Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (1930-1949)

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CBS Television Staging And Lighting Practices BY RICHARD S. O'BRIEN COLUMBIA BROADCASTING SYSTEM, INC., NEW YORK, N.Y. SUMMARY: Television as a visual medium must be operated within the boundaries of its technical characteristics to achieve good visual reproduction. The system handles a limited range of luminance, introduces luminance transfer distortion, exhibits spurious effects (halos, image orthicon ghosts, clouding, streaking) and has finite detail resolution. It is necessary to provide guidance whereby production personnel can fully exploit the present system. Accordingly, rules have been formulated for each of the major production operations at CBS, viz., staging, lighting, camera operation and direction. Individuals working in these phases are thus enabled to perform their separate functions with assurance that their combined efforts will produce images which are both technically correct and artistically pleasing. IF TELEVISION were a perfect visual reproduction medium, it would be possible to allow qualified artistic judgment to be the sole arbiter of staging practices. Television is not, as yet, a perfect transmission system. At the present stage of technical development it is necessary to temper artistry with technicality — to respect rules which recognize the characteristics of the present facilities. It is an important engineering function to work toward improvement of technical performance. While this work is in progress, it is equally important to study the equipment as it exists and to determine the necessary boundary conditions in order that rational artistictechnical compromises can be made in current program production. The television studio practices which are discussed here have been found helpful in day-to-day operations by the Columbia Broadcasting System. These practices, concerned principally with the control of scene luminance and content, are outlined in groups of co-ordinated rules for use in the staging (scenery preparation), lighting adjustment and camera operations phases of production. The work of the various production departments, though separated in time and location, is thereby guided to obtain picture quality which avoids known pitfalls and makes the best possible use of the television system. In this presentation, a review of certain technical characteristics of the present facilities, including illustrations of spurious effects which PRESENTED: April 25, 1950, at the SMPTE Convention in Chicago. SEPTEMBER 1950 JOURNAL OF THE SMPTE VOLUME 55 243