The use of motion picture film in television broadcasting

It will be the purpose of this study to review the existing film policies of local television broadcasters, to establish existing trends in the use of film material, to establish average equipment requirements and preferences, to establish average personnel requirements and to review the quantity and techniques of local film production by television broadcasters. To establish these facts, a survey of television broadcasters was made. The results of that survey are referred to throughout the study and are recorded in Appendecies A and B. As published material on station policies is limited in scope, several personal interviews were made. While this does not indicate policies of other stations, those persons interviewed were asked about industry wide practices as they knew them, as well as individual station practices. The findings as indicated by the survey and assoc iated research indicate that, in general, station programming is similar in stations of relatively equal size and in similar markets. The size of the station's film departments varies considerably as do the size of the station staffs. While there was no consistency in the amount of film being used by television stations, it was found that of the local production being done (other than network material) film programs played a very large part. It was also quite evident that station managers and film managers were interested in learning what the results of the survey would show. The direct mall return from thia questionnaire amounted to eighty percent and dearly indicated the Interest of the persons questioned. Results of this study indicate that there is a great deal of film material available for television use at the present time. While the amount of film being used is large, there is an evident need for selectivity, now more than ever. There was little choice in the earlier days of television. Now that the film buyer has more material to choose from his job becomes more important. Further study is indicated in the field of film quality and content.