SOUTH INDIAN CINEMATOGRAPHY – V

SOUTH INDIAN CINEMATOGRAPHY – V

I deem it my duty to tell our readers as to why I chose to embark on this topic and limited my observations to highlight only three persons. After all, cine industry is too big an outfit to restrict our range to a limited number of persons as wizards in the art. Still, I have justification enough to pitch on select individuals –Marcus Bartley, Aloysius Vincent and PN Sundaram.  Yes they had to regulate the exposure of frames so as to maintain parity in tonal scales in Black and white films. They had done it admirably. Though ‘Panchromatic’ by definition [meaning sensitive to all colours in the spectrum], responses of B&W film to varied hues of a colour or for different colurs was not uniform. So, extra carte ought to be bestowed on to the shades of dress worn by artistes and selecting a ‘common exposure’ details of dress and features of Skin [referred to as skin tone] should be registered on the negative film.  There used to be always a certain loss of image detail during transfer from negative to positive film. A major constraint in film photography has always been the need for ‘accuracy in primary image’ [negative image]; extra features cannot be ‘added’ to image on negative. [Digital image recording has the innate advantage of “post production correction”].  It means corrections can be done to image even after shots are completed on the sets. Images of digital variety are amenable to ‘modifications’ for clarity. Cinematographers of the then emulsion era [emulsion = film] had to strive for precise primary image density as corrections cannot be made later. Digital images are ‘memory stored‘  and there are no Negatives –as I understand. If wrong, please correct me. 

Emulsion [on a film] is a light sensitive coating on one surface of the film. Thus film characteristics are simply emulsion characteristics. Besides “BRAND VARIATIONS’’ even for a given specificity like film speed [sensitivity to light-expressed in units of arithmetic scale [ASA] OR Logarithmic scale [DIN].[ASA= American standards Association, DIN = Deutsche Industrie Normen ] Even if  films of different brands are rated in the same value , their performance characteristics are seldom identical. The cinematographer inevitably faces the ordeal of having to assess ‘behaviour’ for a select criterion -say reproduction of skin tones or dominant contrast or predominantly soft [low contrast] image rendition by a specific brand or its version thereof. Till 1960s most film stock was from Kodak Film, London or Rochester New York. After 1962—63, there were policy changes imposed by political situations in the country. Major policy shift was to discourage dollar payment and encourage Rupee payment for imported items. Slowly Kodak emulsion import faced restrictions; rupee payment in place of dollar payment brought in films from some European markets owned by Socialist governments Like E Germany, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, Poland and so on. Most movie films –newly imported were from E Germany.   Most cinematographers had to quickly adapt to these changes and also co-ordinate, lighting-processing strategies to furnish the most acceptable images for cinemas. A change in economic policy of a government can bring about abrupt changes in the working of select spheres. In this case, it was the cinematographer who had to rapidly reorganize self to satisfy all the on-going movie projects. The harsh realities of having to grasp the responses of the unfamiliar film stock and the minor modifications to certain already –set practices cannot be fully perceived by movie bosses whose prime interest has always been investment Vs yield; they are least interested in technical explanations for low performance; it would take time before one truly comes to terms with the ‘required changes in functional modifications’ essential to achieve the most desirable results. Leaving aside the predicaments of the then cinematographers, another difficulty had to be surmounted as well. It was more a problem for the movie makers. When foreign exchange restrictions were taking serious positions, the cine industry across India was keen to make colour movies in place of the traditional B&W movies. Audience were also more receptive to colour movies ; After 1963-64 all Hindi movies were only in colour; but South had to keep its movie-making activity  alive and were still making B&W movies even after 1975 and a little beyond. The perceptible difference between South and North in patronizing colour films had a serious ‘market consideration’. Hindi movies can always be profitably screened in best parts of the country; but Southern movies have a very limited geographical territory to market their movies. So, investing on colour films paying heavy Duty fee, was close to taking ‘mega risk’. Though films from Eastern Germany were less expensive, most technicians and laboratory protocols had been ‘fine-tuned’ for Western products from KODAK.  Switching over to a new film meant drastic changes in patterns of exposure and ‘film -processing’ besides, some new protocols in film handling.

With so many limitations, the cinematographers and laboratory technicians got down to work to ensure reliable delivery.  In the light of the difficulties associated with films, I earnestly recognize that using film for image rendition has always been a formidable task; it is a zone for ‘mistakes’ and replete with chances of poor image rendition. Spot corrections are possible in digital systems, while,‘re-doing’ was the lone option for technicians using films. Film technology is a living example of one of the Murphy’s laws which states,        “If anything can go wrong, it will.” So, I salute those veterans who enthralled us.

Prof. K. Raman