were acceptable. The Committee was not influenced by current practice nor by the equipment at present in use. It is interesting to note that another similarly constituted Committee working in America without either liaison or collaboration with the British Committee, determined the same limits of brightness. Mr. Pulman now considers that the limits should be narrow, and it may well be that when the standard of discrimination of the kinema-going public has improved, the British Standards' re commendations will require to be modified accordingly. Mr. Simpson: A number of productions have night scenes and other dark scenes. In a firstclass hall you may have no difficulty, but in a hall in an industrial area, where you have a lot of fog and bad atmosphere, it is well-nigh impossible to see the picture at times. Mr. W. Lassally: It is surely to be deplored that any changes should be made on the production end, from the point of view of night scenes, by reason of the bad conditions in certain halls. Could not some electrical interlock be produced which would prevent the colour floods being on the screen at the same time as the projector? Mr. Swingler : The screen curtains may be coupled with a trailer dimmer, to dim the stage lights slowly at the same time as the screen tabs opened. From the presentation point of view, I consider that bad, because it encourages the certificate being shown on the screen tabs. Showmanship, as I — a mere engineer — know it, does not stop with merely dimming lighting on the stage and presenting your film. Showmanship is a combination of art not only of the studio technicians and of the laboratories, but of the people who are responsible for presenting the finished product to the patron. Colour in itself forms part of the entertainment. One must therefore have the opportunity of lighting the stage and /or the curtains and be able to vary the colour combinations. It is impossible to do this when one has a trailer dimmer attached to the curtain motor. In my opinion, it is psychologically incorrect to look at a picture which is surrounded by 3 ft. of black border. Mr. S. A. Stevens : One point about the loss of illusion that neither speaker raised is .the visibility of the beam of light from the porthole to the screen. As long as we have front projection, and as long as we go on smoking, it seems that we must have this feature. The Theatre Division is presenting a paper on the subject of rear projection, in which the beam of light is on +he other side of the screen. A Visitor : All advertising material should be kept off the screen, apart from the trailer giving next week's programme. Mr. Swingler : Speaking of the organisation in which I am employed, 99 per cent, of our theatres do not show slides ; we use 90 per cent. Technicolor trailers. Nobody objects to a clever advertising short. Mr. W. V. DeWan : Will the day ever arrive when we can increase our screen illumination and match the density of our prints, and so do away with that evil, the usherette's .torch? Mr. Pulman : The answer is yes.