Sponsor (May-Aug 1957)

Illi:!!ll!lll!!!ll!llllll!!lllllll HOW TO MAKE FOOD LOOK ITS BEST ON COLOR TV Von's Grocery Co. of Los Angeles, sponsor of KRCA's Afternoon Movie, switched to color transmission in February. Cosponsoring with Von's are a number of food processors and distributors. Color problems presented by their commercials centered about: 1) color definition and readability of packaged products and; 2 I techniques for rendering meats, produce and delicatessen appealing and tempting. Here are some working conclusions arrived at by the Dan B. Miner Co., Von's agency, the grocery chain and KRCA, Los Angeles, based on a joint, full-scale test of color commercials. GROCERIES Mass shots of packages prove unsatisfactory unless the colors and juxtapositions are closely controlled. The problem here is one of adjustment for an extreme variation in color and brightness. When displayed with intense colors (such as red), dull colors (browns, purples) will appear even duller. A slow pan shot or individual products displayed alone, show packages to their best advantage. Certain packages televise extremely well. Occasionally retouching of lettering helps. In general, a package with few, well-defined colors comes across best. Off whites are superior to pure whites when juxtaposed with strong colors, and resist bleeding. PRODUCE The color camera will detect off-colors and exaggerate an un or over-ripe product. Produce should be at the peak of ripeness and freshness (particularly bananas and tomatoes). In massed product shots, strong colors (dark green of parsley, red of pepper) stand out sharply. Browns are satisfactory, but yellows tend to fade when close to strong colors. In some instances yellows and greens displayed together tend to fuse rather than stand-out sharply. This indicates great care in the preparation of salads for live tv. Bunched produce (carrots, parsley) should be completely wet down, potatoes, sweet potatoes and beets appear better in their natural state. M EATS Meat should be freshly cut, or blotted with a clean towel to keep it from turning a darker brown and to remove the appearance of blood from the surface. Green (parsley or outer lettuce leaves) are a good contrasting background. Plates should be a neutral pale color, but never blue. Gray or beige are best. Plates with uneven floral designs in blues, purples or reds should be avoided since from certain angles the designs will appear as bloody juices running from the meat. Pork loses in contrast to the hearty red of beef and should be displayed alone. Medium and close shots of fowl present a problem in the bluish, unappetizing cast of the fowl's flesh. Tli is can be eliminated by shooting from the same side as the light source, which produces a warm cast. 36 mini jiiij.: until ' I in..::.:.,:., ;;.;..;; m y EVERGREEN continued . . . at the same time. During the spring of 1956, Liles and Tompkins covered 5,000 miles and came back with filmed reports on 32 county and three district livestock shows. The two Saturdav shows are done live, with Liles handling the first and Tompkins the second. If one is out of town gathering information, the other is prepared to take over. The first show, 4-H on Parade, goes on from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. Its format provides for a quiz contest on farm topics among 4-H Clubs followed by amateur acts by club members. The show recently was used for an unusual contest. It was a livestock judging contest with the animals shown on film. More than 4.300 4-H and FFA members were enrolled in the contest. Those entering were required to recognize and rank the qualities of various livestock shown on the Saturday show as well as the weekday programs. The second show, the Saturday Farm Show, features FFA and FHA youth. Activities of FFA groups are discussed during the first quarter hour. Three boys and an instructor from an FFA group are guests each week. They are interviewed and usually talk over a three to five-minute film about an outstanding project of theirs. The format of the second 15 minutes is turned over to the distaff side, with FHA chapter members presenting on alternate weeks live and film reports on such subjects as homemaking and fashions. This type of programing alternates with the honoring of a farm family. The family is presented live along with a film presentation showing such material as a farm home, modernization of farm activities and how various members of the family contribute to running the farm and home. Most Evergreen feeds are advertised on a year-round basis, though | there are seasonal pushes. As a rule, all feeds are advertised at least once a month, if onlv to remind the farmer of the Evergreen name. Dairy cattle are fed the year round and. because of the mild weather conditions in Oklahoma. hogs have two litters a year, which also calls for year-round feeding. Beef cattle, however, involve heavy feeding from 1 December to 1 April. Poultry feeding also has its seasonal aspects with feed for baby chicks being pushed during the summer and early fall and growing feeds pushed during the fall and winter. ^ SPONSOR 11 MAY 1957