Behind Your Radio Dial: The Story of NBC
Moving Image:Behind Your Radio Dial: The Story of NBC
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Behind Your Radio Dial: The Story of NBC is a short film from 1948 released on 16mm. It is held in the Prelinger Archives collection.
DESCRIPTION : A behind-the-scenes tour of NBC's radio and television recording and broadcasting studios at Radio City in Rockefeller Center,NYC. Features shots of the old-fashioned, large floor television sets andradio sets of the era.Directed by Edward J Montagne.
Behind Your Radio Dial: The Story of NBC | |
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Produced by | RKO-Path |
Production company | RKO-Path |
Distributed by | RKO-Path |
Release date | 1948 |
Running time | 24:04 |
Language | English |
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Shot List
[On-screen timecode]. 02:00:00:00 ZI to large radio set in a cozy living room with blazing fireplace; hand turns on the radio; CU INT mechanism of the radio; DISSOLVE to a symphony orchestra performing piece of music. 02:01:46:00 Montage of people listening to the radio: housewife woman cooking food in her kitchen; little boy getting into bed and under the covers; man at work-table in machine shop; couple relaxing on penthouse patio of apartment building; couple lying down on the beach; man in his living room with pet dogs; "blind newsdealer" man sitting in his newsstand; man driving car. 02:10:00:00 Montage of NBC radio recording studios: reporters reading news reports into microphones; actors performing radio plays; musicians performing; etc. 02:02:39:00 Man wearing headphones and his son try to tune-in a radio station with hand-made radio in basement. 02:03:10:00 Family in their parlor / living room, man sits in front of and listens to cone speaker of radio. 02:03:38:00 1925 archival footage of President Calvin Coolidge being sworn in during inauguration ceremonies. 02:04:00:00 1920s archival footage of sports announcer Graham McNamee reciting play-by-play coverage of a Rose Bowl football game into an NBC microphone. 02:04:17:00 Animation: map of the US illustrating commercial radio networks with rippling circles. 02:04:48:00 TU EXT the RCA Building / GE Building of Rockefeller Center; VS NBC studios lobby; VS usher guide woman leads visitors on a tour of the master control room (with technicians / engineers), recording studios, newsroom (with typists and teletype machines), program schedule board, etc. 02:06:59:00 VS radio actors / players perform a radio play in studio; director in booth breaks-in to instruct the actors. 02:08:09:00 Commentator / anchorman HV Kaltenborn announces news into microphone in news studio; engineer in booth gives the "cut" signal; Kaltenborn briefly speaks to CAM about news and history. 02:08:48:00 VS radio station newsroom: man monitors row of news-wire teletype machines, tears off one urgent bulletin and hands it to news announcer to read it on the air; row of wall clocks displaying times of different international cities; etc. 02:09:41:00 Recording engineer makes a news recording on a phonograph record LP; CU the spinning record. 02:10:25:00 Archival footage news montage: Wiley Post after his record-breaking around-the-world flight; the Hindenburg explosion; Wendell Willkie (?) speaking at the 1940 Republican National Convention; FDR making speech before Congress. 02:11:19:00 Commentator / anchorman HV Kaltenborn speaks to CAM about NBC radio news. 02:12:00:00 UN Security Council meeting, US Representative (Warren Austin?) speaking. 02:12:24:00 NBC office worker scenes: VS workers sorting mail in the mailroom; mail is delivered to employees by cart; workers at desks speak into old-fashioned dictaphones; rows of typist women at work; men operating small mimeograph or rexograph copying machines; man rapidly collates papers; etc. 02:12:59:00 Foley artists record sound effects in radio studio. 02:13:06:00 Pianist in radio recording studio, he begins to play after "on air" light on wall illuminates. 02:13:23:00 VS the NBC radio music library: sheet music and other paper documents are chosen from stacks, stamped, read, etc.; music arrangers / producers confer together over sheet music; man opens and closes filing cabinets holding sheet music scores in large library / archive room. 02:14:21:00 Live broadcast from Radio City studio: VS chorus of singers rehearsing on stage for the Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians Show; VS engineer and producer in the booth; "on the air" sign illuminates; VS announcer and chorus on stage before a live studio audience. 02:16:54:00 Radio show broadcast: Fred Allen and Parker Fennelly perform "Allen's Alley" comedy routine in front of microphone; Fennelly does New England country accent. 02:17:20:00 EXT NBC Radio City building in Hollywood. 02:17:27:00 Bob Hope signs autographs for fans in crowd on sidewalk, then drives away in convertible car. 02:17:39:00 Man opens closet door, hat boxes, luggage and the like spill out and fall down on him. [Slapstick, pratfall]. 02:17:50:00 Radio show broadcast: group of people sit at desk in front of NBC microphones during a discussion. 02:18:04:00 News reporter on location on farm field speaks into NBC radio microphone. 02:18:08:00 Religious radio show broadcasts: Catholic priest speaks into microphone at pulpit; Protestant minister speaks into microphone at pulpit; Jewish Rabbi speaks into microphone at pulpit. 02:18:19:00 Radio show broadcast: group of people sit at desk in front of NBC microphones during a discussion. 02:18:27:00 Early telemarketing: woman at telephone switchboard makes a telephone call; housewife woman answers her telephone and the switchboard operator asks her a marketing survey question. 02:19:01:00 VS marketing survey / opinion poll is taken at a theater / assembly hall: people in audience fill out questionnaire sheets and answer questions into microphone held before them by usher. 02:20:27:00 Man stamps paper document with "approval" at desk during business meeting. 02:20:40:00 Montage of people listening to the radio: CU shots and DISSOLVES of hands adjusting radio knobs; people listening closely to radios, sitting next to their radios, etc. 02:21:16:00 Early television montage: camera operator and his large NBC television camera; VS people watching early television sets. 02:21:46:00 Television studio recording session scenes: VS crew and cameras around the set (featuring scantily clad dancing women); VS engineers and producers watching monitors and sitting at control panels. 02:22:42:00 Children laughing while watching Howdy Doody marionette puppet on television set. 02:23:01:00 Two men watch a baseball game on television set. 02:23:10:10 Man watches a symphony orchestra perform on his television set, he adjusts tuning knobs.