International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

December. /<W T h INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER 7 wenty-seven SOUND FOR THE AMATEUR (Continued from Page 22) ting set to the rhythm of music. Cartoons are, it is true, more easily manipulated to suit the music than is actual material such as the amateur works with, hut he can nevertheless do much by cutting in rhythm with appropriate music. This is frequently done in modern films, as in the balcony scene with Grace Moore in the heginning of "One Night of Love." Here, of course, the music is an integral part of the action, but the same pleasing effect can be obtained with incidental music in no way connected with the action. This technique should offer interesting and worth-while opportunities to the ambitious amateur. Modern sound pictures often contain sequences that are really silent in technique except for the accompanying music, which is far more effective than would be the sound it replaces. That is because the music has a far greater effect on the emotions than do mere discordant sounds. Thus music is often used to accompany violently dramatic action such as battles, stampedes, riots, and catastrophies instead of using the actual sounds of the action. A number of excellent examples can be found in Josef Von Sternberg's "Scarlet Empress," especially "Kamenov Ostroi" in the wedding sequence and "Ride of the Valkyries" in Catherine the Great's ascent to the throne room on horseback. In each case a certain amount of actual sound of the scenes was used, but it was kept subdued so that it merely formed a background to the music. This is often done, for in this way both the music and the actual sounds produce a cumulative effect on the spectator. Where sound or dialogue is most important, the musicis kept subdued, its presence being usually unnoticed, yet it produces the desired mood in the audience. The amateur must, as yet, content himself merely with musical accompaniment. The many excellent orchestra concerts available on the radio today will tell him what musical effects can be produced and added to his pictures by means of phonograph records. As for the reproduction of the records, that may range from that of a simple hand-wound phonograph to special electric turntables and power amplifiers. Except for experimental purposes I would not recommend ordinary home phonographs, however, because they lack volume and naturalness of reproduction. The best set-up, which any amateur can easily assemble, is an electric turntable (preferably one which makes both 33 ^ and 76 turns per minute so as to accommodate electrical transcriptions as well as ordinary phonograph records), an electrical pick-up, and an amplifier with a good speaker. The turntable and pick-up can be obtained cheaply, and most any good radio amplifier and speaker such as is used in most homes, will prove entirely satisfactory. Instructions for connecting the electrical pick-up to the radio amplifier usually come with the pick-up, or it can be obtained from any radio technician. The radio amplifier usually permits volume control, which is an important feature for the most pleasant reproduction of records under varying conditions. The loud speaker should be placed behind or near the screen, so that the music seems to be coming from the screen. If the additional expense does not matter, it is desirable to have two turntables and two pick-ups so that for long films records can be changed by changing from one turntable to the other without interrupting the music. To do this smoothly special "mixers," or potentiometers, are available which enable the operator to cut down the volume of one record as the other is increased. With this set-up and a bit of practice it is possible to take excerpts from any number of records and blend them together into an excellent musical accompaniment to any film. The records can be numbered for the order in which they are to be played, and the section or sections of each record which is to be used can be marked. It is also possible to have excerpts from records rerecorded on one record or to have an entire score recorded especially for the picture if the value of the picture warrants the expense. Explanatory dialogue can likewise be added by having a special record or electrical transcriptions made of it. Synchronization of the dialogue to the picture is, of course, difficult, but where the dialogue is merely explanatory it need not be in perfect synchronization. It is, however, fun to try to synchronize home recordings, made on special home recording records, with pictures, though this method can never be satisfactory for permanent reproduction. By using a microphone in place of the pick-up explanatory dialogue can be easily added to a picture. This, of course, requires an announcer every time the picture is shown with dialogue. He can be out of hearing range of the audience but within sight of the picture and can read a previously written script explaining the picture. With a little rehearsal he can synchronize his explanations just as done professionally in the travelogues of Pete Smith and J. P. Medbury, the Universal Newsreels with Graham McNamee, and the Fox Movietone Magic Carpets and newsreels with Lowell Thomas. When the picture is based upon a poem the poem can be read in accompaniment to the picture, and the picture may even be given the same rhythm as the poem. Humorous effects can be obtained if the announcer speaks the dialogue the characters on the screen are supposed to be speaking, as in the Pete Smith Goofy Movies, and lots of fun can be had by having each character in the picture speak his own part through the loudspeaker. Music can also be used as a background to the dialogue, this requiring a volume control for both pick-up and microphone so that the music will not drown out the voice. For the amateur who wishes to spend a little more money there are available a number of portable and semiportable public address systems which have both turntable and microphone pick-up. Each amateur is confronted with his own problems, and it would cover too big a scope for me to discuss all of them even if I knew what they were, so I can merely point out a few of the possibilities for the amateur to add sound to his pictures. If he finds that his pictures are lacking in interest, and that he himself is losing interest in picture-making, I suggest that he try adding sound to them in whichever way meets his particular problems and I am sure he will find many new and interesting things to do with his hobby. Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.