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Rain ond snow ore two of the numerous visual effects made to order for the producers of NBC television dromas. It Isn't Always as You See It—on TV Thcrcs Air and Magic in Piockking Visual Effccrs rh. ill. ' Icighrcn Drama of Television Programs By James Glenn Manager. Singing Services. National Broadcasting Company w. E—in Special Effects—are known, among other things, as the "meteorologists" of television. We are responsible for simulating such natural phenomena as rain, fog, fire, smoke, snow and wind; such supernatural phenomena as multiple images and distorted scenes; and such visual gags of the Ed VCynn type as exploding hats and collapsing cameras. When a TV script calls for a special effect, it is up to us to produce it. And so far, our batting average is close to 1000. NBC's rain comes in three sizes: small, synthetic and wet. In that order, (1 ) a common, garden-type watering can may be emptied just in front of a camera; (2) synthetic rain is made by glamme, a cellophane- like plastic woven into cloth, the strip of which is attached to a drum and rapidly revolved. One camera shoots the actual scene, the other shoots the revolving glamme — and the superimposed images make it rain; (3) wet rain, on a 12- by 2i-foot scale, is produced by a sprayer system installed above the scene to be televised. The water falls into a tank which is under the floor boards on which the actor stands and is re-circulated by an acoustically treated pumping unit. The tank is treated with excelsior or glass wool to avoid noisy "plops" which would rob the scene of conviction. It goes without saying that this is the most effective of all rains. We also have several ways to make snow. Falling snow can be produced by a plastic spray; bleached corn- flakes (a Hollywood standby that is a little noisy for television;; confetti (very convincing except that it doesn't melt indoors), and a powdered ice (it melts, but the mechanical system needed is too noisy). We are currently working on a device that will create a synthetic snowfall a viewer won't be able to tell from the real thing. For a dressing of snow, we find that powdered gypsum, marble dust and dairy salt are all good. For snow banks or window ledges, dairy salt is first piled to the desired form, then lightly sprayed with water to give it a crusty, frozen look. Real open fires are stringently limited in NBC television productions by the fact that film is stored both in the RCA building and at NBC's 106th Street studio building. Where actual flames are unavoidable for close-ups of fire-places, we have evolved "logs" made of stovepipes covered with plaster and asbestos. Shredded waste asbestos is soaked with wood alcohol and tucked in among the logs. Chunks of "frozen" alcohol, resting in trays under the logs, are ignited, couching off the alcohol-soaked asbestos, and creating a controllable flame. For best photographic effect the flame is colored by the use of various chemical formulae. Synthetic fires, fine for long shots, are produced by lightweight silk or nylon gauze cut into flame shapes RADIO AGE f3