Sponsor (Jan-June 1954)

IMete developments on SPONSOR stories See: "Year-end report" I.SSlie: 28 December 1953, page 27 Subject: What the tv film industry is doing about color video The tv film industry didn't wait for the 17 Decembei approval b) the FCC of the present standards for color television. During I' a number of clients, producers and syndicators took tin plunge into rainbow-hued film as a form of capital investment, hoping for a payoff in 1954 or 1955. This fact came to light as the result of an industry-wide surve) conducted by SPONSOR for its forthcoming (25 January) report on television films. Pall Mall, Colgate and M&M Candy — to name just a few— began shooting part of their film commercials during 1953 in color s<, thai they'd be ready when C-Day arrived. Other advertisers began building up a backlog of "stock" color footage of tv-sold products. American Tobacco, for example, commissioned Screen Gems last summei to shoot nearly 47,000 feet of Technicolor at ATs southern fa< lories for ultimate use in video commercials for Lucky Strike. Program film producers and syndicators are still fairh cautious in the main about color, since it calls for a heavy investment on their part. But several program film makers took the plunge last year. Color production has already started on Janet Dean, Duffy's Tavern and Paris Precinct, three half-hour packages released through Motion Pictures for Television. Kling Studios' King Calico and Bert & Elmer are in color, as are all of the episodes to date of United Artists' Cowboy G-Men. For awhile, many segments of the film industry were concerned about how well existing color film processes — Technicolor, Ansco, Eastman, DuPont — would look on color tv. However, the RCA "fast pull-down" color film projector, according to most video experts, does a good job of televising any of the present brands of color film. This RCA projector, incidentally, will probably represent some 90( i of the network and station color film telecasting installations in the next couple of years. "Sponsors can shoot their films in any of the standard brands of color and be assured that they can be televised," an RCA executive at the Camden equipment headquarters stated. The biggest hurdle: color film costs. They're not cheap. "Color adds anywhere from 25 to 40% on top of the regular costs of the average black and white film commercial," Walter Lowendahl. executive vice president of Transfilm, Inc., calculates. "There aren't enough color transmitters or receivers to make this anything more than experimental right now." The cost problem is similar in tv film programs. Ed Madden. \ ire president of MPTV. revealed: "The first 13 episodes of Janet Dean were shot in black and white. The second 13 were in color. Outside of that, the two series are similar. But color costs 25% more." Nearly all of this cost increase is taken up in the price of color negative stock, color developing, and color printing. An executive of the Eastern Motion Picture Division of Eastman Kodak estimates that tv color film will represent a per-foot cost — apart from production, talent and other charges — that will run at the rate of three times as much as black and white film. The actual figures: six d a foot versus two cents, even in great quantitv. The biggest question mark in the color tv film business, as film men themselves see it, is RCA's recently revealed video tape recorder. Oddly enough, few film men see RCA's gadget as supplanting black and white film for a long time to come (except in making kinescopes), but most of them feel that the mere existence of the \ TR will make film obsolescent in long-range color planning. 300-POUND SALES FORCE' i f,i-l [iio\ ing f.it man Mfho I .ill on 53,000 T\ homes ii linutes five day a week . . . and In sells with the speed of light ' I hat'l why s(,,,n^.rs keep r»-ri.-w inr the I \< K McELROY Mlott which sin ovei KNBH, Hollywood ... 12:15-1:00 p.m. Monday thru r r ulay. KEYS OPEN DOOR TO FOOD SALES! A top-rated cooking show and an outstanding TV food merchandisii ig now give qualified sponsors a selling combination that move produi I Fast KEY TO NIK KIM HEN (the t.ikr youi Bales message into 30.000 Los \ngeles homes dailv. KNHH kh> VALUE WEEK (the plan) provides in-store displays, newspaper ads and on-the-air promotion to 2,400,000 viewers. Food sponsors can"t mi- on KNBH! WHAT A PARTY BII.I. ST1 I I V'S "Parlor Party" really pulls in the gals — a ) ■ The 2:00-3 :00 p.m. Monday thru Fridayprogram leads all other loral daytime ' KB cumulative audience of 5.7 ... just $125 puts Bill and his gang to work for your product. For additional information on this and other KMUI "best bays," con\ BH. Hollywood, or your nearest NBC Spot Sales Office right now. 11 JANUARY 1954 25