Movies for TV - Early Television Foundation

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THE PROGRAM ANGLE
was a good balance at the beginning of the operation may later be
completely out of adjustment. In other words, all things being equal
the only aspect which causes trouble is light, and this seems ridicu-
lous for there is so much of it in the great outdoors. "Hollywood
makes lots of outdoor scenes," we hear someone say. "How about
them? They're pretty good." Yes, they are good, but Hollywood
has miles of its own streets where it can set up any kind of lighting
plants and reflectors from almost unlimited power supplies. The resources
are so great that it is not only unkind to the average tele-
vision station to compare the two industries, but it is also as foolish
as saying the ten-year-old boy on the bicycle is incompetent because
he cannot pace the seventeen-year-old on a motorcycle. Given time
to grow and prosper he will be able to do all that the other boy does
and probably more, because the odds are in his favor that some new
the time he is seventeen. In the same
things will be developed by
way television's facilities are limited by financial problems, but these
will be overcome and new methods of working developed.
Thousands of words can be written about this subject for it is
highly controversial as well as involved. The chief problem
is to
know when to stop. The purpose of this rather brief chapter is to
familiarize the reader with the problems he is likely to meet and
summarize them.
Weather Location conditions are highly variable and, while
predictable within certain limits, can never be relied upon from day
to day, or even hour to hour. Also, it is not always possible to duplicate
conditions required in script. Studio conditions are always the
same and under complete control, but if seasonal effects such as
snow are required, very often location shots will be better.
Lighting The same limitations apply for location shots as for
weather with the extra factor of constant change during the photo-
graphing of a scene. Lighting requires the use of extra equipment in
the form of gobos or shades, etc., on location. In the studio every-
thing required is always at hand.