Boxoffice (Jul-Sep 1940)

Sabotage in the Projection Room... or The Penalty of Poor Sound . . where Wallace Beery sounds like Mickey Mouse!" By L. C. Tyack* T’S a well-known trait in human nature— and the merchants who run department stores are vividly aware of it — that when a customer feels he has been stung on some merchandise he bought, he can do one of two things. He can squawk to the store — or, he can just go to some other store the next time he wants to buy something. Now the really smart merchant would ten times rather have a customer register a squawk. He would even rather have him register an unwarranted squawk. That way, he reasons, the store has another chance to keep a customer in good standing. And what smart merchant wouldn’t rather go to some trouble to be sure a customer doesn’t slip away from him? It’s substantially the same in show business. An attractive front is a fine thing, and it gives the cash customer an idea of how comfortable and agreeable the theatre is inside. And the attractive front will undoubtedly entice a lot of customers to come in who otherwise mightn’t venture in, provided the marquee says that there’s a worth-while show going on inside. But then what? The customer goes in, maybe finds the theatre comfortable and modern — and sits back w'aiting to hear the voice of one of his favorite movie stars. On comes the voice, but what a disappointment! — the sound sabotaged by a maladjusted sound system! They Leave With a Peeve Now right here, if the customer would only squawk to the manager, there’s many a progressive exhibitor who would be genuinely grateful to him. But, like most of us, the customer says to him.self: “Oh shucks, why go to all that trouble and get into an unpleasant scene. I’ll be called a sourpuss for my pains, and what good’ll it do anyway?’’ The customer simply makes a mental note that the sound at the Little Gem is lousy, and decides he’ll Knginepr, AHpo Serviop Corj>., Oklahoma r'ity. go somewhere else the next time he wants to see a show. I honestly doubt whether any theatreman will disagree with me about this. It follows, then, that business mustn’t be allowed to slip away from a theatre, and must, on the contrary, be attracted to the theatre, by the way the sound equipment in the projection room is maintained. Now the sound equipment in a theatre is just like your own automobile — deterioration starts with the first turn of the wheels. You’ve seen plenty of automobiles that went to the junk pile long before their time, through sheer neglect of the mechanical care the car needs. On the other hand, you may also have seen cars of a much older vintage than your own whose motors are a lot quieter! When the sound in a theatre is unsatisfactory, we say that distortion is present in the reproduction. According to Webster’s definition, that means “to twist out of natural shape.’’ Well, that’s cer “. . . if the customer would only squawk . . tainly what happens in some theatres where Wallace Beery sounds like Mickey Mouse ! Assorted Distortions There are four general types of distortion that beset a sound system. They are: optical, mechanical, electrical and acoustical. Take the optical. If we look at ourselves in one of those trick mirrors found at amusement parks, we’ll see what I mean. Instead of being a handsome six foot two, we see ourselves — in the trick mirror — three feet high and four feet wide! What makes it funny is that in one way or another, dependent on the kind of mirror we look into, our reflection has been subjected to optical distortion. The optical system of a soimd equipment is an exceedingly delicate mechanism, and any maladjustment of it blunts the scanning beam of light at the point where it must pass through the sound track on the film. If this point of light is blunted, you get a sound which is as untrue to the original sound on the track as you would get from playing a phonograph record with a blunt badly worn needle. If the needle doesn’t go clear down in the groove, the music loses its brilliance and clarity, and speech loses the clearness necessary for intelligibility. Anyone who has had to drive a car with a flat tire — even for a few hundred yards — knows what a distressing feeling he experiences when the wheel with the flat tire bumps along the road. Well, that is a good working analogy for what constitutes mechanical distortion in a sound system. If the sprocket shafts are bent, a cam action results and the film does not move at a constant rate of speed past the scanning beam. The resulting sound is what engineers call a “warble.” Bad sorockets and poor stripping action give a similar type of distortion. What happens under these conditions might be likened to the sound of a phonograph record in which a hole has been drilled offcenter. When a record is played using this off-center hole, the sound is very funny — for a few minutes. But when the sound in a theatre “warbles” as a result of a comparable condition in the sound equipment, the cash customers needn’t be expected to see the joke. A Common Complaint Electrical distortion is a common complaint, and .is not always easily identifi Have You a Problem? Conductors of the CIXK' CIjINIC will l>e JClad to answer cjnestions relating: to problems of projection and sound oi>eration and practices throuffh these columns. State y<uir problem clearly, detailing: symptoms of trouble. Answers to questions of general interest will l>e published in a later issue, identified by in<iuirer*s initials only. Should you desire private information or advice, enclose stamp for reply. Address The MODKKN THEATKK, Room 3.S4, S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, 111. 42 The MODERN THEATRE SECTION