Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

correspondent news cameramen here and abroad, contributed to NBC's television world film cover- age. As an example, films of the Paris Peace Conference, made by cameramen engaged especially for NBC, were shown here for the first time on television within 48 hours of the actual opening of the confer- ence. Pictures of the atom bomb blasts at Bikini were seen by NBC's television audience a full ten days before the story was released to theaters throughout the nation. Films Provide Atmosphere Today, the use of motion pic- tures in augmenting the "live" studio show is also an important phase of the work of the film unit. In addition to having his titles on film, a producer may call for an opening sequence which would quickly establish the locale of the play or live broadcast. At the re- (luest of the producer, cameramen are called on to film the exterior of an apartment building, a city street or a neighborhood. At another time the film editor may be asked for "stock" shots of waving wheat, a winter scene, a ship at sea. Even a lion-tamer in the cage with his "cats" was adroitly used by NBC Producer Ernest Colling in bring- ing realism to a studio show. Scenes of the actual circus were cut back and forth to fit in with action in the studio thus creating the effect of being actually under the "big top." Prepares Short Subjects In addition to its production of newsreels, NBC's film unit edits, writes and presents short subjects specially prepared for television. However, the greater proportion of films now used including those of feature length, are booked in the same manner as theatre releases. Although many outstanding Holly- wood features have been presented on NBC, the major film companies have not as yet released their prod- uct for television. But working through independent producers, NBC is able to present an amaz- ingly high standard of motion pic- ture features and short subjects. In the foregoing paragraphs, references to procedure have been limited to those of WNBT, a sta- tion owned and operated by a broad- cast network. However, the small independent television station must depend to a similar degree on films and will need a basic film depart- ment. It would appear from the results of our experience that such a station, even when drawing on eventual networks for the major part of its video programs, will need at least one 16 mm. sound projector, a cameraman, film editor- cutter and a writer. This invest- ment will not be required for local programs only. When networks come into being, good film footage AN NBC FILM CAMERAMAN PICKS UP SCENES FROM THE FAIR GROUNDS AT GOSHEN, N. Y., SITE OF THE FAMOUS HAMBLETONIAN RACE. taken locally but embodying events of national interest will be fed into the network just as broadcast pro- grams today are likely to originate at any network affiliate. In these days of experimentation, opinions differ as regards television programming. This is to be ex- pected. There are many schools of thought and all of them, undoubt- edly, possess some merit. But one fact is fundamental and cannot be refuted. In television, there is no substitute for a good picture, whether that picture originates in a studio, on film or through a skil- ful combination of both mediums. RCA VICTOR PRESSES BILLIONTH RECORD The billionth phonograph record to be produced by RCA Victor was pressed in October at the company's Camden plant. It was a double- sided recording of "Stars and Stripes Forever" and "Semper Fidelis," performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky. This achieve- ment in record production, unap- proached by any other firm, sym- bolizes 45 years of leadership in the record and phonograph field. A billion records, like a billion dollars, is not a quantity that can be easily visualized. For instance, if this output of records were to be stacked, the pile would be 4,000 miles high. Working 24 hours a day, it would require 48,000 years for one person to play the entire collection. The demand for recorded music has been increasing constantly over the years. In 1901, the Victor Talk- ing Machine Company produced only 250,000 records. By 1921, the annual output had risen to 55 mil- lion units. In 1942, RCA Victor was able to report a new all-time high production of 59 million rec- ords. At present, record manufacture is distributed among plants at Camden, Indianapolis and Holly- wood while recording is carried out in modern equipped studios at New York, Chicago and Hollywood. In addition, the company operates mobile equipment which makes it possible to record great orchestras at their home headquarters. [24 RADIO AGE]