The Cine Technician (1943 - 1945)

to THE C I N E T E C H X I C ■ I A X May — June, 1! light, or by putting panchromatic carbons in arcs. When shooting the seance scenes for Blithe Spirit in dickering firelight, I used a key light from the floor of about ."iiiD foot candles, but the effective light was reduced to about 400 foot candles by the use of paraffin torches held in front of the lamp to create flicker. Before dropping this photometer reading business 1 must once again repeat that there is no cut and dried ruling on the matter. Conditions vary all the time, so does Technicolor film stock. Colour film deteriorates very quickly, and in six months time, if we are still using the present batch of negative, we may well be using 33% more light. On the other hand, if new supplies arrive from America we may find that 500 foot candles will give us a good strong high light, Lei us hope that the latter is the case. Technicolor is great fun, but it is spoilt for me at the moment by one great handicap, the fact that all rushes are viewed in black and white. printed from the blue record. The result is hardly pleasant to the eye and one never enjoys seeing them, they give little or no indication as to what the colour will be like and are as often as not misleading. The short sections of colour that one does see (very often many days alter the scenes are shot) are on and off the screen so quickly, and are so very often out of balance from the colour point view, that they are only just worth while. These short sections are known as "pilots," and after viewing a few one begins to understand very quickly just what problems Technicolor technicians have to cope with. A "pilot " can be too red, too blue, too green or too yellow, too flat, too contrasty, too light or too dark and at least half a dozen other things besides, small wonder that Mr. Kay Harrison is putting up a strong fight to prevent all his experts from going to the Forces, and experts they truly are. Yes, of course, colour has its handicaps, but THE TECHNICOLOR CAMERA ON LOCATION (Still No. 3i Director David Lean, with Ronald Neame and Camera Opera Bunny Franeke shooting a scene for " This Happy Breed " Shot in average three-quarter front sun, medium dark subje matter, with 150 amp booster arc. Technicolor Stop 4 colour has been born, and this healthy and some I times unruly child is growing rapidly every day. ] think it is true to say that at the moment suited b.st to costume and colourful subjects, but as each new production is added to the now 1 Technicolor list the colours will improve and become more subtle, until one day colour w< be a child any more. It will become, just .is Sound " has. an integral part of every film. and| the hackneyed phrase "Glorious Technicolor' will die a natural death in the same way as " 100 All Talking, Singing and Dancing" did ten year I ago. Continued from Page 45 "turn 'em over" at the studio. 17 miles each way he had to go, and wdien there were no trains he push-biked it in spite of the fact that, even after his early tussles with the headmaster's bike, he had a good fifty spills on the ice-bound roads before he had finished. Charlie is a General Council member and shopsteward ol ( 1 11 /Gainsborough, all within three years of joining A.C.T. He was a member of A.C.T. in the old Captain Cope days, but the E.T.TJ. ruled that he could not hold two tickets and he had to drop A.C.T. for the time being, When he rejoined Gainsborough in 1040, parleys with Tomrley and other A.C.T. stalwarts there convinced him that his place was in A.C.T. in stead, and he finally left the E.T.U. and join* us, bringing with him the best wishes of tin E.T.U. and many thanks for the work he'd don for them. He's a member of the Executive Coil mittee and served on the Negotiating Committa which after many wearing years finally got tin producers to sign the Studio agreement. And can't imagine m\ meeting or committee thai wouldn't be the wiser for his views or the strong! for his backing. For after 25 years ion and off) ill what must be the most dehydrating business iij the world — onl\ the B.B.C., perhaps, is a mofl ghastly drier-upper — Charlie is still as fresh an alive as ever. And as this goes to press we cfj congratulate him on being elected a Vice-Presi di nt at A.C.T.'s 11th Annual Meeting.