Harrison's Reports (1929)

Entered as second-class matter January 4, 1921, at the post office at New York, New Torlt, under the act of March 3, 1879. Harrison’S Reports Yearl; Subscription Rates: United States $10.00 U. S. Insular Rosses sions 12.00 Canada and Mexico.. 12.00 England and New Zealand 14.60 Other Foreign Countries 16.60 26c. a Copy 1440 BROADWAY New York, N. Y. A Motion Picture Reviewing Service by a Former Exhibitor Devoted Exclusively to the Interests of Exhibitors Its Editorial Policy: No Problem Too Big for Its Editorial Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. Published Weeic^ by P. S. HARRISON Editor and Publisher Established July 1, 1919 Tel. : Pennsylvania 7649 Cable Address : Harreports (Bentley Code) A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XI SATURDAY^J^U^ARY 12,, 19^ No. 2 Facts About Talking Pictures and Instruments When an invention is brought out, there are always unscrupulous persons that engage in the manufacture and sale of articles of that invention for the purpose of grabbing what they can, while the grabbing is good, at the expense of those that are engaged in that particular business legitimately. in the hrst stages of the radio business, not less than thirty thousand persons and concerns announced the manufacture and sale of radios. Some of such persons or concerns promised radio performances that the best radio engineers today are not in a position to promise. But now no more than three hundred of such manufacturers exist. And of these less than thirty of them are what we would call dependable in every respect. Wliat happened in the radio business and in many other businesses is happening today in the talking picture field. So many manufacturers of non-synchronous as well as of synchronous instruments have sprung up that if I were to attempt to investigate them all, as I have been requested to do by many exhibitors, I would be able to do nothing else. In the independent synchronous instrument field, there are one or two that seem to be so constructed as to give promise to perform well under actual working conditions, so far as construction of the machine itself goes ; but the sound projection system they use is not designed to give the best results. In no instance, in fact, have I been able to find any of these instruments, synchronous as well as nonsynchronous, whose sound projection system is such as to give good quality of sound, without undue resonances. For this reason, I have thought that I would be rendering you a great service if I set down for such system specifications that will give satisfactory tone quality. For synchronous instruments, the sound projection system must have the following features: U ) A paper cone whose diameter should be not less than 12 inches. (2) Such cone must not be mounted on a baffle board, of any shape or form, but on an angle-iron frame, which must be so constructed as not to give out sound, its own sound, when the pitch of the notes reaches its own pitch. (3) The frame must be clear of any cavity, to prevent undesirable resonances. (4) In the case of synchronous instruments, the sound projection apparatus must consist at least of 4 cones, for theatres of three hundred seats or less ; of 6 cones, for theatres of six hundred seats or less ; of 8 cones, for theatres of one thousand seats or less ; and of more than eight cones, for theatres of more than one thousand seats. (5) For non-synchronous instruments, the system must have at least half of the number of cones set down for synchronous instruments. (6) The cones must be mounted at varying angles, so as to distribute the sound evenly throughout the house. (7) In the case of synchronous instruments, at least two of the cones must be mounted one each side of the curtain at a position above the middle of the screen, or about where the faces of the characters usually are. (8) The cones must not be fastened by the engineers on or near a medium that is liable to create undesirable resonances. In other words, any cavity near the cones must either be removed or covered with felt so as to reduce, if not eliminate entirely this defect. The wooden platform of the stage must not be used to fasten the cones on, unless it is covered with thick felt. These specifications are the result of close study of the sound problem. If you disregard them, you will do so at your own risk. Sooner or later you will be compelled to dis — No. 11 card a system that does not comply with these specifications for one that does. So if you should not adhere strictly to these specifications now, it will mean an extra expenditure of money for you at a later date, besides a loss of prestige, and perhaps of patronage, by the adoption of a system that cannot give satisfactory tone quality. The horn has proved incapable, by its own nature, of giving true tone quality. As I told you last week, before making up your mind to install a synchronous instrument, make sure that you will have talking pictures to run. There is no use for your spending a big sum of money to install an instrument if it will lie idle ; it is too expensive an act. Do not be influenced by a few isolated examples the manufacturers of these instruments may cite you ; one swallow does not a summer make. You should not pay any attention to oral promises of exchangemen about their willingness to sell you their talking picture subjects either; get their promises in writing. Better yet, enter into a contract with them, with the understanding, written in, that the contract shall be valid only if you should be able to have a talking picture instrument installed by a certain date, such contract to be considered automatically cancelled if you should not be able to have it installed. Of course, in some cases you will not be able to induce Ihem to give you a contract on such terms, but where there is no competition there is no reason why they should not give you one ; if they are sincere about tfipir being willing to sell you their talking pictures, they should not refuse to grant you such a contract. At this time let me again remind you about the pictures that are fitted only with music and with some sound effects : don’t buy any such pictures with the sound ; buy them only as silent, for with the aid of a good non-synchronous instrument you will be able to give better music, for the reasons that I explained in the seventh article of this series, and better sound effects. I have found out that in nine cases out of a hundred the sound effects that are furnished with the synchronized pictures are so poor that they drive patrons away instead of attracting them ; and once these sound effects are in, you cannot take them out. On the other hand, if any particular sound effects of your own manufacture prove objectionable, you can remove them. Besides, the home-made music and sound effects will cost you very little as compared with what you will be compelled to pay to the producers. Not music and sound effects, but “talk” is what will help your business. P. S. Harrison. A BETTER WAY Recently Mr. W. M. Miller, of Western Theatres, Inc., Cloquet, Minnesota, wrote to Arthur James a long letter, expressing his sentiments with freedom. He closed that letter as follows : “If you really want to do something for the good of the industry, I would suggest that you go out in the alley and shoot yourself.” I don’t think it is necessary for Arthur to follow Mr. Miller’s advice and commit suicide with a pistol ; all he has to do is to take over another trade paper and it will be just the same. LOOK THROUGH YOUR FILES If any copies are missing from your files, write and ask for them ; they will be supplied to you free of charge.