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In order to explain the function of Alpha I must go over as simply as possible the development of Commercial Television in the Midlands.

The I.T.A. really stands for the Independent Television Authority, which is responsible to the Government for controlling the whole of commercial television. One of the I.T.A.’s main functions is to see that commercial television is operated in accordance with the Television Act of 1954.

Let us now confine our thoughts to the Midland Region. Two contracts were issued by the I.T.A. to allow commercial television broadcasting over seven days each week in this area. The first contract was to Associated TeleVision Limited (A.T.V.) to transmit programmes from Mondays to Fridays inclusive; the second to A.B.C. Television Limited (A.B.C.), for a similar operation on Saturdays and Sundays.

When these contracts were issued in late 1955, there was very little time to find, organise and equip studios to meet an opening date for the Midland Transmitter at Lichfield already set for February 17th, 1956. Both A.B.C. and A.T.V. therefore commenced their activities in the Midlands by searching independently for suitable premises from which to operate. It became abundantly clear that time and effort would be saved if the two companies operated on a joint basis, looking for one suitable site obviously being easier than looking for two and bearing in mind that A.B.C.’s two days of operation would not cut across A.T.V.’s five days and vice versa. Thus was born an idea for a joint company to supply studios, equipment, offices and staff capable of transmitting television programmes throughout seven days a week on behalf of the two Parent Companies. Time has proved that this thinking was not only practical but most successful. The name of the Company chosen was Alpha Television Services (Birmingham) Limited.

Alpha is best described as a Production factory, making television shows to the specifications of A.B.C. and A.T.V. producers. As soon as a producer has decided upon his format for any given show, the scenic designers, wardrobe, property and technical departments such as cameras, sound, lighting engineers etc., all go to work in their respective fields, to produce the necessary requirements called for. All this work is assembled in the studios, and ancillary areas on the day of transmission or, in the case of a large production, the day before, where, like a jig-saw puzzle, all the pieces are assembled to put before you a completed picture at the times advertised in your Television Times.

That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the answer to ‘What is Alpha?’

How television reaches your home

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Normally this will be several weeks before the proposed transmission date, and the final success of the programme will to a large extent depend, in the ensuing period, on the Director’s precise programme requirements being passed on accurately and in good time to the Alpha staff concerned. As some Directors are based in London, and therefore, to make sure that no information goes astray, it is all sent to Alpha’s Production Office, the focal point if you like, and then channelled off to the specialised production departments, namely Design, Cameras, Lighting, Floor Managers, Sound, Scenes, Property Department, Wardrobe and Make-up.

To illustrate how Alpha’s production services play their part let us consider as an example, a play that is to be transmitted from these Studios.

Firstly, an Alpha Designer, after having read the script and discussed details with the Director, sets about designing scenery for the programme. In doing this he attempts to create the illusion of reality and to add impact to the story being told. Television being basically a technical medium, however, he has to take into account in his creative work the part that cameras, microphone booms and lighting will finally play, and also the physical limitations of the studio itself. He will, therefore, liaise closely with Lighting, Sound and Camera Specialists during this phase.

When design drawings have been completed, they are passed on to the Alpha Scenery Construction Unit, where skilled carpenters, painters and scenic artists immediately go to work.

As soon as scenery construction is under way the Designer and the Director will be thinking about Property requirements for the programme, the final list being passed on to the Property Master/Buyer, whose job it is to hire, buy or borrow with the greatest possible speed anything from an elephant to an ‘L’ plate.

The Director by now will be rehearsing his artistes at an outside rehearsal room, and at the same time working out on a studio floor plan the position and moves for cameras and microphone booms.

When he has a clear idea of his plan of action, a planning meeting is arranged with senior lighting, sound and camera technicians from Alpha. The purpose of this meeting is to iron out any snags that may have been overlooked, and to generally brief the Alpha personnel, so enabling them to deploy their equipment and crew in the most efficient way.

As the day of transmission draws near, final requirements for the programme become known and this information is again passed on via the Production Office to the departments concerned. It will include for example Wardrobe, Make-up, Caption, Dressing Room and Electronic requirements, final arrangements for camera rehearsal and feeding arrangements for the crews and cast, plus a host of what the layman may consider to be unimportant details but which, in fact, are a vital contribution to a polished television programme.

On the morning of transmission, and as a result of this careful pre-planning, the Scene Master and Property Master and their staffs have transformed the studio into an authentic setting for the play. Cameras,, microphone booms and lamps are roughly in position, and crews are standing by for the Director from the Control Room to give his first instructions for camera rehearsal.

At the end of the day and after a final full dress rehearsal everyone in the Production Team will be tuned to concert pitch, and waiting for the moment of no return when the red light goes on and they are ‘on the air.’

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Programmes originate from various sources all over the country. In our Master Control they are linked, together with the commercials, to make a continuous days viewing for the Midlands audience. Most commercials are made on film and are shown by means of a special television camera and projector combination called a Telecine machine.

Tonight you will see a programme from our Studio A. The scenes are looked at by four television cameras and the sound is picked up by a number of different types of microphones, some on fixed stands, some mobile on devices called booms and some carried by the individual artistes. After the cameras have turned the pictures into electrical impulses, the engineers adjust and process these ‘electrical pictures’ to conform to the high standard of television which is required.

In the studio control room the producer selects the pictures he wishes to transmit, and a girl operates a control panel according to his requirements. Part of the vision mixer which this panel controls was designed by the Engineers at Alpha and a large range of effects can be carried out. One picture can be changed into another by means of wipes, dissolves or cuts. On special occasions arrangements can be made to provide the foreground of a picture from one camera and the background from another. Therefore, with a camera on the roof, an artist standing in the studio might appear to be on the chimney tops of Aston.

The ‘electrical sounds’ are processed, balanced and checked for quality, and sent with the picture to Master Control. Continuous programme leaves Master Control and is carefully checked for quality before it is sent on its route to the transmitter.

In this country the General Post Office handles most of the television network distribution system between cities and it is through the Post Office cables and radio links that our picture and sound reach the local I.T.A. Transmitter.

Throughout the Independent Television network the technical quality is being constantly checked by highly skilled engineers. In order to enable the engineers to locate a fault quickly a system of private telephone lines, almost as complicated as the television distribution system itself, links the engineers of the I.T.A., the G.P.O. and the various programme contractors. A fault noticed in Birmingham may well start as far away as Scotland and has to be put right within a few seconds of being noticed.

The engineers at Alpha are constantly searching for improved methods of operation of equipment to produce still better picture and sound quality in your homes, and persistantly strive to maintain the finest possible television service to you the viewers.

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