Kinematograph year book (1944)

British Production. 283 The promised general improvement in methods of sound recording and reproduction cannot be implemented until after the war, but in the laboratories of such well-known American firms as E.R.P.I., RCA, etc., and of British technicians, there has been constant research along the lines of producing the sought-after stereophonic effect which RCA launched just before the war by means of its theoretically efficient but commercially cumbersome " Fantasound " system. Since then experiments have resulted in major simplification, and it will not be long after hostilities that systems of stereophony, embodying merely a twin sound-track and a separate sound track, will be made available to producers and exhibitors. At least three such systems are already projected in America — -the RCA modification of the "Fantasound," the Western Electric, in which a very narrow line, located in the space between the picture and the existing sound track, contains a frequency modulated control track ; and Warner Bros., in which the control track consists of a clean line of varying width over the perforations, and the width of the line controlling first an additional bank of speakers on each side of the main speakers and then the volume of a complete set. In the not too distant future probably all these and possibly other systems will be embodied in recorders, but long before that time manufacturers of the various methods must meet and decide upon a standard reproduction equipment for the exhibitor. Description has been published (S.I.P.E.) of a film recording and reproducing equipment upon which, before the U.S. entry into the war, M-G-M, experts had been working in co-operation with Electrical Research Products Inc., in connection with a modernising and replacement programme of the producers. The completion of the equipment has, of course, been indefinitely delayed, but the apparatus design had previously reached the stage of completed prototypes. The purpose of the proposed installation is to replace obsolete equipment and to provide expanded facilities to accommodate increasing demands so as to eliminate the heavy overloading of the recording plant. A useful service has recently been introduced by Boosey & Hawkes in the form of a compilation of sound tracks and recording of some 50,000 ft. of film and corresponding records, to meet the demand of producers of M. of I. shorts for records for "dubbing " or "sound track" film lengths. These records meet the requirements of the producers without the engagement of an orchestra, which in many cases would be unwarranted. By the recently publicised " Flock " process many present-day problems in the studio can be overcome. The medium employed has a high soundabsorption factor, and solves most acoustic difficulties, while a special black finish makes an excellent substitute for black velvet. A full range of colours is available for use on the set when brilliant or special effects are required. Any surface, whether wood, metal, textiles, plastics or cardboard, can be treated and retreated for varying effects as desired. RECORDER EQUIPMENT FOLLOWING details of the chief recorder equipment in general use in this country have been supplied by the firms concerned. In some instances, however, up-to-date information has not been submitted. British Acoustic. — -No new types of equipment have been introduced during the past year other than routine development necessary to maintain the high performance of the various types of equipment. Three studio sets are available : type FRM2S, a " de-luxe " installation for A.C. mains ; type FRM1S, the standard A.C. equipment ; and type LP38, a compact battery-operated equipment designed on the unit principle for location work. All three are characterised by " Full Range " frequency response, " noiseless " recording and the B.A. patented " multitrack " variable area sound track.