Split Seconds on a Radio Network...

Radio Record, Volume X, Issue 7, 28 August 1936, Page 5

Split Seconds on a Radio

Network...

By

Nola

Luxford

life of the average person-but what a split second can mean ona radio broadcast is colossal! | think it is impossible for listeners to realise the importance of timing on a broadcast. Of course, for little local broadcasts, the slip up of a minute will not do a great deal of harm-but take the network programme. Most.of the important broadcasts in this coun-’ " A SPLIT second does not usually mean much in the

try are on the net work-that means they originate either here, in’ Hollywood, or New York, or some other large. city with the right facilities, and are broadcast throughout. this country and perhaps into Canada. A programme that originates here and lasts one hour like Hollywood Hotel, or the Lux Radio Theatre, or Shell Chateau, is usually rehearsed the. day before for seyeral hours. Before that the producer and the continuity writers have, usually spent many hours togetherwhipping the programme into shape. During the Christmas International Broadcast | produced in' 1934, an incident occurred that seriously hurt the entire programme. Francis Lederer was invited to speak because it was for international goodwill, and Francis is particularly keen

on that. subject. The whole programme was timed to a split second-I had 150 people on the broadcast-an orchestra of 60, a choir of 40, as well as smaller groups and several stars. Francis was given three minutes. He

started out splendidly, ana I was silently congratulating myself on his appearpearance, when he came to the’ end of the speech he had written and started to "ad lib." ] gave rather a frantic look at the clock on the wall,: to see he had used up his given time. . But so enthusiastic had he become on the ‘subject that he wen’ on and on for ten more minutes. I was standing back of him almost tearing my hair out. Jan Rubini, the violinist, was waiting to ‘play next, ‘and Jan turned to me'with a look of despair. Finally, after’ Francis © had spoken for almost fif- _ teen minutes, I touched his arm, he gave a startled look-endeéd abruptly, and left the microphone. Now: what. harm, you

might say, was done, Only this.° That broadcast was on the network, and we were given one hour on the air-no more, -no_ less. The time’ that Francis took up had to.be taken .away from the others on the programme. I ‘had to do some quick ;re-arranging-cutting out. about three numbers-which, of course, was a shame for the others, and made quite a difference in the continuity. For "in-

stance, when Sir Cedrick Hardwicke came to his reading . of Dickens’ ‘‘Christmas Carol" ] had. to. ask him to hurry, and ‘his beautiful reading was definitely hurt. — In some . programmes’ the musical part of the programme is frequently interspersed with sound effects and dialogue, and this ‘is very hard to time. The orchestral background ‘has’ always to be shaded -properly. This means. rehearsing: and _rehearsing, usually a, bar at a time. Corrections on scores and scripts are’ made, bragses _are changed’ into other positions, drums .are ‘put further away from the microphone; in fact the orchestra. has to weave its own particular picture, sometimes in pastel shades, and sometimes in brilliant hues.’ Singing groups also are difhcult to handle. .Some voices

have greater carrying power than others, and perfect enunciation and harmony must be striven for. In the dramatic end of production, sound effects play a very important part, As the audience rélies; on

its ears, with no aid of eyes, the sound effects have to help create the picture, and they must be as realistic as possible, as well as perfectly timed, One very awkward thing happened on the "California’s Farewell to Admiral Byrd" broadcast which I produced. Some‘where in’ my script there was a call for soft church bells-the young man in charge didn’t seem _ to notice, in his excitement, ] wanted church bells, and instead of low, beautiful bells ringing | was suddenly startled by what sounded like fire engine bells going at sixty miles an hour! You can imagine my embarrassment! One of: my most frantic (Continued on page 58)

The criticising and reviewing of films is the subject of an

article written by

A. R.

McElwain

of Wellington, for next

week’s paper,