The Cine Technician (1935-1937)

^li'v, 1935 The Journal uf tJie Association of Cine-Technicians 13 Artists, Technicians and British Films By Edward Carrick That English films on the whole are bad and lack all artistic qualities cannot be denied by any of us. But who is to blame — the "old stagers" who were in charge when we first got our jobs ? No — it is we Technicians, who are content to earn our salaries and keep our jobs with as little exertion as possible — we are not asked to do any more — and the atmosphere of a film studio, which is like a galley on the high seas loaded with slaves and gold and bound for nowhere, does not help. But there is more to it than that. Hardly any of us know our jobs — we have all learnt our craft to a certain extent, but few have bothered to become artists in that craft — and until every Technical Director in a film studio realises that he cannot assist in the production of a work of art without he is an artist and has studied as such ; that studio will never produce anything but a hotch-potch of ideas called an entertainment, which the poor public accepts because it can get no better. A painter does not just learn the chemical composition of colours and how to look after his brushes and prepare a canvas. Learning anatomy and the construction of animal and vegetable forms, perspective, colour values and harmony, reflected light and cast shadows, the balance of form, etc., are all part of his training, and he generally learns photography, modelling, engraving, and the history of costume as well. But in the Film Business how many Art Directors lia\'e studied the harmonies of form in architecture, the dramatic value of line, or the psychological effect of colour on the different peoples of the world ? Where are the Sound Technicians who understand the composition of a fugue, or know the effect of different musical instruments on the brain with the eyes open or closed ? Or photographers who have studied reflected light in nature, or the rythmic value of light and shade ? Where are the cutters that have studied optometrv or the sensory apparatus of the bodv ? And where (ire the directors — those who must direct or collaborate with all the departments I have just mentioned — the supreme artist of the film production, who as well as studying all these things should be the keenest student of human psychology ? One can find hundreds of fine Technicians, such as Art Directors, who can build a set in a night — and know their periods backwards ; Sound Men who can record everything that can be heard ; Photographers who can match up an exterior shot with an interior shot and keep a beautiful even tone throughout a whole film, and so on. But that is as much use as a sign-writer who can draw all the letters in the alphabet perfectly, but has not the artistry to space his words and balance his black and white in order that the whole work will be satisfying to the eye as well as legible. We shall never produce a work of art in the film woild until the technician takes his craft seriously, forgets that six o'clock is the time to stop work, and studies until he has become master of his craft — an artist in the original sense of the word. Of course there are no special schools or experimental studios where we can go and study, although one would suppose that the many film concerns who collectively allude to themselves as an Industry would have seen by now that this was essential for their own well-being. But because an Industry wishes to lose hundreds of thousands of pounds a vear rather than bother to make it possible for the technicians employed to know their jobs properly, there is no reason why we should sit down and accept it as such. When the technicians are united, which will be after they have all come to appreciate the fact that they are collaborating in making a work of art, and for such a task must equip themselves as Artists — then the Industrv is theirs. Until that time comes we may clock in and out of film studios and be told by "old stagers who know" how to do our own jobs ; we can grumble in the canteens over a cup of tea, and money will continue to be thrown down the usual studio drains. The "old stagers" in the film l)usiness, like so many other rackets, have to keep their jobs. One way they have of doing this is by keeping art, or anything associated with it, out of the way — they have to use the the technician — but the technician cannot succeed without the artist, so whv not let us unite ? The Royal Photographic Society The informal meetings of the Kinematograph Group of the Society are held on the fourth Friday each month when the items of interest to professsional Kine workers are presented at 7.45 p.m. The Group has been fortunate in securing the collaboration of the Association in forming its lecture programme, both during last year's Kine Exhibition, and at the recent discussion between Mr. Thorold Dickinson and Mr. S. H. Cole. Meetings of the Society covering other aspects of photography will be of interest to Association members, more particularly those sponsored by the Scientific and Technical Group. Information concerning these will be notified from time to time in the Association circular. November, 1935, will be the occasion of a special Exhibition at Russell Square devoted to Kinematography, when apparatus and still photographs will be displayed and a strong programme of lectures arranged. Enquiries relating to Group matters can be addressed to the Group Secretary, c/o 35 Russell Square, who will be pleased to arrange for the introduction of non-members to any of the Society meetings. Forthcoming lectures include : — Tuesday, May 2Ist, 7 p.m. Demonstration R.C.A. 16 mm. Sound Camera. Friday, May 24th, 7.45 p.m. "The Coloured Sound Cartoon." A. E. C. Hopkins, Esq.