American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1963)

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Continued from Page 268 And, the sound that is recorded on stripe by a professional recorder has its own quality limitation in playback, based on such projection factors as close and constant contact with the magnetic playback head, consistent thickness and smoothness of the mag¬ netic coating, effective steadiness of movement over the sound head — plus the distribution limitation of fewer magnetic than optical projectors in the held, and the hazard of either inten¬ tional or unintentional alteration of the track. For these reasons, the use of magnetic sound tracks on release prints has been rather limited. However, the fact remains that the quality can be quite good, and there are other unquestioned, special-use ad¬ vantages. For one thing, the producer can use a stripe on his edited work print to record a temporary version of what will he the finished sound track, in order to present both picture and sound to his sponsor or him buyer for ap¬ proval. Of course, this type of presenta¬ tion has been used ever since sound came in, but prior to magnetic strip¬ ing this required the use of costly facili¬ ties to play back the separate sound track or tracks. This meant the pro¬ ducer had to get the customer into his own production studio, or into a re¬ cording studio equipped to handle both sound and picture on separate ma¬ chines. With magnetic stripe and a magnetic projector, the presentation becomes portable — the striped and edited work print can be taken any¬ where for the approval showing. This type of sound presentation us¬ ually results in a continuous projection session and eliminates the tendency to interruption, as when a script is read against the edited picture. However, after the first run, changes can be made, easily and economically as com¬ pared to the considerable cost involved in making changes in a final recorded optical track. The flexibility of a mag¬ netic sound track is of perhaps the greatest value to the user of a him. For prints to be used abroad — by in¬ dustry, governmental agencies, church missions, or others — it has proved use¬ ful to have a full-width (100 mil) magnetic stripe on which the exhibitor, using his own magnetic-optical projec¬ tor, may then record the language, dialect, or subject matter desired for showing to a particular audience, and to change the track again for the next audience, if necessary. Assuming the availability of a magnetic projectorrecorder, a different language or a dif¬ ferent interpretation of subject matter can he recorded on the print, on the spot. Or, with a magnetic stripe (50 mil) covering half the “normal’' optical track area, a print may be run using either the optical sound head to re¬ produce the sound on the optical track (say, English), or on the magnetic head, to reproduce whatever sound the print owner wanted to record on the half-stripe (say, Spanish). This in¬ volves some loss of quality on the photo track, but it is still intelligible. The magnetic stripe on film has its definite values, as another specialized aid in certain types of limited produc¬ tion, in speeding and smoothing pro¬ duction approvals, in reducing sound track costs on simple or small print orders, and in providing a valuable flexibility for changing the material on the track in the field. ■ WHAT’S NEW Continued from Page 272 same photo light performance charac¬ teristics in a low line-voltage situation as is possible with standard 120-volt line output. TRIPOD TRIANGLE The newly designed Camart tripod triangle, available through The Camera Mart, Inc., 1845 Broadway, New York 23, features center construction with a recessed casting to eliminate unsteady hinges. One stationary triangle bar arm and two movable bar arms allow the triangle to be collapsed into flat posi¬ tion when not in use. All-aluminum construction of centerpiece channel and bar arms provide durability. All nuts, screws and bolts are nickel-cadmium plated for rust protection. Shoes for tripod leg tips are deep cast at an angle with a stop rest for safety. Tie-down clamps are of floating de¬ sign insuring accurate centering of tri XV«. * /// %H0F Print Vour Titles with TEL-Animaprint HOT only $495 Write for brochure S.O.S. PHOTO-CINE OPTICS, Inc. 602 West 52nd St., New York 19 — PLaza 7-0440 Western Branch: B331 Hoily’d Blvd., Hollywood, Calif. AVAILABLE SOON COLOR REVERSAL WORK PRINTS 35mm .07 ft. 16mm .05 ft. B&W WORK PRINTS KEY NUMBERS 35mm .05 ft. 16mm .04 ft. LEADER 35mm 1 6mm Black frame .038 ft. Black Opaque .02 ft. Academy, Academy, TV or MP .04 ft. TV or MP .038 ft. NO SPLICED STOCK RAPID SERVICE SURPLUS MOTION PICT. EQUIP. ASSOCIATED TEL-A-PH0T0LABS, INC. 2705 West Olive, Burbank, Calif. TH 6-7779 EM 6-1036 24 HR. SERVICE WEEK ENDS 35 SEPIA TONE MM NEW IMPROVED PROCESS LAMINATED SOUND STRIPING THE 8MM— 16MM L.U. 2V2* per ft. 380 Ft. Minimum Order — Quality Guaranteed Send for Free Brochure 736t/2 SO. ATLANTIC BLVD., LOS ANGELES 22, CAL. AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, MAY, 1963 309