Movies for TV - Early Television Foundation

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THE PROGRAM ANGLE
are used very much more than is ever realized, especially with
this type of auto ; and the main highway scene is likely to be filmed
with only half a car supporting the cast and a process screen be-
hind their heads showing the sights of the open road.
Snow makers are large fans which silently and gently waft
quantities of soggy, bleached cornflakes onto the set. Cornflakes
were found to be better than anything except real snow and when
not crisp would not make an unrealistic noise if trodden on. Var-
ious ice effects have been tried but they all required the use of
cold areas and refrigeration which is costly and liable to give
stars colds. The Christmas tree snow sold in dime stores will give
an excellent frosted effect for very little outlay.
Cobwebs are made in a number of ways, but for setting up
that disused, old, haunted look they are generally sprayed. Com-
pressed air forces various "secret" plastic solutions out of a nozzle
similar to the well-known paint gun. Stiff rubber cement can be
used with good effect. Another type is a combined electric fan
and solution dispenser which makes really authentic looking webs,
although as far as is known no one has yet fooled a spider !
Everything in the scenic field for television, be it live or film,
is still experimental so that there is plenty of scope for invention
and skill. It is probable that live television has the greatest prob-
lems since the pickup tubes differ so greatly in their characteristics.
While one tube may have an apparent straight-line response and
the scenery is set up to match that, the next camera may render
it quite differently. It sometimes happens that after a scene is
set up a camera tube has to be changed. This can complicate mat-
ters greatly, for the new tube may have entirely
different color
characteristics and necessitate considerable changes in scenery
coloring, or else it may ruin the effectiveness of some shots.
Among the problems encountered in live television, and in film
work also, is the necessity to show certain views in detail. These
are known as detail shots. For instance, it may be that poison has
to be put into a pot of tea or coffee. A long or medium shot of
the stage with the actor putting the poison into the pot would
fail to show the details of the shot. Therefore, in normal low-cost