Home Movies (1944)

HOME MOVIES FOR JANUARY • Fig. I (above) — Showing author's recorder which cuts from center to outside of discs at either 78 or 33 R.P.M. Fig. 2 (right)— With author at controls, the dialogue of two narrators is recorded according to pre-determined scoring time. (Recording, Sound On Jbi£c£ 3or Cine 3ilm£ LS interest grows in disc recorded sound for home movies, it naturally follows that an increasing demand for knowledge of disc recorders and recording technique will ensue among movie amateurs. The equipment presently available for amateur production of disc recordings ranges all the way from the moderate priced combination radiophonograph-recorder to the professional type recorders used in making radio and commercial transcriptions. For home movies, the first named has not proved satisfactory for several reasons, one of which is the limited disc size and another, the invariable 78 r.p.m. turntable speed. These two factors make it impossible to turn out records for other than short hundred-foot lengths of film. For films running 400 feet or more in length (200 feet in 8mm.) satisfactory sound accompaniment cannot be had from a series of small 78 r.p.m. discs that require changing and cueing during projection of the picture. The longer playing record then is the only solution for the serious movie amateur who will not be satisfied with anything but a smooth, uninterrupted performance when screening his films. In the November issue, I described the recording-playback equipment which I use in conjunction with my Eastman model EE 16mm. projector and which enables me to record discs of background music, narrative and sound-ef • Fig. 3 — Top view of recorder. Dotted lines indicate position of recording and tracking arms after trial run of 125 feet of 16mm. film, recording inside to outside. Comparative area is then marked near edge of disc and actual recording cut in this space. fects for my films. The recorder which I described is illustrated again this month at top of this page. I selected it after much trial and error. I discovered that best results are had from that type of recorder which povides an overhead lead screw and also cuts from the center out towards the rim, eliminating the annoyance of shavings fouling the recording needle. These are two of the basic features of the best professional disc recorders in use today. Readers will be interested in the procedure involved in making a synchronized record with this equipment. For a 400 foot reel of 16mm. film, it is necessary to use a 16 inch disc. This should be of the latest type glass base. The better quality disc used, the better will be recording results. However, in the event that there is no choice in the type or diameter of blank discs obtainable, it may be necessary to use a 10-inch paper-base recording disc. Incidentally, the cheaper paper-base discs are advantageous until the amateur has gained some experience in recording. So, with this in mind, let us consider the conventional io-inch paper base blank recording disc. A disc of 10-inch diameter will be sufficient to record sound for approximately 125 feet of 1 6mm. pictures, depending upon the number of lines cut per inch. This may vary from 90 to 120, depending upon the lead screw used with the cutting mechanism. It is desirable to record as many lines per inch as grooves and disc will permit for two reasons: First, because more narration can be recorded on the disc, thereby adding to the length of film that may be • Continued on Page 37 14