American Cinematographer - December 1960 - 42

in producing video programs
and commercials
especially where budget
and production time are limited-is to utilize both
video tape and motion pictures, then integrate the
two in the production of the ultimate programming
medium-video tape or film. How this formula was
employed recently in producing a TV commercial
in record time was described in an article in our
September issue. In the article that follows, Allen E.
Hall describes how the formula made possible the
production, within a limited time and budget, of
"The New Indiana," a special 30-minute public af¬
fairs program for WLW-I, Indianapolis, Indiana.
-EDITOR.
GROWING TREND

INTEGRA TING
VIDEO TAPE
AND FILM
Each medium holds certain advantages
for producers of video programs and com
mercials, thanks to recent develop¬
ments in tape-to-film and film-to-tape
transfer techniques.

ALLEN

HALL

Producer-Director, WLW-I, Indianapolis, Indiana

748

decisions a television producer
must take these days is whether to do a contem¬
plated show "live" or put it on film. When time and
budget are limited, the usual procedure is to em¬
ploy live television technique. Where the show must
be accurate down to the last letter and cover a broad
scope, film is the only answer.
At WLW-I recently I was assigned to produce and
direct "The New Indiana," a special show which was
to dramatize the many improvements throughout the
state of Indiana during the past four years. The
time alloted for producing the half-hour program
feature was thirty days and the budget less than
$5,000. Because of political considerations in this
election year, the show had to be factually perfect;
and since the show was scheduled to be telecast over
a network of eighteen stations in Indiana, Ohio, and
Kentucky, there could be no production slip-ups.
Under ordinary circumstances a project of this
nature would be filmed. But the time allotted and
the limited budget precluded that. Television being
what it is, live production could not guarantee letterperfect facts or production, nor could it handle the
vast state-wide scope of the material. That requires
film. In order to resolve this paradox WLW-I de¬
cided to try a production technique which promises
a new and boundless programming tool for local
television stations. Briefly, this technique consists
of utilizing video tape records of live television
pickups made at the studio, and film shot on various
locations throughout the state, then integrating the
two mediums electronically on video tape. A notable
advantage of this method is that it permits making
all necessary special effects electronically during
video-taping by means of the station's RCA TS-40
switcher - effects such as fades, dissolves, wipes,
matting, etc. - with the consequent saving of con¬
siderable production time that otherwise would be
required were such effects done on film by a labora¬
tory.
With this decision made, production of "The New
Indiana" was scehduled as follows:
Aug. 16: Rough script received; shooting begun.
25: Final script completed. Conference for
treatment and art work.
Sept. 1: Music selected; editing begun. "Live"
production set for after sign-off of sta¬
tion on Sept. 9th, with a similar time
on Sept. 11th reserved in case re¬
quired.
5: Music editing completed; film editing
begun.
9: Filming completed and editing of same
subsequently completed. Additions
made to music track. Narrator assign¬
ed by ad agency. Final revisions made
on script okayed.
10: Studio production from 1:00 to 6:00
A.M. Additional filming from 9:00
^~^NE OF THE MANY

AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER

American Cinematographer - December 1960

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