FIRST STEPS BEFORE YOU IN OUR SEARCH FOR REDRESS OF A GRIEVANCE. WE ARE HERE ΤΟ TRY ΤΟ

ILLUMINATE

FOR YOU THE DIRECTORS

GUILD'S

VIEW OF WHAT WE CONSIDER TO BE AN ASSAULT ON OUR NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGE, THE DEFACEMENT OF THE WORK OF FILM ARTISTS OF THE PAST, AND THE CHILLING HAND OF RESTRAINT ON FILM ARTISTS WHO WILL CREATE FOR AND IN THE FUTURE.

WHO AND WHAT IS THE DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA AND WHY IS IT SAYING

ALL THESE NASTY THINGS ABOUT THE NICE COMPANIES THAT LOVE OUR BLACK

AND WHITE FILMS SO MUCH THAT THEY HAVE CHOSEN TO MAKE THEM MORE READILY AVAILABLE BY PRESENTING THEM TO THE NATION IN COMPUTER

COLORED DISGUISE?

THE DIRECTORS GUILD IS A LABOR ORGANIZATION,

EIGHTY FIVE HUNDRED MEN AND

CONSISTING OF ALMOST WOMEN ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ALMOST

FORTY-FIVE HUNDRED OF WHOM ARE DIRECTORS, AND ALMOST TWENTY-FOUR HUNDRED OF WHOM ARE DIRECTORS OF SCREEN PLAYS. OTHER MEMBERS ARE ASSISTANT DIRECTORS, UNIT PRODUCTION MANAGERS, ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS, AND STAGE MANAGERS IN TELEVISION, AND DIRECTORS OF NON-SCREEN OR TELEPLAY PRODUCTIONS, SUCH AS SPORTS DIRECTORS, NEWS DIRECTORS

AND SO FORTH.

LAST YEAR WE CELEBRATED FIFTY YEARS OF DEVOTION ΤΟ THE PURPOSES FOUNDERS TOGETHER, THE MOST IMPORTANT OF WHICH

THAT BROUGHT OUR

WAS

THE ENHANCEMENT OF ARTISTIC RIGHTS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS FOR PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINE AND GOALS.

TO BE SURE, IN OUR LABOR NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION, WE PURSUE THE SAME GENERAL GOALS AS OTHER LABOR GROUPS. BUT, IN

ONE WAY IN WHICH WE NEGOTIATE FOR THE RIGHT TO DO OUR JOBS WELL, THE DIRECTORS GUILD MAKES A CLAIM TO UNIQUENESS.

A VITAL PART OF OUR LABOR CONTRACT WITH OUR EMPLOYERS IS ENTITLED "CREATIVE RIGHTS." LET ME EXPLAIN THEIR PERTINENCE TO THIS HEARING.

THERE ARE THREE MAJOR PHASES то FILMMAKING: THE PREPRODUCTION PHASE (PREPARATION OF SCRIPT, CASTING, SELECTION OF STAFF AND LOCATION, BUDGETING ETC.) PRODUCTION -THE ACTUAL PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE FILM, AND THE POSTPRODUCTION PHASE WHERE ALL OF THE MATERIAL GATHERED IN PRODUCTION IS MARRIED. ACCORDING ΤΟ AESTHETIC

JUDGEMENTS, THE PRINTED TAKES ARE CUT INTO SELECTED PIECES, ARRANGED SEQUENTIALLY IN THE PROCESS CALLED EDITING, THEN MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS ARE CHOSEN, COLOR IS BALANCED AND, IN THE BLACK AND WHITE PROCESS, THE AMOUNT OF DENSITY AND THE QUALITY OF CONTRAST ARE CHOSEN BASED ON THE INFORMATION ON THE NEGATIVE.

"CREATIVE RIGHTS" IS A TITLE GIVEN ΤΟ A LIST OF RECORDED IN OUR BASIC MINIMUM CONTRACTS, WITH

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS,

CONTAINED

THE PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION,

THAT DIRECTORS ARE ARTISTS, AND AS SUCH

HAVE CERTAIN RIGHTS (NOT PRIVILIGES) CONNECTED WITH THE MAKING

OF THE FILM. THESE RANGE FROM THE SIMPLE RIGHT TO BE FULLY CONSULTED ON EVERY ARTISTIC DECISION AFTER THE DIRECTOR'S EMPLOYMENT BEGINS, TO THE RIGHT TO MAKE A "DIRECTOR'S CUT", THAT IS TO MAKE HIS/HER VERSION OF HOW THE FILM SHOULD APPEAR (IN WHAT SEQUENCE SCENES SHOULD FLOW, WHICH IMAGE SHOULD APPEAR, IN WHAT RHYTHM THE IMAGES SHOULD CHANGE, WHERE PAUSES SHOULD BE LENGTHENED OR SHORTENED ETC.)

FROM THE RIGHT OF FULL DISCLOSURE OF ANY DECISIONS PREVIOUSLY REACHED BY THE EMPLOYER WHICH MAY AFFECT THE DIRECTOR'S ARTISTIC CHOICES THROUGH MANY MANY OTHERS UP TO THE UNUSUAL RIGHT NOT TO BE DISCHARGED AFTER COMPLETION OF PHOTOGRAPHY FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN GROSS WILLFUL MISCONDUCT. THIS, SO THAT WE CAN NOT BE DEPRIVED

OF THE PRECIOUS

POSTPRODUCTION

RIGHTS WE HAVE NEGOTIATED. WITH

YOUR PERMISSION, A COPY OF OUR CONTRACT WILL BE OFFERED ΤΟ YOU

FOR THE RECORD.

OUR DEVOTION, AS A GUILD, TO ARTISTIC STANDARDS IS SHOWN IN MANY
DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT THE ONE WHICH I THINK WILL BE OF GREATEST
INTEREST ΤΟ THE COMMITTEE,
MR. CHAIRMAN, IS COMPENSATION

OF

A VERY SPECIAL KIND. IN ITS BASIC MINIMUM AGREEMENT WITH PRODUCING GUILD ASKS ITS DIRECTORS OF SCREENPLAYS

COMPANIES THE

DIRECTORS

AND TELEPLAYS ΤΟ DO CERTAIN WORK FOR NOTHING.

WE HAVE AGREED

TO CARRY OUT PARTICULAR POSTPRODUCTION TASKS FOR NO PAY FOR A PERIOD WHICH CAN RANGE FROM DAYS ΤΟ MONTHS. WE EVEN DISCIPLINE THOSE OF OUR MEMBERS WHO SHIRK THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR PROFESSIONAL

STANDARDS.

OUR

COMPENSATION,

THEREFORE,

IS NOT IN COIN ALONE. IT LIES, IN VERY LARGE PART, IN LOVE OF THE ART OF

LIFE

IN THE SATISFACTION OF REALIZING VISIONS WHICH WE LOVE VISIONS THAT HAVE BEEN CARRIED IN THE WOMBS OF OUR IMAGINATIONS

AS THEY HAVE UNDERGONE ALL KINDS OF NEEDED COMPROMISES AND ASSAULTS

WHICH RUN THE GAMUT FROM INADEQUATE TIME OR MONEY, UNSTABLE

PERSONNEL,

ACCIDENTS

THE ABOVE.

NERVOUS AND/OR INEXPERIENCED EXECUTIVES,

EXHAUSTION, ILLNESS, OUR OWN LIMITATIONS

BAD WEATHER,

OR ALL OF

WHEN PHOTOGRAPHY IS FINISHED EVEN THOSE OF US WHO WORK ON THE BASIS OF A SCALE CONTRACT SET ABOUT EDITING THE FILM FOR

NO ADDITIONAL PAY, REMAINING WITH IT FOR NO ADDITIONAL PAY. HAVING DEDICATED OURSELVES SINGULARLY AND COLLECTIVELY ΤΟ SEEKING THE OPPORTUNITY ΤΟ ACHIEVE THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF WORK OF WHICH WE ARE INDIVIDUALLY CAPABLE, HAVING PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY SURVIVED THE RIGORS OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS, ONLY ΤΟ BE ROBBED OF INTELLECTUAL FRUITS, WE FEEL IS AN UNACCEPTABLE AND UNDESERVED

PENALTY FOR OUR ASPIRATIONS TOWARD EXCELLENCE.

THE

SO OUR SENSIBILITIES ARE ACUTELY BRUISED WHEN WE SEE "OUR CHILDREN" TORTURED AND BUTCHERED ON TELEVISION BY THE VARIOUS

PUBLICLY

INSTRUMENTS OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGISTS.

THERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES:

FIRST, OUR FILMS ARE SPEEDED UP: AS YOU KNOW, FILM TRAVELS THROUGH

BE JUST SO SHORT.

ANOTHER MACHINE

THE CAMERA AND THE PROJECTOR AT 24 FPS. BY TRANSFERRING THE FILM
TO TAPE AND DROPPING THE EQUIVALENT OF ONE OR TWO OF THOSE FRAMES
PER SECOND OVER THE COURSE OF TWO HOURS, A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF
MINUTES ARE GAINED FOR COMMERCIAL MESSAGES.
COMPENSATES FOR THE RISE IN FREQUENCY OF THE ACTORS' VOICES. AS
YOU ALL MUST KNOW, ACTORS AND DIRECTORS WORK VERY HARD ON A SET
TO ACHIEVE, AMONG OTHER THINGS, EXACTLY THE RIGHT PACE. MANY HOURS
ARE SPENT TO GET A SCENE TO PLAY JUST SO LONG AND GET A PAUSE TO
ALL OF THIS WORK IS OBLITERATED BY THE MARKETEER
AND THE ENGINEER! SECOND, OUR FILMS ARE "PANNED AND SCANNED."
FILMS ARE PHOTOGRAPHED IN DIFFERENT ASPECT RATIOS (OR FRAME SIZES)
WHICH VARY FROM A FRAME THE SIZE OF 1 UNIT HIGH TO 1.33 UNITS WIDE
TO THE WIDE SCREEN CONSISTING OF PROPORTIONS OF 1 TO 2.35 UNITS.
A SHOT MADE OF A CANOE, WOULD IN WIDE SCREEN, FOR INSTANCE, CONTAIN
BOTH THE BOWMAN AND THE STERN MAN. WHEN SCREENED ON TELEVISION
THE MARKETEER HAS ONE OF FOUR CHOICES, SHOW THE BOWMAN, SHOW THE
STERN MAN, SHOW THE MIDDLE OF THE CANOE WITHOUT EITHER, OR PAN

AND SCAN

FORTH ACROSS THE FILM

FOLLOWING THE EXCHANGE
EMPHASIS,

I.E. MOVE A SCANNER BACK AND FROM THE BOW TO THE STERN AND BACK AGAIN, OF DIALOGUE. HE THEREBY IMPOSES A RHYTHM, IMAGERY FOREIGN ΤΟ THE FILMMAKERS IDEA. AND THEN FINALLY, THE

LAST STRAW

MOVEMENT AND

THE LIGHTNING ROD OFFENSE THAT BRINGS US HERE TODAY

-SEEING THOSE FILMS WHICH WERE MADE IN BLACK AND WHITE, DOUSED IN WHAT IS, IN OUR OPINION AND THAT OF ALMOST ALL CRITICS, INFERIOR COMPUTER GENERATED COLOR.

APART FROM POSITIONS AND

PERCEPTIONS, THERE IS ONE CLEAR AND

DISTINCTIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE COLOROIDS AND US. THAT DIFFERENCE

IS MONEY. THERE ARE THOSE, WHO STAND TO PROFIT FROM THE COMPUTER COLORING OF OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK AND THOSE LED BY THE DIRECTORS

GUILD OF AMERICA WHO STAND ΤΟ GAIN NOT ONE PENNY. MOST MEMBERS

OF THE DIRECTORS GUILD HAVE NEVER MADE A BLACK AND WHITE FILM AND

MAY NEVER HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO. MR. ROGER MAYER, PRESIDENT OF TURNER ENTERTAINMENT, WAS GENTLEMAN ENOUGH RECENTLY, TO PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE MORAL AND ETHICAL NATURE OF OUR CAUSE. RESPECTFULLY SUGGEST THAT THE COMMITTEE JUDGE THE VARIOUS ARGUMENTS OFFERED TO YOU IN THE LIGHT NOT ONLY OF MERIT BUT OF MOTIVATION.

I

LAST SUMMER OUR GUILD PRESIDENT GILBERT CATES ASKED ME TO TO CHAIR A COMMITTEE OF PROMINENT DIRECTORS, (A FEW OF WHICH ARE HERE TODAY) WHO WERE ΤΟ DISCUSS NEW TECHNOLOGIES

THAT WERE

THREATENING

THE

INTEGRITY OF THE FILMMAKING PROCESS. I WOULD LIKE TO READ TO YOU A PART OF THAT REPORT WHICH OUTLINES OUR PHILOSOPHY ON THE SUBJECT OF COMPUTER COLORING. IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED BY OUR NATIONAL BOARD AND THE IDEAS IT EXPRESSED PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR SIMILAR POSITIONS TAKEN BY ALMOST ALL ARTISTIC GUILDS, OTHER INTERESTED

GROUPS AND CRITICS.

THE ACT OF ARTISTIC DESECRATION WHEREBY A SPECIFIC

DRAMATIC AND PHOTOGRAPHIC VISION IS ALTERED, AFTER
THE FACT, BY A GROUP OF TECHNICIANS, WITH NEITHER
THE ADVICE NOR THE CONSENT OF THE ARTISTS WHO CREATED

THESE IMAGES IN THE FIRST PLACE, CONSTITUTES IN THE
WORDS OF JOHN HUSTON, "AS GREAT AN IMPERTINENCE AS
FOR SOMEONE TO WASH FLESH TONES ON A DA VINCI DRAWING.

THE DEFENDERS OF COMPUTER COLORING CLAIM THAT IN MANY

INSTANCES COLOR FILM WAS NOT AVAILABLE AT THE TIME

THESE PICTURES WERE MADE! WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS

A POINTLESS ARGUMENT. WHETHER IT WAS OR NOT, THE FACT

OF THE MATTER IS THAT FILMS, LIKE OTHER ARTISTIC

PRODUCTS HAVE PERSONALITIES OF THEIR OWN. IN MANY

CASES, BLACK-AND-WHITE WAS CHOSEN AND COLOR SPECIFICALLY REJECTED

FOR ARTISTIC REASONS. SOME OF THE ARTISTS REMAIN ALIVE

TO TESTIFY TO THE DELIBERATENESS OF THEIR CHOICES.

THE GUILD MUST SUPPORT THEM AND LENDS ITS VOICE IN
PROTECTION OF THE WORK OF THOSE ARTISTS WHO ARE NOT

HERE TO DEFEND THEIR WORK THEMSELVES.

THE REAL POINT TO BE ADDRESSED IS THAT IF FILMS WERE
MADE IN BLACK-AND-WHITE (FOR WHATEVER REASON), THEIR
CREATORS DESIGNED THEM TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES AND POSSIBILITIES AS WELL AS THE
THE LIMITATIONS OFFERED BY BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY.

"COLORIZATION" SIMPLY UNDERMINES THESE VALUES AND INTENTIONS.