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October, 1929 American Cinematographer Seven INDEPENDENTS BURST INTO SOUND By Pat Dowling On the desert W HEN sound pictures first came in. a little over a year ago, it was generally feared that this innovation would sound the death-knell of independent production. The expense of building sound stages and securing talkie equipment and crews was so staggering that only the largest companies seemed able to stand it, while the independent producer, always a tremendously worth-while factor in picture-making, seemed likely to be quite barred from the race. But that this fear is unfounded has been proven during the past six months at the Metropolitan Sound Studios, where many leading independent producers have made quality talking pictures recorded by the same system used by the majority of the big line companies. Metropolitan is the only studio in the West licensed to ser- vice various individual producing companies with the Western Electric sound devices. Early in the rush for sound studios and sound equipment, the Christie brothers, who have been the owners of Metropolitan for some years, realized the necessity for a large leasing establishment where other producers besides their own individual company could be taken care of. And so they went in for two large sound stages, with recording channels, etc., adding three quarters of a million dollars to the permanent im- provements of the ‘lot.’ This is being increased at present by another $200,000 in additional stages, channels, and equipment. One of the first outstanding examples of how an indepen- dent can come along and take advantage of these factors to get into the talking picture field rapidly is the experience of Sono- Art, Inc., one of the producers working at Metropolitan. Messrs. Weeks and Goebel organized their company, signed Eddie Dowl- ing to star, prepared their story and struck the market with a success in their first talking picture. Comments everywhere were flattering to the recording part of the Job which had been done, and confirmed the judgment of the unit producer when he signed up for recording with Western Electric System. Metropolitan has made quite a record since sound pictures started in production there last November. Seven different pro- ducing companies have produced 1 2 all-talking feature pictures, and five producing companies have filmed a total of 38 short features. It would have been impossible for all of these pro- ducers individually to build their own sound studios and get into production so quickly. It is said that in the next six months the number of features and short pictures made there will be double this amount as other producers are getting into action at Metropolitan weekly. (Continued on Page 40) Getting all the noises as the Minstrels swing by