American Cinematographer - September 1968 - 48

11

THE NEW DIMENSION

//

The Super-8 format, having proved its
worth in the professional arena, has
spurred a ground swell of exciting new
film production. Those who would ride
the crest must catch the wave now!

By

LEONARD

W.

KECK

President, Calvin Productions, Inc.

-Hi!

T

LEONARD W. KECK, President of Calvin Pro¬
ductions, Inc., addresses the record crowd of
attendees at the 22nd Annual Calvin Work¬
shop in Kansas City, Mo.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Ever since the Super 8 for¬
mat was introduced, AMERICAN CINEMATOG¬
RAPHER has felt-and has frequently expressed
the opinion in print-that this new format
could not fail to open up vast new horizons
for the motion picture industry. Our enthusiasm
was not based on the fact that the Super 8
formal offers the amateur movie-maker the
facility for projecting a larger, sharper picture
on his home movie screen. That it assuredly
does. But AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER is
a journal devoted exclusively to the concerns
of

professional film-makers and it is because

we could foresee the Super 8 format stimulating
a vast new area of professional motion picture
production that we have constantly emphasized
the importance of this format. The keynote
address given by Mr. Leonard W. Keck, Presi¬
dent of Calvin Productions, Inc., at the recent
22nd Annual Calvin Workshop, indicates that
our optimism regarding the Super 8 format was
well founded. For that reason, we are pleased
to

publish

the

following

excerpts

from

Mr.

Keck's address:

The primary reason for the exis¬
tence of this industry is that it pro¬
vides a means of communicating
ideas, a point of view, a philosophy,
a memory, a record, or any one of a
hundred other things. The point is that
we must continue to communicate,
both among ourselves and with the
mass population of the world on a
fantastically escalated basis. We are
on the verge of a whole new medium

678

to help us effectively fulfill this basic
responsibility-necessity, if you will.
I am talking about the utilization of
the 8mm format film. In itself, there is
nothing new about it, but it is a tool
that for various reasons we have nev¬
er been able to incorporate, in any
kind of realistic or economic fashion,
into the stable of implements with
which we have to work. Now, because
of the push provided by Eastman Ko¬
dak, Technicolor, Fairchild, and many
others, we have the improved film
stocks, the new formats, the break¬
throughs in hardware that open up a
whole new realm of utilization for film.
What will 8mm do that the other
size films can't do? The answer is, of
course, purely and simply economic.
The utilization of 8mm film makes it
economically feasible to do things with
film that couldn't be considered be¬
fore. For years, one of the biggest
roadblocks to really sweeping utiliza¬
tion of motion pictures has been the
expense.
Economic
considerations
make it impossible to sell as many
Cadillacs and Lincolns, as Fords and
Chevrolets.
We are meeting the same kind of
resistance with the utilization of 8mm
film today as the pioneers in the 16mm
industry met back in the 30's. We
know of which we speak, because we
were there! But, can you conceive
what a situation we would have now
if we had to depend on 35mm film
with its inherent costs and bulk?
Would we be using 35mm films in
schools, industry and training situa¬
tions today if there were no 16mm
film? The answer is obvious! Of
course, we wouldn't!
We, as a company, feel that we are
in exactly the same position with 8mm
as we were with 16mm in the 30's. Al¬
though, fortunately, we are on the oth¬

er side of the fence. All of the com¬
plaints about 8mm-you know, the
spaghetti width, the miserable picture
quality, the unintelligible sound-
these are the cliches that applied to
the 16mm field for far too long. 8mm
is on the verge, and by verge, I mean
it is about 8 V2 months pregnant, of
delivering to us a great big, brand
new opportunity to mold and shape
something entirely new. The market
is there and our customers are de¬
manding it. It won't go away, regard¬
less of what some people would like
to have you believe. We must face it,
and determine how to use it!
We are the most affluent, the best
educated society in the history of the
world. We are a country of more than
200 million people. We are the ac¬
knowledged leader in practically ev¬
ery field that you can conceive, with
the possible exception of world poli¬
tics, as witness Vietnam and North
Korea! But these things, too, will
pass. The world must be fed, it must
be educated, it must learn to live in
peace and who in the world is going
to do it, if we don't? Any tool that can
be utilized to fulfill this mandate has
an automatic acceptance. How better
to teach, or to go back to our original
premise, to communicate knowledge,
than by the utilization of sight and
sound? And, do it economically!
Well, I have taken too much time
talking about that of which all of us
are eminently aware, but I do believe
it is essential for us who are in film de¬
cision making and guidance situations
to maintain a perspective. Where do
we stand with 8mm now? It's great to
be able to talk about the rosy future
and all the glorious opportunities that
are out there ahead of us-but
where do we stand now?
Continued on Page 684

AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, SEPTEMBER 1968

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American Cinematographer - September 1968

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