Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1952)

239 obtained oetween the two by adjusting the volume control in the rear so that at peak gain the musical background does not over-record or overshadow the microphone input. This means that when one is recording background music only, the mixer control knob is turned on full. However, when narration is to be recorded with music behind it, the mixer control knob for the music side is lowered while the microphone mixer knob is advanced to full gain. Then, when the narrating is temporarily finished, the microphone knob is lowered and the musical background knob is increased again to full gain. ONLY SINGLE TABLE USED So much, then, for the changes and additions which I made to the equipment I had at hand when I recorded the tape for Hands Around The Clock. My general setup you will see in Fig. 4, and I invite you to note that it includes only a single turntable unit. While interlocked dual turntables might have been easier to work with, especially when working alone, they are not necessary. As I hope to show you shortly, quite exacting sound recordings can be made successfully with a single record player — if they aret patiently prepared for and carefully executed. Let's take a few representative recordings in the order that they appear in Hands. First, the ticking of the clock. As I have already told you, I wanted this sound effect reproduced strongly behind all of the lead title footage, with only a faint hint of music in the background. To accomplish this, I began by substituting a metronome for an actual clock, since the sound of the former is much sharper and more incisive. This unit was then set in front of the microphone and set to run at 120, so that it ticked every half second. RECORDING CLOCK TICKS The technical hookup used had both the mike and the phono lines fed into the mixer and the line from it plugged into the phone receptacle on the back panel of the tape recorder. The volume control on this same panel was then adjusted so that a good peak recording of the music would be obtained when the phono knob on the mixer was turned on full. The tape recording volume on the top of the recorder was finally adjusted to fit the microphone input volume for a proper balance of music and mike signals. One or two test recordings for level were run, corrections were made and we were ready to record. In the actual recording procedure, I began with both volume controls on the mixer at zero. The metronome was then started to get it off my hands, since of course its sound would not record until (1) the recorder was started and (2) the mixer volume controls were turned up to their predetermined levels. These operations were then performed in that order. But, to accomplish my desired balance between the music (faint) and the clock ticks (strong), the phono potentiometer was advanced only halfway, while the mike signal was raised to full gain. At these levels the recording was continued for 25 seconds (the predetermined elapsed time of the lead title assembly) and then the recorder was stopped. ALARM CLOCK EASY I was now ready for the recording which would accompany the next scene or sequence. Reference to my scene timing sheet (which, of course, you must make up before any recording at all is attempted) showed that the scene was a closeup of an alarm clock. The clock was to ring for 21 seconds, at the end of which time the boy's hand gropes into the scene and shuts it off. This was easy. There was no music behind the sound effect, so I simply set an alarm clock in front of the mike, started the recorder, picked off 21 seconds of ringing and again stopped the tape. My scene sheet now called for two musical passages in a row. There came first eight measures of Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning, as the youth reluctantly pulled back his bedcovers, and then an audio lap dissolve into 4 minutes and 37 seconds of background music. Again, a real cinch as I straightforwardly recorded these two pieces against the stop watch, ending with a fade-out on the music. RECORD PLAYER STARTS For the next portion of the picture, the scene sheet called for silence on the tape during the brief period in which the boy's hand comes into the scene, places a record on an automatic record player and then throws the switch. With this last action, the tape track again picked up volume to reproduce the click of the switch, the noise of the arm settling on the record and the hiss of the needle as it rides the revolving grooves. By setting the volume of the phono control on the mixer at full gain, these realistic sounds were recorded clearly and audibly on the tape. The phono disc thus put in play is then recorded for 41 seconds while the boy fingers the keys of a saxophone and clarinet in turn. This music then slowly fades out and the recorder is stopped. PIANO PLAYING A CHALLENGE We come now to the piano-playing sequence, regarded by many filmers who have seen and heard Hands as the most exacting bit of recording [Continued on page 252] FIG. 4: The author's recording setup includes single player, mike, mixer, tape recorder. FIG. 5: Care in tape splicing calls for good tools and unfailing use of approved adhesive. FIG. 6: A rheostat speed control on projector is necessary for in-sync tape playbacks.