British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

UPITN – September 1973: A Month in the Life

As the market boomed in the 1950s and 1960s the company underwent a fundamental change with United Press International switching partners, losing Movietone in 1963 and gaining ITN in 1967 to form UPITN. In the 1970s UPITN, along with Visnews, dominated the television news agency landscape with extensive networks of foreign bureaux stretching across the globe. Stationed here were cameramen, primarily freelance, using light, compact 16mm cameras to film events. The filmed stories were then transported by whatever means available for processing at UPITN HQ either in London (Europe, Asia, Africa content) or New York (North, Central and South America, Asia content). The editors that day would then decide which stories were syndicated with London and New York exchanging material appropriate to their own clients. These were roughly edited down to a couple of minutes or less, duplicated and sent to clients. Some stories were syndicated immediately, others might wait a day whilst others were never syndicated and sent straight to the library. A subscribing station received a daily selection of ten to twelve stories with shotlists, these contained contextual and technical information as well as a shot by shot description.

… in the 1970s UPITN, along with Visnews, dominated the television news agency landscape

The important point here is that a significant amount of selection has already taken place before broadcast news companies received the footage. Stories were chosen for syndication and those distributed had already been edited, with shots chosen and assembled. So if we want to understand what made the news agenda and why, then an awareness of this pre-selection element is necessary and a working knowledge of the role of television agencies in the news supply chain vital.

An Initial Rough Cut of the World’s News
The 362 stories in UPITN – September 1973 represent the entire agency output for the month. This snapshot encompasses the full spectrum of content with international diplomacy, conflict and its resolution occupying the same space as sport, technology and fashion. The form that they come in, however, is far from the polished stories that audiences would have viewed as part of News at Ten on ITV.

The material, drawn from multiple sources, is fragmentary by nature mainly consisting of raw colour footage, either mute or with ambient sound. Mixed in with this are odd black and white items, some items with commentary and the occasional edited background item. Most of these stories do spill out of the camera and can be more powerful for it as we see an event through the cameraman’s eyes. Mute footage of armed children ready to fight in Cambodia and the removal of bodies in the aftermath of the coup in Chile are more affecting to view. Stripped of the drama that editing and commentary lend a news story these images are all the more striking because they seem normal and everyday. The mobility of the camera and ambient sound that accompanies demonstrations and marches gives a sense of both the euphoria and the more mundane elements involved in this form of protest. So although these items are not the finished broadcast product they do possess qualities that lend a different perspective to historical events.

web-upitn-logo

« previous     1 2 3 4