Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (1950-1954)

(Fig. 5). A crew of four men — the operative cameraman, assistant, grip and cable man — is required on each camera, and coordination among them is essential, unlike in television where the responsibility lies with only one man handling his own camera movements, focusing, tilting and panning and having the additional advantage of viewing his results immediately. Each movement of the dollies is marked on the floor for each individual scene (Fig. 5). The entire crew uses an intercommunication system, since all the movements of the camera are cued from the monitor box. I personally use a two-circuit intercommunicator to enable me to talk separately to the monitor booth and the camera crew on one, and to the electricians handling the dimmers and the switchboard on the other (Fig. 6). It is a noteworthy coincidence that just 30 years ago this month, I introduced the moving camera to the motion picture industry in the German picture Last Laugh. If I had known then what trouble I was storing up for myself, especially in the / Love Lucy show where the cameras are moving constantly, I certainly would have thought twice before starting this innovation. Since the audience is lost at the end of each show, retakes are not desirable because laughs would then need to be dubbed in. Retakes are therefore made in emergency cases only. Even betterlit close-ups, taken by a single camera with properly placed lights, had to be discarded. Cutting these so-called "glamour" close-ups into the picture proved unsatisfactory as it was found that they stood out like a sore thumb. Retakes were made when necessary, and the same lighting used as during the show except for minor unnoticeable changes. The illumination level of 250 footcandles measured with the incident light meter and the lighting contrast of 2 to 1 are maintained practically over the entire set. The lens T-stop is 4.5. The permissible brightness range which is governed by both the illumination and the reflecting power of the various parts of the scene should not exceed a 20 to 1 ratio, so special attention is paid to makeup, dresses, props and color of the sets. The best reproduction of face tone quality I experience with makeup two to three shades darker than usually applied in motion pictures. The following materials were of Eastman Kodak manufacture: Plus X, 35mm, type 5231 Negative developed to gamma 0.68; print on Fine-Grain Release Positive, 35mm, type 5302, gamma 2.40; Fine-Grain Duplicating Positive, 35mm, type 5365, gamma 1.40; FineGrain Dupe Negative, 16mm, type 7203, gamma 0.55; Fine-Grain Release Positive, type 7302, 16mm, gamma 2.15. New overhead lights were developed with six 1000-watt silver-coated lamp bulbs for indirect lighting (Fig. 7). For front key-light, converted 5000-watt pans with sleeves to accommodate diffusing material are used (Fig. 8) ; otherwise there is no deviation from standard motion picture lighting equipment. All the lights are preset for each individual scene and changed accordingly by signals to the switchboard operator. Experiments are now under way to eliminate many individual spot lights by replacing them with sealed beam lights and better lighting equipment is in development to enable easier operation for this type of show. To have had the opportunity to play a part in the success of the / Love Lucy show which is now rated the No. 1 television show in the nation assures me that the efforts to overcome the handicaps have not been in vain, and the results accomplished are comparable to motion picture photographic quality where comedy treatment of lighting is required. In conclusion, I want to give credit to the producer, cast and crew, Dr. Nor Karl Freund: Shooting Television Films 17