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

general recognition of how the limitations of the system must always be carefully considered in the staging of a studio production.41"46 The motion picture industry's many techniques, developed over a period of years, are now being used more and more in television studios, although it has been found that these motion picture techniques must be applied with extreme care because of the differences between the mediums. The marked change in television delineated above has required a great expansion of many of the television stations and studios throughout the country. There seems to be a trend toward more and more space and the industry has concluded that facilities at least approaching in size those of the motion picture production lot will ultimately be required. There have been several purchases of large acreages on which numerous buildings will operate in order to handle the production requirements which are foreseen. The Use of Film. Direct photography for television shows has increased during the year. A number of production companies have operated specifically for this purpose and with considerable success. Most such productions have been of half-hour shows, some of which have been serialized. Both 16-mm and 35-mm cameras have been employed, although the trend at the moment seems to be the favor of the latter, in spite of the fact that many of the television stations are forced later to use 16-mm reduction prints. Of the top TV network shows on the air at the close of 1950, approximately 20% were on film.47"50 As recorded in the Progress Report for 1949, there has been some interest in the technique of so-called simultaneous filming of live television shows; however, this technique is still not widely used. The demand for special prints reflects the growing practice in the tele vision industry. Most large stations on television networks have established standards for print characteristics which give optimum television quality.51 Background projection as an adjunct to live programming is becoming more common. The technique of film projection for television transmission has received a lot of study. A method of improving the image quality by using filters in the projector to remove infrared radiation, and by filtering edge and bias-light in iconoscope film cameras has been proposed. As a result of the interfering effects of light level and tube variation, this procedure is still controversial. The Eastman Kodak Co. has manufactured a new 16-mm television projector, model 250, which is intended to give superior performance for film chains. The projector operates on the conventional 5% application principle, but offers improved picture steadiness, brightness and definition as well as excellent sound quality. Facilities are provided for continuous projection of a single frame, or regular projection with remote operation (Fig. 8). Video Recording. Video recording progress during 1950 has been very great. In fact, it is generally agreed among those intimately involved with this technique that within the limits of the television system as established by the FCC and as further laid down by equipment limitations, the recording system can take down what is delivered to it. Phrased another way, it is conceded now that the operation inside the studio is the point where the recording is made or broken. Unfortunately, many television shows are rehearsed so little that certain fundamental rules that affect the quality of a television recording are violated. Whenever this is done the results are extremely unfortunate. To be more specific, it is necessary that lighting be handled with extreme care. A lighting contrast of 578 May 1951 Journal of the SMPTE Vol. 56