Film and TV Technician (1957)

si FILM & TV TECHNICIAN June/July 1957 A POINT of some interest to our -^ TV members arises from the recent TV link with Prague for the European Amateur Boxing Championships. It appears that several of the Czech camera operators were women — a fact that astonished the British commentator. I can't say that I have ever seen a camera (wo) man anywhere in TV (any offers?). Nor telecine operators or control for that matter. The only inroad into the males' customary province I know of is in Associated Rediffusion, where there is, I think, a woman sound balancer. In films the lines of demarcation seem to be traditionally even more rigid. Women "mixers"? It seems unthinkable. About the only department where women and men compete on equal terms is in the editorial and production section. But A.C.T.T. is not, of course, opposed to full sex equality, and we remember one or two very competent women members of the Sound department during the war, as we also remember the all-women documentary unit which functioned for a short while. Warm enough? Head Office has had a letter from H.M.S. Warrior, somewhere, I presume, in the Pacific. It is from Harvey Harrison, who has been directing the official film of the H-Bomb tests in the Christmas Islands. He says that the heat was terrific— averaging 96 in the shade, and humidity of 98 — which made it " uncomfortable " at times. For my money, that close to the H-Bomb tests would make it uncomfortable all the time. Harvey Harrison wishes to be remembered to his friends in the Street — and hopes to see them all in July. Tribute . . . The tale that it is the disgruntled and inefficient who make enthusiastic trade unionists dies hard. It's all the more pleasant to see a tribute, in a sense, to the Union in the Daily Film Renter of May 24th. The quote : " Three more shows, Under Fire, directed by Herbert Wise; Youth Wants to Know, by Kurt Lewenhak; and What the Papers Say, by James Ormerod, have all tended to stimulate the minds of viewers as well as providing good entertainment ". The author is writing of Granada TV. Herbert Wise is the Granada representative on the TV Negotiating Committee, Kurt Lewenhak is the deputy steward, and James Ormerod a leading member of the Granada Committee ! " Temptation Pink " ? In an industry noted for its rapid changes, the latest idea for increased efficiency comes from ABC Television. This is to have the technicians in coloured jerseys. Sound and camera wear red, electricians grey, and " props " black. There has been no suggestion so far for jerseys, or their colours, for directors, for instance, but if there is to be a different colour jersey for every grade in television the ABC TV management will have to turn to the lipstick manufacturers for tints! tpcP^ N.F.F.C s Annual Report Those film industry chiefs who have been throwing their arms up in surprise at the National Film Finance Corporation making a small loan for a TV picture are only displaying their own ignorance of the purposes of the N.F.F.C. The Corporation's constitution allows it to finance TV films, and, as its Managing Director David Kingsley told our annual general meeting over two years ago, it considers that the future of the production side of the industry depends on the full exploitation of theatrical and TV film distribution. All the fuss stems from a short 25-word paragraph in the Annual Report and Statement of Accounts of the N.F.F.C. for the year to March 31st, 1957 IH.M. Stationery Office, 1/3), and has tended to distract attention from what has become one of the most important documents of each year. Here this year are reflected the fortunes of our members in colour laboratories, as seen by the fact that less is on average spent on laboratory charges on each N.F.F.C. -assisted production, because more black-and-white subjects were made last year; here, also, is evidence of further speedup in the studios — each feature film taking an average of thirty-nine days in front of the cameras, instead of forty-one days the year before, and forty-six days the year before that; here, too, are signs of Government policy, as seen in the recent reduction of Entertainment Tax and increase in the Bank Rate. Not Enthusiastic The Report is not really enthusiastic about either — the interest paid by the Corporation on loans from the Board of Trade and the banks has had to be increased with the Bank Rate, and the stabilising effect of the reduction of E.T. is not regarded as likely to offset the reduction in net box-office takings due to any further falls in cinema-going. Production costs on the average film have increased in the past year, and the N.F.F.C. has increased its profits to a record figure of £84,727. Maybe that is why, although it notes that it submitted proposals to the Board of Trade on what is needed to safeguard British film production, there are no signs in the Report of any suggestions for any fundamental change in the set-up of the industry. This is in marked contrast to the long-term and short-term proposals made at the same time by the six film Unions. This Shawcross-like mentality on the part of the N.F.F.C. may please the Government, but it will not begin to solve the problems of closed studios. unemployment, casual work and American domination in the way that the Unions' joint document can. Christopher Brunei