International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1946)

again with that positive uniformity of presentation so vital to good advertising. Film is to television advertising what the stereotype mat is to newspaper advertising— the foolproof reproduction. Even in studio production, film has its vital place. Time and again a studio production has troublesome gaps or pauses that must be bridged over by some suitable pictorial action, since the television public will not tolerate a blank screen even for a few seconds. Film "shorts" help fill in such pauses. Too, television plays have been considerably enhanced by the inclusion of movie scenes, frequently made with the same performers amid the desired outdoor scenes. For instance, if the television play calls for a bit of action — say on Fifth Avenue, or for a train, steamer, bus, or airplane — it is evident that such a scene can best be made outdoors with the same actors, rather than attempt a synthesized version in the studio. Filmed scenes also gain time for shifting from one studio scene to another. Economically, film production presents certain advantages. Television studio problems can be frequently solved by film shooting. For one thing, studio space limitations can be overcome by having the production made in a movie studio and recorded on film. Likewise, if the studio schedule is overflowing, the production may be filmed even in the television studio itself, thereby dispensing with the lengthy rehearsals of the live-talent show. If performers are available only at certain times that do not conform with telecasting hours, the film recording again solves the problem. At any rate the entire production can be filmed and used at will, without tying up limited studio facilities. ihive> Programs on Film Of course the simple performance can be handled at lower cost with studio live talent and direct television pickup. This will always be the logical choice especially when a single television station must bear the entire cost. But for more elaborate productions and where several stations are participating in a syndicated program, then the movie method of production becomes increasingly more attractive. In all cases the cost comparisons should largely settle the choice of direct television pickup of film recording. Many of the programs handled by Du Mont television stations are recorded on film as standard production routine. We have a threefold purpose in recording many of our programs: (1) Such films provide a handy record that may be studied by our studio personnel, technicians, and again the performers, directors and writers, to improve their respective talents as time goes on. (2) Such films are supplied to advertisers, as a permanent record of their programs. (3) Such films serve to build up a growing library of recorded programs that can be used again either over our own stations, or syndicated to other stations. Du Mont technicians have worked for several years on the many problems of recording television images on movie film. We have evolved a satisfactory technique, whereby television images of a repetitive rate of 30 pictures per second on the cathode-ray screen can be recorded on movie film at 24 frames per second or any other rate required. Our own recordings are made on standard 16-mm film, with sound track included, for a completely recorded television program. Frame Speed Synchronization The greatest problem in film recording of television programs directly off the cathode-ray tube of the television monitor is the difficulty of synchronizing the 30 frames per second speed of television to either the 16 frames per second of silent motion pictures or the 24 frames per second of standard sound film. There are two practical solutions to these problems: (1) To record silent pictures at 15 frames per second using a synchronous motor drive on a standard camera and projecting this film at the standard speed of 16 frames ; or (2) Recording at standard sound speed of 24 frames per second using a specially constructed shutter and pull-down in a camera • » (tends to all ltd dubdcrib the Reason 5 Ljreetin eri 9* also driven by a synchronous motor. This will allow the film to be projected at sound speed from a standard projector. ' As stated previously, television operates at 30 frames per second. If a standard motion picture camera with a shutter of approximately 204° is driven by a synchronous motor at 15 frames per second, half of the alternate 30 television frames will be recorded, the other half will be lost during the pull-down time of the camera, with the result that 15 frames per second will be recorded. In projecting a film taken by this method at the standard 16 frames per second, no particular speeding up of the subject action is noticeable. In recording television 30 frames per second at standard 24-frame sound speed ihe difficulties are not so easily overcome; however, these problems are almost entirely of a mechanical nature. Again a synchronous motor is used to drive a standard camera at 24 frames per second, but both the shutter and pulldown mechanism must be altered so that 6 television frames out of every 30 are lost during the pull-down time of the camera, resulting in a 24-frame per second recording of the 30-frame television picture. As the film travels through the camera at sound speed, sound can be recorded in the usual ways, either on the same film using a single system or by a separate sound camera using a double system. The motion picture business is based on sequence of runs, which is based on pricing. So far not enough money has been offered by telecasters for film to warrant any deviation from their normal arrangements. Because of this, it is evident that motion picture producers have been unwilling to supply first-run feature pictures or, for that matter, even news reels or short subjects to telecasters. Consequently, telecasters have had to depend on entertainment films of more or less ancient vintage — films from which the movie industry has already extracted just about the last dollar of box-office revenue. Speaking for my own organization, I cannot point with particular pride to much of our film programming during the past several years. New Source of Film Needed Along with other pioneer telecasters, we have had to show films of five, ten, and even fifteen years ago. The pictorial quality of such ancient times is positively an imposition before the eyes of today's critical audience. Yet such ancient films can prove interesting and worth while at times. Such films have served to fill in a third to a half of our evening programs until such time as we have been able to build up our studio live-talent features. Sooner or later, and it should be soon, telecasters must seek new sources of film. True, there is a rising proportion of (Continued on page 28) INTERNATIONAL PROJECTION IST • December 1946