How to add sound to amateur films (1954)

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Whichever sound recording system you use, you must keep the playback in step with the camera. Otherwise you will not know at what speed to project the film. Stroboscope discs are not much use for camera speed control because you have to waste a lot of film on preliminary adjustments. The most effective compromise requires some sort of mechanical coupling to the camera. The turntable must be able to run faster than the camera, but not vice versa. Then you can play-in the episode to be filmed, starting the camera when the sound reaches the required point. The camera speed is deliberately set slightly high so that it is really the turntable governor which controls the film speed. Apparatus for this purpose must be designed specially to suit the camera and sound equipment used. Also it is a cumbersome business setting it up for each new camera position. As a result most amateurs use a third system : post-synchronisation. Post' Synchronisation Instead of filming the picture to match the sound, you can record the sound to fit the final picture. This offers several advantages. The actors can concentrate on giving their best performance, unhampered by the need to keep in step with the sound. No synchronising equipment is needed for the camera. It is, therefore, fully as mobile as in a silent film. On the other hand, it is much less easy to record sound later in accurate synchronism with the mute lip-movements of the projected film. Patience and practice work wonders, however, and the process is regularly used by professionals for the production of foreign-language versions of films. A first essential is the knowledge of the exact lines spoken by the actors while the picture was shot. If they are working from a script, you must note every slight deviation from the written word. No matter how the sound is to be recorded ultimately, a tape recorder is invaluable for checking on the original performance. The recording need not be good as f 133