Business screen magazine (1946)

right off the newsreel . . . continued vision is its hybrid camera in which a modified 16mni Eclair film camera shares a common zoom lens with a plumbicon television camera of broadcast quality. The system delivers a 16mm color original, a 16mm magnetic audio track and a one-inch black and white videotape. Computer Image Corp. Adds Quartet Films, Inc. Computer Image Corporation, Denver-based computer animation company, has acquired Quartet Films, Inc., Los Angeles. Quartet, a conventional animation producer is responsible for such characters as the Jolly Green Giant and Tony the Tiger. Quartet is the fifth major acquisition by Computer Image in the past several months. Previous acquisitions included Les Weisbrich & Associates, a Beverly Hills graphic house; Bob Vogel & Associates, an industrial animation firm; Filmline, Inc., informational film producer; and Dolphin Films, New York film production house. Chromaloc Transfer Has Automatic Color Correction A new system which provides film-to-tape transfer with automated electronic color correction has been demonstrated in New York by Teletronics International, a videotape post-production house. Called Chromaloc, the system has been developed over the past 18 months by George Gould, Bob Lieberman and Arniand Bclniares-Sarabia to meet a need for speedy color correction of filmed TV commercials and television programs. "Chromaloc," accordcording to Gould, who is Teletronics president, "can do in less than one hour the color balancing job that takes the chemical photography industry a week," In constant daily use at Teletronics' plant at 220 East 51st Street, in Manhattan, Chromaloc is now starting to broaden its base, finding new applications in many facets of the communications industry. Most recent was the transfer from film to tape of a TV documentary flown to a network from overseas. Filmed on 16mm, the footage was completely useless for broadcast purposes because of over and under exposure, the mixture of film stocks and incorrect use of filters. The film ordinarily would have been scrapped. However, Chromaloc's scene-by-scene color correction was able to restructure the color to useable quality. Basically, the Chromaloc system works in a similar manner to film laboratory color analyzer techniques with some modifications and refinements: A video colorist operates from a master electronic mixing panel. By still-framing each scene on a regular TV film chain, he "paints" the colors electronically to the satisfaction of the client, who can be present if he wishes. Average time for a commercial is 30 to 60 minutes. The corrected color settings for each scene are registered in an electrons memory bank. Each scene is corrected in this manner. Then a At the controls of the Chromaloc system at Teletronics is Armand Belmares-Serabia, one of the systems developers. single run through the film chain, with foil tabs triggering the preselected corrections, and the film is recorded on videotape in perfect color balance. That tape master then can produce hundreds of dupes for network and spot coverage. According to Alfred Markim, executive vice president of Teletronics International, the Chromaloc system, while in primary use now for color correction of film to two-inch broadcast-type tape, can be used equally well for correction of film to one-inch or half-inch industrial videotape. Freeman Joins SA Film At New Location SA Films, Inc., has been joined by Jack Freeman, former newspaperman and television producer, it has been announced by the firm's president, Sidney R. Aronson. Freeman was for several years the feature editor of the New York Post. Most recently he has been producing television news for CBS in New York. According to Aronson, he will be actively involved in some of the films already in production. SA Films is currently working on projects for the Text-Film Division of the McGraw-Hill Book Company, the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Information Agency, the New Jersey Division on Aging, and Senator Edmund S. Muskie. Aronson also announced the opening of new offices at 70-H Chestnut Ridge Road, Montvale, N.J. NEWS BRIEFS Capsule comments on happenings around the industry worth noting. Commercial Departments of Bell System Telephone Companies are using a new training course composed of printed work books and audio programs recorded on tape cassettes. The programs, designed for commercial manager training, discuss business office selling, attendance control, speedwriting, and interdepartmental relations. Each program was pretested by A.T.&T.'s Commercial Department, under Ted Taylor, and professionally produced by Gotham Film Productions, New York. Thirteen actors took part in the programs, which were recorded in continuous takes to maintain a proper flow of material and the human interactions which are difficult to obtain in separate spliced recordings. Traffic up and back to the microphones by the 13 actors during the recording session was controlled by an ingenious system of stop and go lights. J.C. Penney Company is using a new-style "foto-verite" slidefilm, titled Satisfaction Is . . ., as the latest in a regular series prepared monthly for showing to the approximately 85,000 Pen ney associates in over 1700 stores. The film, produced by Susan Wayne of Seymour Zweibel Productions, features look-alike location photography of scenes in Penney stores while the audio has actual off-the-cuff remarks made by Penney sales people and customers. Serving as a keynote presentation to the International Convention of American Women in Radio and TV in London on April 23 was a sound and light show designed to show what people can do for people in the realm of environment and health. Introduced by Marion Corwell of Ford Motor Co., the show was produced by Gene Barnes, of McFadden, Strauss, Eddy & Irwin; Suzanne Holeton, Mercury Newsfilm, and Susan Wayne, Gotham Film Productions. Renowned ski film producer Roger Brown of Summit Films in Denver reports that his company is diversifying its operation to avoid being known as only a ski film producer. Said Brown: "We are seriously pursuing several new markets in addition to our sponsored ski film production. We will produce a 90-minute lecture film to be released this fall. We have arranged to have many of our films sold in the educational film market. We have also organized a stock footage library, and it is being actively marketed. We hope to begin production of a full feature film next winter. We are also working on television commercials and specials." Proof of the company's capability in other areas was indicated when Summit's Carl Rapp picked up a "Gold Camera" award in April at the U.S. Industrial Film Festival for a film entitled. Outward Bound, produced for Outward Bound. For producers planning location work in Scandanavia, Fred Terselius, Karlavaegen 22, S11431, Stockholm. Sweden offers his services as a consultant. Formerly with Tonefilm, Terselius has wide film production experience. Overseas sales of plastic film reels and cases for Plastic Reel Corporation is now being handled by Permafilm Inc., of New York through franchised organizations in 28 countries. 10 BUSINESS SCREEN