Viewing - Text 2
These first light tables had little to do with editing, in the sense in which we understand the term today, because they were not used to view segments of film, but rather to examine the film stock itself. At the time, the film was not viewed until the end (or almost) of the manufacturing process: the tableaux of these short films were assembled according to a pre-established plan which was communicated to the various workers, men and women, in charge of the laboratory’s various operations. The result was then screened for approval, modification or rejection by those in charge of the production.
With the gradual increase in the average length of a film, evaluating assembly assays before the film was finished became more and more important. Longer films, in fact, had to be viewed several times, often in several parts (because all the assemblages being tried out had to be evaluated). This led to increased to-ing and fro-ing between the place where films were assembled and the screening room.