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
DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT THE ONE WHICH I THINK WILL BE OF
INTEREST ΤΟ THE COMMITTEE,
MR. CHAIRMAN, IS COMPENSATION

IN MANY

GREATEST

OF

A VERY SPECIAL KIND. IN ITS BASIC MINIMUM AGREEMENT WITH PRODUCING

COMPANIES THE

DIRECTORS

GUILD ASKS ITS DIRECTORS OF SCREENPLAYS

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 ΤΟ OUR PROFESSIONAL

STANDARDS.

OUR

COMPENSATION,

THEREFORE,

IS NOT IN COIN ALONE. IT LIES, IN

VERY LARGE PART, IN LOVE OF THE ART OF BRINGING A SCREENPLAY TO

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 NERVOUS AND/OR INEXPERIENCED EXECUTIVES, BAD WEATHER,

PERSONNEL,

ACCIDENTS

EXHAUSTION, ILLNESS, OUR OWN LIMITATIONS

OR ALL OF

THE ABOVE. 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

PUBLICLY

SO OUR SENSIBILITIES ARE ACUTELY BRUISED WHEN WE SEE "OUR CHILDREN" TORTURED AND BUTCHERED ON TELEVISION BY THE VARIOUS THERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES:

INSTRUMENTS OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGISTS.

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

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
BE JUST SO SHORT. 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

I.E. MOVE A SCANNER

BACK AND

FORTH ACROSS THE FILM

FOLLOWING THE EXCHANGE
EMPHASIS, MOVEMENT 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

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
DISTINCTIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE COLOROIDS AND US. THAT DIFFERENCE

PERCEPTIONS, THERE IS ONE CLEAR AND

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

I

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.

THE

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 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.

THE FUNDAMENTAL MISTAKE MADE BY THOSE WHO PROMULGATE
"COLORIZATION" IS THAT BLACK AND WHITE FILMS NEED

TO BE "IMPROVED" THEY ARE WHAT THEY ARE, FOR BETTER
OR FOR WORSE. ADDING COLOR TO ORIGINAL BLACK AND

WHITE FILMS MAKES THEM SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN THEY
WERE. "GRAPES OF WRATH" IN COLOR WOULD NOT BE "GRAPES

OF WRATH", AS DIRECTED BY JOHN FORD. LIKEWISE,

"CITIZEN KANE" "CASABLANCA" AND COUNTLESS OTHER

CINEMATIC TREASURES WILL BE FATALLY DILUTED IF SUBJECTED ΤΟ

THE "COLORIZING" ANNIHILATION.

"COLORIZATION" ADVOCATES ALSO MAINTAIN THAT VIEWERS

WHO ARE OFFENDED BY THE PROCESS HAVE THE OPTION OF

TURNING DOWN THE COLOR KNOB ON THEIR TELEVISION
SETS. WE TAKE STRONG EXCEPTION TO SUCH A
SUGGESTION AS A FUNDAMENTAL CORRUPTION OF THE

ARTISTS' PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS. THE CHOICE OF THE
APPEARANCE OF ANY WORK OF ART DOES NOT REST WITH THE

READER, THE LISTENER, THE VIEWER OR THE AUDIENCE.

IT RESTS WITH THE ARTIST. IT IS PERHAPS THE MOST

BASIC RIGHT OF THE ARTIST, AND ONE THAT THE DIRECTORS GUILD,
AS YOU KNOW, HAS FOUGHT FOR BY MEANS OF MANY PUBLIC
DEBATES AND THROUGH MANY CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS.
BUT THERE IS AN EQUALLY COMPELLING REASON THAT WE
BELIEVE THAT THE GUILD SHOULD OPPOSE "COLORIZATION"
WE BELIEVE THAT "COLORIZATION" REPRESENTS THE
HISTORY, THE VANDALISM OF OUR COMMON PAST, NOT MERELY
AS IT RELATES TO FILM, BUT AS IT AFFECTS SOCIETY'S
"COLORIZATION" IS A RE-WRITING

PERCEPTION OF ITSELF.

MUTILATION OF

OF HISTORY, WHICH WE BELIEVE TO BE INHERENTLY DANGEROUS.
WE BELIEVE THAT THE DIRECTORS GUILD SHOULD SUPPORT THE

NOTION THAT NO CIVILIZATION WORTHY OF THE NAME CAN AFFORD

TO PROMULGATE LIES ABOUT ITSELF.

IF WE DO NOT PRESERVE WITH FIDELITY IMAGES OF HOW WE
ONCE VIEWED OURSELVES, WE INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD

THAT WE WILL ARRIVE AT A DISTORTED UNDERSTANDING

OF WHO WE ARE AND HOW WE GOT THAT WAY."

"BUT," SAY THE "COLOROIDS", IGNORING US, "MANY BLACK AND WHITE

FILMS WERE NOT MADE BY CHOICE BUT BY STUDIO FIAT AND MANY DIRECTORS WOULD HAVE WANTED COLOR IF THEY HAD BEEN ALLOWED TO USE IT."

PUTTING ASIDE THE QUESTION WHETHER ANY PROFESSIONAL WOULD STILL

HAVE A JOB AFTER MISAPPLYING SUCH COLORS, THE REASON THAT THE PALETTE, WAS OR IS, LIMITED TO BLACK AND WHITE, MAY BE HISTORICALLY INTERESTING BUT IT IS ARTISTICALLY IRRELEVANT. WE WORK, LIKE MOST ARTISTS,

WITH WHAT WE HAVE. FOR EXAMPLE, BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY IS

NOT COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY WITH THE COLOR REMOVED. IT INVOLVES A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE WHICH MY COLLEAGUES WILL ADDRESS.

NOW TO THE QUESTION OF WHY ANYONE SHOULD CARE, PARTICULARLY THE
INTELLECTUAL LEADERS AND LAWMAKERS OF OUR SOCIETY.

SOME REASONS.

LET ME OFFER

NO ART (INCLUDING FILM ART) IS CREATED IN A SOCIAL

VACUUM. OUR ARTISTS HAVE BEEN FORMED AND INFORMED BY OUR CULTURE, WHICH IN MOST CASES GAVE THEM BIRTH, AND IN ALL CASES GAVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE KIND OF FREE

EXPRESSION THAT LED FINALLY

TO THE PRODUCTION OF THEIR WORK WORK UNIQUE AND SPECIAL TO THEIR NATION, BORN OF A PARTICULAR TIME AND A PARTICULAR PLACE, SOLVING PARTICULAR AESTHETIC AND TECHNICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE PARTICULAR TOOLS AVAILABLE TO THEM AT THAT TIME.

THE CULTURE OF THE UNITED STATES, LIKE THAT OF MOST OTHER COUNTRIES, HAS BEEN SUPPORTED AND PROTECTED BY THE TAXES OF THE PEOPLE AND SOMETIMES BY THEIR LIVES. IN A VERY REAL SENSE THEREFORE, THERE IS A NATIONAL INTEREST

AN INVESTMENT IN SEEING TO IT THAT CULTURE

(OF WHICH ART IS AN IMPORTANT INGREDIENT) IS PRESERVED.

IN FACT, IN SUPPORT OF THIS THESIS, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAKES

FUNDS AVAILABLE ΤΟ CERTAIN

ORGANIZATIONS,

SUCH AS THE AMERICAN

FILM INSTITUTE, THE SMITHSONIAN, AND THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

THE RESTORATION OF BLACK AND WHITE FILMS.

FOR

ONE MIGHT SAY, ΤΟ BE SPECIFIC, THAT FRANK CAPRA DID NOT CREATE "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE" BY HIMSELF BUT WAS NURTURED BY THE CULTURAL HERITAGE WHICH PRECEDED AND ENCOURAGED HIM. THAT WORK, THEREFORE, IN ONE SENSE, BELONGS TO THE WHOLE NATION.