The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

August, 1953 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN 95 Wake up. Newsreel Men I FOUR years behind A.C.T. Jympson Harman pleads in the " Evening News " for longer newsreels. TV, he says, gives the public fifteen minutes' news every night ; cinemas only manage eight minutes twice a week. The short 700-foot newsreel was imposed on the trade by the government in wartime to economise in positive stock. It continues now without protest because production costs have enormously risen and another 100 or 200 feet, sold at the same price, would put the newsreels in Carey Street. Exhibitors, whether circuits or independents, will not pay a ha'penny more unless convinced that a longer newsreel will pay its cost at the box office. A man who could make them think otherwise could sell cricket to the Americans. Four years ago A.C.T. sent a deputation to the Newsreel Association. While agreeing in the main with th'e case we presented they did not think that anything could be done. We ourselves, however, cannot escape blame, for we did not follow through. If you stop the clubhead at the moment of impact the ball will go anywhere — anywhere but where you want it. We ought to have continued our campaign until we at least captured interest outside trade circles. For our failure to do so the Newsreel Section is most to blame. If we don't fight our own battles others won't do it for us, not even other sections of A.C.T. It is in the hope that the Newsreel Section will wake up and so earn the support of all ACT. members that this article is written. Everyone with his ear to the showmanship ground knows that the demand for longer newsreels already exists. There is no clamour for it, as there was no clamour for long features before Adoph Zukor began making them, or for cheap cars before the T-model Ford. But there is undoubtedly a potential demand crying out to be developed. Even the woefully short newsreel of the present time is very popular, despite the serious competition of TV. Exhibitors who experimentally dropped newsreels out of their programme last time the price was put up have mostly abandoned the experiment, not because they like paying the new price but because the customers objected to a show without news. They tell us emphatically, however, that today's price is the ceiling. Much would-be humorous comment has been made by us on the plight of the exhibitor; A.G.M. speakers have onlv to mention peanuts and ice-cream to believe they have made a joke; and for this the trade Pre<?s is largely responsible, with its columns full of high jinks at Llandudno and Eastbourne and its daily pictures of the downtrodden impecunious sipping cocktails at Claridges. Nevertheless, it is true that many exhibitors, independents especially, are doing badly. And even if another war could be arranged, to put them back on easy street, they would still be unwilling to pay more for a longer newsreel unless (let it be repeated) they would thereby increase their takings. If they took the opposite attitude they would be poor business men, whereas any salesman will tell you they are as tough as they come. Hence, if neither the public nor the exhibitor demands a longer newsreel, the obvious persons to do so are the newsreel executives, and they can be relied unon to do nothing. Admirable as in all respects they are, they are Endorsing Jympson Harman's recent plea for longer Newsreels, 'NEWSHAWK' hits hard at newsreel executives and technicians for their 'do -nothing' policy mostly elderly men with one eye — generally one-and-a-half — on their approaching retirement. That leaves A.C.T. under an obligation to reopen its campaign, begun four years ago. Let us hope that this article starts the ball rolling. We are numerically the smallest section of the Association, and we can overcome that disadvantage only by being far more active and vocal. Exhibitors' reluctance to pay more for a longer newsreel can be broken down by propaganda. Jympson Harman's article proves that we can interest the national Press if we go the right way about it. And as the essence of propaganda is repetition, an article here and there is of no value ; the campaign must be sustained. Every exhibitor knows that when something big happens the newsreel is directly box office. That it is box office all the year round is shown by the restoration of the newsreel by cinemas that tried to do without it. Propaganda can only be effective if it is strenuously backed up by salesmen, who should point out that if the present short reel is popular, how much more so would be the longer reel. The newsreel deputation of four years ago said (and this is one of Harman's points) that much of the value of newsreel reporting is unavoidably thrown away by its very shortness. Indeed, many stories nowadays can be missed altogether if someone passes in front of you on the way to a seat. Such stories, like the whole reel itself, are often too brief to compel interest. But it is instructive, when big news forces editors to devote 4-or-500 feet to a subject, to see how attentively the audience responds. One formidable obstacle to a longer newsreel is the fact that positive stock is still rationed. We failed to persuade the Board of Trade to meet us on that issue four years ago; but there has since been a change of government, many restrictions have gone and a new approach by a deputation carefullv leaving our Communist members at home, might produce the necessary stock. Another handicap is that old enemy of all change, apathy. It is always easier to do today what you did yesterday, always an effort to take a new path. Such effort might be fatal to our executives, and a humane man will hesitate to urge them to action that mierht well precipitate apoplexy. We must begin by calling to task our own Newsreel Section. We cannot be content to do nothing, waiting for a move in a quarter congenitally lethargic. Enthusiasm in the Newsreel Committee must replace the present vague wish that somebody would do something. Sales staffs need similar prodding. To the man on the road the newsreel is small beer, but when he is told to get orders he generally gets them. At least one newsreel has proved at least that much. The first thing is to sell the idea of the longer newsreel to the salesman himself. They are receptive men, or they could not do their job. so with enthusiasm at the top, at higher level than the newsreel executives, that should not be difficult. There must be a combined offensive, and that will not happen unless it is initiated by us — the Newsreel Section. So much for increased length. It is indispensable but not enough in itself. As Jympson Harman says the newsreel of the future must be in colour. Two years ago we should have ruled that out as impossible. Not so today. Colour is even more important to newsreels than to features: a good black and white feature (e.g., " Forever Female") more than stands up to an average colour film with benefit of 3-D, cinerama and anything else that may be invented in the next week or so. But a newsreel gains tremendously by colour, as was proved by the film of the royal tour of Canada, which was many times superior to black and white versions. Could we, however, even with colour and playing for fifteen minutes, withstand the competition of TV? Most probably yes. Not indefinitely, perhaps, but at least for some years. Though that judgment is no more than an assertion the writer of this article will back it for a reasonable sum. Being no more than a personal opinion there is no call to elaborate it here. It is enough to point out that existing newsreels are popular; better ones will be more so. In every kind of quality we can always beat TV, which is often tedious, as yet showing no sign of understanding the needs of a daily issue. But is it even conceivable that we can match the TV time factor? The answer is a dismal and emphatic negative unless we evolve a new technique; nothing less than a technical revolution. That, above all things, should be foremost in the minds of all concerned with newsreel production. Looking into the future — and not necessarily the remote future — our hope seems to lie in picture on tape. Magnetic recording is already a triumphant success. Now, in America, the Bing Crosby Research Institute has succeeded in magnetically reproducing picture. How soon the process will become commercial we don't know; research in England is urgently needed. Take a forward look. A story in Plymouth is covered on tape — sound and picture. By telephone line the results are wired to London, rerecorded, edited (all on tape) and bv telephone line transmitted to branch distribution centres, by which the copies are delivered to cinemas. In this way the story would be on the screen in Aberdeen two hours after it was shot in Plymouth, half of even that time being taken by editing. Such re-equipment as would be necessary, for both producers and cinemas, would be a great economy in a very short time. Is there among our sound engineers one who will apply his inventive mind to the problems and so enable us to seize the opportunity that yawns before us?