TABLE 210

[Music] table 210 on paper just a short section of the contract between the Department of Defense and the contractor corporation but contained within those few words is the future of a project involving our national defense it concerns motion picture film requirements and begins the following documentary motion picture film coverage is required in connection with the contract for the purpose of depicting engineering progress and to fulfill historical and other documentary requirements then follows a statement of time covered due dates like the film and other mechanical requirements various military branches have their own special contracts the law are basically similar after budgets are prepared and approved production on the picture begins with the assignment of a writer to the project thoroughly familiarizing himself with all phases of the program he then prepares a preliminary film outline the outline is examined by the motion picture department manager who coordinates the work involved with other projects under production the art director also uses the outline to begin work on a storyboard while these films are essentially documentary reports on project developments they must also reflect company thinking from a sales approach and its relation to overall company policy therefore the initial meeting is with the project engineering staff and the military relations department this meeting is primarily concerned with technical subject matter and related company policy the picture format and method of presentation is in general the responsibility of the motion picture department with the motion picture requirements established Photography begins on project activities although the important subjects have been determined by the outline coverage and scope of each sequence is the obligation of the project writer since these report periods cover several months it is impossible to photograph every test and development on a given subject thus the writer must weigh the relative importance of the event in relation to the present in the future when possible a shooting script is written in advance for a program which is essentially research and development consists for the most part of tests and testing procedures since these are tests their performance is not always predictable and the script must be written to the picture explaining the test procedure and evaluating his results the photographing of some developments is often complicated by the subject matter and the areas involved every effort however is made to present the material in the most informative and interesting manner this type of on-the-spot shooting often presents problems found in no other motion picture production and all the main shooting under the most difficult circumstances the searching lens of the camera hi probes every system and subsystem which goes to make up a complex rocket or missile wherever and whenever the test is performed it must be covered this can mean photography at sea or filming the recovery operations under the sea distance means little to the production team whether the subject is practically in the backyard you miles away or on the other side of a car [Music] this diversity of operation extends to the size of the subject with many so tiny they are almost invisible or so vast they become world-shaking events an integral part of the motion picture department is the optics section it is their responsibility to supply and test onboard cameras which may include fair child's woollen sacks and gun sight aiming point cameras before they can be utilized on supersonic missiles however some of the cameras must be completely reworked to withstand the tremendous forces and temperatures which will be encountered after the camera has passed an electronic test it is placed in a centrifuge where it is subjected to weight increases as high as 100 times the force of gravity under this immense force the camera which originally weighed by pounds now weighs almost 500 pounds even the film has acquired the consistency of heavy lead foil but these cameras must work in extreme temperatures and forces if there will be of any value and the use of motion pictures for instrumentation purposes is becoming an indispensable means of evaluating flight performance before the camera is installed in the missile it is fitted with a lens designed to cover a specific area or to produce a special result one such lens was developed to cover four fields simultaneously with all four being recorded on a single frame [Music] the lenses in many cases are designed to probe the supersonic slipstream of the missile and must be extremely heat resistant as well as optically perfect the assembled bloated camera is then installed in camera pods which will be attached to the missile the development of these pods and their placement on the missile is the responsibility of the optics section these onboard cameras are also installed in test vehicles used to check parachute performance and characteristics filming of the sequence allows a later study or shoot performance this is important when the test is a success but more important when it fails the footage obtained from onboard cameras is used primarily for the recording of research and engineering data after the data has been evaluated the film then becomes documentary evidence high-speed photography is another integral part of instrumentation coverage the millisecond action during some tests cannot be captured by conventional cameras however the action can be slowed down by shooting at speeds ranging from 500 to 9000 frames per second the resultant pictures give the test engineers ample time to study the forces and actions as they occurred and while the various tests and subsystems are being covered the documentation of each missile continues this includes delivery to the flight testing base here captive flights are covered both in the air and on the ground where electrically transmitted data is recorded and processed these films have the dual purpose of documenting the procedures as required in the contract and serving as later references for flight reviews and evaluations when the crucial flight test of the missile takes place it is completely photographed by many cameras in addition to onboard camera coverage a cameraman and a chase plane will film as much of the flight as possible several cameras are located onboard the launch aircraft tracking cameras with long focal length lenses record the flight from the ground [Music] the launch and flight are documented through the critical stages when possible the camera starts a program to cut in at the time of a critical incident which must be examined [Music] [Applause] [Applause] the ground recovery operation is equally well documented with a cameraman going along on the initial search [Music] the condition and recovery attitude of the missile is film from the air and on the ground the onboard cameras are removed from the missile as soon as possible and rushed back to the test base the undeveloped film is put aboard a special plane and flown back to motion-picture headquarters for processing and evaluation when a bird clubbers the film recovered from inside the steel encased onboard cameras is in most cases the deciding factor in determining the cause of failure this missile ended at extreme speed driving the nose 10 feet underground below the water level of the area the camera was completely submerged for almost a week the board with recovered after the cover of the steel casing was loosened by drilling it was opened in a dark room the pieces of film were carefully extracted the film was so badly damaged by fire and water it could not be processed by commercial laboratories and was hand developed by the motion picture Department after processing the torn and burned pieces were jigsaw into place 78 feet - this particular film was salvaged improved to contain data of invaluable aid in determining the cause of malfunction [Music] all exposed film is channeled into motion-picture headquarters where it is processed by a commercial laboratory the original is rough edited of obviously unwanted footage and work prints are made these prints are in color and copies containing instrumentation data are sent immediately to the project engineers and data reduction experts to test base commanders and to all military distribution points called for in the contract the remaining prints are filed away for the coming documentary report in addition all work print and original must be readily available for numerous other pictures being prepared such as public relations sales indoctrination security and various short subjects near the end of the report variable the first draft script is reviewed and plans are formed for animation titles and related artwork the storyboard is brought up to date with the addition of final scenes titles are hand lettered or hot pressed and the illustrations prepared in many cases the presentation of scientific conclusions and test results can be clarified by means of artwork and animation since multi-cell animation is expensive and more important time-consuming various methods are employed to reduce these to a minimum while yet creating the desired effects the animated illusion is produced by stop-motion photography with Mitchell cameras this somewhat restricts the scope of animation but greatly reduces cost and production time when this method is not practical more complicated techniques are devised in some instances this involves filming objects through glass with moving backgrounds but with proper care and the use of advanced camera and art techniques the results can be spectacular as well as informative when the final script approval is obtained from the project staff the narration is recorded using one of many available sound stages various narrators are employed each for his special qualities this is considered the most difficult type of narrating as many statements must be read containing unfamiliar technical words and terms since the film will be viewed by many non engineers the words must be written and narrated so as to be easily understood by the layman while not offending the expert after the narration is recorded protection tracks are transferred and delivered to the editor editing of the work print and soundtrack is then completed and an interlock is run to assure that all aspects of the film are properly covered the picture is then done and the original a and B rolls are cut to match the approve work print the distribution of composite prints and CCO masters or reduction negatives is specifically stated in the military contract table 210 and includes prints for all branches and headquarters of the Defense Department the content of virtually all documentaries is of a highly classified nature a strict accounting is kept on the distribution before shipment the film is taken to a document Control Center a receipt is given for the film and distribution is entered in the document control law a special messenger delivers the film to the mailroom for final shipment the film is carefully packaged according to security regulations and prepared for delivery by registered mail this care and handling of the film has extended all down the line from first exposure to the final prints every person who have used the film or assistance in its production must have a minimum clearance of secret this includes all outside vendors in many cases the importance of the picture and the immediacy of its content warrants a special courier but even as this picture is delivered its sequel is being prepared a constant stream of production will continue until the contract requirements are fulfilled this procedure is followed on every project with several programs constantly in production and this does not include various short subjects or non contractual films for company purposes in the last few years a phenomenal increase in the use of motion pictures for documentation of government contracted programs has been witnessed this expansion is taking place because the Defense Department is well aware the program developments and contract proposals can be presented better in a motion picture than by any other method that is why the finished picture or sequences from it is viewed by the ranking officers of all services as well as the members of various congressional and technical committees including the President of the United States and his staff [Music] [Applause] [Music]