Broadcasting Telecasting (Jul-Sep 1954)

background in monochrome, we had only one dimension to vary: that of value (or brightness, if you will). Now we have two additional dimensions: saturation and hue. If subject and background are similar in hue, at least one of the remaining two dimensions should show contrast in order to make the subject stand out. Or if subject and background are similar in value, then the saturation should be contrasted, or the hue. For hue contrast, you can't go wrong in selecting complementaries. Thus bluegreens back up flesh tones nicely, giving them maximum snap. Some experimentation, as yet inconclusive, has been made with shooting commercial products in "limbo" — taking so much light off the background that it would not matter what bcakground it happened to be, and lighting only the immediate area of the products. The trouble we have had so far is the showing up of spurious color against the darkened background so that instead of reading as nothingness, it takes on some cloudy color, usually greenish but with other hues possibly evident as well. PECULIARITIES: Color appearance depends in part upon certain peculiar characteristics of the electronic system. Already mentioned is the tendency for blues to intensify on camera. Color mixtures in which blue is present will seem more blue on camera than in studio. Thus bluegreen, unless quite green, will look blue. A blue tint may show up in highlights such as those on a shiny human face. This color contrast between highlight and general flesh tone looks artificial and may exaggerate the modeling of undesirable features such as bags under the eyes. It should be countered as much as possible by powdering to reduce shine. Some other hues, when quite saturated, may pop out of the picture with an effect resembling day-glo. Which hues, and under what conditions, is at present difficult to say. With some faces (far fewer than we anticipated), the camera seems to exaggerate patches of red pigment on nose and cheeks, or call undue attention to the redness of backlighted ears. Bright red lipstick and nail polish should be avoided because they are exaggerated by the system. The color goes out of subjects as they recede into distance, as during a long dollyback. One can see the color change and pick up blueness. Close-ups produce the clearest pictures and most truthful color. Some colors are particularly hard to reproduce— certain yellows, for example, may go too orange or too green. Large white, gray, or dark areas will tend to show up the clouds of spurious color that sometimes drift into the picture. If you can fill your picture with positive hues, these spurious effects will be obscured. After a period of use, the system will "drift" — the primaries become unbalanced and the three primary color images move out of registration. For this reason 10 minutes will be allowed before airtime (in addition to break and stand-by period) in order to readjust balance and alignment. The color camera seems to reduce the definition of some faces, flattening and blending the features. Therefore some eyes may need to be strengthened with liner. In fact, girls generally need glamourizing, with particular regard to eye strength and cheek color. THE CAMERA: If you have but one color camera, the director must plan his action and sets with this in mind, choosing material that can be done on one camera, and compensating by increased movement and interest in the subject matter for the lack of shot variety and loss of pace when one is unable to cut between cameras. Constant zooming in and out from tabletop close-ups to performers' faces should of course be avoided. Since the size and weight of the camera makes it hard to maneuver in anything but straight lines, only the simplest paths of camera movement should be planned. If a floorman is available to help move the camera, somewhat more complicated moves may " ... ON CHANNEL 57" is a punch line not soon to be forgotten around Saginaw, Mich. It's the last line to an ever-increasing series of jingles used daily to promote sales, listenership, audience growth and station programming for WKNX-TV, uhf ch. 57 ABC-CBS affiliate there. Item: "There's fact, not fancy, in sponsors' tales . . . Of greater profits made through sales . . . . . . on CHANNEL 57!" That and dozens of similar rhymes are used in newspaper ads, spots on WKNXAM, the station's printed logs, and on tv through slides backed with music. They're all the creation of Parker Advertising Agency there, and are based on the premise that "there's altogether too much stuffiness and pomposity in most media promotion." Another WKNX-TV sample: "My ink is black said client McCombs . . . Since moving my sales into thousands of homes . . . . . .on CHANNEL 57!" The station's featured programs — network, syndicated film or live local — also come in for their share of the rhymes. "Whatever your name, be it Ron, Rick or Rory . . . You're bound to enjoy tonight's Favorite Story . . . . . . on CHANNEL 57!" or "To digest the news with a mind like Disraeli . . . Join us each night for the news by John Daly . . . . ..on CHANNEL 57!" or "The candlelight's soft with music Pagliacci . . . George never talks he's the silent Liberace . . . . . .on CHANNEL 57!" The first of the jingles appeared early in June as a daily feature in the station's be attempted. Time must be allowed to overcome inertia when starting a move, and the rate of motion will be slower than that of the monochrome camera. To minimize camera movement, it is convenient to use the electrazoom lens and arrange the scenes in an arc of which the camera is the pivot. The widest angle possible with the electrazoom, however, is 26°, compared with 34° for the 50mm lens, which means that the camera must play pretty far back for establishing shots. Since the camera plus the electrazoom and cameraman requires at least eight feet of depth, only close scenes can be shot crosswise of studio or even diagonally across studio. For large scenes and wide shots, the optical axis must be lengthwise of the studio. The taking lens is at six o'clock rather newspaper ads replacing the traditional headlines. Due to the local paper's dropping all daily listings of radio and television programs in deference to a special weekend tv-radio supplement, WKNXTV felt it necessary to take daily space to list program highlights. The rhymes were the answer — a different one for each day in the week, and different sets for each week in the month: "Monday is here it's in the book . . . A perfect night for you to look . . . . . . on CHANNEL 57!" and "Tuesday's with us all day long . . . Lock the dial . . . you can't go wrong . . . . . . on CHANNEL 57!" and "Wednesday's here its hours flying . . . An excellent time for real choice eyeing . . . . . . on CHANNEL 57!" Even the current WKNX-TV expansion program rates the poetic treatment: "More watts are coming from out of the blue . . . Turn down your volume, more power to you . . . . . . on CHANNEL 57!" "We'll light your screen with something brand new . . . The year's best picture more power to you . . . on CHANNEL 57!" Howard Wolfe, WKNX-TV station manager, reports impressive reception of the rhymes by both advertisers and viewers. Plans now are underway to record the entire series in a permanent promotional library. And he comments: "You never know who sets the pace . . . Until you check the promotion space . . . . . . of CHANNEL 57!" WKNX-TV WAXES POETIC IN SAGINAW Page 72 • Broadcasting • Telecasting August 23, 1954