The development and use of the zoom lens in American film and television: 1946-1974
Submitted by Nick Hall to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English, September 2012.
This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement.
I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University.
(Signature) ………………………………………………………………………………
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Abstract
This dissertation documents two aspects of the development and use of zoom lenses in American film and television from 1946 to 1974. It contributes a detailed account of the impact of Zoomar lenses on early postwar American television, and of the later role of ‘TV Generation’ creative figures who started their careers in television before becoming feature directors. Chapter 1 introduces the study and defines key terms used throughout. Chapter 2 includes a comprehensive literature review of existing critical and historical approaches to the zoom lens. Chapter 3 outlines methodologies for source selection and analysis. Chapter 4 accounts for the development and technological heritage of the Zoomar lens. Inventive efforts and methods used by its primary inventor, Frank Back, are discussed. Chapter 5 outlines the means by which Back and his business partners marketed the lens. In Chapter 6, the extent to which the lens was used in the American television industry between 1946 and 1956 is demonstrated. Chapter 7 discusses the American market entry of the Pan Cinor zoom lens, and attempts by Zoomar to use patent law to block it. Chapter 8 discusses the way in which zoom lenses were used in television during the later 1950s and early 1960s, with a particular focus on some of the ‘TV Generation’ directors. Chapter 9 discusses developments in zoom lens technology and in industrial attitudes towards the use of such technology. Chapter 10 discusses the use of the zoom by TV Generation directors in their later feature film work. The final chapter compares discussions of Robert Altman’s use of the zoom in the early 1970s with the problematizing example of contemporaneous television style. Significant findings are summarized, and areas for future investigation suggested. Specifically, the dissertation demonstrates that early postwar American television is a rich untapped area for future investigations of the roots of film technology, and that from 1946 to 1974 zoom lens development was more gradual, incremental and complex than previously suggested.
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Acknowledgements
I am deeply grateful to:
my supervisors, Prof. Steve Neale and Dr. James Lyons, who encouraged me to pursue the topic, and offered support, advice, and encouragement while I did so;
my fellow students and colleagues in the Department of English at the University of Exeter, and beyond – especially those who asked tricky questions, or shared their favourite zoom shot;
the individuals who made time to be interviewed, or shared their expertise: especially Bill Pegler, Chuck Pharis, Norman D. Preston, Robert J. Roth, and William Arbaugh – and to David Gleason for maintaining AmericanRadioHistory.com;
the staff of the archives consulted – especially Heather Smedberg and her colleagues in the Mandeville Special Collections Library at UC San Diego, Dorinda Hartmann at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, Dr Mark Quigley at the Archive Research and Study Center at UCLA, and the students who keep the Instructional Media Lab there running smoothly;
the Arts and Humanities Research Council, for funding the project;
my friends and family;
and above all Kiri Thompson.
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Contents
Abstract ...... 3
Acknowledgements ...... 5
List of Illustrations ...... 9
1. Introduction ...... 13
Technological Definitions ...... 17 Terminology ...... 20 2. Literature Review ...... 23
‘Use and Abuse’ ...... 23 General Histories ...... 35 Beyond ‘Use and Abuse’ ...... 43 3. Research Methodology ...... 51
Social Histories of Technology ...... 51 Source Selection ...... 62 Aesthetic Criticism ...... 67 4. Inventing the Zoomar Lens...... 73
Context for Invention: Zoom Technology To 1940 ...... 74 Frank Back and the Zoomar Lens...... 86 5. Marketing the Zoomar Lens ...... 99
Paramount Newsreel ...... 99 Network Television: NBC and the Zoomar Lens ...... 106 Local Stations and Other Networks ...... 119 Sports, News, and Light Entertainment ...... 126 6. From Puppets to Presidents: Case Studies ...... 136
Kukla, Fran, and Ollie ...... 136 Political Conventions ...... 146 Beyond Television ...... 158 Figures: Chapter 6 ...... 163 7. Competition: Paillard and the Pan Cinor ...... 167
Pan Cinor and Zoomar 16 ...... 171 Hall 8
Zoomar vs. Paillard ...... 178 8. Filmed Television and the Zoom Shot ...... 187
Night Court ...... 190 TV Generation I: The Zoom in Television Drama ...... 197 Figures: Chapter 8 ...... 217 9. Feature Films Before the ‘Zoom Boom’: 1957 to 1969 ...... 223
Technological Developments ...... 224 Stylistic Developments ...... 233 Figures: Chapter 9 ...... 251 10. TV Generation II: The Zoom in Feature Drama...... 261
Robert Mulligan and John Frankenheimer ...... 262 Sydney Pollack ...... 268 Robert Altman ...... 278 Figures: Chapter 10 ...... 289 11. Future Directions: The 1970s and Beyond ...... 297
“Jazz Improvisations” or Television Style?...... 298 The Social Construction of the Zoom Lens ...... 320 Mapping Future Enquiries ...... 327 Figures: Chapter 11 ...... 335 Appendices ...... 339
Appendix 1 ...... 341 Bibliography ...... 343