N.Y.U. Television Workshop (1950)

[Music] the Great American skyscrapers become a part of the fastest growing new industry in the United States television the fascinating shortwave medium of Sight and Sound at top the big towers are television transmitting antennas each of sending out millions of electrical impulses a second to direct a stream of electrons on distant television screens because the ultr shortwave radio vibrations do not travel far beyond the Horizon the antennas have to be high to cover a large area thus the tall buildings in America's cities become natural elevations from which to send this modern means of communication and entertainment but the other end of the circuit the receiving sets in countless homes is perhaps the most important for allthough the technical side of television has long been known to scientists this new medium will open New Horizons in education and entertainment to all from apartment buildings to trailer camps television is now penetrating into every walk of American life and to a large part of the American Countryside 2 million new sets are being produced every year for Americans as sports-minded as any other people one of the biggest things in television programming is athletic events events television cameramen covering the games from several angles capture all of the highlights for the fans who can't be in the stadiums baseball America's number one sport and one which has a season running for half the year is number one on television 2 but today you no longer have to be in the grandstand to see and hear what's going on the technicians of Television have provided the eyes and ears so that the far away fans can follow what is happening the very instant it is doing so from remote pickups all of the play as it is going on is immediately transmitted to thousands of homes seated comfortably in the living room a family can watch each thrilling move the instant it takes [Music] place these two boys hope to be big league Stars themselves someday they don't miss a bit of the play on the [Music] field not everyone can squeeze into a stadium which holds people merely by the thousands television holds them by the millions the athletes audience is vastly increased [Music] horse racing is also high in US Sports them and high for television cameramen too here again complete coverage is afforded to viewers in this case men who have stopped briefly at a local Club having only a few minutes to spare they can easily see that certain race and especially that certain horse [Music] the sport of kings and brought with all of its excitement miles away from the racetrack a major segment of the mass television audience is children and for the youngsters what else is better than magical make believe the wonderful animals and characters of the puppet shows have an eternal charm it's the same for the television kids of today as it was for the boys and girls of a hundred years ago go besides entertainment for children television is also valuable for educating them already it is serving in classrooms and schools and its uses for teachers are Limitless to run this gigantic new industry many many people are required and thousands more will be needed as television daily grows larger everywhere us educators are preparing to fill that need here in a class at New York University young men who hope for careers in the technical side of the industry learn how television is actually transmitted and received they study all of the complex equipment beginning with the sensitive iconoscope that pick up an image so that it can be ultimately turned into pictures on a television screen other classes are necessary for still another side of the television business and that's the side before the television camera the performers writers and directors they must have scientific knowledge but for a different purpose in this class conducted by New York University and a major television Studio men and women who plan to work in the creative fields of the new medium learn firsthand about the tools of their trade the image orthicon lights microphone booms all of the elaborate paraphernalia that is necessary to produce a television show whether it be a simple sport or news event or a full dress production within the studio in the United States television like radio is a matter of private Enterprise and as such is very competitive with this competition in mind technicians and cast alike strive to attain a Flawless production tonight this television Workshop rehearses a play of its own one of the instructors assigns various students to cameras lights and other pieces of equipment and advises them carefully as to just how the director wants the production shot from what angles and at what time time and so on meanwhile the director himself is at work with his actors and all student Venture even tonight's play has been written by a member of the class unlike the theater where there is usually time for weeks of rehearsal in television there is generally only 12 hours of preparation for actors in television plays every night is opening night and then the show goes on the entire production is now in the hands of the director who must handle his co-workers and their television Gear with every bit of skill what is more he has to use them within tight restrictions of space and time what the television audience sees of course are only the players who are on their own now and must be letter or [Music] perfect behind the scenes there appears to be chaos actually it is a highly skilled concentration of students and equipment with each tense in the knowledge that their production is now on the air the director controls and coordinates the lights cameras microphones floor manager announcer and sound Engineers he's somewhat like the conductor of an orchestra but with the added disadvantage of having to worry about a clock since his show has been allowed only so many minutes on the air a high point of the students drama has been reached and both cast and crew concentrate on getting the best melodramatic effect out of the scene this of course is not a professional troop or crew however these students are working very seriously at gaining experience for it is with these eager people and thousands of others like them that the future of Television rests theirs is an industry that was commercially begun in the United States less than 10 years ago but already offers unlimited opportunities in both Technical and creative fields as an example this is another television cameraman who is covering a United Nations assignment here from the site of the new United Nation Center in New York television carries to the millions of far off people the ceremonies that Mark its dedication President Truman was seen as well as heard in homes and schools in countless communities across the land the eyes and hopes of the world were here as United Nations Secretary General trig V placed the 3- ton GR Cornerstone inscribed in English French Chinese Russian and Spanish with its Sensational power for education and Entertainment Television has become a true phenomenon of 20th century USA [Music] [Applause]