Society Leader

Background

The Society Leader is a film leader derived from the Academy Leader and introduced in 1951 by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). This leader did not receive a separate standard identification, but was widely used until the 1960s when the SMPTE Universal Leader replaced it.

Leader (1951-1960s)

Visuals: Two white cards showing "HEAD" and "PICTURE" (both in black lettering) appear one after another, followed by information of the film succeeding this (varies from film to film). A white crosshair design is seen over a gray circle, with sound cues for 16mm and 35mm sound appearing: "16 SOUND" (mirrored) popping up for a second on the right side of the design, followed by "35 SOUND" popping up on the left side. Afterwards, a white card with the stacked words "PICTURE START" pops up. The crosshair design appears again as a countdown from 11-3 begins. For every count, a circle containing the number pops up over the design, and between each count, the 16mm and 35mm sound cues from before pop up. The numbers 9 and 6 are spelled out in uppercase instead of being shown in numerals.

Variants:

Some films feature a card featuring the words "SMPTE SOCIETY LEADER", just before the "PICTURE START" card.
Production/editing companies and/or studios would often have custom versions of this leader.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: The 2-pop beep sound.

Availability: This leader is seen on various 16mm and 35mm films from the 1950s to the 1960s, including prints of television shows such as I Love Lucy and also commercials.