Keep Out, this Means You-Stars Included

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20930, 8 January 1938, Page 18

Keep Out, this Means YouStars Included

CRITICAL AUDIENCES WITNESS THE FIRST SCREENINGS

There is no admittance, even for the stars, in studio film laboratories. From them come the sounds of famous voices and famous feet, but only the laboratory staff and the director of the film see the first rushes. They form a critical audience, probably the most critical as far as technical quality is concerned. These men are unprejudiced. that is their main qualification. for three or four stars picking out the pieces in which they look best would ruin any man’s sense, of perspective and judgment. The following article explains the procedure generally adopted in studios when a picture is "born." A film laboratory possesses the fascination of the mysterious, and visitors to Cinesound Studios are always very interested in the sounds they hear coming from the projection rooms—the theatrettes where all film processed by Cinesound laboratories air projected and checked on the screen. | The sounds heard may be voices in conversation, musical numbers or other film recordings. Visitors would like to have a peep inside to see what is goingon, but this is not permitted. I It may be that the voice heard is i familiar—that of Charles Lawrence speaking the commentary of the Cinesound Review, Gracie Fields singing a song, or Fred Astaire and Ginger

There was more than ordinary interest in the early rushes of “Lovers and Luggers” because Cinesound’s technicians were particularly anxious to justify their work in the eyes of Lloyd Huges, an artist who had worked in some of the famous Hollywood studios. A rule was broken in the case of Lloyd Hughes, who was permitted to see his first day’s work on the screen. He was highly delighted—and perhaps a, little relieved, because after all he is a star with a name and he was submitting his appearance, voice * and work to the mercy of a studio whose competency was, to him, an unknown quantity.

The early rushes were also notable for the immediate good impression made by Sydney Wheeler.

It is usual for a screening to be arranged at the studio for members of the cast of a production, and then there is excitement and gossip and “post-mortems.” You will rarely hear

Rogers accompanying their tapping feet with bright chat. Cinesound laboratories are continually making prints of overseas pictures for the Australian distributors, and to qheck the quality of the prints these have to be screened. The laboratory staff, therefore, are among the first people to see many of the new pictures. And these pictures never have more critical audiences, especially as regards their technical quality. The representatives of the American or English studio concerned are actually the first to see a new picture. Then it is screened for the censor. The distributor may wish some cuts or other alteration to be made, or the

an artist express satisfaction with his or her own work, which may or may not indicate modesty Generous praise for the work of others is. however, usual. But whatever the artists may think.

the picture they are shown represents the best efforts of the studio technicians who have handled the material of the production and have fashioned it into a form which good judges con-

sider will appeal to theatre-going •public—the people whose opinions have to be respected—and accepted.

censor may order a scene out. Perhaps a word or two will have to be deleted from the sound track. The copy of the picture that is first screened is a master positive. This is sent to the laboratory and from it is made a negative. The positive is then cut in the manner desired and similar cuts are made in the negative from which any number of positive prints can then be made. The reason for making the negative first to be certain of obtaining a clean dupe negative, because this might not be possible after the master positive had been handled in the cutting. Some of the cuts may result in sudden jerks in

the continuity of the picture. Abrupt cuts are eased by "fades” or “wipes” which arc contrived by a process known as optical printing. When cuts arc made in the sound track, the sound may be thrown out of synchronisation with the action, and here again delicate adjustments have to be made. When the cuts and adjustments are completed according to instructions, a first print is made, and on this being screened and checked and passed the number of copies ordered are printed. Each copy is checked before leaving the laboratory. The procedure in treating the film of one of Cinesound’s own feature productions is much the same, but in this cast the film is handled from an earli-

er stage, as soon as it leaves the camera. The film shot each day on a production is developed and printed overnight and is seen next day by the director. Mr Ken G. Hall, the technical director. Mr Bert Cross, the chief cameraman, Mr George Heath, the sound engineer. Mr Clive Cross. These daily "rushes." as they are called, are rarely seen by anybody else—not even members of the cast. The latter, of course, are always anxious to know how they looked and others, too. for various reasons, are interested in these first impressions. You will hear anxious queries, "Have you seen the rushes?” whispered about the studio, especially during the early days of a production when everybody is anxious to know how his or her contribution to the picture, technical or otherwise, is turning out. Of course if things are not turning out well in one or another direction the person concerned will quickly be told about it and the subject of complaint will be shown to him. Sometimes a retake is ordered by the director, who is quick to find a fault wfiich would pass undetected by another. In view of this possibility, however, sets are never struck until the eight rushes of sequences in which they have been used have been screened. Members of the cast sometimes think it unfair that they are not permitted to see themselves in the rushes, but they are excluded for a very good reason. Artists are not always the best judges of their own work or appearance, and there would be nothing but confusion if a number of them wanted retakes because they did not like the way they looked in this or that scene.