February 1946 - americanradiohistory.com Service ... Entertainment - by Mary Gannon 8 Programming...

THEBUSINESS TelMAGAZINE OF evisionINDUSTRY

offices of

JOHN GOLDEN.I. 0

SAINT JAMESTHEATRE

246 WESTWITH STREET

ER.... WYP9s

New YouII. N. Y

January14, 1946

John Royal

NationalBroadcasting

Co.

30 RockefellerPlaza

New York,N. Y.

Dear John:

Will youplease

conveymy compliments

--

no, my heartiestcongratulations

to the genius

who put"The First

Year" onthe air

last night.

It isby far the best television

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tainmentI have

ever seen due first,of course,

to the fact that FrankCraven

wroteone beauti-

ful, littleplay,

but second,and

just asim-

portant,is in

the wayit was done.

More good playslike that,

with good

castsand good directors

will set television

underwayat an early date.

Sincerely,

7...ggyiestmA.JOHN GOLDEN

THEATRE252 WEST

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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF THE INDUSTRY

TelevisionVOLUME III, NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY, 1946

ArticlesWashington Hearings Set the Pattern for Other Cities - by Dorothy Holloway 4

Analysis of data stressed at first hearings

Public Service ... Entertainment - by Mary Gannon 8Programming plans of applicants for D. C. stations

Television Outlook in San Francisco 13Detailed analysis of the seven applications filed for the six allocated channels

The Status of Theatre Television - by Gilbert Winfield 15TELEVISION Magazine surveys movie exhibitors and operators

Problems Encountered in Remodeling the DuMont Studios 16Some of the snags which come up in turning the old into the new

Equipment Needed for 28 Hour Programming - by Sidney R. Lane 18Minimum set-up needed to operate under FCC weekly requirement

The Screwiest Guy in Television - by Charles Holden 21Production manager's many problems makes him chief candidate for the title

Setting Up a Talent Training Group - by James L. Caddigan 26Organizational set-up, which can be started now, for stations away from talent centers

DepartmentsOne Man's Reflections - by Dr. Alfred N. Goldsmith 23

It is later than most planners think

Long Shots and Close -Ups - by H. G. Christensen 28Why do motion pictures cost so much?

Advertising 30Predictions on ad rates made at D. C. hearings . .. commercial activities of past month

Programming 34Tele ballet techniques . . . formats tried the past month

Equipment 39CBS uhf transmitters and receivers .. . highlights of IRE . latest patents

Wcshington 43Hearings planned for eleven cities . . . two new applications filed

Television in Review 45Tele events of the past month

Editorial 48

Frederick A. Kugel, Editor and PublisherMary Gannon, Managing Editor; Sidney R. Lane, Associate Editor

Dorothy Holloway, Washington; Gilbert Winfield, NewsT. R. Kennedy, Jr., Technical Editor; Jack Kilpatrick, Patents

Lawrence Sweeney, Business Manager; Evelyn Hellem, Circulation Manager

Just talking ...Letters to the Editor is a column which we have wanted to inaugurate for some time. However,

the only kind of letters we receive are pats on the back or requests for information . . . none ofwhich would be in the least interesting to our readers. But when one of our regular contributorsreceives letters of praise we take a certain pride in being able to reproduce them. Here are excerptsfrom two letters to H. G. Christensen on his film series.

"My congratulations on the splendid article under 'Long Shots and Close -Ups.' In my opinionit is the finest article on the subject."- George P. Allen, Vice -President, Soundies Distributing Cor-poration of America, Chicago . . . "The two articles on Advertising Agencies and Motion PictureDepartments have come in for a good deal of favorable comment here, so much so that we wouldlike to see every account executive in Canadian advertising agencies receive a marked copy. If it is

possible, supply us with 500 copies of each of the two complete issues."- E. S. Roberts, AssociatedScreen News, Montreal. FREDERICK A. KUGEL

Published monthly by Frederick Kugel Company, 600 Madison Ave.. New York 22. N. Y. Single cm. 35 cents. Yearlysubscription in the United States, its possessions and nations of the Pan American Union. $3.50; in Canada, $4.00; elsewhere.$4.50. Entered as second-class matter February 20, 1945, at the postoffice at New York, New York. under the act of March3, 1879. Copyright 1946 by Frederick Kugel Company. All rights reserved. Editorial content may not be reproduced inany form without permission.

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When this camera was used to bringthe Army -Navy game to televiewersin the New York area, a metropolitan

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Washington Hearings Set The PatternFirst round in the battle for television stations in cities where there are more appli-cants than channels saw the contenders trading data on financial resources, program-ming plans, technical know-how and experience. This material is presented as a guidefor other applicants to follow in the preparation of their data for FCC hearings.

By DOROTHY HOLLOWAY

EYES of at least 100 prospective television broadcast-ers were focussed on Washington last month where

six contenders - Bamberger, Capital, DuMont, EveningStar, NBC and Philco - battled in public hearing (Jan.21-23) for the Capital City's four video channels.

For at the Washington hearing were laid down for thefirst time the rules of the game and the pattern which maybe followed to a greater or lesser degree in hearingsalready slated for eleven other markets. Under the skill-ful direction of FCC Chairman Paul A. Porter, Washing-ton hearings wound up in three days - with an averageof three hours of testimony allowed per applicant.

Although both FCC and the video aspirants were plainly"feeling their way," emphasis at the hearings centered onseveral important "criteria" underlying a television serv-ice "in the public interest."

1. Tele pioneering and "know-how" in video program.ming are definitely assets in competing for a picturechannel.

(FCC Chairman Paul A. Porter jokingly remarked atboth FM and tele hearings in Washington that FCC didn't

want any "parade of coonskin caps" by prospective li-censees. Else, he said, the Commission would be in a posi-tion of choosing licensees by the "length of the tail" ortheir befurred headgear. Despite the quip, FCC lent asympathetic ear to impressive evidence and pounds of tes-timony on past experience of pioneers NBC, DuMont andPhilco, in both development and program fields.)

2. Applicants must show evidence of financial ability.not only to get a station on the air, but to program it"in the public interest" - with little expectation of a re-turn over the first few years.

FCC's problem here arises out of the fact that costestimates given by applicants - though generally strato-spheric - range over a wide area. Locally owned andoperated Capital Broadcasting Company I WWDC ) feltparticular brunt of Commission's concern over financialresponsibility.

Counsel for Capital, however, pointed up the loweroperating costs required for a strictly local operation($216,000, the first year) by way of contrast to the tabgiven by NBC for a network -originating station here,which ran up to $722,000. NBC, Capital and Dumont all

For BAMBERGER:

T. C. StreibertPresidentBamberger Broadcast-ing Service. Inc.

For NBC:

John F. RoyalNBC Vice PresidentIn charge of television

Noran E. KerstaManagerNBC Television Deport-ment

Jack R. PoppeleSecretary of the Boardof DirectorsBamberger Broadcast-ing Service, Inc.Vice PresidentWOR-WBAM

Television

For Other Cities

figured on advertising revenue - though not an overallprofit - on their first year's take.

3. A program service, balanced between public serv-ice and entertainment, sustaining and commercial offer-ings - with not too much duplication of present standardbroadcast programs - is an important "must."

4. A television program structure geared to "localproblems and interests" also appears important in FCC,"behind -the -scenes" deliberations.

Applicants for the Washington market with present orpotential network plans (NBC, Dumont, Bamberger andWMAL) made much of the fact they would not only bringthe best in program talent from New York and othercities, but would, in addition, weight their program farewith shows of a "local" character.

5. Local residence of directors and acquaintanceshipith local program needs are important. In this category,

both Capital and the Evening Star Broadcasting Companyhad the advantage, with NBC's long-time operation of net -owned -standard outlet WRC, also a point in its favor.

6. The "ideal" television licensee would appear to fallsomewhere mid -way between the "Wall Street banker andthe shoestring operator" - preferably a well -establishedconcern with a good Dun and Bradstreet rating and a his-tory of local operation in the community.

FCC Chairman Paul A. Porter has repeatedly declaredthat FCC N ill not tolerate "speculators" or "investmentcompanie, in television. Equally, there appears to be

For DuMONT

For PHILCO:

Former ChairmanPaul A. Porter

of Federal Communications Commission

little room for the "peanut -best take his chances in the

Bamberger BroadcastingBamberger Broadcasting,

Macy Co.. had to its credit

whistle" operator, who hadstandard and FM fields.

Service, Inc.IOU -percent mmed by R. H.actual video program expe-

Leonard F. CramerVice PresidentAllen B. DuMont Labo-ratories, Inc.DirectorTelevision BroadcastingDivision

Allen B. DuMontPresidentAllen B. DuMont Labo-ratories, Inc.

Ernest B. LoyemanVice PresidentIn charge of Philco tel-evision station, broad-casting and network

John BallantvnePresidentPhilco Corporation

February, 1946 5

a

Right: Transmitting station and towerfor the proposed Bamberger Broad-casting Service, Inc.'s proposed D. C.station. Transmitting plant cost, in-cluding cost of land, construction ofbuildings, technical equipment and in-stallation is estimated at $238,400.

ky

i.

Left: Proposed Philco television broad-cast station for Washington. D. C.Land, which has already been pur-chased, cost $10,000. Construction costof the buildings, including paving,plumbing, air conditioning and wir-ing has been estimated at 8167,281.

kPO Rai; r mom

1 mita

rience - through 18 months of weekly shows over Du-Mont's WABD transmitter, supplemented by a couple ofmonths' experience using the General Electric stationWRGB, Schenectady.

Bamberger witnesses, while playing up "local" pro-grams, also revealed network tie-in with a company -ownedtelc station in New York, other Mutual affiliates, andpossibly the Yankee Net.

(Interesting speculation surrounds the Washington Mu-tual set-up, with WOL, the net's D.C. affiliate, definitely'committed for an ultra -high CBS -type color transmitter.

BAMBERGER will drop out of the video race for aPhiladelphia station, preferring instead outlets in the

Washington and New York City terminals, witnesses forthe company revealed at hearings before FCC ChairmanPorter. Network operation between the two cities isplanned via the A.T.&T. coaxial cables at annual costs of$60,000. Bamberger plugged for assignment of Tele Chan-nel 5 in Washington, but wouldn't be "too unhappy" ifFCC handed them the No. 4 assignment.

Bamberger also had in its favor, D.C. Zoning Commis.sion approval of a desirable uptown transmitter sate, anda contract for studios in do w n Washington.

Capital Broadcasting Company (WWDC)High point of the Capital presentation was its purely

local character and a television service. independent of

rt

net affiliation. Weakness of its testimony appeared to liein its limited finances by way of contrast to the wealthiertreasuries of the other five candidates. However, Capital- steering clear of bank loans - said it would rely onowner and ad man, Joseph Katz, for an outlay of $600.000over the first three years to supplement profits of standardstation WWDC, also earmarked for the television station.Capital's construction and operating figures were consid-erably under those of Bamberger, NBC, Philco and theStar, and slightly lower than those of DuMont.

Allen B. Dumont Laboratories, Inc."More commercial experience" in tele than any other

D.C. applicant, a 20 -year technical experience, and anexperimental station already on the air and ready to pro-vide a "satisfactory commercial service" were argumentsadvanced by DuMont witnesses in behalf of a Washingtongrant.

Allen B. DuMont, president, stressed his company'sunique interest in television by way of contrast to hiscompetition, whose interests are divided between standardbroadcasting, newspapers or department store affiliations.DuMont planned a Washington station as an important"program source" for a proposed 5 -station net to includeNew York City, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinnati.While DuMont's present experimental transmitter fallsshort of giving coverage to as wide an area as some of theother companies, DuMont official Julian Armstrong indi-cated it would provide service to 98.5 percent of the D.C.

Highlights of Washington HearingsProposed programming plans played stellar roles in five of the six applications. Foran analysis of formats, see "Public Service ... Entertainment" - page 8Only DuMont and Capital gave their estimates of advertising rates for the D. C. market.For the high points of this testimony, see Advertising - page 30.

6 Television

population in the metropolitan area. DuMont, relying onits "know-how" in tele, expected to operate in the red thefirst year, with a take before taxes and legal expenses of-292.800 the second year.

The Evening Star Broadcasting Company (WMAL)A I 00 -percent residence among its directors, close pro-

gram cooperation with the American University, soundfinancial backing and a history of successful operation inthe standard field bulwarked testinony of Samuel Kauff-man, Evening Star President. Transmitter will be locatedon the American University Campus, with studios down-town at a proposed $1,000,000 "radio city" at 12th andK Sts., N.W. The Star presented no specific programschedules in TV on the theory that tele is a new field andits programs will be molded in response to listeners' pref-erences and the requirements of public service. The Star.an ABC affiliate, has no present net contract, but may tieup with American or another video -minded net.

National Broadcasting Company (WRC)NBC, Is ith 14 million dollars already invested in tele-

vision, and a 16 -year experience in tele development,stands on its record for a right to "a coonskin cap."

NBC witnesses presented elaborate and stratosphericcost estimates in support of an FCC grant at the presentWardman Park site, where the company held a construc-tion permit before the war.

Like Bamberger, John Royal. NBC television vice presi-dent. stressed that NBC must own and operate its own

station in Washington to realize plans for a coast -to -coastnetwork. NBC's high "program standards" cannot bemaintained through an affiliate, it was pointed out.

Like DuMont, the net has equipment on hand to moveahead immediately in the D.C. area. Royal asked FCC togive NBC channel 4 for both its New York and D.C. sta-tions to better cope with problems of "co -channel inter-ference." NBC Chief Engineer Ray Guy estimated thatsome of the first video receivers would not receive pro-grams above the No. 6 channel.

Philco Products CorporationHideo, another -coonskin capper,- had to its credit a

14 -year experience in tele and a unique contribution inthe field of radio relay experimentation between Phila-delphia, New York and Washington.

In the words of Philco engineer, David Smith, programquality can be improved and costs reduced by the "liberaluse of television relaying both locally and on an inter-city basis." Philco is not interested in a net of its ownbut wants access to programs of other nets. Philco Presi-dent John Ballantyne estimated his company had spent$5,000,000 to date in development costs. Company is will-ing to earmark around $750,000 to underwrite first year'soperation of a D.C. station - the highest figure quoted byany applicant.

Regardless of a decision on its D.C. request. the corn-panv will continue its "intensive research in television.both downstairs and on high -definition monochrome andcolor in the ultra -highs."

ESTIMATES on the number of receivers available in the Washington market overthe next few years, varied widely in figures quoted by D. C. applicants. Here's

the tally - an informed guess, at best, in each case:NBC - 10,000 approximately, 1947.CAPITAL Ben Strouse, station manager, 20,000 by year-end 1948; Katz.owner, perhaps 100,000.DuMONT - 3,000 receivers in 1946; 15,000 in 1947; and 25 to 30.000 in 1948.

Scratch Sheet On D. C. Video Applicants

Bamberger Philco NBC Evening Star DuMont Capital

Initial Construction Costs $503,4011 5528,423 $514,000 $181,550 $115,000 $320,000(equipment

only)(spent on exp.station to date)

First Year Operation $547,308 $748,000t $722,000 $450 to $396,052 $216,000500.000

First Year Revenue $26,000 $2 11,465 $170,000

Personnel -Technical 32 135 31) 40)Program

(lours on the air week,first year

29

28 41 28 28 28 . 28

Network Plans? Yes No Yes Yes No

% Sustaining Programs,first year 100% 40% 50% 50%

Estimated first year's card rate $360 $100hour hour

Can he on the air Oct. Oct. July 1,1946 1946 1946

February, 1946 7

PUBLIC SERVICEProgramming plans rated high in the presentations made by the six applicantsfor D. C.'s four video channels. Here's an analysis of the overall schedules.

By MARY GANNON

WITH the Washington hearings, the first step in theestablishment of commercial television on a regular

schedule has been taken. This was the first presentation ofdefinite plans for the much discussed - and often feared- 28 hour programming schedule which the various com-panies had pledged themselves to follow. Here too waseach applicant's interpretation of that multiple -facetedterm "public service," which the FCC has set up as a"rule of thumb" in judging the type of pictures which willtravel over the air waves.

It was clear that "public service" was the star to whichthe applicants pinned their hopes of FCC approval. Andin their weekly programing fare, prime emphasis wasgiven to educational, cultural, news and community inter-est type of programming over straight entertainment.Ratios ranged generally from 30% to 75%, with theoverall picture tipped heavily in favor of public serviceand community activities.

Interesting too is the fact that while each plan differedin actual working out of the format, the general pro-gramming patterns were almost identical. The EveningStar was the lone exception, stating that they felt it pre-mature at this time to present programming plans.

EducationalUnder the educational classification. "how -to -do -it" for-

mats rated high on everyone's schedule and were almost

limitless. Those aimed at the daytime housewife audiencestress home decoration, food preparation, child care, fash-ions, household short-cuts, beauty hints, etc. For the moregeneral tastes of a wider viewing audience, scope wasenlarged to include instruction in sports, games, hobbies,home gardening, etc. Other fare in this straight educa-tion grouping included documentary and educationalfilms, travelogues, trips around Washington itself, andvisual presentation of all new developments that affect thelives of the viewers. Literature, history, government in-formation, science were some of the suggested subjects.

Other plans, more tentative in nature, included coopera-tion with the local schools and colleges. Facilities havebeen offered to the Board of Education for using tele-vision in the school systems by Capital and Philco. TheEvening Star has an arrangement with the AmericanUniversity for the construction of a transmitter on theircampus with a resultant interchange of facilities, includ-ing programming by the dramatic groups. DuMont alsohas an agreement with New York University under whicha half-hour weekly spot will be given over to programmingby the various colleges. These shows will be relayed toWashington.

SportsPlans here were so identical that Chairman Porter best

phrased it when he facetiously remarked that the various

8 Television

ENTERTAINMENTsports promoters must have been having a busy time. Tooearly for the definite stage of signed commitments as yet,nevertheless every applicant quoted the preliminary ar-rangements they had made to cover sporting events inWashington. These ran the gamut of all professionalgames, such as basketball, boxing, wrestling, baseball.football, hockey, etc., and included plans to televise localinter -scholastic and inter -collegiate sports as well.

Since this type of pick-up is a fluctuating factor, withvarious timing and seasonal irregularities, emphasis herewas placed on their inclusion as an added attraction.NBC, however, whose mobile equipment and sports cov-erage has been a big factor in their programming overWBNT, included such telecasts (relayed from New York).as well as local pick-ups in their weekly schedule.

Community InterestKeying the program fare to the interest of the local

audience also received considerable attention in the over-all plans. General theme outlined cooperation with allactive civic organizations, and local chapters of nationalfederations in visualizing the various projects which en-gage their attention. Behind the scenes in governmentagencies, law enforcing departments and campaigns forpublic safety and health, traffic hazards, crime prevention,etc., as well as tele trips around Washington were also onagendas. Debates and forums on controversial topics be-tween these groups, and inter -scholastic discussions werestill another facet of this many-sided angle.

The two local radio outlets, Capital and Evening Star,laid particular stress upon their ability, based on theirpast experience, to serve the local interests of the com-

munity. However the four "outsiders" - Bamberger, Du -Mont, NBC and Philco - sprinkled both their afternoonand evening spots with this type of programming fare.

ReligiousReligious programs were interjected into nearly all the

proposed Sunday programming schedules. Broad concep-tion was based on cooperation with all denominations, onan alternating basis in order to insure equal participa-tion. Plans called for both studio and church telecasts.Under this category comes the telecasting of churchchoral groups, visual bible stories, vesper services, etc.Here again, to bolster applicants' claims, religious groupswere contacted and their promises of cooperation wereEsted.

NewsNews telecasts, varying from 5 minutes to a half hour,

were featured in all plans. Maps, stills, film, and in somecases "on -the -spot" remote pick-ups, will form the visualbackground for the studio narrator. Two categories wereproposed -a telecast tailored strictly to the local hap-penings, supplemented by a complete over-all account ofworldwide events.

Special EventsSince Washington is the national capital - and tend-

ing more and more to be international in character - par-ticular emphasis was given to its importance as a sourcefor televising events of nationwide interest. Bamberger,DuMont, NBC and Philco tied in this point with their

February, 1946 9

proposed plans for stations in other cities, and utilizationof the existing coax link between Washington and NewYork, as well as the future extension of a relay systemthroughout the country.

Here again because a special event is not a regularlyscheduled occurrence, the proposed coverage of such fea-tures was treated as a supplementary service and not in-corporated into the weekly program outline. Occasionssuch as presidential inaugurations, important congres-sional sessions, parades, arrival of important personages,yachting regattas on the Potomac, etc., were a few of themany feature- I kted in this category.

EntertainmentProposed entertainment formats included audience par-

ticipation shows, mysteries, drama, children's programs,musical variety, comedy. community singing, dance pro-grams and quiz shows as their basis. Emphasizing thatNew York is the talent center, and again tying in their

MIKE ULINE, operator of Washington's biggest in-door sports arena proved to be the most sought

after man in the city by Washington's video applicants.Five of the six pounded his door in effort to get tele rightsto his shows. When FCC Chairman Paul A. Porter jok-ingly asked a Philco witness whether he had approachedMike, the answer was: "We tried to, but he was too busythat week," - the same week apparently that other videoapplicants were "on the ball."

Washington plans with their proposed New York stations,Bamberger, DuMont, NBC and Philco indicated that themajority of their more elaborate productions would berelayed from New York to Washington. Capital dwelt onthe local angle, although indicating their willingness tojoin forces with relaying hook-ups if necessary to give abetter service.

Amateur shows also figured in plans, with emphasisplaced on the local interest engendered and the opportu-nities for talented people within the area. Cooperationwith the dramatic societies of the various schools andcolleges, as well as local groups, was also listed.

Top entertainment features were scheduled for the choiceevening spots, with perhaps a 50`A general average beinga fair over-all estimate on this programming. NBC'snightly programming plans utilized their sports pick-upsfour nights a week, three of which were scheduled forrelaying from New York. However, all plans includedpublic service features in the evening hours -a pointwhich evidently interested the FCC judging from Chair-man Porter's occasional questioning on this point. Kidshows, as would be expected, had the afternoon spots.

FilmNBC gave the greatest emphasis :o the inclusion of film

in television progranuning, with a proposed schedule of51/2 hours a week. broken down into features, documenta-ries, travelogues, newsreels and cartoons. In addition, aNBC -Hollywood tie-up is now in the works for networkproduction of newsreels, features and documentaries,tailored especially for tele. Other applicants also includedfeatures and shorts in their schedule, as well as educa-tional and travelogue types. Film, of course, will be blendedwith live in many of the other programs scheduled.

Time Patternsith th, ctiectiveness of daytime telecasting not yet

established, percentage of time devoted to programs dur-ing the day was interesting. Bamberger planned two con-

tinuous hours of programming angled at Washingtonhousewives in their 11 to 1 telecast, continuing again withthe evening hours from 7:30 to 9:30. Majority of pro-grams ran fifteen minutes, with others slated for 25, 30,45 minutes and 1 hour segments.

DuMont allocated a daily 12 to 1 spot, really for ex-perimental purposes to determine the size of the viewingaudience at that time, resuming again from 7:30 to 10:30.Programming was divided into half-hour segments.

Capital planned a more irregular schedule, with Sun-day hours from 10:00 to 11:30, 2:00 to 3:00; and 8:00to 9:30, and Saturday hours from 1:30 to 4:00, pickingup again from 9:30 to 11:00. Their regular Mondaythrough Friday schedule included an afternoon periodfrom 2:00 to 3:00, with the evening spots from 7:45 to10:45. Programs were divided into quarter- and half-hourperiods.

NBC's afternoon schedule started at 2:00, with a sign -off at 4:00 or 4:30. Evening programming starts at 7:30,with varying sign -offs at 9:30, 10:00 and 10:30. Timesegments were half- and one -hour periods, with longerspots scheduled for sports pick-ups.

Philco, with a proposed 41 -hour week schedule, settheir Monday to Friday spots from 3:00 to 5:05 and8:00 to 10:35. Week -end schedules varied with morninghours from 9:00 to 11:05 on Saturday and 11:00 to12:00 on Sunday. Afternoon and evening periods re-mained the same - from 2:00 to 5:05 and 8:00 to 10:35.One-half to one -hour programs were indicated.

What About the Public?Q0 HAVE the first patterns been set. But in the final

analysts, the public is always the determining factorin what makes a hit and who hits the skids. Television hasbeen a promise held before them for many years and inthe waiting period, their ideas of its potentialities and ofthe enjoyment they will draw from their own set havegrown.

They know little and probably care less about the fre-quency fight, about channel allocations, about the newtechniques that are necessary to programming perfection.They visualize television as radio and motion picturescombined in one glamorous cabinet.

With them, it's the show that will count. It's the showthat will put tele over, will boost the sale of sets, will re-sult in an enthusiastic acceptance of the new medium andits corresponding growth.

Public service played a leading role in Washington pro-gramming plans. Admittedly television will be a great cul-tural and educational force. It can, in time, bring eventsof national interest and importance before people all overthe country and the world. But to peg public servicesquarely in the notch of educational, cultural and commu-nity interest fare, to separate entertainment from it and tounderplay its importance tends to a specialized use of themedium. While a certain percentage of people are inter-ested in education, in following local affairs, in the activi-ties of their community organizations, even within thatgroup, there is again a subdivision as to where their par-ticular interests lie.

Can television in its early days, with limited stations ineach city and small viewing audiences afford such spe-cialization? Are people going to want their televisionscreens to play the role of "teacher" up to 70% of thetime as some of the applicants proposed?

In its truest definition, public service is a service tothe public.

Might it not, then, be a good idea to find out what serv-ice the public expects from television programming; andnot superimpose an idea of what they ought to have - inthe name of public service?

IO Television

Presented here are two of the program schedules for a week's opera-tions. NBC's plans are based on 28 hours a week telecasting. whileNalco's proposals (on page 12) take in a -11-hour week schedule.

National Broadcasting CompanySample Program Schedule for One Week

28 Hours of Operation

TimeAfternoon2:30-3:0(1

Monday

A ashington at\\ ork (remote)i A ashington toNew York)

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

Women's Forum

Friday

Ladies Matinee

Saturday Sunday

WashingtonShoppers GuideI studio)

Around theTown (fromNew York)

Children'sWashington( Washingtonto New York)

Hockey I fromNew York)

3:00-3.30 Washington atWork (remote)I Washington toNew York)

Meet YourNeighborI remote)

The World'sGreat Artists(remote) (film)

America -Vacationland(film & studio)

Feature Film Teen Age Varie-ies (Washingtonto New York)

Hockey ( fromNew York)

3:30-3:55 Short Subject Feature Film The ArmchairTraveler (film)

InternationalMenus (remote)

Feature Film Review of theWeek in Wash-ington (Washing -on to New York)

Hockey (fromNew York)

3:55-4:00

4:00-4:30

Coming Attrac-tiros

Feature Film The ArmchairTraveler ( film I

InternationalMenus I remote)

Feature Film Review of theWeek in Wash-ington (Washing-ton to New York)

Hockey ( fromNew York )

Hobby ShopI Washington toNew York)

Feature Film Feature Film

Feature Film4:30-5:00

Evening

8:00-8:15 In Town Today(studio)(Washington toNew York)

News (studio) Basketball (fromNew York)

WashingtonNews

WashingtonVarieties(studio)

Film ShortSubjects

felevisionNewsreel (fromNew York)

8:15-8:30 In Town Today( studio)( Washington toNew York)

Short Subjects Basketball (fromNew York)

Film ShortSubjects

WashingtonVarieties(studio)

It's a Fact(film)

TelevisionNewsreel (fromNew York)

8:30-9:00 WashingtonChallenges(studio)(Washington andNew York)

Boxing-localarena (remote)

Basketball (fromNew York)

The Week inSports (film)

IntercollegiateBasketballI remote)

Collegiate SportsI remote)

Dramatic Pro -duction (fromNew York)

9:00-9:05 Coming Attrac-tions

Boxing-localarena (remote)

Basketball (iron.New York)

Dramatic Series IntercollegiateBasketballI remote)

Collegiate Sports(remote)

Dramatic Pro-duction (fromNew York)

9:05-9:30 Feature Film Boxing-localarena (remote)


Dramatic Series IntercollegiateBasketballI remote)

Collegiate Sports(remote)

Dramatic Pro -duction (fromNew York)

9:30-10:00 Feature Film Boxing-localarena (remote)


IntercollegiateBasketball( remote)

Feature Film Dramatic Pro -duction (fromNew York)

10:00-10:30 Boxing-localarena (remote)


IntercollegiateBasketball(remote t

Feature Film

February, 1946 II

PhilcoSample Program Schedule for One Week

41 Hours of Operation

TimeMorning

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

9:00-9:15 Bible Story

9:15-10:00 JuvenileJamboree

10:00-11:00 Film

11:00-11:05 News Headline'

11:00-12:00 Church Service(remote)

Afternoon

2:00 Sport Show(remote)

Sports (remote)

3:00-3:30 !Know Your City!(remote) )Government

Know Your

(remote)

Roving Tele-Interviewer(remote)

Know YourCourts (remote)

Know Your Parkssand Playgorunds(remote)

Sport Show(remote)

Sports (remote)

3:30-4:00 Department ofEducation

Departmentof Education

Department ofEducation



Sport Show(remote)

Sports (remote)

4:00-4:15 Tea with Maryllarth Abbott

1

Tea with Mary Tea with Mary Tea with MaryBart:i Abbott Barth Abbott Barth

Tea with Mary sport Show Sports (remote)lremote)

4:15-4:30 Your Child andMine

Your Child and Your Child and Your Child and Your Child and sport Show Sports (remote)Mine Mine Mine Mine I remote)

4:30-5:00 Children'sProgram

(Children'sProgram

Children's Children's Children'sProgram Program Program

Sport Show Art Appreciation(remote)

5:00-5:05 News Headlinesand Coming At-tractions

News Headlinesand Coming At-tractions





News Headlines1 and Coming At-tractions

Evening

8:00-8:30 News News News News News News News

8:30-8:45 Musical Comedy Aviation Todayand Tomorrow

(Reserved forPublic Service)

Do You Remem-Partymer?

Weather Television Variety(studio & remote)

8:45-9:00 Musical Comedy Aviation Todayand Tomorrow

Hobby House Men of Science (Reserved for Television Party VarietyPublic Service) (studio & remote;

9:00-9:15 (Reserved for Exhibits) (remote)

Variety History of MotionPictures

The Puppet Play-ers

Pan -Americana Television Parts Step Up To The(studio & remote: Camera

)

9:15-9:30 (Reserved for Exhibits) (remote)

Variety Feature Film The Puppet Play-ers

Pan -Americana Television Part)(studio & remote

Step Up To TheCamera

9:30-10:00 Quiz Sporting Event( remote)

Feature Film Sporting Events(remote)

What's Yours? Television Part) Ballet(studio & remote,

1

10:00-10:30 Night Club Pre-views

Sporting Event(remote)

Feature Film Sporting Events(remote)

Supper at thePress Club(remote)

Television Parts(studio & remote,

Washington TeleTheatre

10:30-10:35 Late News Headlines and Coming Attractions

Late News Head-lines and Com-ing Attractions


Late News Head-lines and Corn-ing Attractions


Late News Headlines and Corn-ing Attractions

Late News Head-lines and Corning Attractions

12 Television

Television OutlookIn San FranciscoEighth in a series of articles analyzing the video applica-tions in cities where there are more applicants thanavailable channels. FCC has set hearing for San Francisco.

ALIFORNIA, here we come," is the song of thetelevision industry now that channels have been

allocated and regulations set.And when you say, "California," you mean San Fran-

cisco-or so the Native Sons will tell you. California, tothem. means the Golden Gate and the Embarcadero andthe 49ers, not those Iowans and New Yorkers down inLos Angeles.

With channel allocations set, there has been a recentrush to file applications for commercial tele stations inSan Francisco, and to date the band -wagon's full to over-flowing. Six seats on the television band -wagon and sevenseats applied for.

Radio is represented among the seven applicants by theAssociated Broadcasters, Inc., the American BroadcastingCompany and Don Lee.

Newspaper interest is reflected in the application ofthe San Francisco Examiner, a Hearst publication.(Hearst Radio, one of the many Hearst interests, has ap-plications in Baltimore and in Milwaukee.) DorothyThackrey, publisher of the New York Post, filed an appli-cation last month.

Don Lee and Television Productions (Paramount), thetwo Hollywood operating stations, have also applied forcommercial licenses, both, probably, with an eye on thatproposed cable link between LA and San Francisco.Another Hollywood entrant is Hughes Productions, oneof the Howard Hughes interests. Hughes also has an ap-plication for a station in Los Angeles.

The seven applications from San Francisco very nicelyreflect the industries who have interested themselves in tel-evision, all over the country, namely; movies, radio andnewspapers.

San Francisco, or rather the Bay Area, has become thegreatest ship -building center in the world. It's the westcoast's largest port and as our trade with the Orientgrows, which it gives every indication of doing, SanFrancisco will grow with it.

The City itself has a population of more than sevenhundred thousand but the Bay section, San Francisco'sretail trading area, has a population of well over twomillion in 1913. spint 1.710.000.000.

American Broadcasting Company, !nc.

Address -30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N. Y.Officers-Mark Woods, Vice -PresidentEestimated Costs

1. Vis. transmitter $ 86,0002. Aural transmiter plus tubes 64,0003. Antenna System 18,0004. Studio Equipment 89,0005. Studio Lighting 6,0006. F & M Monitors 3,5007. Building 30,0008. Other item 90,000

Estimated Total Costs $386,500Equipment-General Electric

February, 1946

.0001. LOoTO.4111 EEEEE ISOM TO

\YU 11OCTOGO

- N

Black lines indicate both the primary and secondary cov-erage in the San Francisco area which can be given by a25 kw station, assuming that the antenna is 500 feet highand located in the center of the business district. Dottedline indicates the trading area of over two million people.Contour map, courtesy of Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, Inc.

Operation Costs per month-$13,000 (based on 15 hoursweekly)

Channel-# 7Kilocycles -102-108ESR-3950Antenna

Height, sea level -4186 feetHeight, ground level -337 feet

Transmitter location-Contra Costa County, CaliforniaPower, aural & visual -20 kw-aural; 40 kw-visualPopulation -2,482,575Size of area -28,735 sq. mi.Engineering Consultant-Frank G. Kear, Washington,

D. C.Misc.: ABC has bids for tele stations in Chicago, New

York and Los Angeles.

The Associated Broadcasters, Inc.Address-The Mark Hopkins Hotel

San FranciscoOfficers-W. I. Duman, PresidentEstimated Costs

Building.

1. Vis. transmitter $22,5002. Aural transmitter plus tubes 12,5003. Antenna System 7,5004. Studio Equipment 65,0005. Studio Lighting 5,0006. F & M Monitors 2,5007. Other item 3,000-test

equipment

Estimated Total Costs $118,000

I3

Equipment-RCAChannel #4Kilocycles -7.800-8,400Antenna

Height, sea level 734 feetHeight, ground level 445 feetLocation-top of Mark Hopkins Hotel

Transmitter location-Mark Hopkins Hotel San Fran-cisco, California

Power, aural and visual-aural, 3 kw.; visual, 4 kw.Location of Studio-Mark Hopkins Hotel, San FranciscoEngineering Consultant-Royal V. Howard,

Vice -President, EngineeringLawyers-Spearman and RobersonMisc.-Applicant for new AM station, operators of stand-

ard stations KSFO, San Francisco. and InternationalStations KWID and KWIX, San Francisco.

Don Lee Broadcasting System

.Address -5515 Melrose .1% cline. HollywoodOfficers-Lewis Allen Weiss-Vice President and Gen-

eral ManagerEstimated Costs

1. Vis. transmitter $22,9002. Aural transmitter plus tubes 14,0703. Antenna System to be determined4. Studio Equipment 12,2145. Studio Lighting 8,5006. F & M Monitors 1,850

Estimated Total Costs $54,534(plus items to be determined)

Operation Costs per month -812,000 (based on 4 hoursweekly)

Channel-#1Kilocycles -50,000-56,000ESR-to be determinedPower, aural and visual-aural. 2 kw.; visual, 4 kw.Engineering Consultant-Harry LubckeLawyers-Dempsey and Koplovitz, Washington; Richard

O'HareMisc.-Licensee television station W6XAO, Los Angeles;

AM stations -1 FM; KHJ, Los Angeles.

Hearst Publications. Inc.

Address-Hearst Building. San FranciscoOfficers-W. Randolph Hearst-PresidentEstimated Costs

1. Vis. transmitter2. Aural transmitter plus tubes3. Antenna Sy stem4. Studio Equipment5. Studio Lighting6. F & M Monitors7. Building8. Other item

$ 86,00064,00027,00089,00016,0003,500

12,50025.000

Estimated Total Costs $323,000 plus rentEquipment-General ElectricOperation Costs per month-$35.000 (based on 4 hours

weekly)Channel-#4Kilocycles 66-72ESR-1472.35Antenna


Location-on 50 feet substructure. consisting of a selfsupporting steel tower. Mt. Tamalpais

14

Transmitter location-Marin County, leased from MarinMunicipal Water District.

Power, aural & visual-aural 20 kw; visual 40kwPopulation -1,713.807Size of area -9000 sq. mi.Location of Studio-San Francisco CountyEngineering Consultant-Bille BrothersLawyers-Grove Fink, 1018 Hearst Building. San Fran-

cisco, S., California

Hughes Productions(Division of Hughes Tool Company)

Address --7000 Romaine Street, Holl)%\ood. CaliforniaEstimated Total Costs-$217,450.00Estimated Operation Costs per month -812.000.00 (based

on 15 hours weekly)Kilocycles -60,000.66,000ESR-740Antenna

Height, sea level -1,500 feetTransmitter location-San Mateo Count.Power, aural and visual-visual 4 kw.; aural 2 kw.Population -1,600,000Size of area -3.800 sq. miles

Dorothy S. Thackrey

Address -75 West Street, New York, N. Y.Officer-Dorothy Thackrey, President and DirectorEstimated Costs

1. Vis. transmitter 8128,5002. Aural transmitter plus tubes 64,4003. Antenna System 28,0004. Studio Equipment 55,0005. Studio Light:ng 7.0006. F & M Monitors 5007. Land 5,0008. Building 25,0009. Other item 38,000

Estimated Total Costs 8376,400Equipment-RCAChannel-#5Kilocycles -76-82ESR-9.700Antenna


Transmitter location - Mt. Tamalpais - 12 N.W. SanFrancisco

Power, aural and visual -5 kw.Population -1,015,000Size of area -8,450 sq. mi.Engineering Consultant-Lohnes & Culver. Washington,

D. C.Lawyers-Leo Rosen and Elliott Ruskin of Greenbaum,

Wolff & ErnstMisc.-Newspaper publisher for past 6 years, and pub-

lisher of New York Post and Paris Post. October,1944 bought WLIB, New York City, and in October,1945, KYA, San Francisco; has applied for purchaseKMTR, Hollywood; FM applications in New YorkCity, Los Angeles and San Francisco; has also ap-plied for TV in New York City. Husband, TheodoreThackrey, Editor and President, New York Post:President of WLIB.

(continued on page 22)

Television

The Status of Theatre TelevisionTo determine the interest in theatre television now, while it is still in theplanning stage, TELEVISION conducted a survey of movie exhibitors andoperators. 58% of those answering have definite plans for using this medium.

By GILBERT WINFIELD

66110W will television affect the ums ie industry?"That's a question that concerns the whole televi-

sion industry, equipment manufacturers, movie companiesand independent exhibitors.

In order to cast some light on the theatre operation partof this important question, the editors of TELEVISIONMAGAZINE have conducted a survey among 350 exhibi-tors and theatre circuit operators, trying to determinewhat has been done and what will be done. We foundthat more than half of the theatre operators who answeredare definitely interested in either theatre television or inoperating a station of their own.

When asked, "Have you any plans for theatre televi-sion?" 58% answered affirmatively, 32% had no plansand 10% didn't answer.

16% of those who answered had done something abouttelevision for their theatres, enlarged their projectionbooths, made inquiries regarding probable costs or insome way made a positive move; 76% had made no moveat all and 8% didn't answer the question.

Theatre Operators

A very significant fact is the interest on the part of thetheatre operators in the operation of a television stationof their own. 50% of the answers to the question, "Areyou interested in operating a television station?" were apositive, "Yes." 30% were not interested and 20% didn'tanswer.

Following is a list of the theatre operators who haveapplied for commercial television licenses.

Balaban & Katz, Chicago, operators of WBKB. 907(owned by Paramount.

Comerford-Publix Theatres, Scranton, Pa., in whomParamount has a minority interest.

Fox -West Coast Theatres, Hollywood, a Twentieth Cen-tury -Fox theatre circuit.

Interstate Circuit, Dallas, in whom Paramount has aminority interest.

New England Theatres, Boston, a Paramount circuit.United Detroit Theatres, Detroit, also Paramount.The revealing fact here is that Paramount has orien-

tated their theatre exhibitors and kept them more awar>of theatre television possibilities than have most of theother major movie companies. But the other film compa-nies are by no means unaware of tele potentialities, al-though there is no indication at this time of a tie-up withlarge -screen television.

Movie Companies

The following five major movie companies have filedapplications for video stations:

Twentieth Century -Fox has an application for NewYork.

(continued on page 44i

Society or Motion Picture Engineers' Proposals

IN order to set aside channels for theatre televi-sion operation, the Society of Motion Picture

Engineers proposed, on Docket 6651, before theFCC, three classes or Sel \ ices of theatre television,as follows:1. Intra-City Studio Transmitter Station:

a. 1 fixed studio to transmitter channel (point-to-point)

b. 1 clear mobile channel (remote pick-up)2. Intra-City Multiple Addressee Station:

a. 1 clear channel for private multiple -directivetransmission from a single transmitter to agroup of specific addressees within the serv-ice area of the transmitter.

3. Inter -City Relay:a. 1 channel to interconnect cities, for trans-

mission of theatre television programs si-multaneously from a number of specificmultiple -address stations to a specific theatreor theatres in different cities.

'l he requests for frequencies for theatre televisionservice include a total of 1500 megacycles in sev-enty-five 20 -me channels, as follows:

1. 8 contiguous 20 mc. clear channels or a bandof 160 mc. from 600 to 760 mc.

2. 7 contiguous 20 mc. clear channels or a band of140 mc. from 860 to 1000 mc.




The FCC at this time authorized intra and inter-city relay of theatre television programs in the fol-lowing bands of frequencies (experimental only),1900 to 2300 mc., 3900 to 4550 mc. 5750 to 7050mc., 10,500 to 13,000 mc., 16,000 to 18,000 mc.,and 26,000 to 30,000 mc.

February. 1946 15

Problems encountered in remodelingthe DuMont Wanamaker studiosUndoubtedly many stations will reconvert existing facilities. Here's an idea of someof the unforeseen problems which they will encounter, and how planning may solve them.

THE question of whether to remodel existing premisesor build new television studios will become increas-

ingly important as applications are granted and construc-tion gets under way. DuMont's experience in remodelingthe auditorium in the John Wanamaker New Yotk storeinto a modern group of telecasting studios throws somelight on this question of remodeling vs. new building.

Completion of the studio, which is under the directionof William Meyer, architect, is scheduled for March. Allof the alterations are being performed by sub -contractorsto affect an estimated saving of 15(A . While no final fig-ures are available, it is estimated that the final cost ofremodeling will come to $250,000. Located at Broadwayand Ninth Street, the new studios are connected bymatched telephone wires to the DuMont transmitter at515 Madison Avenue. The old DuMont studios in thi -building will be retained, with the Wanamaker set-up anaddition to existing facilities.

Drawing on their previous experience, the new studioswere planned with an eye to full time programming.Blueprints included studio space enough to handle thedemands of a full load as well as facilities for on -the -spotrehearsals.

Change -Over Problems

But, al, w as to be expected, many unforeseen problemsarose that were not included in the precisely drawn blue-prints. One of the biggest was the discovery of steel sup-ports and girders in the walls of the old auditorium, whichwere not indicated in the original plans on file with theBuilding Department. This unexpected "find" made itnecessary to relocate walls and corridors-for obviouslygirders that supported the thirteen other floors of thebuilding could not be ripped out.

The domed ceiling presented accoustical difficulties.This was solved by the Egg Crate Treatment created byMeyer, which is an ingenious contraption of glass wool inframes, suspended from the light grid.

A major electrical problem was the transfer of powerfrom the Edison Company's service vault in the cellar ofthe Wanamaker store to DuMont's control panel in thestudios. To make this changeover a new 3,000 amp. serv-ice was installed. Wiring had to be snaked up through thewalls from the basement to the DuMont distribution panel.Ninety outlets, with dual connections, were installed, mak-ing a total of 180 strategically placed light ducts. Theseconnections provide 162,000 watts of lighting. All out-lets, of course, were placed with careful attention to thedemands of proper studio lighting, which requires a mini-mum of 500 ft. candlepower.

In planning the conversion of the old auditorium, amajor difficulty was to provide for circulation of studiotraffic. In the old layout the dressing rooms and stagewere all located at the front. For television studios, theentire first floor had to be transferred into stages anddressing rooms, with easy and non -interfering accessibil-ity. Passageways had to he laid out to permit uninter-

16

rupted flow of personnel, props and talent to the properstudio.

One obstacle known from the beginning, was the pres-ervation of the famous organ which is reputed to be oneof the largest in the world. Walls were built over it andgreat care had to be taken to leave the organ intact andaccessible for future use. 1,000 square feet of floor spacewere dedicated to the housing of this beautiful organ.

The blueprints reproduced here show the layout of thetwo -floored set-up. But more impressive is the total of ninetelevision cameras scheduled for the three studios. Thisproposed set-up will provide for the most ambitious tele-vision proaramming yet to he undertaken.

First Floor

The main studio, Studio A, measures 60 feet by 40 feet3 inches, with a height of 43 feet. It will be equipped withfour television cameras, two of which will be in semi -fixedpositions; the other two will be mounted on flexibledollies. It is planned to have rigid pre-set lighting for thisstudio, with the use of 12 groups of Bird's Eye infra -redequipment. There will, of course, be many flood lights onthe floor, to insure ample illumination for all contingencies.

The location of the control room for Studio A (themain studio) was planned to give a complete view of thestudio. There is ample space to accommodate all studioand video monitoring equipment, and personnel requiredto control performance. A large plate glass window inplace of a back wall will enable spectators to watch theproceedings, the principle being the same that is em-ployed in maternity hospitals, where the new-born childmay be watched through the window. This glass wall willmeasure about thirty feet in length, and will provide a fineshow case for the display of the newest entertainment inthe world.

The two smaller studios are planned to accommodate2 -camera productions. Studio C is irregular in shape,measuring about 30 feet across at its widest point, andabout ten feet at its narrowest irregularity. Studio D isrectangular, and measures 28 by 18 feet. Both of thesestudios are serviced by their individual control rooms.large enough to contain monitoring and directing equip-ment and personnel. At present. plans call for two dolly -mounted cameras in the small studio and three dolly -mounted cameras in the larger studio. Lighting will bethe same as Studio A, though on a smaller scale.

The remaining space on this floor is well -utilized, andwill provide for a large Art and Property Department,measuring about 1200 sq. ft., which is located to giveeasy accessibility to all the studios. No detail has beenoverlooked to provide comfort for Talent and Techni-cians. There are two well-equipped Crew Locker Rooms.with lavatories in each. For the Talent there are two dress-ing rooms, with facilities in each. Two waiting rooms,designed to keep talent rested and on tap is another well -


Television

STAIR TO STREET

STORE SALES ARIA

11

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HAVER CONTROL 0004

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UTUO I 0

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UPPER PORTION

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Plan of the second flourdemonstrates the generousaccommodations for thestudio audience, and itsplacement iu relationshipwith the store's sales area.Notice how the projectionroom is separated from therewind room. The mainstudio (Studio A) pene-trates the second floor andrises to a height of 43 f

UI

ENGINEER'ROC..

FOURTH VI NUE A T .<1

NEI

Ior e ,,,,,,

STUDIO

syrro t mina. mom

This plan indicates thelayout of the first flour ofDoMont's WanamakerStudio. Especially interest-ing is she placement ofcontrol 7oonts, in relatiot.to each studio. Location ofthe Art Department andproperty storage gives easyaccessibility to the twolargest studios. Note Lowpassageways are laid ontto give non -interfering se-cessibility to all facilities

STUDIO .01.

OW 4011

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February, 1946 17

16mm film and television camera used over W9XZV.2" x 2" glass slide and film strip projector is in center.

Sherron transmitter above is furnished with ranges of 250W to 50 KWpower and individual bays of additional power can be incorporated.Scene below shows the portable boom mike used for the audiopick-up in the WNBT studios. Three cameras were used for this show.

Equipment Needed ForType and amount of equipment needed dependson the programming plans of each station. Here'san estimate of how little you can squeeze by onand what will be needed for more varied operations.

By SIDNEY R. LANE

ALL connected with television realize that much newequipment is needed before stations can operate on a

28 -hour schedule. Much that is in use today is almost in-adequate to handle the present comparatively limitedschedule. There are instances where studios working withpre-war equipment, have to baby their electronic antiqui-ties with periods of rest and repair. Some have found itnecessary to have a two-day cessation in order to beassured of even limited operation. So, when one pops thequestion to station managers about how much equipmentwill they need to comply with the FCC 28 -hour order,these harassed individuals lean back and ask the ques-tion that is on the lips of all who waited for the war's endto bring them satiation from shortages, and begged to beinformed when will the equipment be delivered? One man-ager of a large metropolitan station wept that his equip-ment was operating by the grace of God, and a bale ofwire. Then there were the usual murmurs about strikes,and long stories of the ingenuity of the men who keptthem televising though three motors were shot out. Itseems that a new class of hero is arising in this recon-version period. Next to taxi drivers who have kept themrolling for five -hundred thousand miles, today's topmostheroes are equipment -starved personnel of television stu-dios. But, despite the wailing and the heroics, we do knowthat it is a matter of months before enough material willbe made to supply these hungry lads. They all have theirneeds on record, so you ask them to forget the sad im-mediate and tell you what equipment is essential to handlethe 28 -hour requirement. There are variations of.opinionamong the station managers, but there is a large area ofagreement which may serve as a guide in the solution ofthe problem that faces all interested in station manage-ment.

How many studios will be required? This wholequestion is contingent on the programming plans of eachstation. Cross section of opinion reveals that at least twostudios will be needed. Both will probably be in use at alltimes, because of the necessity for on-stage rehearsals,and the need to pre-test lighting, camera angles, castplacement, mikes, sets, timing, and all the elements thatare required for smooth televising.

One station manager thinks that he can get along withonly one studio if the program is carefully planned sothat there will be no conflict between shows that requirerehearsal and those that do not. For example, motion pic-tures do not require the use of a studio. A motion picturefilm pick-up on a track which may be moved to the pro-jectors, may be stationed outside of the main studio tosave space. However, one studio will work a tremendoushardship, because even with limited programming it hasbeen found necessary to use outside rehearsal halls, atadditional expense, for preliminary work. It is essentialto have the use of all facilities, exclusive of transmitter.for final rehearsals. If the programming fare is to befinished, more than one studio will be found essential.

28 Hour Programming

Size of the studios would again depend primarily on theprogramming plans of the station. Where elaborate pro-ductions are planned, requiring the use of many sets.naturally more studio space is needed. A smaller studiosuitable for simpler productions, interviews, etc., is sug-gested to complete the set-up.

Naturally the larger the space the greater the facility.Limited space will work a hardship, because the studiomust accommodate technicians, cast, scenery, lighting,etc., and there should be enough room to avoid trafficsnarls. Experience has shown that the studio should meas-ure at least 1200 sq. ft.

Height of the studio is another important factor, andwhile many present studios have a height of 20 ft., sometechnicians hate expressed a desire for greater height.They base this on the ground that greater height will re-sult in better acoustics, and allow for more heat dissipa-tion. They feel that a good height for the studio should bein the neighborhood of 30 ft.

Number of cameras needed in each studio?Answers range from one to four, depending again on theprogramming need for each studio. Obviously a onecamera arrangement would be limited to simple playlets,interview formats, news telecast, etc. The cross section ofopinion, based on actual studio operation, indicates thata good job can be accomplished with two flexible studiocameras mounted on push dollies. Increasing the camerasto three or four will provide a greater degree of flexibility,and smoother production. As programming scope in-creases, camera facilities will also have to increase.

Motion picture equipment needed? If careful tim-ing is observed either a 16mm or a 35mm projector maybe all that is necessary. (For a detailed analysis see FilmProjection Equipment in TELEVISION, January 1946.1However, to be on the safe side. it is better to have twoprojectors, since a good portion of programming will con-sist of film presentations. Most stations believe that atleast six hours of film will be scheduled weekly. Somestudios, recognizing the need for creating their own filmfare, are planning the acquisition of camera crews whowill make on the spot records on film for transmission inthe manner of present radio transcriptions. These studio -

made films will be economically feasible when they havethe added value of use for commercial syndication.

The investment required for motion picture equipmentand cameramen can be justified on grounds other thanprogramming. The films will make excellent records forFCC and agency checking. They are subject to carefuledirng, and can be marketed for general theatre use.Film equipment is obviously very important in the Spe-cial Events Department. Studios that do not plan an out-lay for mobile equipment, can substitute a crew of cam-eramen to cover outstanding events.

Two completely equipped RCA trucks were used for televisingthe Army -Navy game over WNBT. Three cameras were employed.

DuMont developed this suitcase type equipment for indoor mobile use. Shotbelow illustrates the intricate wiring of WNBT lighting control system. For thecurious, the cameraman in the center is the result of a trick mirror shot

Mobile equipment? Outdoor mobile equipmentequipped with two Image Orthicon Cameras, and a fieldrelay transmitter, plus field audio relay equipment. Indoormobile equipment may not require transmitter equipmentif telephone wire with boosters, or coaxial cable is avail-able. Some companies plan to manufacture completelyequipped Mobile Trucks. One station has successfully de-veloped mobile suit -case type equipment to cover indoorsports events. It consists of 2 cameras, 2 camera controlboxes, and one master monitor switching unit. All of theseunits are shock mounted, and are really portable. Theyhave been employed for as much as ten hours of weeklyprogramming, and have given satisfactory service.

Lighting? Estimates for Minimum lighting require-ments vary from five hundred to one thousand candlepower for every square foot, for despite all the improve-ment that we may expect in tomorrow's camera an enor-mous amount of illumination is required today. TheImage Orthicon, with its great sensitivity to compensatefor poor outdoor lighting is not recommended for studiointeriors in its present state of development. However.these bugs will probably be ironed out soon and lightingproblems will be simplified.

Lights may be of four types: incandescent, Du arc, Mer-cury vapor or fluorescent. Each type of illumination hasdesirable and undesirable features. Incandescent lights,while efficient in their color response, create enormousheat, glare, are difficult to handle, and have a heavy re-placement cost. Du arc lamps throw less heat than incan-descents, and produce a high degree of Kelvin or day-light effect. They burn carbons that require changing ortrimming after an hour and one-half to two hours of con-tinual use. Fluorescent light has the advantages of pro-ducing cold light, generating 6400 -degree Kelvin light,and economy of replacement; they have the disadvantageof bulkiness, and unfocusability. Mercury Vapor light islarge and unwieldy, and must have a water-cooling unitfor each installation, which frequently separates andfloods the stage, thus overcoming any advantage theyhave in combatting heat.

Lighting units can be fixed or semi -fixed for over-allillumination. Portable fixtures are also necessary for high-lighting certain scenes. The problem of heat has beentackled in a unique manner by the American Optical Co.They have developed a glass which can be used in spotand floodlights as a heat screen. The company claims that

Studio controlequipment in useatWABD,DuMont

this glass will absorb almost 90 percent of the heat, whiletransmitting 85 percent of the light. Television companiesare already experimenting with this new development.

Microphones? It is important to have the rightamount of microphones to assure constant audio excel-lence. Mike requirements differ for each presentation, andwhile the mike booms afford a degree of flexibility, atleast two are essential in each studio. One producer re-quires six mikes with stands and extension cords, evi-dently believing in the superiority of fixed. over boom -

Audio and video control equipment? Each studioshould have its own control and monitoring consoles.Amount of monitoring equipment depends on the numberof cameras used as each camera is connected to a videomonitor tube. In basing requirements for this equipmentit must be remembered that final rehearsals require theemployment of these controls, and with the stepped -upschedule of 28 hours, careful planning will have to hedone to avoid a conflict if only one studio and one set ofcontrol equipment is available. Indoor portable controlequipment may be used for rehearsals when fixed studiocontrol equipment is not available.

There are many types of control equipment being de-signed today, and all seem to have as their ultimate goal,simplification of operation that will permit the function-ing of the controls to be vested in the hands of the fewestpossible technicians. One manufacturer has blue -printeda console that can be operated by one technician and thedirector.

Another means by which too heavy demand on equip-ment can be alleviated is through skillful direction, andproduction. The knowing director, with a thorough under-standing of the technical possibilities and limitations ofvideo can accomplish most of his rehearsals withoutemploying cameras, lights, audio equipment, etc., becausehe has a complete grasp of the essentials of production.He is in the position of the trained conductor who canlook at a score, and figure its possibilities in advance ofpresentation.

It is obvious that the best equipment can fail to deliverunless it is manned by enough skillful people . . . butthat takes us into the subject of personnel, which we shalldiscuss next month.

20 Television

The

Screwiest GuyIn Television

Looks crazy? Maybe - but it typifies the many problems that a pro-duction manager has to meet day in and day out. You'll get a laugh outof the article - but there's a lot of facts tucked in with the gripes.

By CHARLES HOLDEN - Production Manager, CBS Television

I NEED a live pig by four o'clock." "We're gettingI the actual gun Jesse James used and the engraving

doesn't show up. What'll we do?" "For my atom bombshow I want an explosion that'll look like the real one,only much more dramatic!" "I need two watches exactlyalike with the initials S.B. on diamonds,""I. have to have a three inch long model car running alonga road." "I need a field telephone used by the Polishunderground"-"A cage for a live snake!" "A victoriansofa!" "A snowstorm!" "A gorilla's head!" "A hamsandwich!" "The tower of London!"

Television directors talking-all at once it may beadded-and not kidding either. They really want theseoutlandish items and what is more, they get them, throughthe efforts of the screwiest guy in television-the produc-tion man. He is the man in charge of every visual effectthat goes before the iconoscopes: scenery, props, cos-tumes. lighting effects, titles and gadgets. He translatesthe wildest brainstorms of a dozen eager directors intoworkable terms of square feet and inches, dollars andcents, manpower and time. He can procure anything froma glass ice cube to an airplane engine; construct anythingfrom a lorgnette to a relief map of Africa; simulate anylocation from a Philippine jungle to a boxing arena.

His is one of the most fascinating departments in tele-vision and he has no counterpart in the entire entertain-ment field. He has a big brother in Hollywood, but hespends a dime where the brother spends a thousand dol-lars, and he is required to put together 500 shows a year-the average yearly output of the entire movie industry.He has a kid sister in theatrical stock-but is required toprepare three shows a night instead of one a week. Hehas a cousin in radio. But his cousin is not concernedwith the visual at all, since the radio "picture" is createdby the mind of the listener himself. He is in the middleof a perpetual seven ring circus-and he has more funthan any ringmaster who ever lived!

His cohorts are gentlemen of weird and highly special-ized talents. There is the art director-an imaginative

February, 1946

genius who can take a broom and a bucket of lampblackand lay it on canvas to look like anything from "Joe'sDiner" to an abstract dream by Salvator Dali. There is acartoonist who can draw a farm tractor and give it a per-sonality as attractive as Mickey Mouse. And he has acrew of patient painters who can take a few pencilledscratches from the back of an old menu and reproduce afairly respectable replica of the Eiffel Tower. These menmake up the Art Department.

There is the construction carpenter-an enthusiasticfellow who can smack together a few pieces of pine strip-ping, canvas and profile board into a fake locomotive, agrass hut, or the lush living room of Lord and LadyTwitchingham and have it ready eight minutes before itis requested.

There is the property man-a gent with a card indexbrain. Three years ago he saw a tandem bicycle in asecond hand shop on Third Avenue-he remembers thephone number-in an hour he'll have it in the studio.A mulberry bush? A pot-bellied stove? A telephoneswitchboard? Why sure. When do you want 'em?

There is the electrician-the little guy with the lightmeter. Spots and floods, inkies and arclamps. Miles ofsnaking black cables. The man who takes 110 Volts DCand spreads it out like sunlight to the required 700 foot-candles on scenery and performers alike. He can makeyour blond hair even blonder, take the bags out fromunder your eyes (or sometimes when things go wrong, put'em there).

There is the floor carpenter-the man in charge of set-ting and moving the scenery. His "grips" set and strikethe hundreds of interiors, exteriors and locations that gobefore the greedy "ikes" in the course of a year. He hasas many as fourteen sets of scenery on the studio floor atonce. He must move them quickly and silently, often set-ting one within the other to save space. He must packand store them when they are out of service. He must beable to put his hand instantly on that stone wall that wasused a week ago Thursday and is suddenly needed again.

There is the floor manager-the pillar of strength, the

21

man with the earphones. He knows just how long it willtake one ike to move from here to there, what provisionmust be made for "transitions" between shows, and isresponsible for the over-all organization and workabilityof the entire studio floor. He cues the prop men in theirelaborate moves with title cards and effects, makes sureeverything is in readiness before he gives his traditional"go ahead" signal (thumb and forefinger circled --threefingers extended). And he's responsible for the actors andactresses as they do the business laid out for them by thedirector. He relays all directions from the director to theactors with an elaborate dumb -show of pantomimed sig-nals, "Begin action," "Speed it up," "Slower," "Louder,""Minute to go." "Half -minute to go," "Cut," etc. He car-ries a script and cue sheet, and on top of all this he triesto keep floor noise down to a minimum. He sometimesthrows as many as 200 cues in the course of an evening'stransmission, many of which he has hurriedly memorizedthat same afternoon. He is the main spring of floor opera-tions.

There is the costume mistress-she tends the dressingrooms. lays out make-up for the actors, fits and re -fitstheir costumes, hustles them to their places during theshow, and when they have taken off their crepe hair andgrease paint, cleans up their costumes and packs themaway.

There are the animators-those nimble -fingered folkwho pull the string that whirls the ring that works thething that animates the charts, maps and cartoons, usedin many shows. They can make a tiny plane fly the Atlan-tic, illustrate the complicated movements of a new worldpeace organization or make Donald Duck wiggle his tail.They are involved in obtaining and mounting the manystill pictures used in programming. They are a strangecombination of showman, geographer and puppeteer.

There is the production assistant-she is involved intime sheets, purchase orders, estimates. She keeps recordson the movement of properties and supplies in and outof the studio, checks prices on rental of costumes andproperties, and can tell you to the minute how much timefor each member of the production staff is to be allocatedto each show on the schedule. She traces and records theactivities of all the others in a concise and business -likeway. She is the pinthi(lion man's right arm.

Put Them All Together ...

So that is the line-up. Here is how it works. The pro-gram department cooks up a new idea for a show, andbrings a script in to the production man. He calls his artdirector and carpenter into immediate conference. Thenumber and type of sets, properties and costumes are de-cided upon, a floor plan drawn, and an estimate of pro-duction cost provided. (If it is above the budget, adjust.ments are made.) An actor's salary is balanced against anadditional set of scenery; a fireplace is eliminated toallow the rental of a Louis XV sofa, etc. The plan is ap-proved. The art director draws up plans for the carpenter.Construction begins. A prop list is made and the propman starts locating the necessary things. Painters paint,the electrician lays out a light plot. Costumes are orderedand fitted. Title cards and effects are made up. Produc-tion buzzes. The director meanwhile is casting and direct-ing the show. He is in constant touch with the productionman. Changes and compromises develop, additions andsubtractions arise. The thing begins to jell. The day of theshow the sets are set up. They are propped and lighted.Finally the actors are called in. Ikes and boom mikescome into play. "Facility" rehearsals are on. The actionis roughed out. Camera movements are tried. Adjustmentsare made. The show finally smooths out. Then into the

22

`dress"-the last chance to polish up details. Everything isready. Then-air time! Comes the cue. The show is on!Before you know it, it is over. How was it? It is talkedabout. Post mortems are held. What did we learn?

The director has a chance to think over his next show.He has a week to plan and organize it. But what of theproduction man? He is already supervising the finishingtouches for tomorrow night's show; he is getting togetherlists and plots for the show on Friday, and his mind iseven now occupied with the special problems that willattend next week's schedule. He is often called on to pre-pare more than forty shows a month, with sometimes asmany as 17 prepared shows among them (i.e. those re-quiring special scenery and props ). He heads up a groupof highly trained and eager specialists all working at topspeed, all having the time of their lives, and all professinga belief in television that a casual observer would find ithard to credit.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Production Man-the Screwiest Guy in Television.

Television OutlookIn San Francisco (continued from page 14)

Television Productions, Inc.Address -5451 Marathon Street, Hollywood, CaliforniaOfficers-Paul Raibourn-PresidentEstimated Costs

1. Vis. transmitter2. Aural transmitter plus tubes3. Antenna System4. Studio Equipment5. Studio Lighting6. F & M Monitors7. Other item

Channel-#4Kilocycles -66.000-72,000ESR-14800Breakdown-outside pick-up 26 hours

studio production 50 hoursfilm 24 hours

Interesting is this established program break-down based on 100 hours monthly.

AntennaHeight, sea level -2841 feetHeight ground level -241 feetLocation-steel tower anchored to ground

Transmitter location-Sassalito Township, CaliforniaPower, aural and visual-aural, 13.6; visual, 27.2Population -1,656,786Size of area-primary (within 5 ov/m contour )-

1885 sq. mi.secondary ( within 0.5 ov/mi-6200 sq. mi.

Location of Studio -1000 Market Street, Paramount The-tre Building, San Francisco

Engineering Consultant-L. W. Pett, Field Engineer,Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, Inc.

S65.00010,00081,000

5,0001,300

40.500-remoteequipment

San Francisco's hospitality, extended to business andindividual alike, will welcome the new television industrywhile San Francisco's progressive support should soonmake of any station located there, a rival of the best.

Television

ONE MAN'S REFLECTIONSA regular monthly feature by DR. ALFRED GOLDSMITH

It's Later Than You ThinkIn resuming the pleasant task of presenting in this column what

I hope to be timely and constructive comments on the status andtrends of television, the writer desires first, to express his heartyappreciation to his co-worker, Dr. Raymond M. Wilmotte, for his inter-esting and stimulating contribution to a recent issue of this column.

THE somewhat somber dictumwhich stands at the head of this

present issue of the column is be-lieved to have brighter aspects thanare usually attributed to it by those

ho read it, generally, on the face ofthe sun -dial. Times of lateness aretimes for vigorous action. And it isreally appropriate to point out that,so far as commercial television broad-casting is concerned, it is consider.ably later than most planners mightthink.

The governmental situation is rap-idly clarifying. The Federal Commu-nications Commission has allocated13 channels to commercial televisionbroadcasting in a usable portion ofthe frequency spectrum between ap-proximately 50 and 200 mc; it hasindicated the cities or communitiesto which each of these channels willbe available; it has issued detailedrules of engineering and operatingpractice for the television field. Andit has even assigned specific dates atwhich the operation of commercialtelevision stations is required.

The Commission has also begun itsdifficult task of assigning particularchannels in specific cities to individ-ual stations. It has set hearing datesfor the determination of additionalchannel assignments in other impor-tant cities. Practically the only re-maining major moot point-the de-termination of the extent to whichChannel 1 (now assigned to televisioncommunity stations) will also be re-gionally employed by frequency -mod-ulation broadcasting stations-willshortly be considered and presuma-bly definitely decided. Thus, so faras governmental action is,concerned,a large number of commercial andexperimental television and broad-casting stations will presumably findahead of them a clear road and willencounter no legal obstacles to theiroperation.

February. 1946

Equipment DeliveriesOne of the inherent elements of

every television station is its trans-mitter. The commercial manufac-turers of television transmitters, wheninterviewed, have indicated that suchtransmitters will be available in rea-sonable quantities during 1946. At arough estimate, these manufacturersmay be able to supply several dozensuch transmitters to the correspond-ing stations by the fall of 1946. Thesetransmitters will be in such diversityof types and powers as should meetthe various needs of individual sta-tion owners. Here again a majorobstacle to television exploitationappears to have been satisfactorilyovercome.

But without television receiversoffered on a large scale to the public,television broadcasting would pro-ceed at a relatively restricted pace.Fortunately, the manufacturers oftelevision receivers similarly plan topresent the simpler types of such re-ceivers to the public in appreciablequantities early this summer, and tooffer a wider variety of types ofreceivers by the late fall. It is clearthat receivers will fall mainly intothe $100-$500 price range, will offerpictures between 7" x 10" and 18" x25", will be housed in cabinets cover-ing the range from table receivers tothe most elaborate consoles, and willpresent picture quality of an aston-ishingly superior character as com-pared to that appearing on the pre-war vintage of television receivers.

Plan of ActionAli ill all, the prospects for tele-

vision commercial broadcasting arenow bright. This raises the question:What should the prospective televi-sion broadcaster be doing at thistime? The list of his tasks and oppor-tunities is almost endless, but the

following general examples may beparticularly stressed.

Assuredly every television broad-caster should adjust his capital struc-ture to carry the costs of a televisionstation and of its operation duringthe build-up period while the audi-ence is being acquired and commer-cial sponsors are being attracted.

The prospective television broad-caster should select the site for hisstation and secure all necessary mu-nicipal and federal approvals of sucha site. The detailed plans of his sta-tion should be in preparation. Heshould be in touch with the trans-mitter manufacturers in order thathe may be assured of exceptionallyprompt delivery of transmitters. Hisapplication for a license should befiled with the FCC.

Personal TrainingIn addition to these obvious steps.

he should now be gathering the mem-bers of his engineering staff, trainingthem in their duties and preparingthem for the installation and opera-tion work which they must carry out.Nor should he neglect the assemblyof his writing and programmingstaff. These indispensable workerswill on occasion have a hard time tofind interesting and acceptable ma-terial for the television audience.Now is the opportunity to select andto train them in their arduous dutiesand to work effectively in coopera-tion with each other - the engineer-ing staff and the studio -operatinggroup.

Needless to say, the operation of atelevision studio requires additionalmembers who should now be sought.Skilled men in this field are few andfar between, and most of the pros-pective operating staff must betrained by the broadcaster himself.This will literally be a case of "learn-ing to do by doing."

And last but not least, the prospec-tive television broadcaster must givedue attention to the commercialoperations in which he will be en-gaged. He must assemble the salestaff, prepare tentative rate cards.and formulate policies enabling thesale of time to sponsors. If he is at


23

this team co d do

Bell L., boratories a nd Western Electric teamedup to supply more than 56,000 radars of 64ty,i,-approximately 50% of the nation'sradar production on a dollar volume basis.

There are three reasons why the team of Bell TelephoneLaboratories and Western Electric was able to handle bigwar jobs fast and well.

(1) It had the men - an integrated organization ofscientists, engineers and shop workers, long trained towork together in designing and producing complex elec-tronic equipment.

(2) It had unequalled physical facilities.(3) Perhaps most important of all, it had a long-

established and thoroughly tested method of attack onnew problems.

What is this method of attack?In simple terms, it is this. Observe some phenomenonfor which no explanation is known - wonder about itsrelationship to known phenomena-measure everythingyou can-fit the data together-and find in the answerhow to make new and better equipment.

In the realm of pure research, Bell Laboratories havecarried on continuing studies in all branches of science,with particular emphasis on physics, chemistry and math-ematics. Often they have set out to gain new knowledge

Bell Laboratories designed and WesternElectric produced more than 1600 electronicgun directors and gun data computers whichgreatly increased the accuracy of anti-aircraftand coast defense guns.

More than 1,000,000 airborne radio receiversand transmitters were furnished by WesternElectric to help coordinate attack and defensein the air.

Bell Laboratories designed and WesernElectric furnished more than 139,000 multi-channel FM receivers and 74,000 multi-channel FM transmitters for use by the

Armored Forces and Artillery.

Bell Laboratories and Western Electric fur-nished revolutionary carrier telephone termi-nal equipment in great quantities-ll"packaged" for quick installation in the field.

war jobs like thesewith no immediate prospect of an application in thecommunications field-. Time after time, their_discoverieshave eventually brought about fundamental scientificadvances.

Applying new discoveriesAs new discoveries have reached the stage of application,Western Electric manufacturing engineers have alwaysworked closely with Bell Laboratories men to assure afinal design suited to quantity production of highestquality equipment.

During the war, the capabilities of this unique research -production team expanded rapidly. New techniques wereexplored-new methods were developed-new ideas wereborn, rich Ns ith possibilities for the future.

What this means to YOUToday Bell Laboratories and Western Electric are oncemore applying their facilities and their philosophy tothe development and production of electronic and com-munications equipment for a world at peace. Dependon this team for continued leadership in AM, FM andTelevision broadcasting equipment.

Bell Laboratories and Western Electric plar.,Ioutstanding roles in the design and p,-duction of magnetrons and other essen, iivacuum tubes for use in radar and C,JM-munscations.

BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIESWorld's largest organization devoted exclusitely to research

mid development in all phas's of el'trial communitillion.

Western Electric,Uanufiuturinr unit of the Bell System and nat. 's largest

producer of communications and electronic equipment.

Station Management

Setting Up A Talent Training GroupTelevision is going to demand an almost inexhaustible supply of talent tofill its programming needs. Stations away from talent centers could welluse this "waiting period" to organize their talent procurement plans.

By JAMES L. CADDIGAN

WIDELY varying differences of opinion have beenvoiced in answer to the question, "What percentages

of film programs, and live studio productions will bescheduled to complete the daily programming of a tele-vision station?" This indicates that the only definiteanswer at the moment is that there will be film programs.and there will be live studio productions. The film pro-gram, delivered to the station in a can ready for projec-tion, does not present, to the future television productionstaff, the major questions arising from discussions regard-ing the procurement and development of talent for thelive studio programs.

Tele Demands HighIn attempting to answer the multitude of questions per-

taining to television talent, it is obvious that first con-sideration should be given to the demands television production technique will place upon such players. In radiothe listener uses the audio interpretation of a characteras the basis for an individual mental development of thatcharacter. He mentally creates the physical characteristics,makeup and costuming of each performer. The entireproduction is set and dressed to exactly suit the individualtheatrical tastes of each listener.

A diminutive player can be cast as a robust six footer,if such a player is equipped with a lusty six foot voice.A performer can "double" for as many characters as heor she has distinctive dialects. The development of sus-pense, dramatic shock, comedy situations, etc. through themedium of "stage business" is obviously not a part ofradio technique. Radio has successfully double cast musi-cal shows without destroying the illusion of the singlecharacter. One cast talented in the handling of the musi-cal score has alternated with a second cast talented in thepresentation of the book. Radio has been permitted manyproduction liberties that will be denied television.

The video vieucr, seated in front of, a television re-ceiver. will grant imagination a holiday, and any reactionor emotional response to a production will be developedby what is seen as well as heard. In every respect theplayer will have to fit the character and possess the tal-ents necessary to a convincing interpretation. The clothof authentic costuming will take the place of radio's in-exhaustible imaginative wardrobe. The repeated videoperformance of a player will create a monotony not ex-perienced in radio. It is expected that a player in a serialtelevision production will appear in each daily sequence,but the repeated appearance on the video screen of anindividual player in five or six different characterizationsa week may bring about a frantic dial search for newfaces. For the same number of air hours per week tele-vision will need more talent than radio, unless televisionadopts the presentation of longer programs than thosefamiliar to radio.

26

Staging SenseThe television player iv ill have to be equipped with a

sense of timing, in the development of stage business,that is not demanded of the radio performer. The samedegree of voice projection demanded of a player by thetheatre will not be necessary in the television studio, butthe "remote" position of the microphone, "out of thescene," will demand an understanding of this technique.It is entirely possible that voice dubbing will eventuallytake its place in television's production technique, but "onthe scene" double casting, as practiced in radio, cannotbe accomplished. The illusion of the single characterwould be swiftly destroyed if two players alternated inthe same role before a video audience. Television willdemand players of versatile talents.

The practice of reading a script in radio, and the tech-nique of shooting short scenes, with the added protectionof retakes, in motion picture production. does not de-mand the good "study" that television will require of itstalent. A television player will find it necessary to memo-rize from one to thirty or more "sides" of dialogue,stage business, cues, etc. depending upon the length ofthe production.

In the theatre a player's movements about the stage is' controlled by the physical limitations created by the set,

and whatever props and set dressings used. In televisionthe player will have to carry the extra "memory load" ofthe limitations of movement set up by the restricted cov-erage of the video camera and microphone boom.

Wide Talent ScopeIt is obvious that television Al ill use a wider variety of

talents than those required by radio. Dancers, magicians,acrobats, rodeo acts, etc. will fill the talent files of thefuture television station. Closeup techniques will makepossible many formats not adapted to the remote audi-ence position of the theatre, or not suited to nationalmotion picture presentation because of local flavor. Suchtalents will include artists, sculptors, puppeteers. hobby-ists and those indulging in unusual occupations.

In the opinion of the writer, the "telegenic" qualitiesof a performer will be important only when the charac-ter being played demands these qualities of face and fig-ure. Character men and women will most certainly beexpected to look the part they are playing and a specialevents director will never pass up a story for the lack ofa telegenic crowd.

A frequently voiced question regarding television tal-ent is, "Where will they come from?" The answer, "Fromeverywhere!" is not to broad to cover the situation. Tele-vision is faced with a continuous task of talent develop.ment and all possible sources will have to be investigated.An excellent comedian may be laboring over a lathe in amachine shop and can only be discovered through his par -

Television

ticipation in an employees' show. A talented dancer maybe still a student in a local dancing school. A desiredvocalist, may at the moment, be singing in a college gleeclub and a capable dramatic performer may be now play-ing with one of the many little theatre groups that spreadacross the country. The many sources of professional tal-ent, suitable for participation in television productions,are familiar to anyone associated Aa jib the allied arts.

A mateur Talent"Can amateur talent be used in television production?"

is another question under frequent discussion. Critics re-viewing such talent indicate, that in the majority of cases,this type of performer does not make for a successfulshow. In my opinion, amateur talent can be used provid-ing such talent receives special handling, sufficient re-hearsal periods, and a production technique devised tocompensate for their more obvious deficiencies. Beforepassing amateur talent by, television should rememberthat in the beginning all talent falls into this amateurbracket, where it remains until discovery and develop-ment raise it to a professional level. A television programproduced with untrained talent should be so labeled, andany attempt to create the impression that the listener iswatching a professional company should be avoided.When possible, the amateur production should be spottedon the daily program schedule at a time that removes itfrom the possibility of unfavorable comparison with aprofessional production of the same type. An amateurcompany should be provided carefully considered mate-rial that is well within the limits of their ability to inter-pret. Material of a dramatic or emotional nature, convinc-ingly handled by professionals, would probably waverdangerously toward the level of farce comedy if attemptedby an inexperienced group. Amateur talent should alwaysreceive the benefit of the understanding, experience, andguidance of a professional director. Too often an ama-teur company is surrounded with a makeshift productionin the way of scenery, lighting, costumes, makeup. etc.The local television station required to use such talentshould provide these productions with the best possibledressing as much of the amateur flavor can be eliminated,and the simplified material made more palatable if sucha procedure is followed.

Organization Set -UpThe local television station planning the continueduse

of live studio shows will find it necessary to organize.and maintain a permanent training group that will serveas a clearing house for all talent auditions, and as adevelopment center for discoveries of promise. Standardsof talent acceptability can be set, and when the amateurhas graduated to the professional level he or she can he

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Pro re s s lor. I Level*

!STUDIO CURTACTS PSRSCRIAL APPLICATIOIS

Little TheatreCroups.Society Thestriesle

lampLars Club.Eatertainomits 6

..._1Granity

Theatrical.

Center.Civic Theatersilational Group*

Fraternal Groupsend Saralee Clubsrmat,tuis

College 6 UniversityDrsmatie Club

High School -01DramatieDr...att.* a GleeGlob.

a DancingSehoola f InaohereSummer Theaters

Haab* Sehooleend%Geller.

Church 6 ReligiousSchool

Societieandclubs

Lama'RadioStatical.

IndividualApplicationfor Auditions

SUGGESTED TALC.? PRGGURSIUNIT AMP LISVELPHSE.TnablaLS MI A ID CAL ISLEVLS.I. STATICS' . . .

included in the station's permanent talent file. The localtelevision station must face the fact that it will not beable to prevent local performers, of above average talent,from eventually finding their way to the network produc-tion centers. As vacancies occur in the talent roster of thelocal station, replacements must be ready to fill the gaps,and, in the opinion of the writer, this will necessitate aconstant eye being kept on all possible sources of talentin a station's area, as well as maintaining a permanentprogram of talent development.

Television stations. away from production centers, arenot going to be able to assemble talent in a week or evena month before the station goes on the air. Thus, the"waiting period" now forced upon television could beused to excellent advantage in the organization of talentprocurement plans for future use.

American Television Society DirectoryJust Off the Press

This excellent book furnishes a comprehensive picture of the entiretelevision industry.

Top articles by leaders in the field authoritatively state the views ofthe many interests in television. Also included are lists of applicationsfor television stations, programming sources. advertising agencies and anextensive bibliography.

The Directory sells for $5. Either write to us or directly to the Societyfor your copy.

February, 1946 27

Long Shots And Close UpsA regular monthly feature on film production by H. G. CHRISTENSEN

ONE of the questions we weregoing to work on, according to

last month's TELEVISION, was"Why do motion pictures cost somuch?"

Do you remember that I said then,no doubt the reader meant why weremotion picture costs so much higherin comparison with other media.Well, after checking, it turned outto be the right guess. Going outfarther on the limb at that time,yours truly said that some researchwould be done on the subject andthat the result would show that mo-tion pictures would hold their own,both as to costs and results, withthat of other media. The said re-search is still underway and it won'tbe long now, (maybe the next issue)before you'll be presented with someinteresting facts.

In the meantime, another verypertinent question came in; one veryclosely related to the one above. Thiscan be answered now and reallyshould precede the other anyhow.

Many people have asked it, andhere it is:

"Pictures being a rather costlyproposition, how can an adver-tiser produce them exclusivelyfor television's limited audiencewith little or no sales return tocover costs?"

Brother they can't, unless they'reover -burdened with money - butlend an ear. In discussing this theother day with Don Widlund, anauthority on the distribution of ad-vertising and commercial films,(theatrically and non -theatrically),he put it very aptly when he said,"television is nothing but a motion pic-ture with radio sound, brought intothe home."

Dual Purpose FilmsSo what? Just this. I've argued

for some time now, that with theright pictures, the theatres can bethe proving ground, to a great extent,for television. In other words, pic-tures do not have to be producedexclusively for televising. They canbe produced for either theatrical ornon -theatrical distribution, or both,returning their costs thru the resultsachieved - and THEN televised

28

without the penalty of having to pro-duce dollar sales returns.

Naturally, the first question you'dask is, what changes would have tobe made in order to get the sameeffectiveness on the television screenand on the theatre screen. Let's an-alyze this one.

According to Widlund, to be suc-cessful, sponsored films in theatresmust have the following qualifica-tions:

1. Running time - ten minutes orless.

2. A good story, suitable for thetheatre, but one that can carrythe sponsor's message effec-tively.

3. Correct approach to the theatremanagement. (Here, I'd like toadd a note of my own.) If thetheatre management, for policyreasons, so desire, they mayreject a film which has hadsatisfactory audience accept-ance in other theatres. You'vegotta get by the managementfirst.

4. Protection of the client in thewriting, direction and produc-tion. (Another note.) The bestsponsored theatrical films everproduced never mentioned thesponsor by name, but put the"message" over visually whichis always better selling, when itcan be done.

Now, in what way do these re-quirements differ for television? I'dsay, basically they are the same.

1. The running time will belonger than ten minutes in mostcases, but this is no problemproviding -

2. The story is good, holds inter-est and can carry the sponsor'smessage effectively. Any pic-ture suitable for theatre audi-ences should be alright for thehome - it's the same audience.

3. Approach to management. Justas the theatre management de-cides on what film -fare they aregoing to offer their audiences;so will the broadcasters decideas to what they will or will notput on the air. Again, you'vegotta get by them first - to getto your audience.

4. And here again the client musthave protection in the writing,direction and production of hisshol after all, it's his money.

Same AudienceSo, to my way of thinking it all

boils down to the technical job ofproducing a picture that will look asgood on the television screen, as itdoes on the theatre screen. And I'mone of those guys that believes thatthe average home television audienceis going to think of their "set" as ascreen; and aren't going to caremuch, one way or another whetherthe picture on that screen is from alive show or a movie. What they aregoing to care about is, "ON WHATSTATION DO WE GET THE BESTSHOW?"

In addition to theatrical, non -theatrical distribution, and television,there is one more application forpictures of this type - showings tothe sponsor's dealers, salesmen, cus-tomers and prospects. Here then, isone way of getting started on a tele-vision program without asking theimpossible - that television resultsbear all the freight.

If you have the type of productthat lends itself to visualization anda motion picture producer, or anagency with a motion picture depart-ment that understands:

1. The sponsor's needs.2. How to interpret those needs

visually, in acceptable and in-teresting pictures, that are en-tertaining.

3. Theatre management policiesand requirements for accept-ance.

4. Audience reactions.5. Consumer selling.6. Various channels of non -

theatrical distribution.7. Handling cooperative dealer

programs.If you have this, you can readily

see how it is possible to spend $15,-000 to $25,000 on a film program,get a full return on your investment,plus a television show at practicallyno additional cost, except for time.Right here, let's make it crystal clearthis is not a plug for movies over liveshows or vice -versa. Unquestionably

Television

both will be used, and to what extentis anyone's guess at this tune - andtime will tell.

Technique ChangesNow what changes in technique

will be required to make a commer-cial film serve a four -fold purpose?Keeping television in mind, twothings in particular would seem im-portant - the proper picture den-sity, (contrasts), and the eliminationof long shots wherever possible. Asfar as possible the action should beplayed in medium shots and close-ups, using long shots only for estab-lishing locations when necessary.

There is one technique that hasbeen developed to high degree bycommercial picture producers that Ibelieve can be used very successfullyin television - that of having thesponsor's message an integral part ofthe show. And that should be gottenover visually instead of orally, where -ever possible. It would seem to memuch less disturbing than cutting inwith a mouthy commercial - andcertainly selling by demonstration ismore convincing.

Take for instance, the feature pic-tures you see in theatres - theycan't help but show you new typesof homes, all kinds of different in-teriors, new furniture, decorations,modern kitchens equipped with thelatest in refrigerators, ranges andother features; to say nothing of newcars, latest in clothes, et al. All ofthis inadvertent selling has a terrificinfluence on the buying public thathas been and will continue to heworldwide.

Surely, television producers andwriters are going to have to learn tothink visually and make the most ofthe old proverb of Confucius, that"One picture is worth ten thousandwords." The old fellow knew whathe was talking about.

DemonstrationDon't forget another very impor-

tant thing: By visual demonstrationactual proof can be submitted ofmany things that now must be ac-cepted on mere statement. For in-stance, if you claim your refrigera-tor's deep-freeze compartment holdsa certain amount of food, you simplyprove it by putting the food into it.This and hundreds of other similardemonstrations should eliminate a lotof verbiage and wear and tear onannouncer's tonsils.

One of the best examples of proofby demonstration was done on thetelevision show, "Ladies Be Seated,"an audience participation show for"Chef Boy-Ar-Dee" spaghetti, pro -

Above scene was taken during the shooting of a training short prepared by WestCoast Studios for Ford Motor Company. Intended for instructing their salesmen inall the selling t is of a car, this same type of film also has possibilities for show-ing to consumer audiences, as it does a better selling job than the average sales-man can duplicate. Every detail of an auto showr is faithfully reproducedin the set to give the necessary authenticity - an important point to remember.

duced and broadcast by the televisiondepartment of the American Broad-casting Company. On the radio itt% as stated that Chef Boy-Ar-Deespaghetti could be prepared andserved in twelve minutes. That wason radio. On television, at the verystart of the program the audience sawthe spaghetti taken from the package,put in a pot, placed on a stove andstarted on its way. During the entirebroadcast, with all the changes ofcamera angles, the pot on the stovewas always in the scene. The climaxwas, toward the close of the program.when at the end of twelve minutes,the spaghetti was served to the par-ticipating studio audience. There was

an integrated commercial that notonly didn't interfere with the rest of

show, but certainly did a betteryelling job than ever could be doneby oratorical radio. That's using yournoodle to sell spaghetti.

Advertisers can afford right now,to get into television through thecommercial picture route and reapdividends at the same time. Ofcourse, no two problems are goingto be alike, some products lend them-selves better to this medium thanothers -- but no matter what theproblem is, there's a solution toN ours. Remember pictures are aINIVERSAL LANGUAGE - every-one understands them.

One Man's Reflections

present engaged in AM or FM sta-tion operation, he must carefully co-ordinate his future television activi-ties with his present broadcastingactivity. to the benefit of each ofthese. Ingenuity in so doing will reapa rich harvest in later profits and inthe avoidance of embarrassing situa-tions. A hundred additional detailsmight be listed, but it is believedthey will be naturally encounteredin carrying out those suggested.

( continued from page 23)

Future DividendsThe prospective television broad-

caster who vigorously and intelli-gently goes to work on his plans im-mediately should be one of theleaders of television in future years.It is clear that an excellent black -and -white television service, fully accept-able to the public on the basis of itscontinuing entertainment value, cannow be established.

The gold in the television hills isnow open for mining.

February, 1946 29

ADVERTISING

DATA presented to the FCC on ad-vertising potentialities for pro-

posed television stations in Washing-ton gave an optimistic, though highlycontradictory picture. With the ex-ception of Bamberger who planned a100',4 sustaining program the firstNear, and the Evening Star. who de-clined to make any premature predic-tions, all applicants ventured somefigures on the estimated D. C. adrevenue.

Philco's programming set-up wasbased on 60% commercial, with 40'/,sustaining, although no estimates of

Capital suggests $100, DuMont $360 for hourly teletime rate . . . NBC and BBD&O join forces . . .

revenue or definite charges for teletime were indicated. NBC estimatedthe first year's income at $25,972, buthere again there was no breakdownas to percentage of commercial pro-gramming or specific air rates. Thisfigure can be assumed to include re-hearsal and production charges. salesof package shows, etc.. and not neces-sarily income from sale of time alone.

Most interesting comparison, how-ever. was the proposed DuMont rateof $180 per half hour for the firstyear I8360 an hour), as against Cap-ital's estimate of approximately 5100

The Valley- Belle SHOWBOATat DOG ISIFIDD LOODIDG

Wont "CAVALCADE or ARUM"

"Children of Or mart River"featuring THE FOUR BRYANTS in that

STUPENDOUS PRODUCTION

and as anEXTRA ATTRACTION

"Ten Nightsin a Barroom"

POLITE VAUDEVILLEBETWEEN THE ACTS

CIIT OF COOCTZlig[Alban Cornell io jert.. Tony Blear er Pa II,.Buddy Pepper ., Bdly arras Ede Ileinernrrn a; 137.1Mary Scott 4.1 Fir Br,. W. O. MacWanen u C.. 17.

also

Oryant'd Old time /WWIIunto. ...a spasztr 1114ruth...

featuringTom Fletcher's Q1411elt Al..Tbe 5.0 Trio

Waller', Odd

DON'T MISS ITTIT

WNI3T NEW YORK CHANNEL NO. 13 SHOWINGai

Wednesdag, :January 30th at 4 p.m. and 8 p. m.

Suntin, Febttuam 3441 at 8 p. m.

"Children of Ol Ma. Riser" p eeeee ted on Du Pont's ''CAVALCADE OF AMERICA"on Monday Elwin,. Fshroory 1th at 8 p. ns. - Tuna to MEM* 660 on your dial.

'1Vi)O 1I

an hour. Figuring on about 14 hours ofcommercial time, Capital estimates ayearly revenue of about $170,000 (notincluding rehearsal charges), whileDuMont, planning on 131/2 hours ofcommercial time and with rehearsalcosts pegged at $50 an hour, expectsa take of $244,465. With the expectedincrease in the number of sets. Du -Mont plans a corresponding ratejump to $297 a half hour for the sec-ond year. Based on about 241 hourscommercial out of 31 hours program.ming, this would total 8614.732.36.

Leonard Cramer, vice president ofDuMont, presented a very comprehensive analysis of the Washingtonad market. In basing the proposed ad-vertising rate on the number of view-ers per home, he projected a total of15.075 homes equipped with televi-sion by the end of the first year, with33,075 at the end of the second year.Estimating eight viewers to one re-ceiver, the total audience would con-sist of 120,600 persons the first yearand with six viewers to a set the secondNear would total 198,450.

To determine the per viewer charge,they averaged a cost falling betweenradio and magazine display adver-tising which amounts to .003 perviewer per half hour. In computingthe final tele time charge, it wasassumed that their Washington sta-tion could attract 50% of the audi-ence.

While typical viewing habits can-not be determined yet, Cramer point-ed out that it can be safely assumedthat there will be small daytime audi-ences. This factor, combined with alimited number of stations, may easilyresult in more advertisers than airtime. To protect the local and smallnational advertisers, joint sponsor.ship programs must be set up. Du -

Mont offered the following sampleformat as a tele substitution for thespot commercials on radio.

In keeping with their campaign to ex-cite the public about the possibilitiesof tele progranuning, NBC ran the adat the left in the Sunday editions ofthe New York Daily News, HeraldTribune and New York Times. Idea isto interest people who do not have tele-vision sets and to start building a fol-lowing now for the time when they willbe available. Ad size was 1.000 lines.

30 Television

Program would consist of a num-ber of variety acts and an emcee whowould act as coordinator. Commer-cials would be integrated by havinga window dresser in the backgroundbuilding a display. At the end of eachact. the emcee would go over, criti-cize the display, which he never likes,while the window dresser explains theproduct in the ensuing give and takepatter. Same thing starts all over witha different product each time. Thu,the program keeps its continuity withno obvious breaks for commercials,which DuMont policy favors.

STATION ACTIVITIESDuMont, New York, has estab-

lished tentative schedule of rates forair time. and use of the studios inthe Wanamaker store. The scheduleof rates is as follows:

One-half hour of rehearsal timeStudio A 565.00

One-half hour of rehearsal timeStudio C S'50.00

One-half hour of rehearsal time._Studio D s-10.00

One-half hour of air time foreach studio $180.00

W BK B's policy governing com-mercial shows over its facilities areplanned on the basis of a 13 -weekseries. For new shows without an es-

format a minimum rehearsalratio of 14 to 1 is set. Station is infavor of an established format be-cause. besides effecting a saving inrehearsal time. the advertiser can bet-ter evaluate the effect of his adver-tising through repetition of the sametheme in a weekly series.

Advertisers may package the com-plete program, and bring it to thestation as a unit. since there is. atpresent, no charge for studio use orair time. On the other hand, adver-tisers may have the entire show pro-duced by the station. In either casethe station feels that the final phase ofproduction should be in the hands ofa staff director.

According to Captain Eddy, televi-sion director of the station, too manyadvertisers prefer a short commer-cial spot. He believes that the 20 or40 second announcement is not suit-able for television. He prefers a longercommercial with no time limit if it iswoven into the entertainment. Whenthis is done with sufficient skill hesees no reason for limiting the lengthof the sponsor's message.

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIESInteresting stunt was the "Caval-

cade of America" televersion of theDuPont radio show over WNBT. Pre-

ed over television before its radiodebut, show used the two -barreledpromotional punch of adapting radioshows to television and also openedup the possibilities of using video inmuch the same v% as as movie trailersare used now.

But even more important from thepromotional angle on the network'sside was the practical demonstrationof amicable agency and network re-lations. Despite the conflict betweenagencies and networks over who willhave the final say-so on the produc-tion of the show, this 50 -minute pro-gram was NBC's baby, with theirtelevision department handling everydetail from script adaptation right ondown the line. Tying in with theircampaign to get the public television -conscious, 1,000 -line ads were run inthe Sunday Times. Herald Tribuneand the Daily News. BBD&O was theagency.

Based on the autobiography ofBilly Bryant, famed Mississippi Rivershowboat man, "Children of 01' ManRiver" was exceptionally well done.

Theme was a good framework forknitting a variety of entertainmentfeatures into a unified whole. Againstthe personal life of the Bryants aboardthe showboat "Valley Bell." the manyacts which the family troupe madefamous were performed. Renditionsincluded tap dancing, singing, andgay 90 versions of the old tear-jerkers

MILLIONS OF FEET OF FILMOn Call from the Largest Stock Shot LibraryFILMS FOR TELEVISION . . . scenes of every description .. . backgrounds . . .

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1600 BROADWAYNEW YORK 19, N.y

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(,1 YOU NAME IT-WE HAVE IT

February, 1946

Industry

StatusTHERE are more than

150 applicants fortelevision stations at thepresent time. Receiverdeliveries will start thisJune and more than 20transmitters will be deliv-ered in 1946.

The television industryis, at last, under way.How it will affect yourposition will be impos-sible to answer at thistime. We think you willagree though that it is im-portant for you to keepposted on television now.

Every month TELE-VISION Magazine reportson all significant develop-ments in the industry,whether it be:

ADVERTISING

STATION

OPERATION

PROGRAMMING

EQUIPMENT

NEWS

FCC ACTIONS, ETC.

Keep up with televisionby reading TELEVISION.

Rates

83.00 each 5 to 10

82.50 each . .10 or more

83.50 for one year

85.50 for two years

TELEVISION Magazine,600 Madison Avenue,

New York 22

31

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Ten Nightsin a Barroom." Particularly good en-tertainment was the harmonica trioand the singing octette. Grand finale,which on the personal side was reachedwhen the Bryants finally made Broad;way, was the minstrel show.

Camera shooting made the most ofevery scene and close-up shots wereextremely well handled with no dis-

tortion. Of course, due to the Petrilloban. recordings were used for themusical accompaniments. These ef-fects were well dubbed in and thevocal synchronization on the part ofthe singers well handled.

Staging effects were excellent, withseven scenes being used. Although it'sthe show that counts, and home view-ers will not be expected to make al -

Fair Department Store experiments with video over WBKB stresses merchandisefacts, although using a dramatized format. Scene above uses a display setting todemonstrate a sun -lamp. In the scene below, a commentator off -set describes themerchandise as salesman indicates the details. The man at the left is not in thecamera range, as he is shown later in a separate scene. This set-up shows howspace can he utilized to provide quick camera switching from scene to scene.

lowance for studio limitations, it wasamazing how in the cramped facilitiesat WNBT, such an elaborate produc-tion could have been so well staged.Which points well for the future oftele when such limiting factors nolonger exist. Film clips showing theshow boat on the river gave the neces-sary sense of authenticity to the pro-duction, and the clever use of theseclips, together with the hand bills ofdifferent performances denoted thepassage of time.

Commercial was limited to the Du-Pont trademark, and off -screen an-nouncement of the DuPont slogan atthe beginning and end of the program.

N. W. Ayer has signed a 26 -weekcontract with WABD on behalf ofWaltham Watch Co. for the 9 P.M.time spot, according to Don McClure,tele director at the agency.

Biow Co., Inc. has increased theBulova Watch time signals overWNBT. Formerly given at the open-ing and closing spots on Monday andThursday, schedule has been extendedto Saturday nights. When sports pro-grams are televised, three time sig-nals will be given. Number will belimited to two for other programs.Contract is for twenty-six weeks andcommercial includes both film andanimation. Agency is Biow Co., Inc.

William Esty is experimenting,under the direction of Kendall Foster,with the possibilities of 16min filmsfor tele. They are seeking an enter-taining presentation that will embracevariety, short comedy and "How -to-do -its" for their potential televisionclients.

The Fair Store over WBKB, Chi-cago, has been continuing their ex-periments with a weekly programcalled "Let's Go Teleshopping." For-mat features commercial presentationwrapped in a story.

One program was built around thewell-known trials of a male shopperwith a huge gift list. His difficultieswere solved when the store's personalshopper quickly, and interestinglypresented a string of live models whofeatured fashions, perfumes and othergift possibilities. The touch through.out was kept light but informative,with clear statements about prices forall merchandise. The audience was in-vited to order over the telephone.

No mention is made of departmentlocations, since they feel that mostteleshopping will be done via the tel-ephone. In an attempt to conform tothe desires of the Chicago viewingaudience, the Fair is planning theaddition of programs other than thosedealing with direct merchandising tie-ups. They have scheduled MoultonKelsey, news commentator, for anearly appearance.

32 Television

thratif & Ryan, over WBKB,Chicago, presented a program forAcrobatic Shoes designed to appealto children. The show was viewed byclasses in the two schools equippedfor television. while one class saw theprogram at Marshall Field & Co. (theChicago outlet for Acrobatic Shoes).Kids' reactions are now tested andcorrelated to form the basis for futureplanning in presentations to youth.

Alfred J. Silberstein -Bert Gold-smith, Inc. has renewed the Botanycontract over WNBT for anothertwenty-six weeks. As before, the com-mercial will be cartoons on soundfilms.

J. Walter Thompson presentedover WRGB for Pond's a show de-signed to catch the attention of thejunior miss. Under the direction ofthe well-known beauty consultant andlecturer, Mary Stuyvesant, local highschool girls, demonstrated how to heattractive and charming. The teen-agers were analyzed as to face. figure,clothes, posture, manners, hair, andmake-up. Right and wrong were indi-cated by using the participants as ex-amples. Opening shot was a blow-upof the Pond's label, which was ex-posed for five seconds, after whichmention of sponsor was kept to aminimum, with only a one sentenceverbal plug during a demonstrationof make-up removal. Commercial wasgained mainly by keeping the spon-sor's product on a dressing tablethroughout the show. Length of pro-gram was 20 minutes, which NormanRosen, agency's television director,decided was a good length to sustaininterest throughout.

CURRENT SPONSORSWNBT :\ et York:

Botany \\ ,)rsted Mills, weather re-ports through Alfred J. Silberstein -Bert Goldsmith Inc.; Bulova WatchCo., N. Y., time signals through theBiow Co., N. Y.; Elgin Watch Co.,time signals through J. Walter Thomp-son Co.. N. Y.; Esso Marketers, Vic-tory Parade through Marshalk &Pratt Co.; Gillette Safety Razor Co.,Boston, "The Cavalcade of Sports,"remote boxing matches through Ma-zon, Inc., Detroit; RCA Victor Divi-sion of RCA, N. Y., "The World inYour Home," film program throughJ. Walter Thompson Co., N. Y.; Wal-tham Watch Co., Waltham, Mass.,film and time through N. W. Ayer &Son, Inc., N. Y.WCBW (CBS), New York:

Elgin Watch Co., time signalsthrough J. Walter Thompson Co.WBKB (Balaban & Katz),Chicago:

Commonwealth Edison, "Telequizi-

February, 1946

Scene above is fr the Pond's cosmetic program presented over WEIGH byJ. Walter Thompson Make-up appropriate for teen-agers and tips on how toapply it were gi.ro Iy Mary Stuyvesant, above, center. beauty expert, during atelevised program on charm and personality for the high school crowd. Program,fashioned after a beauty clinic, used six high school girls with individual prob-lems of grooming. Demonstration included proper hair styling, correct postureand carefully applied make-up to highlight each girl's best features. Scene belowis f the Cavalcade of America program, "Children of Old Man River," pro-duced by WNBT for Dul'ont and B.B.D.&O. Colorful showboat story had a castof twenty people and used seven sets. Good camera shooting gave the effect ofspace and crowd scenes. as shown below, even though limited in studio space.

cals." direct; Fair Department Store."Let's Go Teleshopping," direct; andSchwartz Radio and Television Co.,Chicago. "Magic from Aladdin'sLamp," series of magic shows, direct.

WRGB (General Electric),Schenectady:

Pond's Cosmetic Program, throughJ. Walter Thompson.

Both WPTZ, Philco, Philadelphia,and W6XYZ, Television Productions,Hollywood, were off the air duringJanuary and February to make thenecessary channel changes. WABD,DuMont. New York, off the air sinceSeptember 20th, have many agencycontracts rived up although no defi-nite date for scheduling programs hasvet been set.

33

PROGRAMMING

BALLET

WCBW's current series of balletand modern interpretative dance pro-grams have hit some high peaks intele techniques, due to their expertdirection and their excellent chore-ography. In fact, this form of enter-tainment often gains through televi-sion screening for good camerashooting utilizing dissolves, sharpangle changes and superimpositioncan give greater dramatic impact toa sequence - interest -adding trickswhich a studio audience misses.

Primary rule in planning a pro-gram of this kind, according to PaulBelanger, CBS dance director, is forthe choreographer to work with thedirector in planning the entire show.They can then incorporate in the sug-gestion of plastic images she is cre-ating in her dance, some turns whichcan be pointed up by dollying in forclose-ups, be dramatized by super-imposition, or be emphasized by dis-solves, long shots, etc.

Next step is for the director to bethoroughly familiar with the musicalparts, and to cue his camera shootingto emphasize the musical ideas whichare carried out by the dancer. Theremust be a constant adjustment of thecamera angle to the dance. If thedancer is doing a turn, and the musichas a turn written into it. it can bepointed up by a pictorial shot withthe cameras cutting in or dissolvingfor a better picture. Where highpoints are hit, emphasis can be giventhrough dissolves and sharp angle

34

Superimposition tricks add punch to tele ballet . . .

list of regular features growing .. . amateur groups.

changes. If there are lots of nervousjumps, they can be intensified bycutting from camera to camera. Intele shooting, cuts mean jolts forthere's a split second of blackness,practically indiscernible to theviewer, which serves to emphasizethe quickened tempo of dancer andmusic.

Picture composition has been par-ticularly good in these series,achieved mainly through the cleveruse of superimposition. To obtainthese effects, Mr. Belanger uses onecamera to catch all the basic dancing,with the second camera free to rovearound and pick out good shots. Acloseup lens on camera two picks upthe details and adds to the clarity ofthe image.

Third most important factor is forthe dancers to know the exact angleat which the camera is focused everymoment. From the first rehearsal, thedirector must call out the cameracues to the dancers so they can mem-orize all camera action. Only by do-ing this, can they stay in camerafocus and time their dance for mo-mentary pauses to give the camera-men time to move in. Rehearsals onthe fifteen minute ballet programstake from four to five hours.

Typical of these programs were"Summer Time" and "'Tain't Neces-sarily So," with choreography byPauline Kroner. "Summer Time"proved so popular that it was re-peated twice over the station. (The

accompanying pictures and illustra-tions describe the techniques used.)

"'Tain't Necessarily So" was an-other deft blending of excellentchoreography and expert direction.Highly developed camera techniquesof cutting in and superimpositionheightened the effects for the tele-viewers.

Interweaving of art and dramaticnarration gave a novel touch to%% hat would otherwise have been astraight ballet program. Theme cen-tered around three types of love-that of a young girl in spring; theolder women who realizes that to-day's pleasures may well be tomor-row's sorrows and the jitterbuggroup, which was broken down intofour parts. Show opened with anartist sketching a young girl on apark bench, as the narrator explainedthe motif. then cameras dissolved tothe girl. Ballet was done to "It MayAs Well Be Spring," with most ofthe dance interpretation done on thebench. Camera concentrated mostlyon close-ups as much of the motionwas done with the head and shoul-ders. However quick cut -ins pickedup the full length view when needed.

Camera cut back to the drawingboard with the sketch of the olderwoman dissolving into a superimposi-tion of the living model over thedrawing. This number was extremelywell handled, with a narration ofKorngold's "Love Song" cued in toemphasize the tempo of the music

The gyrid. - of the animals in rhythm with the music were superimposed against theslide as it slowly passed in front of the bellopticon. This was part of the visual treat-ment given to "Variations on a Nursery Tune," an abstract music program over WCBW.

Television

and the dance. Most effective shotwas the whirling dancer, coming infrom the far corner of the set. asthe camera dollied in to meet her,winding up in a close-up shot. Tocue the cameraman, the directorcounted the musical tempo as thecamera moved in.

Jitterbug number had four inter-pretations - all done by the samegirl who changed expression andrhymthic interpretations to suit eachcharacter. Flashbacks to the artistand the superimposition of the dan-cer over each sketch were used forchange of pace between the fournumbers, titled "Susan's A Bit Shy";"Jean Shakes Her Hair": "Betty andHarold Close Their Eyes"; and "JillJ ives."

ABSTRACT MUSIC

1.1;\\ *:-.; "Variations on a Nur-sery Tune" was another in theirseries of abstract music programs.Idea in hack of all these programs isto interpret nusic into visual termsand to achieve an approximate syn-chronization of the images to thescore. Main emphasis is given totranslating the tempo of the music,not the meaning.

Done to the tune of "I3aa, Baa,Black Sheep." show opened witha superimposed shot of a little girlplaying a toy xylophone. Musicalscore was then picked up by a record-ing and visual interpretation wasgiven by means of to% trumpets, ele-phants, giraffes. balls. moldiers, can-nons, soldier hats, chickens, etc. Insome sequences, the turn -table re-volved with the individual cut-outs,moving in tempo with the music,superimposed. In others. sketches ofthe animals were moved through theBelloptican slide, with quick super-imposition of the cut-outs made. Butparticularly effective was the "ghost'effect of the cut-outs gyrating aroundin a black void.

Technical effects here were par-ticularly interesting. For the firsttime, director Belanger. tried the"ghost" effect. The turn -table wascovered with black cardboard. Theworking area for the operator waserected at right angles to the tabletop with space cut in the form of across for the operator, who woreblack gloves and judge's robes. Blackbackground was put around theworking area and the cut-outs weremounted on black cardboard so nolight could get through.

Designs in the series are done byGeorg Olden.

February, 1946

"tiunimert' an originalballet based on the musicfr 1.4.rshwin's Porgy andBe gave viewers an oppor-tunity to see the possibilitiesof television ballet. which to

appeared better thanregular stage present: l .

Upper photo ra

tting character.whilethe others remain in clearfocus. creating a superinpo-sit' not possible in a morelimited medium. Other photosde stride the possibilitiesof sudden camera angling re-sulting in better a VW;

35

Action got pretty rough in "The First Year" with the hero -husband and jiltedswain coming to blows. Picture above shows the start of the fisticuffs, whichfinally ended with the wife -tossed vase knocking the husband out by mistake.This was another in WNBT Sunday night series of full length plays.

Here's the "love interest" in "Johnny Came Home," presented over W6XAO.Shallow side flats were used in constructing this corner of the living room set.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATIONABC recently began two new series

on WRGB. "Play the Game" has anextremely informal atmosphere, be-ing played as a house party, and isbased on a charade format. Viewerparticipation and interest is securedby sending special cards out topeople with the advance programnotice explaining the program andasking them to send in charades. Theprogram features "name" stars, witheach guest given a problem to act

36

out. If the other participants guessthe answer, the person sending it ingets $1.00; if no one guesses it, theaward is boosted to $5.00. The pro-gram is unrehearsed, except forcamera positions. On the half hourprogram, there's time for five or sixstunts.

ABC has given a new twist to thefamiliar quiz format with "TopsyTurvy." now being presented overWRGB. Keynote is set with the open-ing -a 16mm. film strip run upside

down with the title superimposed overit. Opening remark is "Good night,"which of course is corrected and tiedin with the topsy turvy theme.Further emphasis is given with par-odies on the titles of different shows.such as "Ladies Be Seated" twistedinto "Gentlemen Stay Standing";"King for a Day" into "Queen for aNight," etc. Two characters, Topsyand Turvy, together with the emcee,keep the local contestants toeing theline.

AMATEUR ANDPROFESSIONAL GROUPS

W6XAO has worked closely withvarious amateur and educationalgroups in their area, chief amongthem being army hospitals, the Pasa-dena Playhouse and the University ofCalifornia. This cooperative attitudeon their part in the exchange of in-formation on tele techniques has re-sulted in some first class amateurshows being televised over the station.

Particularly interesting is the re-cent presentation of the Universityof California's extension division.This group has been studying teletechniques, with particular emphasison script writing. Top three scriptswere submitted to Harry Lubcke,television director at the station, and"Mother Be Good," a one actcomedy, was selected for presenta-tion. The cast was made up of mem-bers of the group.

Clever production technique wasthe blending of a film sequence show-ing an exterior scene with a regularlive interior shot in the studio. Thisfilm sequence was made by othermembers of the group using the sameplayers as appeared in the live per-formance.

Story centered around a girl whowas afraid that her returning soldiersweetheart might not approve of hermother's modern ways. Comedy notewas introduced by a "put up job" onthe mother's part, resulting in the twobecoming good friends and girlgetting boy.

W6XAO also presented "JohnnyCame Home," a comedy playlet onthe ex -GI who comes marching hometo find that life in the old hometown doesn't quite come up to hisfoxhole dreams of it. This programwas another in the series which thegroup from the Pasadena CommunityPlayhouse has presented over thisstation.

WBKB's presentation of "Walkwith Me" was presented under theauspices of Stage for Action, anation-wide dramatic group com-prised of leading actors, writers andproducers in all phases of the theatre.Dealing with the problems of the re -

Television

turned veteran, it was adapted fromthe radio drama, first presented onCBS' "Assignment Home" series.

REGULAR FEATURES

WBKB's current series, "TheSporting Scene" features Joe Wilson,the station's sport announcer. Differ-ent phases of the sports picture arecovered, with guest stars invited toenact various events, such as thevarsity teams of Northwestern andDe Paul Universities who demon-strated proper cage techniques. Thehistory of basketball was depictedthrough dissolves showing kids play-ing earlier versions of the game. Sta-tion reports enthusiastic fan mailfrom the Chicago viewers.

WCBW tested another experimen-tal format with their new series, "YouBe The Judge." Based on famous law-suits of the past, scene is set in acourtroom with three judges fromthe studio selected to preside over thetrail. Two lawyers represent the plain-tiff and the defendant, with profes-sional talent used to enact the otherroles. Opening program made astrong bid for viewer interest, withEdward Stasheff, as clerk of thecourt, addressing the home audiencedirectly, explaining the set-up andinviting them to make their decision

along with the judges. The studiojudge who comes closest to the orig-inal court decision receives a $25victory bond as prize. First caseselected to be televised was based ona court fight to determine who owneda pearl found in an oyster - therestaurant owner, the host at thedinner, the girl who ordered the cock-tail, or the person who found it.Problem was a good choice becauseit was so far removed from the moreobvious legal cases, and sustainedviewer interest until the decision wasgiven.

WNBT's current series. "In TownToday," is based on an informal in-terview format. Typical of the guestswho have appeared before the mikeare members of a USO entertainmentgroup, who did their specialties ofdancing, singing and drawing. Anarmy general described the surrenderof 80,000 Germans and narrated thefilms which he took of that defeat.Particularly good dovetaling werethe sequences from "Diary of a Sar-geant," which led into an interviewwith a soldier who had lost bothhands. Scene cut from the film tothe veteran in the studio, who dem-onstrated his manual dexterity.

Capitalizing on the sensational an-nouncement that the moon had beencontacted with radar signals. WNBT

brought the five scientists responsllefor the amazing feat before tele-viewers. The men discussed theirwork on the project, using films andslides to show how it was accomp-lished.

WCBW's weekly series, "Draw MeAnother," has developed into an en-tertaining. interest hording spot, fea-turing as it does "name cartoonists"

ho do their stuff for the videoviewers. Production technique is wellworked out, with the cameras movingin for a close-up of the artist's handsat work - and to people who haveno skill along these lines, their per-formance holds a fascination. Formatitself is well integrated and smoothlypaced. Typical example includes awell known cartoonist as emcee, andtwo guests, shown at their drawinghoards. Interview patter gives theirbackground with samples of theircartoons shown for visual interest.Each cartoonist demonstrates how hegets his inspiration and how hestarts to work. Here the cameramoves in for a close-up.

Typical wind-up is a stunt, withthe audience shown a cartoon in aweekly magazine and the artists toldthe caption only and asked to drawwhatever it suggests to them. Camerasgo from one drawing board to an -

Left: Johnny sheds his uniform in "Johnny Came Home," the comedy playlet on an ex -GI, presented bythe Pasadena Community Playhouse over W6XAO. Bight: Town Crier opens up the "Town Hall of theAir" program, in a simultaneous radio and televiqi on broadcast by ABC over WRGB in Schenectady.

February, 194637

other, and the audience is then shownthe three different ideas developedfrom the same suggestion. Whilethere's no commercial tie-in, showingof the magazine and the mention ofits name does make a good commer-cial of the integrated type and showsthe pos-ibilities that even such alimited time plug would have overvideo.

RADIO ADAPTATIONSABC. continuing their experiments

with the adaptation of radio pro-grams to television, gave a video ver-sion of "Town Hall of the Air,"simultaneously with the broadcast ofthe program. Its high audience in-terest for air listeners is the heatedarguments in which the participants

avoid blurring or off -focus angleshots as speakers were introduced bythe moderator, audience was pickedup until speaker was in place beforethe mike. This was a one-time shot bythe network over WRGB. The showis slated to be repeated again, as astraight tele program.

WBKB also presented a video ver-sion of "Meet the Stars," an NBCradio show. Special stud.° audience,composed mostly of middle-agedhousewives, met the guest star andexchanged a lot of easy chatter withthe emcee.

VARIETY

W6XAO spiced their "Round theA orld" variety show, a program ofsongs. folklore and dances, with an

Emcee of "Topsy 'fumy." an product' over RGB, lives up to the titleof the show by having husband and wife don the wrong nightshift. attire. Asthis is an audience participat show, audience is placed within ca .ra range.

become involved -a factor whichwas intensified over television, as thefour speakers grabbed for the mikein an effort to expound their particu-lar theories. Each of the panel offour spoke for five minutes on thesubject, with rebuttals entirely ex-temporaneous. Video version was re-hearsed beforehand with a dummycast in order to get camera positionsand to make for a smoothly pro-duced show. Three cameras wereused. One camera was trained on theaudience to pick up their reaction.two cameras on the speakers to getdifferent angle shots, and to maintaingood pace and interest. In order to

international flavor. III the line-upwas a South American dancer; foursmall Chinese girls who sang Englishtranslations of the "Purple BambooLullabye," with the American touchadded by a collegiate chorus. Polandwas colorfully represented by a groupof dancers in native costumes. Inter-est was given to an Old Russian fairy-tale by having the narrator dressedin an authentic 17th Century Russiancostume.

WBKB brought night-club ventrilo-quist Bob McElroy before theircameras with his two "LoquaciousLilliputians," Lord Cecil P. Dilling-water and Shorty Long. . . . Also

on the video bill was the card manipu-lation of Mel Cardo. Card tricks andpalming sleight of hand can be wellhighlighted by close-up shots and thequality of magic holds interest.

DRAMAA 's presentation of "The First

1 ear," adapted from the Broadwaystage hit of the 20's, was another intheir series of full length productions,%%ith a running time of one hour andtwenty minutes. Program was con-tinuous with intermissions, whichcharacterized their earlier tries alongthis line, omitted. Staging problemswere simplified with only two livingroom sets required. Change of sceneand time element was neatly handledby using film clips, showing the fourseasons, as a bridge. Comedy con-cerned a young couple and the trialsand tribulations of their first year.Lines were, for the most part, veryamusing and well acted out.

Biggest flaw was in the cameraaction and the composition. Thecameras came in for too many close-ups on the person who was speaking,with just the arms of the othersshowing. This is bad in any scene,but with the speeches aimed at con-vincing the silent party, audienceinterest was more centered in seeingthe effect it was having, not on thespeech itself. And a sleeve shows noexpression! Seating arrangementswere also bad, with backs to thecamera where it could have beenavoided. Close-ups were very close -with the resultant distortion. (In factthe beads of perspiration could beseen rolling down the hero's face andthe front of his shirt was dark withthe sweat he worked up under thelights -a distracting factor to homeviewers. )

WNBT's production of "AngelStreet," given a cast of Broadwaytalent and good direction, resulted inan excellent video translation of thescript which had previously beenproduced on Broadway and in themovies. Based on a psychologicalmurder theme. the drama built to agripping climax. Interesting here wasthe camera action which closely fol-lowed the mood of the script. Longshots and medium close-ups were usedin the beginning of the play, but asthe emotional pitch mounted, drama-tic close-ups heightened the tension.The 19th century set gave authen-ticity to the period character of theshow and added to the mood interest.

One incongruous note was thequartette singing songs of that erawhich was used as the opening andclosing devices. Evidently meant tokey the audience to the period, it didnot seem to fit in with the serioustheme of the play.

38Television

EQUIPMENT

IRE CONVENTION1)1 \Ying host to capacity crowds,I the Institute of Radio Engineersonvention (held January 23rd to

26th), featured nine papers in thetelevision seminar.

CBS PapersSpearheaded by Dr. Peter C. Gold -

mark, television director of CBS, fivepapers on the ramifications of televi-sion transmission in the ultra -highfrequencies were presented by Co-lumbia Broadcasting System's engi-neers.

According to Dr. Goldmark, initialtests with the recently installed ultrahigh frequency television transmitter,built for CBS by Federal Telephoneand Radio Corporation, have beensuccessful in the transmission of wideband tele in the uhf range, usingequipment and power suitable forcommercial operation. The bandwidth of the picture signal is ten mil-lion cycles per second. CBS designedand built the receivers used in thetest.

The transmitter. weighing 12,000pounds, is contained in ten standardcabinets and is operated from a cen-tral control desk. New high powertubes, employing a water cooled de-sign, are used. Power supply for allthe units is contained in the cabinets.Both the sound and visual programare sent over the same transmittersimultaneously.

Dr. Goldmark further stated thatwith this transmitter, less than 1/5the power is needed to send out apicture signal equal to the mostpowerful television transmitter nowoperating in New York. When theinstallation of new antennas is com-pleted. this radiated signal will beincreased to five times its presentpower.

Ghosting and reflections from highbuildings have also been eliminatedin the uhf band by a simple adjust.able receiving antenna. Interferencefrom automobile ignition. diathermy.etc.. is banished as these cannot pene-trate the ultra high frequencies.

Because of the short wave lengthinvolved - about two feet at the 490mg. frequency - adjustable para-bolic reflectors. about 6' long by 18"wide are used. Due to their focusing

CBS discusses uhf color transmission at IRE . . . RCAdescribes new tube developments . . . new patents.

qualities, unwanted signals arescreened out and only the desiredsignal transmitted, Goldmark ex-plained.

The Design of Camera andStudio Control Equipment for thetransmission of high definition colorand 1029 line black and white imageswas described and illustrated byJames J. Reeves. The conversion ofthe standard 24 frame into the 120cycle rate and the use of color filmpick-ups were the first steps. This wasdone through the synchronization ofa constant slotted disc containing fivelenses, each equipped with a colorfilm. Infra -red, water cooled lightsafeguards the film filters. Slides ofthe equipment, lenses, control panel,total channel, focusing coil aroundthe dissector tube, etc. were shownand their functions explained.

Sight and Sound On OneCarrier was described by KurtSchlesinger. Audio and video multi-plex operation and the various formsof multiplex modulation were out-lined. Transmitter and receiver cir-cuits were illustrated and explainedand results of the recent tests withthe Federal transmitter, which simul-taneously transmits sight and sound,were pointed up.

The New Ultra -high Fre-quency Television Receivers,developed in the Columbia Broad-casting System's laboratories weredescribed by Harold T. Lyman. Stan-dards prescribed were for color telereceivers in the 480 to 920 mg. band,with both low and high power, withsight and sound combined on onecarrier and inexpensive enough to bepractical.One model uses a 10" tube, encased

in a cabinet 25"x23"x26", with a 15°front tilt for easier viewing. Distor-tion is low. Red, green and blue filtersare used and the color disc is en-closed with shock lining. Tubes usedare by General Electric and Sylvania.Synchronization of color disc iseffected by a synchronized motor orwith overdrive and magnetic brake.

In the projection model, the view-ing screen is 151/4x21". Schmidt opti-cal lens system is employed and a 5"cathode ray tube used. Red, greenand blue color discs are used. Tubes

were developed by General Electricand the CBS laboratories.

Ultra High Frequency Televi-sion Transmitters and Antennaswere discussed by Robert Serrel ofCBS. These transmitters embodytubes developed during the war andutilize a 10 mg. modulation band -with. At present a temporary antennacovering a semi -circle in the hori-zontal plane is being used with theFederal Transmitter. However thiswill be replaced with a ray -shapeddesign for the purpose of gaining inthe vertical plane.

Through their tests. CBS has foundthat reflections can be separated anda perfect signal received from reflec-tions which result in a satisfactorypicture. In the uhf range, shadowsare not serious and pictures can bereceived in densely built-up areas.

RCA Papers

RCA technicians took over thesecond half of the session with thepresentation of four papers.

Electrooptical Characteristicsof Television Systems was dis-cussed by 0. Il. Schade of the RCAVictor Division. Premising his re-marks on the fact that the optical andphysiological capabilities of the hu-man eye should be a determiningfactor in performance standards fortelevision systems, good quality, highresolution and no brightness distor-tion are essentials. He pointed outthat color television speeds up thescanning system to where it needstwo to three times as much lightpulse. Thirty to forty-five times thescene illumination is needed to trans-mit color in comparison to blackand white.

Significant value for image detailand contrast, the electrical channelwidth, and signal-to-noise ratios arederived from the threshold visibilityof picture detail and random bright-ness fluctuations.

The optical requirements and proc-esses of developing electrical signalsin television cameras for monochromeor color transmission were also ex-amined to establish relations andcomparative values for signal-to-noiseratios and the required light flux.

February, 1946 39

The Image Orthicon, A Sensi-tive Television Pickup Tube wasexplained in a paper by Albert Rose,P. K. Weimer and H. B. Law, RCALaboratories. This tube, which wasfirst announced to the public lastOctober, can pick up scenes at one -hundredth of the illumination pre-viously required, and operates stablyat all light levels. It is particularlysuited for mobile units, as morelaboratory work is required before itcan be used for studio operation.These features were attained by in-corporating with the orthicon anelectron multiplier, an electron -imagesection and a two-sided target. (Com-plete details on this tube are in No-vember TELEVISION.)

Improved Cathode -Ray Tubeswith Metal -Backed LuminescentScreens were described in a paperby D. W. Epstein and L. Pensak ofRCA Laboratories. Most recent stepfor increasing light output is throughan application of a metallic layer tothe beam side of a fluorescent screen.This method can increase the con-trast by three to ten times. The ma-terial must be thin, smooth, mirror-like and opaque, must be strongenough to withstand the electronbeam, durable for processing of tube.must be inert chemically. Aluminumhas been used most successfully. Testswith such tubes show increased lightoutput, improved contrast, elimina-tion of secondary emission difficulties,and, under appropriate conditions,the elimination of ion spots.

A Kinescope for Home Pro-jection -Type Television Receiverswas described by L. E. Swedlund,RCA Victor Division. The develop-ment of a large size screen for homeviewing presented many problems tobe solved, primarily because of theneed for operating at relatively highvoltage. An 18" x24" size was wantedand there is even the possibility of ablack screen for contrast in a lightedroom. Chief difficulties were encoun-tered in developing new insulationand fluorescent screen principles. Anelectron -transparent, light -reflectingaluminum film applied to the back of

New high power transmitter of com-mercial design, manufactured and in-stalled by Federal Telephone and RadioCorporation, is used in the CBS dem-onstrations of ultra -high frequency,high -definition color television. Spe-cially designed and built by CBS engi-neers for ultra -high frequency opera-tion, this receiver (lower left) has a10 -inch tube, magnified through curva-ture of a glass pane to approximatelythe size of a 12 -inch tube. (Fulldetails of the CBS experiments weredescribed at the IRE convent' , re-ported on page 39.)

40 Television

Professional Directory

RING & CLARKConsulting Radio Engineers

WASHINGTON, D. C.

%lunsey Bldg. Republic 2347

JANSKY & BAILEYAn Organization of

Qualified Radio EngineersDEDICATED TO THE

SERVICE OF BROADCASTINGNational Bldg.. Wash., D. C.

JOHN J. KEEL

CONSULTING RADIO ENGINEERS

Earle Bldg. NATIONAL 6513

Washington 4, D. C.

WELDON & CARRCONSULTING RADIO ENGINEERS

WASHINGTON, D. C.1605 CONNECTICUT AVENUE

PHONE-MICHIGAN 4151

GARO W. RAY


991 Broad Street Bridgeport, Conn.

Phone 5-2055

Frank H. McIntoshConsulting Radio Engineers

710 14th ST., N. W. ME. 4477

Washington, D. C.

COMMERCIAL RADIOEQUIPMENT CO.

Radio Engineering ConsultantComplete engineering sertices forapplicant, owners. and operators 01

AM - FM - and TelevisionBroadcasting Stations

International Mauling. Washington. D. C.

321 E. Gregory Boulevard, Karbas City, MuCross Roads of the World. Hollywood, Calif.

GEORGE C. DAVISConsulting Radio Engineer

Munsey Bldg.

Washington, D. C.

District 8456

DIXIE B. McKEYROBERT C. SHAW

CONSULTINGRADIO ENGINEERS

1108 16th Street, N. W. Suite 405Washington, D. C. NAtional 6982

DR. ALFRED N. GOLDSMITH

CONSULTING ENGINEER

597 Fifth Avenue New York

Phone PLaza 3-4150

McNARY & WRATHALL


National Press Bldg. DI. 1205

Washington, D. C.

WORTHINGTON C. LENT

Consulting Engineers

International Bldg.

1319 F Street, N. W.

Wash., D. C.

District 4127

John Creutz

Consulting Radio Engineer

328 Bond Bldg. REpublie 2151

Washington, D. C.

JOHN BARRONConsulting Radio Engineers

Specializing in Broadcast andAllocation Engineering

Earle Building, Washington 4, D. C.Telephone NAtional 7757

MAURICE T. GROEN

FILM PRODUCTION

CUTTING

10 Rockefeller Plaza

EDITING

SCRIPT WRITING

New York 20, N. Y.

Phone COlumbus 5-6216

the fluorescent screen resulted in anoutstanding gain in light output andperformance. Unfortunately, however,it is very difficult to produce such afilm. While the commercial depart-ment was willing to try it, the manu-facturing department will still haveto solve many problems before it canbe produced.

EXHIBITSAmong the booths at the I.R.E.

winter technical meeting were manyinteresting exhibits devoted to tele-

vision, radio and FM. It is hard todraw a line between these closely al-lied fields, when reviewing the equip-ment on exhibit, and say which isdevoted to television, because they areall contributory. Almost exclusivelydevoted to television were the follow-ing exhibits:

American Telephone and Tele-graph Company's exhibit featureda graphic presentation of the Bell Sys-tem's proposed facilities for televisionnetworks, a large animated map ofthe system's coaxial cable and radio

relay routes in service or under con-struction, and a complete auxiliaryrepeater of the type used on coaxialcable systems.

DuMont had an interesting presen-tation of the different types of tele-vision tubes, ranging in size from 7inches to 15 inches.

General Electric showed a newtelevision camera cable which con-tains all the necessary connectionsbetween camera and controls. Theyalso exhibited several types of tele-vision tubes, most important of which

February, 1946 41

was the 5TP4 Cathode Ray Tube,which is designed to utilize the alu-minum backing of the large sizedscreen receiver.

RCA Victor displayed the newRCA Projection Kinescope, and theImage Orthicon. Also of interest wasthe RCA Antennalyzer, which employs52 electron tubes, and using tnathe-matical principles, produces dial read-ings for the best location of direc-tional radio antenna.

Remington Rand demonstratedthe Vericon television pick-up system,an adoption of the war -born need foran airborne, lightweight, compact.automatic, television system.

Sherron Electronics Companydisplayed the equipment of their sta-tion W2XDK, a shiny, modernistic,and efficiently compact presentationthat is designed to provide flexibility,and economy of operation. Sherrondisplay included television transmit-ter studio control console, mastercontrol board, transmitter controlconsole, audio control console, andtelevision test equipment.

PATENTSVirtually all patents having any-

thing to do with television are nowhandled by examining divisions inWashington. Division 16, whichhandles the great bulk of televisionpatent work, moved back to the Capi-tal City from Richmond last month.Division 7, which handles optics,also returned to Washington.

The return of the electrical divi-sions to Washington is in line withthe promise made by former PatentCommissioner Conway Coe, who saiddivisions concerned generally withsimilar arts would return to Washing-ton in groups. The chemical and elec-trical divisions will be the first suchgroups to leave Richmond.

Emile C. Guedon. of Audubon,N. J., won No. 2.390,216 on appa-ratus for controlling and regulatingthe amount of light which is per-mitted to enter an optical system in-fluencing a television camera tube(application for patent April 27,1944, four claims allowed, assignedto Radio Corporation of America).

The problem of protecting the sen-sitive photo mosaic of the iconoscopeor Orthicon tube has occupied in-ventors in the field of television fora number of years. Under the influ-ence of high intensity light, particu-larly during non -scanning periods,mosaics deteriorate and produce un-satisfactory results.

This patent covers a shutter me-chanism which is normally closed intime periods when scanning opera-tions do not take place. It is com-pletely open during scanning. Pro-vision is made for opening theshutter upon applying voltages tothe camera tube and its control sys-tem. When the camera ceases to oper-ate by virtue of a removal of thepower supply voltages, the shutterdevice closes automatically and thusprecludes all possibility of light fromexternal sources reaching the cameratube. The assembly as a whole oper-ates through magnetic coils, and iscarefully balanced to assure accurateoperation.

Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr., of CedarGrove, N. J. won No. 2,391,090 on adevice for monitoring received tele-vision signals (application for patentJune 21, 1941, two claims allowed,assigned to Allen B. Du Mont Labor-atories, Inc., Passaic, N. J.).

In carrying out this invention, acathode-ray tube is provided for re-ceiving a television picture signal,and a vacuum tube is connected inparallel to it so that a composite

CHARLES DENNYFCC and the industry have been fortunate

in having three well qualified chairmen in atow - James L. Fly, Paul A. Porter, andrecently appointed Charles R. Denny, Jr.Although the industry regretted the resigna-tion of Paul Porter, they can be assured ofanother top chairman in Mr. Denny. CharlesDenny started in government service in 1938

for the Department of Justice and switched over to the FCC in 1942.General counsel of the FCC since October, 1942, 33 year old Denny hadthe sizeable job of representing the legal interest of the FCC before theCongressional committees and supervising Commission work on all prob-lems. such as the chain broadcasting regulations case. Mr. Denny wasappointed commissioner March 30, 1945.

mixture of the incoming picture sig-nal and a local blanking signal canbe monitored on an oscillograph.

An inverted signal is obtainedthrough a one -stage amplifier, andis passed through a direct current in-serter which controls the referencelevel from which modulation occurs.This yields a wave form which isopposite in polarity to the conven-tional wave form. This latter waveform is delivered by means of a con-nection to the grid of the brightcathode-ray tube, thus providing thegrid modulation to this tube for pro-ducing a bright reversed polarity tele-vision picture on the screen.

The direct current inserting diodemaintains a direct current level formaximum white, with means formodulating always toward black fromthis level. The conventional tube witha picture of positive polarity has adirect current inserter for maintain-ing a constant black level with facil-ities for modulating toward the white.

Friedrich Ernst Fischer, Zurich,Switzerland, received Nos. 2,391,450and 2,391,451 on a cathode ray tubesystem hooked to a separate lightsource (application for the formerpatent May 11, 1940, nine claimsallowed, patented in Switzerland Nov.8, 1939; application for the latterpatent June 10, 1941, 13 claims al-lowed, patented in Switzerland June11, 1940).

The cathode ray tube featured inNo. 2,391,450 has at least two ray -deflecting systems and a flat screenwhich is deforinable by static electricforces within successive elementalareas to provide a number of lenssurfaces. This screen has a conduct-ing electrode and a separate lightsource from which light is projected,by lens and mirror systems, to thecathode ray tube and thence throughan objective lens to the projectionscreen. The system as a whole is laidout so that no light from the separatelight source reaches the projectionscreen from raster elements.

Under the second patent. apparatusis provided for producing televisionpictures through a cathode ray tubeand separate light source by meansof a moving liquid film in the pathof the cathode and light rays. Thisfilm may be deformed by the cathoderay into different refracting areas inaccordance with the changing char-acteristics of the cathode ray.

Neither of the Swiss patents wasassigned.

42 Television

WASHINGTON

WITH the Washington hearings destined to set the pat-tern for subsequent actions in other areas, the FCC

has scheduled hearings in April, May and June for elevenmarkets where the number of applicants exceed the chan-nels allocated. There is the possibility, of course, thathearings will be unnecessary in the event of withdrawalsin the less hotly -contested second -string cities.

New York, with seven channels, has twelve applicantsand three licensed commercial television stations-WNBT(NBC), WCBW (CBS), and WABD (Allen B. DuMontLaboratories, Inc.).

Present contenders are American Broadcasting Co.,

Inc.; Bamberger Broadcasting Service, Inc.; BremerBroadcasting Corp. (Newark) ; Debs Memorial RadioFund, Inc.; Palmer K. & Lois C. Leberman; MarcusLoew Booking Agency; News Syndicate Co., Inc.; PhilcoRadio & Television Corp.; Raytheon Manufacturing Co.;Sherron Metallic Corp. (Huntington) ; Twentieth Cen-tury -Fox Film Corp.; Westchester Broadcasting Corp.(White Plains) ; and WLIB, Inc. Metropolitan Television,Inc. withdrew their application in favor of the ultra highfrequencies.

Los Angeles, also with seven channels will have thir-teen contestants in the ring. There are two experimentalstations operating in the area - W6XAO (Don Lee Broad-casting System) and W6XYZ (TelevisionInc.). Other applicants are: American Broadcasting Co.,Inc.; Earl C. Anthony, Inc.; Walt Disney Productions ( Bur-bank) ; Consolidated Broadcasting Corp., Ltd.; Fox WestCoast Theatres; Hughes Productions, Division of HughesTool Co.; Metro -Goldwyn -Mayer Studios, Inc.; NationalBroadcasting Co., Inc.; The Times-Mirror Co.; WarnerBros. Broadcasting Corp.; and Dorothy S. Thackrey.

Philadelphia has ten applicants for its four channels,plus one licensed commercial station - WPTZ (PhilcoRadio & Television Corp.). However. Bamberger has sig-nified their intention of dropping their Philadelphia ap-plication if their request for a Washington station isgranted, which would give a nine to four ratio. Otherapplicants include Wm. Penn Broadcasting Co.; Pennsyl-vania Broadcasting Co.; Philadelphia Daily News, Inc.;The Philadelphia Inquirer; Seaboard Radio BroadcastingCorp.; WCAU Broadcasting Co.; WDAS BroadcastingStation, Inc.; Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc.; WFILBroadcasting Co.

Detroit has five channels and six applications. Theseinclude The Evening News Association; International De-trola Corp.; The Jam Handy Organization, Inc.; KingTrendle Broadcasting Corp.; United Theatres Corp.; andWJR.

San Francisco -Oakland area has seven claimants forits six channels. (See "Television Outlook in San Fran-cisco," page 13.)

Pittsburgh will have to choose four out of the follow-ing five applications - Allegheny Broadcasting Corp.;Allen B. DuMont Lab., Inc.; Scripps -Howard Radio, Inc.;WCAE, Inc.: and Westinghouse Radio Stations. Inc.

Cleveland has a total of five channels with six appli-cants lined up. Allen B. DuMont Lab., Inc.; National

Tele hearings planned for eleven cities .. . two newcommercial applications filed for California.

Broadcasting Co., Inc.; Scripps -Howard Radio, Inc.;United Broadcasting Co.; WGAR Broadcasting Co.; andWJW, Inc. are all in the line-up.

Baltimore's three channels have four takers - HearstRadio, Inc.; Maryland Broadcasting Co.: The TowerRealty Co.; Jos. M. Zamoiski Co.

Providence has the Outlet Co. and The Yankee Net-work, Inc. vying for their one channel.

Harrisburg is in the same position with WHP, Inc.and Keystone Broadcasting Corp. angling for its solechannel.

Lancaster, with one community channel, has two ap-plicants - Lancaster Television Corp. and WGAL, Inc.

NEW APPLICATIONSTwo applications for commercial stations and one for

an experimental station were filed with the FCC last month.Commercial interest was shown by Dorothy Thackreywith her applications for stations in Los Angeles andSan Francisco. (Full data on San Francisco application.page 14.1

LOS ANGELESDorothy S. ThackreyAddress -75 West Street, New York, N. Y.OfficerDorothy Thackrey, President and DirectorEstimated Costs

1. Vis. transmitter 8128,5002. Aural transmitter plus tubes 64,4003. Antenna System 28,0004. Studio Equipment 55,0005. Studio Lighting 7,0006. F & M Monitors 5007. Land 16,0008. Building 25,0009. Other item 38,000

Estimated Total Costs $387,400Equipment-RCAEstimated Operating Cost per month-$25.000 (based on

28 hours weekly)Channel-#5Kilocycles -76-82ESR-11,365Antenna-Los Angeles County

Height, sea level -5800Height, ground level -150 feet

Transmitter location-Mount Wilson, Los Angeles CountyPower, aural and visual -5 kw.Population -3,218,100Size of area -11,700 sq. mi.Location of Studio-Los Angeles CountyEngineering Consultant-Lohnes & Culver. Washington,

D. C.Lawyers-Leo Rosen and Elliot Ruskin of Greenbaum,

Wolff & Ernst.Misc.-Newspaper publisher for past 6 years, publisher

of New York Post and Paris Post. October ,1944bought WLIB, New York City, and in October, 1945.KYA, San Francisco; has applied for purchase

February, 1946 43

KMTR, Hollywood; FM applications in New YorkCity, Los Angeles and San Francisco; has also ap-plied for TV in New York City. Husband, TheodoreThackrey, Editor and President, New York Post;President of WLIB.

EXPERIMENTALKansas State College of Agricultureand Applied ScienceAddress-Manhattan, KansasOfficers-Milton S. Eisenhower, PresidentChannel-#1Kilocycles -4450, also, 500-510 mc; 900-910 mc.Antenna

Height, ground level -100 feetTransmitter location-College CampusPower, aural & visual -200 w-aural; 100 w, visual peak

400 w, visualMisc.:-Owns KSAC, Manhattan. College operated

W9XAK, an experimental tele station from 1932 toPearl Harbor; then permitted license to lapse. This isa new application for the same operation. Studio equip-ment on hand. College has authorized $7,500 for a year.

Problems Encountered In RemodelingDuMont Studios (continued from page 16)

thought out touch. These rooms are provided with inter-communicating systems for quick "calls."

Second FloorThe second floor is cleverly laid out to provide an invit-

ing entrance through Wanamaker's Radio and TelevisionDepartment, which is a good merchandising tie-in for thestore.

Audience seating arrangements are being installed forthe comfort of about six hundred people. That this audi-ence will not lose the complete video and audio produc-tion as it is presented to the home viewer, eight "jeeps'.will be mounted in strategic places. This method will per-mit spectators at the studio a view of titles, camera effects,films, and background material, which would otherwiseescape their attention.

Another portion of this floor is given over to the impor-tant Projection Room, which measures roughly 20 by 30feet. This room had to conform to the requisites of theAdministrative Building Code of New York (Section C26,760). This section is only applicable to the showing of35mm film, which will in all probability be widely em-ployed in tele showings. Adjacent to this is the RewindRoom which is half the size, and is well -placed to avoidinterference with the projection equipment.

The Master Control Room is 30 by 15 feet and is placedin a good spot at the hub of operations. On the oppositeside is the Engineer's Room, and the mechanical equip-ment room located between the organ lofts.

LOCATING a television studio in a department storewill undoubtedly have many ramifications. There is a

strong possibility that Wanamaker will soon install anintra-store television set-up, using DuMont equipment.Then, too, advertising merchandise from a store, and hav-ing the facilities for so many people within a store to seethe presentation is another plus value, which should in-crease store traffic. It provides a natural meeting groundfor manufacturers and retailer.

What's Being Done AboutTheatre Television? (continued from page 15)

M -G -M has an application from Los Angeles andthrough the Marcus Loew Booking Agency they have ap-plied in New York and in Washington.

Warner Brothers have filed for Los Angeles.Hughes Productions have applications in Los Angeles

and San Francisco.Television Productions (Paramount) has an operating

station in Hollywood (W6XYZ) and has also applied forSan Francisco.

The activity of the exhibitors and theatre operatorsmight take many aspects, all of them pretty obvious. Anexhibitor could operate his tele station in the same wayas a radio broadcasting station, selling time and trans-mitting to anyone in his area who had a receiver. Hemight also sell a specific program to a theatre or the-atres alone, or send it to his own chain of theatres.

Theatres may operate showing a combination of filmand tele. The telecasting of a major sporting event mightsee theatres selling tickets, at a boosted price of course,for a viewing of the fight or whatever the event might be.

EquipmentBoth DuMont and RCA have patents on equipment

which might be the answer to large -screen television prob-lems. The method involves filming the picture off the faceof a special cathode ray tube. As the television picture isfilmed, the strip of film is automatically developed anddried and in only one and one-half minutes is ready foruse in the regular film projector. Rumors are that theParamount Theatre in New York is now equipped withthis device and probably by August of 1946, will stage apublic demonstration.

The Rauland Corporation, RCA and the Scophony Cor-poration of America are the three companies who, to date,have declared any plans for manufacture of theatre tele-vision equipment.

The present status of large -screen projection equipmentis, to quote one of the companies' execs, ". . . in such astate of flux that we would not be prepared or would notcare at the present time to give out any price or techhni-cal information."

This reluctance is understandable in view of the tech-nological improvements accomplished during the war andin view of the labor and price control situation. Also,large -screen projection is by no means perfected. Theproblem of highly -concentrated light, which is necessaryfor projection, has not yet been solved.

44 Television

TELEVISION IN REVIEWe.

A TELEVISION FIRST

Another \ ideo lira It as chalked upthis month with the opening of theWashington to New York coaxial ca-ble. As previously reported, the threeNew York operating stations .-WNBT (NBC), WCBW (CBS), andWABD (DuMont) will each share inusing the cable two nights a week.American Broadcasting Co., who willresume using DuMont facilities whenthe new Wanamaker Studios reopen,is also trying to arrange for use ofthe facilities.

No charge is being made for thisservice as A. T. & T. looks upon it inthe nature of an experiment and hopesto learn a lot about the exact way ofhandling the cable, switching of it.etc. They will draw from the experi-ence of both sides in setting up theirfuture policies. Right now, the coaxis not equipped for quick reversal butthey hope to have it developed byspring. Eventually Baltimore andPhiladelphia will be included in therelay ing coverage, but at present ter-minal facilities are needed in bothcities. The Philadelphia terminal, usedfor transmitting the Army -Navy game,was moved to Washington.

The original debut scheduled totelevise President Truman's addressto Congress was cancelled when thespeech was not given in person. Sinceit was felt that the opening of thisline was an event of social signifi-cance, and that the first pictures outof the Capital City should transmit aprogram of public interest, first tele-cast over the line was held until Lin-coln's Birthday.

Opening program on the link wasa huge success both from the techni-cal angle as well as the interest -hold-ing fare, presented. Since this was a

joint telecast, the station patterns ofWNBT, WCBW and WABD followedeach other at start of program. Open-ing shot was the Capitol dome, withthe camera panning down over thebuilding and picking up the six"guests" as they came down the steps.Each of the representatives was inter-viewed, and although only one cam-era was used, action did not seemstatic probably because each manstepped into the camera, with thegroup in the background, thus revers-ing the technique of the camera clos-ing in on the individual. All spoke ofthe significant part television will

February, 1946

play in bringing national affairs closerto their constituents. Paul A. Porter,then FCC chairman, predicted thatapproximately $6,000,000,000 will bespent for television, and FM in con-sumer goods in the next few years.Senator Raibourn, speaker of thehouse, stated that the next time theyhave a joint session of the house, suchas to hear an address of the presi-

dent, television cameras will pick upthe event inside the House of Rep-resentatives.

At the conclusion of the interviews,program shifted to W3XWT, DuMontexperimental station in Washington,where an explanation of the coaxialcable installed by the A. T. & T. wasgiven. Film inserts were used to showthe laying of the cable.

Another ad in the WNBT campaign to interest the public NOW in televisionprogramming. Idea is to reach the people without sets and to make them con-scious of what NBC's WNBT is doing with television. This 1000 line ad ran in theNew York Times, Herald Tribune and Daily News on the morning of the telecast.

First Washington -New York

Television Broadcast

to be made at noon today

via the new coaxial cable

Today at moment that u, . ands

witness the sots ial Lincoln Memorial cere-monies in 'Washington, thousands more inNew York will watch the impressive cere-monies in their ow n homes... through theeyes of television.

Featuring interviews on the steps of theCapitol with Senators Mc Keller, Wheelerand White, Representative Rayburn. andPaul Porter, Chairman of the Federal Com-munications Commission ....and a tradi-

tional Lincoln's Birthday program arrangedby the American Legion ... this history -making telecast will be climaxed by generalof the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower layinga wreath at the base of the late President'sstatue in the Lincoln Memorial.

New RCA IMAGE -ORTHICONTeleriaion Camera to be Used

Among the seven television cameras lo-cated at all points of interest will he thenew super -sensitive RCA Image -Orthiconcamera, w hich will make it possible to tele-vise General Eisenhower in the Memorialportico's shadow.

The first of a regularly -scheduled inter-city series. this telecast will be carried overthe American Telephone and TelegraphCompany's new .Missile-longcoaxial cable

to the Long Lines Building in New York.to be seen and heard over station WNBT(NBC), in New York City. and over stationWRGB (General Electric), in Schenectady.

If you own a telmision set, invite yourfriends to enjoy this historical televisionbroadcast with you.

NBC TELEVISION

WNBT.NATIONAL OROAOCASTINC. COMPANY SMIC( Of RAMO C010.011.0101 Of AMERICA

45

Highlight of the program howevercentered around the ceremonies at theLincoln Memorial. Off -screen narra-tion gave the details of constructionas the cameras slowly covered the im-posing edifice. The guards of honorand the Marine Band were picked upas the ceremonies were explained.General Eisenhower's arrival with thepresidential wreath to lay at the footof the statue was perhaps the best bitof tele shooting. Cameras caught hisemergence from the car, followed hisbrisk gait through the crowd -packedstairs, and then, switching to theimage orthicon, followed him into thememorial. Ceremonies ended with thegeneral's departure and an excellentpictorial shot of the Washington Mon-ument taken from inside the Me-morial.

But there were a few interestingspots that weren't in the evidentlycarefully planned program whichprobably added immeasurably to theenjoyment of tele viewers. First breakcame when General Ike, was asked toplace the wreath again so that news-paper cameramen could get a goodshot of the ceremony. This the gen-eral did with all the solemn dignitythat characterized the original ges-ture. Then later, there was the timidman who went to cross in front of thecamera as it was focused on the Wash-ington Monument, suddenly remem-bered and darted back. But not so theflag carrying woman, who stompedstraight across the camera's path.And of course there was the inevita-ble fellow who had to dart in front ofthe camera, turn and mug for a mo-ment - "he got on television!" Inci-dents like this add to the immediacyof television - give the home viewersa feeling of being there.

All three companies cooperated inthe production of the telecast, withNBC and CBS sending mobile equip-ment and DuMont using their experi-mental station in Washington. CBSequipment was used at the Capital.with NBC's set up at the LincolnMemorial.

Big problem would seem to be -now that the relay line is in, how canthe stations use it? Neither CBS norNBC have a studio in Washington.Although NBC has a camera in theHouse to pick up special sessions, thiswould of course be daytime program.ming. As yet DuMont's studio whichis nearing completion has limited it-self to test patterns and a few ex-perimental broadcasts. No definiteplans on a regular schedule have yetbeen made, but it can be safely as-sumed that all special events, at anyrate, will be sent to New York.

46

NBC'S PROGRAMMING PLANSAs NBC's future programming

plans take shape, it's clear that theydo not intend to snub either the stageor the screen in borrowing on theirexperience as entertainment mediums.First important announcement wasmade by John Royal, NBC tele vicepresident, before the FCC in Wash-ington when he stated that the netplanned to use Hollywood facilitiesin filming their own movies for tele-vision showings. This fare wouldinclude documentaries, travelogues,shorts and newsreels. Although ru-mors ran rampant as to which moviecompany would get the contract,Royal has definitely stated that NBCwill play the field rather than tie upwith any one company. To furtherstrengthen their Hollywood interestsand to prepare for their applied -forLos Angeles station, a television de-partment has been set up in Holly-wood, headed by Harold J. Bock.

Following through on their recentexperience with full length stageshows, NBC announced a cooperativeventure with the Dramatists' Guild.Under this arrangement WNBT willproduce full-length plays written forBroadway production by members ofthe Guild. Arrangement has a coupleof interesting angles. First, becauseof the limited number of plays whichare accepted for production on thelegitimate stage, it will increase themarket for script -writers - and givethe net a wider selection of material.Second, the project entitled "Broad-way Pre -View" will show televisionaudiences premiere performances ofplays which may later make Broad-way.

NBC's television department willwork with the author in making anynecessary revisions for video presen-tation. Casting and production willalso be done by the net who willassume all costs.

On the "public service" side of thefence, WNBT has also set a definitedate for the start of their educationalseries in cooperation with the NewYork City Board of Education. Orig-inally scheduled for last fall, experi-mental programs to test the effective.ness of video as an educationalmedium will get underway in Aprilwhen WNBT goes back on the airover Channel 4.

Titled "Your World Tomorrow,"the weekly educational series will beproduced with the cooperation of theNBC University of the Air. In addi-tion a staff of writers who have broadscientific knowledge, combined withexperience in radio and television,will also be built up.

Emphasis will be on new scientific

developments which will directly af-fect the viewers. Among the firsttelevised programs will be "TheMighty Atom," an explanation ofatomic power; "Jet Propulsion," and"Huff -Duff, the Radio Detective."Programs will be flexible, and willinclude unusual laboratory demon-strations, dramatization of historicalevents, outside field pick-ups, includ-ing a visit to the Smithsonian Insti-tute in Washington, and extracts fromeducational motion pictures.

To test the effectiveness of videoeducation, groups of students willview the programs at NBC. andanswer questionnaires to test theirreactions. These will be analyzed andused by NBC for improving programcontent and techniques.

CBS ANSWERSSOME QUESTIONS

In keeping with CBS's policy of in-forming the public on television istheir series of questions and answerson high -definition black -and -whiteand color television, which follow sta-tion announcements. The audience isinvited to send in their questions andusually two are answered on eachprogram. Most recent questionsqueried whether high -definition black -and -white and color could be re-ceived on the same set; whether therewould be more or less interference inthe uhf range. Answers gave the tech-nical facts briefly and simply. Mosts-_gnificant though, is the answer tocontinued use of sets in both systems.Answer was "No. When high -defini-tion color television comes in suchsets will become automatically obso-lete. That is why Columbia Broad-casting System has been arguing forcolor television now - rather thanwaiting for a later date when thechange -over from low frequencyblack -and -white would entail an al-most prohibitive expense."

RADIO WRITERSSTUDY TELEVISION

The Radio niters' Guild hastackled the problem of writing fortelevision, spurred by the realizationthat knowledge of the medium isessential if they are to bridge the gapbetween audio and video. The FCC's28 hour requirement, they realize,will soon cause a demand for mate-rial, which can only be met by crafts-men with know-how.

A committee headed by NormanRosen, television director of J. WalterThompson, has formulated an exten-sive program to indoctrinate radiowriters with the video virus.

The writers group, which is made

Television

up of radio's biggest names, is plan-ning to take members behind thescenes of live productions. They willbe shown the technical and creativesides of tele-production. Station andagency tele personnel have signifiedwillingness to cooperate.

Group members will write experi-mental scripts as part of the curricu-lum, best of which will be producedover local stations. All material ac-cepted for production will be paid for.

Though similar to educationalmoves taken by the engineering andtechnical unions in explaining thenew medium to their members, thisaction by the Guild is the first stepin the direction of getting creative -production personnel on the know-how ball. Open only to members ingood standing, this promises to beone of the most valuable of the RadioWriter's Guild's undertakings.

TELEVISION ENGINEERINGCOURSE IS LAUNCHED

American Television Laboratorieshas launched an intensive two-yeartraining course for television engi-neers in their Chicago offices. Thisprogram will be conducted under theG.I. Bill of Rights. Course will con-sist of fifty weeks of training a year,twenty-five hours a week. Three fifthsof the time will be spent in actuallyworking with equipment. Require-ments for the course are a high schooleducation, plus a good background inmath.

While the school has DuMont equip-ment at present, other types will beincluded in the set-up when available,School feels it can give a plus serv-ice by having their students inter-viewed and hired for jobs about threemonths before the completion of theircourse. Intensive training during thefinal quarter would then be given eachman on the particular type of equip-ment which the station uses.

During the war, the American Tel-evision Laboratories trained about10,000 men in war specialist jobs.

INTRA-STORE TELEDEMONSTRATION

Intl a -t -tore television demonstrationin the New York area was scheduledfor the Gertz Store in Jamaica forthe first week in February. Equipmentwas installed by Bill Still, operatorof the experimental station W2XJTwhich he built himself for a cost ofapproximately $20,000. Unfortunate-ly, however, technical difficulties wereencountered in the synchronizing gen-erator and picture transmission wasintermittent for the greater part ofthe week-long showing.

February, 1946

Gertz ideas for intra-store pro-gramming seemed to hold muchpromise, with their schedule brokendown into straight selling demonstra-tions, ten minute comedy -dramas withthe commercials integrated, publicservice programs and, following theirpolicy of bringing "name" personali-ties to the store, fifteen minutes ofentertainment. In addition a 11/2 min-ute spot was given each day on "hard -to -get" merchandise, such as sheets,nylon raincoats, etc. Programmingwas under the direction of Video Pro-duction Associates, with Dr. MiriamTulin as head of the staff and Bar-bara Jones, Elizabeth Lee and HarrietGould, as associate producers. Theprograms, shown to the press, andviewed through the glass enclosedwalls of the studio, were very welldone.

Demonstration was a big promo-tion for Gertz, notwithstanding thefailure of the video. Five sets wereInstalled throughout the store in keytraffic spots and one in the window,and the crowds came. A studio wasbuilt in the toy department on thefourth floor, with one side glass en-closed. Announcement was made atthe start of the program that due totransmission difficulties, the picturemight not be clear and one store offi-cial stated that the people then rushedto the studio.

It is unfortunate that the system didnot function perfectly for Gertz, capi-talizing on some of the now -knownerrors of the RCA -Gimbel demonstra-tion last fall, had many new angles totest in their experiment, such as openreceiver sites, unadvertised specials,varying programming formats, etc.

However one cannot help but won-der what the effect has been on thepublic who came to see television -and saw an indistinct, blurred pic-ture on the screen instead. The greatmajority have never seen televisionand "technical difficulties" to themprobably bring up memories of theearly days of radio when the batteriesalways went dead at the most inter-esting moments. How many of thosepresent when the transmission wasfaulty went away with the thoughtthat "television isn't here yet"?

Rumors are, however, that Gertzintends to counteract this impressionwith another intra-store demonstra-tion and have already applied forequipment from one of the majorcompanies.

Rates for Personnel Column: Minimum$1.00- 100 per word. Count 3 words forbox number. Payable in advance.

Address box numbers to Television Mag-azine, 600 Madison Avenue, New York 22.

PERSONNEL

POSITIONS OPEN

Manager for television sta-tion. State complete qualifi-cations. Broadcast experiencepreferable but not necessary.Reply will be held in com-plete confidence. Box M 11.

Program director. Musthave theatre and film expe-rience. Give complete infor-mation on bat k ground pastfive yeam 110\ \I 12.

POSITIONS WANTED

*Radar specialist withmore than two years of ex-perience in operation andmaintenance, graduate of Car-negie Institute of Technology(majored in Stage Productionand Design) three years withthe Pittsburgh Playhouse, ex-perience in summer stock, an-ticipate quick release frontthe Army. Box K 43.

Engineer, interested in tel-evision station operation. Nowchief engineer of 250 wattmidwest station. Box M 13.

*Three years experiencein stock, acting and directing.Past four years in the army.Locate anywhere. Box M 14.

Make-up specialist com-bining the ability to writeskits, desires opportunity toaffiliate with station, or tele-vision production unit. BoxM 10.

*Young, ambitiousPrinceton Grad, just re-leased from active duty as aNaval Lieutenant wishes ajob in any capacity, so longas it affords an opportunityin television. Box G 76.

*Television script writervet. wants script writing andproduction -direction job. Ex-perience and references onrequest. Box K 44.

*Alert veteran with sales,publication and AA expe-rience wants television salesor contact position. Box K 45.

*Veteran.

47

COLOR TELEVISION

With CBS' color demonstrations going full blast, a review of television in coloris again of interest. Question is not one of color vs. black and white, but evolvesaround the time when ultra -high frequency tele is commercially feasible. And CBS'demonstrations, while admittedly transmitting good color pictures, has not seemed tochange the battle lines which have been drawn up over the past few years. Most of theindustry, led by RCA, still stick to their original stand - that electronic color tele-vision is the answer and that it will take at least five years to perfect it. In answer toCBS' cry of obsolescence of sets in the present frequencies, the challenge is tossedback that electronic television is the final answer - and what about obsolescence ofthe color sets geared for a mechanical system in favor of an electronic system?On the other hand, CBS claims that high frequency color is here now and in "all theiryears of experimentation with color reception the filter wheel has proved even moredependable than the purely electronic equipment."

We feel it timely to again point out editorially that black and white television ishere commercially now. Naturally color adds a definite plus to black and white, andwhen it does come, and it will come some day, the public will in turn buy colorreceivers. It is our considered opinion that they will buy black and white readily inface of the possibility of this obsolescence.

In every industry, each year brings new models, new improvements. That con-tinued progress is the core of American merchandising and production. Television hasbeen a promise of "tomorrow" too long. Now is the time to get going.

LARGE SCREEN TELEVISION

Because of past advertising and present trade announcements, the public andtrade are expecting large screen television. The large screen television which theywill see possibly by the second half of 1946 will not satisfy them. Definition is blurredat the edges and projection pictures seem to have a grey veil suspended over thepicture. On the other hand, direct viewing receivers which are scheduled for deliveryby the summer are very satisfactory. The picture quality is excellent.

It's about time the industry reexamined the state of projection, i.e. large screentelevision. A large percentage of set manufacturers have announced plans to both thetrade and the public to produce projection television receivers giving a picture approxi-mately 16" x 22". Obviously, large screen television should be preferred to pre-warpictures of approximately 8" x 10". However, it is our sincere belief that projectiontelevision has not reached a sufficient degree of perfection for marketing to the pub-lic. Projection television, as demonstrated by set manufacturers, does not stand up ineither definition or brilliance to direct viewing receivers. Manufacturers are onlymaking their selling task more difficult by plugging the large screen receivers.

48 Television

vo,

The Technique of Television Relay Transmission

is being Applied by PHILCO at Mt. Rose, N. J.

High in the hills at Mt. Rose,N. J., Philco has established apermanent television relay trans-mitter, in regular operation be-tween New York and Philadelphia.

By means of this relay station,the television audience of Phila-delphia enjoys, through PhilcoTelevision Station WPTZ, inter-esting program features originat-

ing in New York such as the Navy

Day exercises in late October, and

the important pro football gamebetween the Philadelphia Eaglesand the New York Giants inDecember.

This is part of Philco's vast tele-

vision research program which,through the years, has made impor-

tant contributions to the science

of television. The relay transmitter

at Mt. Rose is continuing to pointthe way to the technique bywhich nationwide audiences may

clearly see and hear, in their

homes, events that take placethousands of miles away.

PH I LCOofea/1-e-

Du Mont Sound Boom

Producer'sControl Desk

Du MontVideo -AudioTransmitter

Du Mont TransmitterControl Console

Du Mont -equippedTelevision Truck

Du Mont IconoscopeCamera

MasterControl Board

Du Mont Projector andFilm Pickup Camera

NEW EQUIPMENTFOR A NEW INDUSTRY

by

00 MONT

DU MONT'S ADVANCEDTELEVISION BROADCASTINGEQUIPMENT ACHIEVES:

1 a new standard of exceptional video quality,

2-an amazingly increased flexibility and ease ofcontrol,

3 -a record high in efficient, dependable, trouble -freeperformance,

4 -an outstanding triumph in low-cost operation andmaintenance.

These advances provide progressive station managementwith the technical set-up requisite to a sound commercialventure.Du Mont -engineered design features (which delight theheart of engineers) include:

1 -test oscillographs strategically mounted in allstudio control units for instant and continuouschecks on video information,

2-"wide open" accessibility for testing and for re-placement of components, made possible by aningenious arrangement of sliding doors and hingedpanels,

3-rugged dependability that assures heavy-duty ser-vice, a virtue widely acclaimed by men who usedDu Mont radar equipment in the Armed Services,

4-labor-saving ease of operation resulting from con-veniently concentrated controls and monitors.

Du Mont televisicn broadcasting equipment is distin-guished by the combination of pioneering vision and 15years of precision electronics know-how. Du Mont hasbuilt more television stations than any other company.Du Mont has operated its own station, WA B D, formore than i years. The fruit of this experience is yoursin Du Mont equipment... and in a new booklet, "TheEconomics a Du Mont Television." Please request thebooklet cn your firm letterhead.

Copyright IttAO. Allen TI. MI Mont 1,1,.tnries. inc.

ALLEN B. DU MONT LABORATORIES, INC., GENERAL OFFICES AND PLANT, 2 MAIN AVENUE, PASSAIC, N. J.TELEVISION STUDIOS AND STATION WABD, 515 MADISON AVENUE, NEW YORK 22. NEW YORK

February 1946 - americanradiohistory.com Service ... Entertainment - by Mary Gannon 8 Programming...

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Transcript of February 1946 - americanradiohistory.com Service ... Entertainment - by Mary Gannon 8 Programming...