TELEVISION’S FUTURE

Evening Star, Issue 22350, 28 May 1936, Page 13

TELEVISION’S FUTURE

PRACTICAL SCHEMES IN VIEW LESSONS IN FLYING INCLUDED Lessons in flying—a series of 12will be one of the early items in the television programmes when they start, probably m May, writes the ‘ Observer’s ’ television correspondent. This information is startling in its implication of progress and possibilities. Mr Gerald Cock, 8.8. C. director of television, talked recently of his present hopes and fears and difficulties and his very great faith in the future of the new art. Horsemanship, not just riding, but the whole business of becoming a horsemaster, will be the subject of another series. If these experiments go well, then golf, tennis, cricket, and football will have their turn, with the best exponents that can be obtained showing exactly how things should be done. “ Everything at first will be experimental,”’said Mr Cock. “I do want to insist on, to emphasise, the experimental nature of the programmes. We have our own ideas as to what will go over well, but wo may be quite wrong in many instances. There is, too, the difficulty that things which ought to be good may be spoilt by the technical limitations of the apparatus. Yes, for at least a year we shall be really experimental. Experiment 'must always go on, of course, but for many months we shall be just learning to walk—and we shall assuredly fall down again and again in the process.” DERBY AND BOAT RACE. Asked to give some indication of the possibility of televising such things as the finish of the Derby and the boat race, Mr Cock said that “ actualities ” —television is already developing its own language—must play an important part in the programmes. i “ AH events of national importance can be considered as subjects for television,” he continued. “ Such things as the Derby and the boat race depend on the use of a connecting link, either micro-wave transmitters or the special television cable recently developed by the Post Office. It may be some time before the television camera can be used to give flashes from all parts of a football field, for instance.” As a start he expected to have to do something like a “ newsreel ” —take cinema, pictures of the events and project them in the next available programme. There are two ways of viewing a scene to be televised. The television camera —the “ electric eye ” —can be used, or an adaptation of the cinema camera to take a film, which can be shown.within a minute of the actual event or stored for use at any later time.

Long films, the standard attraction in the cinema theatre, will be terribly tiring to look at in the small screens of the cathode ray tub© receivers, and they will not bo used. But the big film will have its place in the programmes. Mr Cock hopes to use both film and dramatic criticism in a new way, a talk on the film or play illustrated by small scenes. Many other things lend themselves to this new method of illustrated exposition. New cars, for instance, or domestic and other inventions. The schools will have to until pictures at least a yard wide can be projected. Mr Cock mentioned the necessity for a big picture several times in the course of his talk. He felt that the small pictures, at present promised us, cramped him in many things he would like to do. But large pictures will come, there is no doubt of that. EDUCATIONAL ITEMS. Meanwhile the director of television proposes to feel his way with educational items for the home. “ Information ” is the idea. Entertainment shades into education imperceptibly. The subject is an enormous one._ The whole world is there to experiment upon. Travel, occupations, history, architecture, painting, sculpture. The best there is anywhere and everywhere. Talks illustrated by still and moving pictures, maps, plans, charts, diagrams —here at least there are no limitations. Preparations and editing can be done beforehand, for the film camera will be largely used. “Of course, the lighter side, pure entertainment, will predominate,” said Mr Cock. “ I hope to give an hour each day of an intimate kind of variety entertainmentr—cabaret. This will be divided into two half-hour portions. You know that we are starting off with throe shows a day—from 3 to 4 p.m.. from 6.15 to 7.15 p.m., and from 9.30 to 10.30 p.m. I want to make each of these hours as varied aud_ representative as possible. There will bo few receivers in homos for some time, and we are hoping for as many receivers as possible in different parts of London—in big stores and other public and semipublic places—so that everybody who wants to do so can find out what television is like. “ During the first hour I want to appeal specially to women, catch them while they are shopping. The second hour will bo designed for men and women together, after business hours, you see. The last hour will be the home hour. Every item will be short. That, I think, is essential. At first there will be no fixed times for special items, but later on, as wo get out of the purely experimental stage, special subjects will have their own day of the week and their own time of the day. “By the wav, our limitation to three hours in the afternoon and evening rather answers the question as to the possibility of giving shots of sporting and other national events when they happen. We must ‘can_’ them at first and put them over during our programme hours.”

COLOUR VALUES. Mr Cock has great hopes of his orchestra. It will often have to be seen as well as heard, and so it will be in uniform—red with black facings. “Very smart; but why red and black?” was asked. “ Because red comes out white in direct television, and so the orchestra, as the public will see it, will be in white uniforms with black facings. And I hope that they keep their uniforms clean. The television camera shows up marks that are invisible to the ordinary eye. Colour is quite important. Suppose a woman artist_ came on in such a horrible combination of colour as a Cambridge blue dress with a bright red capo or coat or other accessory. She would appear to be dressed in black with a white capo or coat. The whole colour values would be reversed. And there is another interesting thing. The ‘ black-and-white ’ value of any colour in a dress depends a great deal on the kind of dye used. “ Tlie direct viewing or television camera plays other strange tricks. It tends to exaggerate characteristics. It makes long faces look longer and big noses seem bigger, for instance. Of course, lighting and make-up help to put things right; but we shall have to watch our performers very carefully. And the television camera requires a quite different system of lighting and make-up from that -which the intermediate film camera calls for. Yes, there are plenty of chances to make mistakes, and wo shall make them.” “ And when you have done making mistakes, though I don’t expect you will make many, Mr Cock—the future?” “The future! The possibilities are simply overwhelming. Television will be a great social force. It must be! But wo have to get started before we talk of the future, the very big and, perhaps, rather distant future.”