Documentary News Letter (1947-1949)

90 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER INSIDE INFORMATION ON NON-THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION scarcely ever does one sit down in a theatre to listen to some sound rushes, or hear a commentator's voice coming out of the monitor room loudspeaker, or see a rough-cut at the C.O.I, theatre, but somebody raises the old query: 'Yes. But how will it come over on 16 mm.?' The documentary movement is rapidly getting itself all confused over 16 mm. sound. The few people who have bothered to attend nontheatrical shows have generally come away full of blackest despair. And rightly so. They have circulated horrible stories of invisible picture and inaudible sound. They have possibly sworn that something must be done about it. They have perhaps written to the C.O.I. They have almost certainly blamed the unfortunate recordist who shot the track. But for all the good that has resulted they might just as well have stayed at home. During the war we had to put up with the best that circumstances could provide. It was a pretty poor best, but conditions were certainly difficult. But now I am convinced that it is high time we all adopted a clearer outlook on this most vexed and most important problem. From the point of view of a technician I should like to air my views on my side of the affair. I feel fairly strongly about it because when an unintelligible sound track accompanies the visuals at a non-theatrical show, it is invariably the sound engineer who gets the blame. And it is generally not his fault. To begin with, I want to emphasize that, given a fair break, the 16 mm. sound track can be, for all practical purposes, every bit as good as the 35 mm. version. And I shall be only too happy to prove it to anybody. But before this can happen every stage in the long, tortuous chain of events must be given at least as much care as the standard film gets. The 16 mm. film has to cope with a rather different set of conditions from the standard cinema. These conditions do not necessarily make it more difficult to produce, but jt is not fair to project any one of a large batch of doubtful optically reduced prints on a glorified toy of a projector in a room with the acoustics of a public lavatory — and to expect perfect reproduction. What actually does happen? Let us assume that the studio has done its work perfectly. A first class combined print is delivered to the C.O.I. Nobody has any complaints about the sound. If dialect has been used, it has been used intelligently. If there are music or effects, they do not clash with the spoken work. The track is well modulated, and for once the laboratory has hit on the correct density. Everybody is happy and two hundred prints have got to be on nontheatrical circulation by next Monday fortnight. Somebody orders some combined fine grain prints to send to the optical reduction people. Docs anybody examine these prints? Perhaps two or three labs, will produce their quotas of 16 mm. prints in the specified time. Does anybody examine these prints? The C.O.I.'s own film Shown by Request proved conclusively tli.it they don't. They arc numbered, filed, canned, indexed, labelled, sorted and dispatched. But I am darned sure that nobody bothers to take a look at each print to sec that the lab. has been behaving itself. by a TECHNICIAN And even if they did, is there anybody there who knows what to look for? Does the C.O.I. possess a densitometer? And could anybody read it if they did? Does anybody bother to check with the recordist as to what the print density should be? Or tell him which lab. is to be used so that he can take some precautions himself? Does anybody at the Central Film Library know the difference between a gamma and a gadfly? I have seen prints on circulation which have been so light that the track is almost invisible; tracks so hopelessly under-exposed or underdeveloped that they had no hope of being intelligible through sheer distortion. Such prints, we know, should never have left the laboratory. But what laboratory is going to bother to be particular when the customer is not? But let's be generous again. Suppose a good print does find its way into circulation. What happens then? It will be projected by some overworked projectionist in a village schoolroom. Does he attempt to treat the acoustics of the room? When a recordist has to record dialogue under such conditions he takes with him enough felt or other acoustic material to absorb some of the unwanted reflections from the walls and floor. He cannot make a studio out of it, but he can make the difference between usable sound and useless sound. But the projectionist is not equipped with enough material often to black-out the hall for the feeble light from his projector to reach the screen. He cannot possibly turn the hall into an acoustically perfect theatre for perhaps one show, but at least he could make the attempt. And what of his projector? Many of the machines now in use can fairly be described as robust and w ell-made playthings. But as precision machines intended for the education and instruction of thousands who have no other access to the cinema they are a monstrous and iniquitous waste of money. A 35 mm. projector in a normal cinema is heavily and rigidly constructed. It is not carted from place to place in a lorry. It does its work in a building intended solely for the purpose. In fact, it has every advantage. But even then it has to have regular servicing. Frequent tests are carried out by competent engineers to see that it is always in perfect condition. But the 16 mm. portable is virtually ignored. It is allowed to go until it stops. Then it is sent back for repair. The projectionist is not provided with the elementary equipment for keeping the soundhead in correct focus or proper alignment. No standard test film is issued to him. He does his best under absurd conditions, but there is no real need for these announce further films completed From: "The Technique of Anaesthesia" Series Intravenous Anaesthesia Part 2. Signs and Stages of Anaesthesia. Carbon Dioxide Absorption Technique. Respiratory and Cardiac Arrest. Operative Shock. Handling and Care of the Patient. (Available lo approved medical audiences only.) From: « The Health of Dairy Cattle" Series Hygiene on the Farm. • From the " Soil Fertility " Series Factors of Soil Fertility. Lime. Land Drainage. PENICILLIN The story of its discovery and development, and the use of penicillin on war casualties. Other films in production will be announced when completed. Applications tor the loan of these films should be made to the Central Film Library. Imperial Institute, London, S.W.7