[Jukebox-list] Movie Sound

[David Breneman]

--- Ed  Inman <edinman at earthlink.net> wrote:

> I believe playing records in sync to produce a film's soundtrack
> was called the "Vitaphone" system and was largely phased out by the
> 30s when variable density soundtracks became common.

Although production of films in Vitaphone pretty well ceased
by 1930, many films were distributed in the format into the
late 30s because cash-strapped small-town theater owners didn't
want to shell out for the sound-on-film equipment.  Films
were a nightmare to make in Vitaphone because you couldn't
have scene changes in mid-reel unless you blocked the action
like a live television show or stage play.  Background music
and effects also had to be played in live like a radio play.
Towards the end, Warner Bros. had a method for mixing sound
from different sources that involved a lot of turntables,
stop watches and timing systems that raised and dropped tone
arms based on the number of revs of certain turntables.
Besides being a logistical nightmare to operate, the loss
of several generations in the process produced a final
product that had noticably degraded sound quality.


David Breneman         david_breneman at yahoo.com


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