American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1963)

But if camera or recorder noise level is high, or environmental sounds at the location intrude on dialogue, or the camera angle precludes optimum microphone positioning for pick-up, then what does one do? If two ^-inch stereo recorders are avail¬ able, the answer is simple. Shoot it, and record the sound anyway. Then, at your convenience in a better acoustical setting, loop the dialogue and '‘hitch-hike” the sync. Here’s how it works: For safety, first dub a copy of the original sound on ^4-inch tape. Remember to dub both tracks; i.e., the dialogue from original track No. 1 to dub track No. 1 and the 60-cycle sync signal from original track No. 2 to dub track No. 2. This dubbing step protects the original tape from cutting errors or tape breakage. Now cut the dupli¬ cate into loops of sufficiently short length for the actor to comfortably perform. (See Fig. 3.) Each of the tape loops will contain some words of dia¬ logue on track No. 1, and the 60-cycle signals cor¬ responding to the same pulses that controlled both the camera and recorder for the original scene will be on track No. 2. The two recorders are connected as illustrated in Fig. 2. Recorder No. 1 track No. 1 feeds the guide sound loop to the actor’s earphones. Recorder No. 1 track No. 2 hitch-hikes the sync signal from the loop directly to recorder No. 2 track No. 2. The actor’s microphone is connected directly to recorder No. 2 track No. I. It is important to keep sufficient tension on the tape loop during this operation to assure reasonably constant output level of the sync signal being hitch-hiked. For this, a plastic tape reel resting and rotating in the lower part of the tape loop should suffice. (See Fig. 3.) The actor, who should be situated in another room free from recorder noise, listens through earphones to his, or for that matter anyone’s original oncamera performance played continuously on the loop on recorder No. 1 from track No. 1. His objective is to duplicate the original performance in inflection and timing on track No. 1 of recorder No. 2. At first this process of speaking-while-listen¬ ing may seem difficult to the embryo actor, but the knack is quite easily acquired. Transfer of the sync signal is necessary because of possible variation in the linear speeds between the two tapes due to tape slippage and stretch. One of the most reputable professional machines speci¬ fies timing to ± 3 seconds in l/b hour, a difference which, of course, would he intolerable. This prob¬ lem is overcome by hitch-hiking the sync signal from track No. 2 recorder No. 1 onto track No. 2 recorder No. 2. Looping is continued until the actor’s deliv¬ ery matches the original, at which point the postrecorded dialogue will transfer and cut in perfect sync with the original because the identical sync signal has also been transferred, and the need for synchronous drive sprocket equipment is eliminated for this operation. For looping dialogue while watching a projected picture loop without guide sound, the basic method remains the same. In this case, however, the film itself generates the sync signal and transfers it to the two-track tape. The work print that is to be cut into loops is first striped with oxide, and the 60-cycle signal recorded on the stripe; or, if a magnetic projector is unavailable, a 60-cycle optical track can be electroprinted on the work print. When the film is cut into loops, this same sync signal is Continued on Page 368 WHEN PLAYING back tape loops, it is important that sufficient tension be main¬ tained on the loops at all times to keep the tape in solid contact with the re¬ corder head and thus assure reasonably constant output level of the sync signal being hitch-hiked. Fig.3 Loops on two transports AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, JUNE, 1963 341