The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

170 Other A.C.T. News THE CINE-TECHNICIAN December, 1! Compiled by * Mi da f TECHNICAL LECTURES: The first half of the season for these lectures has been completed and we are pleased to say they have been one of the most successful this Association has run, and attendances have been well above average, in fact three meetings have been completely crowded out. The Technical Committee sincerely hope that the second half of the season will be as well supported. They would also like to publicly thank our first three lecturers, namely, Tom Stobart, G. V. Alexandrov and Raymond Spottiswoode, for their most interesting talks. According to G. V. Alexandrov the British and Russian relationships in the cinema are beginning to mend again and it is hoped that Russia will see more British films. Amongst some of the comments he made is one that we could probably take a lesson from, I refer to his comment " I listen to the voice of the cinemagoer, after all it is for them that we make films." He also said that the Soviet are trying to get rid of the idea that premieres should only be held in centralised towns in the Soviet and now release the new film at the same time in thousands of different towns, therefore they have to produce 5,000 copies of a film for its premiere. MANCHESTER BRANCH: Manchester Branch held its annual dinner on Friday, 27th November, an official from Head Office was present at this function. It was gratifying to see such a lively branch and also the true spirit of comradeship that exists in Manchester whereby if a member of A.C.T. becomes unemployed in their area, every possible effort is made locally to find him work. It is not generally known that a particular unit in Manchester had one of its members sick for a considerable time, it will be still a very long time before this member can be fully rehabilitated, but quite voluntarily the Company agreed to take the technician into employment to rehabilitate him and during this process the boys in Manchester are having a voluntary levy, and the A.C.T. Benevolent Fund is also assisting, together with the Company, in maintaining a reasonable wage whilst this rehabilitation is taking place. I mention this because it gives members an idea of what I mean by true comradeship. Hniisli crew shooting in London streets on Paramount s "Knock on Wood ". The dinner followed Manchester's usual style trip into the country to some well-known lo. pub and a floor show put on by the boys at Natioi Film Agency. Should any technician find himself within tl area, if he will contact Paul Kelly, the Secretary the Manchester Branch, c/o National Film Agent I am sure he will receive a very good welcome. TECHNICOLOR: Congratulations to this shop its vigilance. Head Office recently received application form from this shop and the questiol "How long have you worked in an A.C.T. grade | was answered by the applicant " Three hours." FOREIGN LOCATIONS: In spite of various pat graphs and articles in the " Cine-Technician " i garding problems that can arise through technician proceeding on location without informing Hea Office, it is regretted that many still continue t do so. It is little use asking A.C.T. to intervene it any problem that may arise unless technicians hav taken the advice of this office before proceeding on of the country and making sure that their insurant policies as issued by the Company, i.e., K.5, are ii order. BRITISH ACOUSTIC FILMS: Our members em ployed by this Company have, in common with others of our sections, put into the company a demand for a substantial wage increase. Preliminary meetings have been held with the company in which A.C.T. placed a very strong case for increases ba«ec on two factors, i.e., increased production and highet cost of living. To date the company have agreed to examine the claim and have promised a recall conference. 130 or so of our members at B.A.F. took part in the Engineering 24-hour token strike. Ian Crawford reports that the Chairman, Phil Booth, has resigned, having taken up a post in the accounts department of the B.O.P.E. Phil has been chairman for the past two years, and his guidance will be missed by the branch committee and by the membership as a whole. All of us wish him success in his new post. Congratulations from all members to Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Adams on the birth of a boy. This year's annual dinner and dance was held at the Queen's Hall, Ealing, on 7th November, and was a great success. Organised by the Sports and Social Club. Mr. H. R. de Jonge, the Club's President, outlined the Club's history, regretted that more of the management had not attended, and suggested that as 1954 would be the Club's tenth anniversary the organisation of an Engineers' Convention to coincide with the next dinner-dance would enable Midland and Scottish friends to attend. Mr. Walkinshaw, the Club's publicity secretary, proposed the toasts of the guests, and Mr. Crow, of Perivale. responded. Dancing then followed to the music of Chris Stone's band. Mrs. Peter Croft writes: When my husband told me that he and some fellow workers were interested in resurrecting the " B.A. Players " amateur company, I was rather doubtful of their success in gathering together sufficient players. " You'll get women," I said, " They are always keen on acting, how about the men? " Then he and a friend had the bright idea of starting with a play with an all-male cast, and so " Journey's End " was chosen as their first venture. {Turn to page 171) L