Minutes of evidence taken before the Departmental Committee on Cinematograph Films (1936)

170 COMMITTEE ON CINEMATOGRAPH FILMS 14 July, 1936.] [Contiv •" d. written upon American lines will become more pronounced and cannot fail to be detrimental to fchi film industry as a whole. Many American producing firms, which, in view of the growing importance of British films and in order to comply with the Quota provisions, are opening studios in England, will in the absence of a clause necessitating the employment of a British scenario writer in all probability show a preference for the American writer. It is interesting to observe in this connection that certain American studios in England already employ screen writers from Hollywood to give instruction to British screen writers. Again, the repeal of that section which provides that the scenarios of British pictures must be written by British subjects would have a gravely detrimental effect upon Canadian films and film writers. There the all too frequent practice of using what i in essence American material, revised for a small payment by a British subject to meet the present requirements, shows that once this slight safeguard was removed the American scenarist would be assured of an almost complete monopoly. I feel sure that these considerations have already engaged the attention of your Committee, but since, it is understood, no representations have hitherto been made by scenarists and film writers it was thought desirable that their attitude shoulcl be indicated. 8th Julv, 1936. (/) Memorandum by the Strand Film Company. Ltd. Since the 1927 Act .was passed registered shorts have declined from a proportion of 2:7 to 2:9 in relation to longs.* " The reduction in the supply of short subjects is attributable principally to a falling off of British production in this field. Compared with the total foreign productions registered here, the short films have fallen from 24 per cent, to 21 per cent, between the first three years against the last three years. The British supply in the same period fell from 14-1 to 5-0 per cent, of the entire registered British output, "t Mr. Simon Rowson comments on this as follows: — " The fall in the number of short subjects now being produced below the level of a few years ago is significant and regrettable, because it implies diminishing attention throughout the .world's production centres to these kinds of subjects, which introduce the principal element of variety in the average programme." At a recent banquet given by the film industry to Australian trade representatives, Mr. Malcolm MacDonald, Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, spoke as follows : — " . . . and then suddenly the screen in its inimitable way starts to perform miracles, and you see in a series of perfect moving pictures the various stages of the growth of some beautiful flower or the life history of some fantastic creature or some other secret or wonder of nature. Then suddenly the scene changes again and you are being taken on a journey perhaps along the Great Wall of China or through the painted desert of Arizona or to some distant outpost of our Empire. These, Documentary Films which you can produce as no other producers in the world can produce them are playing, I believe, a highly important and attractive and successful part in the education of our millions in this country. They are performing a signal service to the whole of the community in the way of education." In the opinion of many leading members of the film trade the production of shorts provides the most useful training ground for apprentices. There is no doubt that the provision of such a training ground is most badly needed by the British Film industry, which lias had to draw so frequently upon foreign technicians for the lack of suitably trained British technicians. Yet, despite the advantages of a sound short film side of the business, there has been no encouragement to the shorts producer. Under the present terms of the Aet short films, in particular documentary films, can seldom be registered as either renter-' or exhibitors' quota. * S. Rowson. " A Statistical Survey of the Cinema Industry in 1934." | Op. cit. p. 106. We acknowledge that when the Act was framed documentary films .were not being made and the exemption of current events, scenic and industrial subjects from registration was designed to prevent foreign renters acquiring the product of a cameraman's week-end, a casual description of scenery or industry, and registering it as a British film. Since that time a school of cinematography has grown up in Britain called documentary, whose films are based on a dramatisation or creative interpretation of current events, scenic, scientific or industrial material (c.f. " The Song of Ceylon," " The Face of Britain," " Shipyard." " Weather Forecast." •• Night Mail." •' Industrial Britain." etc.). A documentary film is treated in much the same way as a studio film, from a production point of view. It is not a collection of scenes collected together into a travelogue or an industrial film, but a film, scripted, directed, edited and synchronised with imagination and skill. The average production time of a documentary film is three to four months and during that period provides employment for a minimum of four people for each subject. These films have gained considerable international prestige for British film production at all the international exhibitions. (Prix du Gouvernment de Beige, gold medals for all British documentary films shown at the, Brussels International Film Exhibition, gold cup and medals at the Venice International Exhibition, etc.) Documentary films are given more serious consideration by responsible film critics of national newspapers than the majority of studio films. Suggested Methods for Improving tht Administration of the Existing Act. It is our submission that a more sympathetic interpretation of the term " special exhibition value might be made for documentary films, providing they come within the provisos contained in the Act, part 1. 27, (1). For this purpose we suggest that a special subcommittee is appointed, who will be better qualified to judge the value of documentary films, consisting of a representative of the British Films Institute, Associated Realist Film Producers, and a commercial firm specialising in documentary film production. with two of the five of the present advisory committee, who have no pecuniary interesl in the film industry. It is submitted that this committee would judge documentary films from aesthetic, cultural and educational considerations, which are inseparable from any examination of their "special exhibition value ".