The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

July-August, 1952 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN 75 continental studios. Sound insulation is not of great importance at the moment as there is little external noise, but the internal acoustics are very bad. The Film City is rather isolated at present, but it is in beautiful surroundings, and is a pleasant place to work during the' heat of the summer. But when autumn comes the half-built studios are surrounded by a sea of mud, which later becomes a frozen desolation. When I had the opportunity to visit other parts of Yugoslavia I found that the film studios of the other republics vary a great deal. In Sarajevo, at Bosna Film, they are completing the building of a new studio. As with all the smaller studios, most of the building has been done with the assistance of the technicians themselves, and they have reason to be proud of their achievements. Built on more modest lines than the Central Studios, it excels them in good planning and lay-out of the buildings. Sarajevo is predominantly Moslem, and film production is only one of the many ways they are breaking free from the past. The site of the studio is a happy one, in a lovely valley surrounded by the high mountains of central Yugoslavia. As an example of one of the more ambitious small studios Triglav Film in Ljubljana is noteworthy. This was also built by the technicians themselves. The production methods used here, approach those which are familiar to us in this country. Ljubljana is in one of the most industrialised parts, and at least geographically is nearest to the west. The scenery of Yugoslavia is one of the most varied of any country in Europe, and all of it is available to the Yugoslav production companies, but Triglav Film has the advantage of a situation, in Slovenia, a few hours journey from the Alps on one hand, and the Mediterranean on the other. In all Yugoslav studios, I found that equipment was one of the major problems. Continual improvisation has been necessary. It is only recently that some purchases have been made from abroad. The Central Studio possesses a number of good DeBrie cameras and some associated equipment in fair condition, such as dollies and camera trucks. A camera crane made from salvage has been used, but it is no longer workable. The first sound apparatus was an early Klang film recorder, in its original sound truck. This was never very good and now has a characteristic that makes it almost useless. In addition they have a Russian channel which is an exact copy of the R.C.A. P.M. 35. This Russian channel has been worked continually for years, but it has deteriorated and there is no hope of getting any replacement parts. A year ago, a number of Aga-Baltic channels were delivered from Sweden, and are being used in Belgrade and Zagreb. All these systems use booth monitoring. There are other sound systems in use. A Swiss channel is in operation in Sarajevo, for example. One disadvantage from which the sound has suffered, is the lack of dubbing or re-recording facilities. There has been no modern re-recording channel available. Probably the most advanced production technique I saw was in Triglav Film Studios, where a Vinten "Everest" has been in use for the last year. The sound system they use there was made by the studio sound engineer, and the sound quality is as good as anyone could desire. A Mole-Richardson boom has been ordered for these studios. Everywhere I went I found a great desire for information about studio practice, even when the equipment was not available. Even the simpler aids to film production were often unknown, and luxuries such as rear projection were quite impossible. For many months I worked at the side of Yugoslav technicians, and became a member of their Trade Union. In many ways, working conditions and methods are very different from those in this country. All working hours in Yugoslavia have been standardised, and studios generally are normal except for production crews who often work at exceptional times. Factory workers have a six-day week, Sunday is a general holiday. They work from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a quarter of an hour break from 9 to 9.15. These times are observed by most of the studio staff. Otherwise we started at 7 a.m. and worked until 2 p.m. like other office workers. The laboratories only work during the day, and have a shift system. Productions crews have more " free time " and have to work according to the circumstances of shooting. The difficulties in building and the supply of materials hold up production schedules, but one of the chief causes of delays is the frequent ncn-availability of actors. There is a great shortage of good film actors, and the demand of the theatre is so great that it is often necessary to fit shooting into times when there is no theatrical performance or rehearsal. It has been impossible to maintain strict shooting schedules, with serious consequences when a film took a year or often more to complete. Recently there has been a great improvement in organisation and an increase in the speed and efficiency of production. At the end of a year's work we took our holidays. Every worker is entitled to from 15 to 30 days' holiday with pay each year. Although the cost of living is exceptionally high, special concessions are made so that most people can take