The Cine Technician (1935-1937)

46 The Journal of the Association of CineTechnicians Aug. -Oct., 1936 Quota and Quality It is surprising how much agreement there is between the various sections of the industry that have so far given evidence before the Quota Committee. This Committee was appointed on March 25th, by the Board of Trade, with Lord Moyne as Chairman, "to consider the position of British films, having in mind the approaching expiry of the Cinematograph Films Act, 1927, and to advise whether any, and if so what, measures are still required in the public interest to promote the production, renting and exliibition of such films." Between May 5th and 26th, the Committee took evidence from the Board of Trade itself, and from the Film Producers' Group of the Federation of British Industries, the Associated Realist Film Producers, the Association of Cine-Technicians, and the Cinematograph Exhibitors' Association, in that order. This evidence has now been published, together with the memoranda submitted by these bodies.* The chief point of agreement that emerges from the report is the necessity for provisions in the next Act to ensure Quality. It is agreed that the original Act has done its job of building up a British film industry where there was practically none before, but it has had also the imforeseen result of producing the 'quickie,' a film that does no good to its maker or anybody else. It certainly does no good to the imfortunate British technician who helps to make it. He works long hours under pressure of the necessity to finish the picture quickly, often under bad conditions and with inadequate equipment. And his reward generally has been to find that his work is despised and unfairly contrasted with that of more fortunate foreign technicians who never have to work on this type of picture, but on expensive productions where time and money is allowed for obtaining good results. A.C.T.'s evidence was briefly as follows :— Criticisms. 1 . Bad Quality Quota Pictures — Bad quality pictures have been produced in order to fulfil renters' quota. Most of these pictures were bad simply because no effort had been made to make them otherwise. 2. Retarding Progress of British Technicians — The making of 'Quickies' is reflecting detrimentally on the British technician. 3. Non-Compliance with the Spirit of the Act — Quotations were given to show that British quota films are sometimes only nominally run in the course of the ordinary cinema programme, but in fact are "run in the morning dust of the theatre, before handing them over to the distribution side to inherit more dust on cellar shelves." 4. Salaries and Working Conditions — 'Quickies' tend towards low salaries and bad working conditions for the technicians einployed on them. Suggestions. 1. Expenditure — (a) Cost of film — Pictures of 6, ()()() feet and over should cost a minimum of ;(,T 2,000 ; films of less than 6,000 feet should cost a minimum of £2 per foot. Of this, not more than 30% should go to company directors' fees, preliminary expenses, overheads, film directors' fees, story and scenario. * H.M. Stationery Office, 9/-. (b) Salaries — The clause in the present Act stipulating that 75% of salaries must be British, should apply to technicians only. Manual labour, which is at present included, would be British in anv case. 2. Quota Percentages — (a) Renters' Quota — The existing quota of 20"o should be gradually increased to 25°^ — say to 22iOo in 1940, and to 25% in 1942. (b) Exhibitors' Quota — This should be reduced from the existing figure of 20% to half the suggested renters' quota, i.e., to 10% rising to 12^%. These suggestions are made contingent upon the adoption of some such minimum cost as A.C.T. recommended. With reduced exhibitors' quota, renters would have to sell their British pictures on a more competitive basis than at present. The manufacture would be encouraged of pictures that would ha\e to sell on their own merits. Producers might even find it advisable to spend more than the minimum cost and more time in production, in order to ensure a competitive British picture. (c) Films for Specialised Halls— The New Act should include a clause safeguarding the showing of not normally commercial foreign films. Such films should not come under the same quota regulations as the ordinary commercial film. (d) Penalties for Non-Compliance icith the Act — In view of the above suggestions, application of penalties should be more stringent under a new Act. An automatic penalty should be added that both exhibitors and renters who fail to meet their quota obligations, for whatever reason and whatever other penalties are imposed, should have the amount of footage by which they are in default added to their next year's quota footage obligation. (e) Cutting of Fihns After Registration — Instances were quoted of the alleged practice of certain exhibitors in helping to discredit British films by the manner in whicli they deleted portions of such films for exhil:)ition after tliex' have been registered at a certain length. 3. Double Bookings — There should be safeguards for the exhibitor agamst the practice by which he may be induced to book, together with the feature he wants, shorts and second features he would not book otherwise. The percentage of the takings apportioned to the feature, and such other films is often no indication of their real respective values. 4. Documentary Films — In the new Act, quota should apply to long films and short films separately. Short fihns should be divided into two categories — (a) Studio films — which can already fulfil quota under the existing act ; and (b) Other than Studio films (which will chiefly be documentary), which .should rank for quota provided they show evidence (to be judged by a sub-committee appointed under the Hoard of Triulc) of a pre-conceived creative treatment. 5. British Dominions — The new Act should be confined to pictures made in the British Isles, but there might be a reciprocal arrangement, preferably one-to-one, with the Dominions. There have been cases of bad films made in the Empire being registered here merely to count as renters' quota. 6. Privileged Technicians I he present .\ct insists on the scenarist <il a [lic turr rauking for quota being Hritisli. In practice, this has not been apj)lied rigidly. A.C.T. ^