We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.
Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.
28
BRITISH KINKMATOCRAl'IIY
Vol. 18, No. 1
all that would later be seen on the screen, in correct monochrome rendering; and the Rapid Rush Machine was to process a rush within a minute or so of shooting and subsequently re-screen it on the stage as often as desired. One item on the credit side of both was " to eliminate or reduce retakes " and it was to assess this one claimed advantage (in a mass of others more and less important) that this analysis was made.
It is clear that in its present form the Television Aid could do nothing towards eliminating retakes in categories A and B. If it were fitted with a recording device so
Category D contains the type of retakes which the Television Aid should be specially effective in preventing, and it will be reasonable to assume that all these retakes would be prevented, with the exception of the double-exposure trick shot in Film D, which would require special extra facilities on the Television Aid to display.
The Television Aid should prevent retakes in Category E. It would be ineffective against those in the remaining Categories F, G and H.
The above results are summarised in Table V.
TABLE V
Value of Television Aid and Rapid Rush Machine— (Stage Work Only;
Film
Number
of
Slates
Number
of Retakes
Rearrangement
type
Retakes
Retakes within our definition
Television Aid
would have
prevented
Rapid Rush Machine or
Television Aid with recording device would have prevented x where
A B C D
890 512 541 491
73 57 39 44
28 11 15 29
45 46 24 15
13
12
none
4
13 < x < 43
12 ^ x < 46
0 < x < 24
4 <$ x 10
Total
2,434
213
83
130
29
that the take could be played back immediately and as many times as necessary for the benefit of director and actors, then, subject to the limitations imposed by the small size of the screen, it could be regarded as an " immediate rush " device and might, as might also the Rapid Rush Machine, prevent some of the retakes in categories A and B, but certainly not all.
Value of Television Aid
There is an entry under Category C only for Film B, which was this particular director's first film, and these retakes were at the beginning of shooting when he was not very sure of himself. It is possible that the Television Aid might have given him more confidence, but it is impossible to assess how many retakes might have been avoided by its use. The circumstances are in any case rather special.
In round numbers it would appear then that in general rather less than 10% of stage slates are retaken, and between one-half and two-thirds of these are retakes within the terms of the present survey. Of them, the Television Aid would have prevented probably no more than one-quarter. In total, therefore, the Television Aid would have saved something of the order of 1% of the number of stage slates per film.
Value of Play-back Device
A Rapid Rush Machine or a Television Aid fitted with a recording device capable of playing back the take at once and any number of times to the whole of the production unit and the actors might at the best save another 2% or 3% of the total number of slates. It is worth noting that most retakes ascribed to " action " (accounting for most of this extra 2% or 3%) appear to be