Business screen magazine (1957)

Photo Equipment Production in Japan, Germany Reported ■¥ Repoits on ihe commerce in photographic equipment in various nations provide indices to the use of the pictorial medium throughout the world. Parts of the world's photo-use picture are contained in continuing compilations made hy the Scientific. Motion Picture and Photographic Products Division of the Business and Defense Services Administration of the V. S. Department of Commerce. Recent Cfimmerce Department leports: Japan's production of photographic products increased in ail categories, except photographic plates, during the first half of 19.56. A tabulation of production during the first six month periods of 1954. 1955 and 1956 disclosed thai Japan : — produced 1.000 motion picture projectors in the first half of 1954; 1.100 motion picture jsrojectors in the first half of 1955 and 1.600 motion picture projectors in the first half of 1956. (These projectors were not identified as to millimetre type. — produced 3.400 still proieclors in the first half of 19.54: 4.400 still projectors in the first half of 1955 and 9.400 still projectors in the first half of 1956. — produced 1,240,605 square me Alnnq the PrDductiaii Lines ters of cine film in the first half of 1954: 1.622.823 square meters in the first half of 1955 and 1.342.916 square meters in the first half of 1956. Total sensitized photographic film production in Japan amounted to 4.176,397 square meters in the first six months of 1956. This compares with 3.711.718 square meters for the same period of 1955 and 2.705.151 square meters for the corresponding period of 1954, increases of 12.5 per cent and 54.4 per cent, respectively. Besides the 1.842.916 square meters of cine film, production in the first half of 1956 consisted of 851.227 square meters of x-ray film and 1.482.254 square meters of "other" film. German Camera Exports Germany's exports of still picture cameras, including scientific, technical and box cameras, during the first nine months of 1956 increased 1.3 per cent in quantity and 1.5 per cent in value, according to Commerce Department reports. German exports in the first nine months of 1956 totaled 1.554.714 still picture cameras valued at 120.537.000 Deutsche Marks as compared with 1.535.567 cameias Vciued at 118.748.000 Deutsche Marks for the corresponding nine months of 1955. Despite a quantitati\e and markvalue drop in exports to the i nited States, this country remains Germany's leading market for still picture cameras. Exports to the L nited States in the first nine months of 1956 amounted to 177,476 cameras valued at 25,327.000 DM as compared with 205.185 cameras valued at 26.855.000 DM in the same nine months of 19.55. This is a decrease of 13.5 per cent in quantitv and 5.7 per cent in value. Cameras for Technical Purposes Exports of "Cameras for Teclmical and Scientific Purposes'' in the first nine months of 1956 totaled 2.412 cameras valued at 3.723.000 DM as compared to 2.497 cameras valued at 4.863.000 DM in the same period of 19.55. The principal reason for this drop is due to decline in sales to the L nited States. Other leading markets for German camera exports are France, China. Switzerland. Canada and India. .\lthough sales of "Other Cameras" to the United States declined in quantitv and value, exports to all world areas in the first nine months of 1956 totaled 1.552.302 cameras valued at 116,814,000 DM compared with 1,533,070 cameras valued at 113.885,000 DM in the same period of 1955. The 16 leading foreign markets for these cameras took 75.7 per cent of the total exported, while the remaining 24.3 per cent was consigned to more than 70 other foreign countries. ^' TV Council Examines Video Film Production Techniques ♦ "TV Film Production, Distribution and Transmission Techniques" was the discussion subject of the January 24th meeting of the National Television Film Council at the Hotel Delmonico. New York City. This meeting was an extension of the N. T. F. C. November meeting which featured speakers from various agencies who dealt with the subject of "Film Quality Control." These discussions are aimed at achieving higher quality film telecasts. The group, along with other segments of industrv. has been researching all phases of production, laboratory work and transmission techniques to ascertain methods of obtaining optimum qualitv all along the line so as to improve the quality of the picture received in the home. Guest speakers at the January meeting included E. P. (Ted) Genock. manager, television progrannning. Eastman Kodak Company: G. Edward Hamilton, chief engineer. American Broadcasting Company: Thomas Barnes, general manager. .Station WD AY-TV: Fred Raphael, of J. Walter Thompson Company: Walter Selden. of Sullivan. Stauffer. Colwell & Bavles. Inc. * » * Rothacker, inc. to Promote, Distribute New Zinc Pictures ♦ To increase and promote distribution of its two new motion pictures. The American Zinc Institute has engaged the services of Rothacker, Inc., 729 Seventh Ave., New \ork City. Rothacker. Inc. will receive and service booking requests for the Institutes Die Casting: Hon Else Would You Make It? and Zinc Controls Corrosion. Ajjpointment of the Rothacker Organization became effective December 15 and is expected to increase the speed and efficiency with which the Institute films are handled, according to John L. Kimberley. API's executive vice-president. Previously, the films were distributed from the Institute's New York City headquarters. Both of the Institute films are 16mm sound and color and are available without cost to industrial organizations, schools, colleges, technical groups and clubs. Sf 180 BUSINESS SCREEN MAGAZINE