Film and TV Technician (1957)

May 1957 FILM & TV TECHNICIAN 73 is, or should be, finished. He is merely watching his picture being acted, photographed, edited and dubbed — all at once! He has only one screen to watch; the others are there for the various technicians who need them, and if he has done his work properly he should be able to watch it in reasonable quiet and comfort because everyone else has been told — by him — what to do and when to do it. Chaos on Screen The director who does not preplan, who tries to knit together the production from the control gallery by watching four screens at once, manipulating three cameras " off the cuff ", and often even giving impromptu directions to the wretched actors over a loudspeaker, gets chaos in the control room — and on the screen. This latter feature he never really knows about because he is too busy. There is a terrible lot of nonsense talked about the special nature of Television. There is absolutely no fundamental difference between a live Television production and a film of the equivalent story. I hold the view that the only way to plan a live Television sequence is to imagine how one would shoot it on film and then see how closely one can approximate to the same result using multiple cameras and continuous shooting. And it would amaze many people to know how often one can get very near to the same answer. There are certain impossibilities in live Television — for instance, when cross-cutting on dialogue one can never get round as near to the mutual eyeline as one would wish, but at least if one understands the problem one can work out methods of coming pretty close to the ideal. Same " handwriting " If one has worked for any length of time in a film studio one inevitably gets to know what sort of set-ups are easy to light well and yield good photographic results. It is quite astonishing to find that if one uses this same " handwriting " in a Television studio, one finds in nine cases out of ten that one is getting Television pictures of truly cinematic quality. Television lighting men are not idiots. Though many people think they are and can be pardoned for thinking so because they so often have to light virtually " unlightable " set-ups, wished on them by a director who doesn't realise what can be lit and what cannot. What of the reverse of the coin ? What can the film technician derive from Television technique? There is no doubt that the one big advantage, the thing that makes Television possible (and also makes it tremendous fun) is the purely psychological factor of going " on the air " at a set time with the knowledge that several million people are looking in; which gives the whole operation, from the first planning conference or rehearsal, a sort of tempo which has no equivalent in film produc DYNAMITE? The views expressed in this article may be technical dynamite among Television Producers. We hope they are. If they create an explosion of contending opinions Film and TV Technician wants to report it. What are YOUR views? Write and tell us. We are waiting for the " big bang " ! tion and cannot be synthesised by any means. There may be odd technical devices and tricks which could find a place in film production; for instance, do film sound editors and dubbing mixers know about the German E.M.T. gramophone turntables which A.T.V. are now using for cued background music and effects? These are capable of running up virtually instantaneously on a selected musical phrase or sound effect and can be very simply operated to an accuracy of time equal to all but the most precise track-laying. Their use in the dubbing theatre could save time in the cutting room, as well as eliminating an intermediate transfer from disc to film. Future Articles I hope that in future articles other devices peculiar to Television but with possible film production applications will be described. It would be of great help in the planning of these articles if readers would write to me, c/o Head Office, about the sort of subjects which they feel should be covered in this feature. Quentin Lawrence George Elvin Back Members will be glad to know that George Elvin is back in the saddle having made a complete recovery. In fact he seems to be at the very top of his form and fighting fit. " From what I see after my first few hours in the office ", George said on the day of his return to work, " the film industry and its trade unions are much the same as before. But whether they are or not, I want to let you know that I am passed as completely fit and I am delighted to be around again. I am most grateful to everybody within A.C.T.T., from Head Office through the Shop Stewards to the rank and file for showing so effectively during the past seven months that it is all nonsense to claim that A.C.T.T. was anything like a ' one man show '. A.C.T.T. " healthier than ever " 'A.C.T.T. seems, if anything, healthier than ever. I look forward to meeting the members again over the coming months." Following George's return Bert Craik, who so magnificently held the fort during the General Secretary's absence, is taking a welldeserved holiday. All members will wish him an enjoyable rest and will thank him for the sterling work he did in George's absence. TV AT EDINBURGH FESTIVAL The growth of television is to be reflected in the programme for this year's Edinburgh Film Festival which is being held from August 18th to September 8th. Plans include an international conference on the production and use of documentary film in television. There will also be discussions of plans for the international exchange of television film material. M. Henry Cassirer, head of the Television Branch of U.N.E.S.C.O., is drafting a programme for the conference which will attract film and TV experts from many countries. A Festival conference on the use of television in education is being planned by the Scottish Educational Film Conference Committee.