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

room application, than any preceding year. Film Processing Laboratories The impact of stereoscopic photography was strongly felt by the film processing laboratories inasmuch as most of the systems required two films which had to be processed and printed with special consideration. The initial 3-D film, Bwana Devil, was processed by Pathe Laboratory and was printed on Eastman Color Print film from an Ansco negative — the first occasion wherein the crossover had been successfully attempted. Printing equipment was altered to insure stability of the dual images on the screen. Warner Bros, was preparing its laboratory facilities for 3-D by the year end also, having successfully processed a number of productions in Eastman Color during 1952. M-G-M laboratory, having processed one Ansco Negative feature in 1952, undertook expansion of its color developing machine capacity. A new design is being incorporated in the unit which will be in service early in 1953. General Film Laboratory constructed a new laboratory building to be used exclusively for 16mm processing and printing. Several cutting rooms were also added in this new facility. Operation of the new plant is anticipated by Spring 1953. 35mm color processing facilities were available at this laboratory to render prints on either Eastman Color or du Pont during 1952. Unicorn Laboratories was a new entry into the independent laboratory field, having taken over the former Paramount facility. This company is planning to offer 16mm and 35mm service. Pathe Laboratory also added a 16mm plant to cope with the television demand. This equipment can also accommodate the negative-positive color processes when available in 16mm. New cutting and projection rooms were also a part of the expansion program. The first 35mm Eastman Color prints were made from 16mm Kodachrome (both daylight and commercial) by Hollywood Film Effects in cooperation with Pathe Laboratory during the past year. Color The year 1 952 was a great year for productions in color. In three of the major studios, motion pictures in color outnumbered those in black-and-white. For interest, a survey was taken to determine what percentage of the total production was in color. These percentages for several of the studios are as follows: Columbia, 30%; Fox, 55%; M-G-M, 47%; Paramount, 65%; RKO, 35%; Universal, 50%; and Warner Brothers, 70%. At M-G-M black-and-white methods are applied as much as possible in its color laboratory. Over 500 release prints were made of Wild North, an Ansco Negative-Positive product, with losses reported to be no greater than black-and-white. The release was made on unchanged Model E printing machines with color filters being combined with the travelling matte. Warner Brothers produced five feature-length pictures in its new Warner Color process — an Eastman Color Negative-Positive process. Consolidated Film Industries converted its Trucolor process from one requiring sequential printing from separation negatives to one whereby Eastman Color Negative is printed directly onto Eastman Color Positive in a continuous printer. The printer has three separate light sources and three narrow-band filters with the light intensity being changed by a variable-area matte. At its Fort Lee laboratory, Consolidated reports considerable progress in making 16mm Ansco Color Positive prints from 16mm original Kodachrome by means of a special Ansco intermediate color negative. In England, preparations were made George R. Groves: Progress Committee Report 543