[Jukebox-list] Sound-was-A Christmas Card for Everyone

[David Breneman]

--- Ron Rich <ronnnrich at yahoo.com> wrote:

>   Do you know--were the old film rolls only 15 minutes long?  The
> ones used in the 60's were 20-22 minutes each.--just wondering
> here--wonder if that's the reason many movies were ( and possibly
> still are) made without sound during the first few minutes (
> usually while the studio's name/logo appears on screen).

1000' of 35mm film runs 11 minutes at 24fps.  Nitrate based
film was limited to 1000' reels due to fire codes.  When
safety film came out, 2000' reels became more standard.
Nowadays, many films are distributed on four foot diameter
core loads for platter systems.  I think the silence over the
logo bit was considered artistic in many circles in the
60s and 70s.  Remember, even Fox lost their fanfare until
George Lucas used it in Star Wars for a "retro feel".
Many early sound films begin with sound right from the
start.

>   Too bad that my "Unk" is gone--he would have been more then happy
> to answer those questions a couple of weeks ago----
>   I do recall that the TT "ran slow" and the tone arm seamed "real
> heavy" to me, but like I said, I was very young at that time.

It's strange that it would run slow.  The turntable was usually
connected to the projector with a chain of gears and drive
shafts so they were mechanically interlocked.  Usually the
only time you'd have to make adjustments on the fly was if
the needle jumped the groove or the film broke.  The pickups
of the 1920s used horseshoe magnets and they were as heavy
as accoustic pickups.  The records were only good for about
25 plays then there were to be discarded.  Most films shipped 
with several sets of records.


David Breneman         david_breneman at yahoo.com


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