Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1955)

BROADCASTING TELECASTING April 18, 1955 Vol. 48, No. 16 DUMONT TO BE FILM NETWORK USING NEW, FAST PROCESSING Network will use live relays only for special events, sports. Rest of schedule will be delivered on film, shot with new Electronicam system which combines simultaneous live tv and filming. Electronicam also will be leased to stations, advertisers, tv program producerspackagers and movie makers. ELECTRONIC equipment designed to salvage the DuMont Television Network's operation was shown publicly last week. This is the system — embodying the Electronicam camera system that combines live tv with film recording in a single, simultaneous operation— with which the network hopes to construct a nationwide programming "service" [B«T, Jan. 3]. At present, the network's structure has become skeletonized to five hours of live telecasting per week. Tfre schedule: Sunday: Life Begins at 80, Serutan Co., 9:30-10 p.m. EST; Monday: professional boxing, co-op, 9-11 p.m. EST; Tuesday: Life Is Worth Living, Admiral Corp., 8-8:30 p.m. EST; Wednesday: What's The Story?, Allen B. DuMont Labs, 8-8:30 p.m. EST; Thursday and Friday: All About Baby, Libby, McNeill & Libby and Swift & Co., on respective days, 1:45-2 p.m.; Friday: Chance of a Lifetime, co-sponsored by Lentheric and Emerson Drug, and Down You Go, Western Union on alternate weeks, 10:30-11 p.m. EST. Of this schedule, Bishop Fulton Sheen's Life Is Worth Living goes off the DuMont Network April 26. From both official and informal statements made by executives of the network and of the parent Allen B. DuMont Labs, this is a reconstructed version of what can be expected: • DuMont essentially expects to become a "quality film network" in its programming. News, special events and most sports will continue on a live basis. For the latter shows, cable will be ordered as needed. • All network programs distributed would be film, except the special events or news programs. • First victim of the Electronicam's operation may be expected to be the kinescope. • Sales feature to advertisers and agencies, according to DuMont spokesmen, is the combined appeal of good quality film and speed of delivery to stations as well as lowering of production costs. • First such advertiser, now on DTN, to "go Electronicam," replacing its present live-pluskinescope, may be expected as early as next week. • DuMont feels it is ready to provide its livefilm camera system to agencies, advertisers, motion picture producers, tv film producers and packagers and others, as quickly as ordered. • Although DuMont is ready with its system, Broadcasting • Telecasting technical improvements will continue. Experiments will be made in adapting this system, which already records on color film while sending a monochrome tv signal, to the three-image orthicon, color live camera. • DuMont would lease its system to film producers— movie or tv — stations, individual advertisers or agencies and even other networks. The Thursday showing in New York drew an impressive turnout of a wide segment of the broadcasting-motion picture industry. Newsmen, film producers and packagers, agency executives, advertisers, military electronics experts and others crowded the fifth story studio at DuMont's 67th St. TeleCentre, built at a cost of $5 million. This studio and another in the building will be used for film production. Reports that the development of the camera system would mean entry by DuMont into the film syndication business drew conflicting state DR. DUMONT MR. BERGMANN ments from officials. Some of the executives, including Dr. Allen B. DuMont, president of Allen B. DuMont Labs, and Ted Bergmann, DTN's managing director, felt possibly this would happen in time if film stocks were built up. Stressed were residual or re-run possibilities of high quality film as compared to the inferior quality and lesser re-run value of the kinescope. Thus, according to DuMont spokesmen, stations would have on tap films of top network shows — such as Peter Pan — which could be re-run any number of years later. Basically, the Electronicam system uses an image orthicon tv camera head and a film camera mounted side-by-side on the same base. The latter is placed on a tripod or dolly. The units operate with a common lens system but otherwise are independent, having individual power supplies functioning simultaneously. Light passing through the common lens is split, one part to the film and the other to the image orthicon tube. There are two basic pickup units: • For simultaneous tv broadcasting and film recording in monochrome or in color. This, according to DuMont, is suited to the telecaster's requirements by providing (1) direct film recording and (2) simultaneous broadcast of the identical scene. Both recording and the broadcast signal are of high quality, it was asserted. The principle used in this unit is a shared optical system in which a major percentage of light passing through the common optics is transmitted to the film camera with a minor portion reflected to the tv camera tube. Share ratio of light between the two optical paths is determined by (1) film sensitivity, (2) imageorthicon sensitivity and (3) studio lighting. Principles are common to both monochrome and color operation. • For making motion picture film primarily, with use of tv system for control and editing. This unit operates on the principle of "a time shared light path." Its technique: While the film pull-down is moving a new frame of film into position in the film camera, a shutter interrupts the light path. During this interval, the image is reflected from the shutter's front surface into the optical path of the image orthicon tube. With studio lighting and film sensitivity requirements satisfied, the 50% light duty cycle to the tv camera provides automatically an adequate signal for monitoring and studio direction purposes. According to DuMont, there is no problem in changing from monochrome to color film operation because "the excellent sensitivity of the image orthicon camera permits the use of all the conventional photographic emulsions in black-and-white or color with practical amounts of studio lighting." Fast distribution of finished, high quality film print is made possible by means of a new production technique, an "editing master" film which serves as a guide for rapid preparation of the final product, it was explained. Advantages of the system, as cited by DuMont: • Lowered film production costs — perhaps as much as 50% — because of speed of shooting. • Availability of films in color or black-andwhite. • High quality films for repeat or delayed broadcast. • Adaptability of the system to all film types and sizes — including wide screen systems. • Better artistic results developed by continuity of action which is maintained. Stop-andstart film shooting is eliminated. The editing technique used in the DuMont Electronicam system is both speedy and continuous. Fades, wipes, dissolves and superimpositions are recorded on an "editing master" guide. After the film is shot, a special editing April 18, 1955 • Page 27