Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Sep 1953)

EQUIPMENT MEN SET ON FOX’S ONE-FILM SOUND Demonstrate New System; New Sound Head Chief Feature; in Production Twentieth Century-Fox, the protectors and promoters of CinemaScope, last weekin New York publicly demonstrated for the first time their recently perfected four-track, single film magnetic sound system to be used in conjunction with CinemaScope. The demonstration, held at the home office theatre, attracted leading figures of the industry and the press who were greeted by Spyros Skouras, 20th-Fox president, and Earl I. Sponable, the company’s research director. Shown were scenes of the British Coronation procession and of London harbor, as well as clips from “How to Marry a Millionaire” and a symphony orchestra piece. The audience was impressed. New Sound System Called Historic Development Combining for the first time a picture and four magnetic sound tracks on one 35mm film strip, the system is said by 20th-Fox officials to be “an historic new development in motion picture sound projection, overshadowing the revolutionary introduction in 1927 of sound-on-film.” Specifically, it obviates the need for a separate sound reproducer, required until now for the projection of stereophonic sound. Principal feature of the sound system is a new “Penthouse” sound head, which can be attached to any conventional projector and which is now being produced by General Precision, RCA and Westrex, with other manufacturers expected to join the group in the near future. Projector Changes Are Described as Slight In his introductory remarks, Mr. Sponable explained that to accommodate the quartet of magnetic sound tracks he and his staff had narrowed the sprocket holes of standard 35mm film from .110 to .078 inches. Two of the tracks are placed on either side of the picture. Changes required in the projector are a slight reduction in the width of the teeth of the intermittent and other sprockets, together with a correction of center-line spacing of the teeth of the intermittent and other sprockets, and the addition of a simple multiple film-driven sound head installed between the upper magazine and the regular projection head. Mr. Sponable was careful to point out that the new sprockets will carry all types of film. With these changes, he said, the standard theatre projector becomes compatible not only with CinemaScope projection but with every present-day sound film. He added that he thought the 20th-Fox way “will become the standard as time goes on.” Shown above is 20th Century-Fox's new "Penthouse" sound head, developed by the company to accommodate the four-track, single-film stereophonic sound system being used with the CinemaScope process. Attached to a conventional projector, the multiple film-driven sound head is installed between the upper magazine and the regular projection head. Film is threaded through the new sound head and then through the regular picture gate mechanism, as it would be for any type of film, although by-passing the optical sound pick-up system. For pictures using optical, or ordinary tracks, the projectionist utilizes only the guide rollers of the "penthouse." To run the new magnetic sound film, the projectionist has only to thread it through the “penthouse” sound head, the projection picture-gate system. When threading only for optical or ordinary single-track-sound, the projectionist utilizes only the guide rollers in the “Penthouse.” According to Mr. Sponable, the sound head will effect savings for the exhibitor and distributor in the handling and shipping of film, and millions of feet of film stock now required for separate sound tracks. It also insures perfect synchronization by eliminating the necessity of matching the sound film and the picture film. Feasibility of the four-track single film system stems from the present-day utilization of acetate film which, unlike old-fashioned nitrate film, has practically no shrinkage and therefore permits the use of smaller sprocket holes. In his short introductory remarks, Mr. Skouras called the introduction of the “composite” four-track system “one of the most important contributions” in the ushering in of the new CinemaScope technique. He repeated earlier assurances that the process, like CinemaScope, will be made available to the whole motion picture industry. Last Friday, the day after the initial de monstration of the sound system, executives of 20th-Fox and the Radio Corporation of America participated in a special clinic on CinemaScope and stereophonic sound held in the Johnny Victor theatre at the RCA Exhibition Hall in New York. Frank Folsom, RCA president, and Mr. Skouras headed the groups attending the clinic from their respective companies. RCA Personnel Included Many Equipment Dealers Mr. Skouras outlined 20th-Fox’s CinemaScope plans and was followed by A1 Lichtman, director of distribution, and Mr. Sponable, both of whom spoke briefly. RCA people in attendance included theatre equipment dealers from various parts of the country, as well as sales and engineering and personnel managers of the service company’s 11 theatre service districts. Barton Kreuzer, manager of RCA’s theatre and industrial products division, explained the reason for the clinic was the intense interest on the part of exhibitors in such wide-screen projection systems as CinemaScope and WarnerSuperScope. On Monday this week a similar clinic was held at the 20th-Fox home office with officials of General Precision and National Theatre Supply participating. In attendance was Hermann Place, president of General Precision and National Theatre Supply, who praised the 20th-Fox officials for the thinking which will “restore the business to its place of eminence in the entertainment field.” He also emphasized that the price of equipping theatres for CinemaScope is small in comparison to the dramatic gains which the process will achieve in box office receipts across the nation. Other speakers included Walter Green, president of National Simplex-Bloodworth, as well as Mr. Lichtman, Mr. Sponable and Herbert Bragg, assistant to Mr. Sponable. Westrex Begins Deliveries Of “ Penthouse ” Reproducer In connection with the new four-track, single film system, the Westrex Corporation also announced that this week it was beginning limited deliveries of the “Penthouse” reproducer. These deliveries, it was said, will be greatly stepped up in September and October. The company also said it had produced and was in process of producing for 20thFox the following recording equipment for use at the studios : Eight production recording channels with six microphone imputs and three recording tracks each ; a four-track dubbing recorder ; three and four-track reproducers; threetrack modifications of existing recorders and re-recorders ; a magnetic printer which will make five prints simultaneously for four CinemaScope magnetic tracks each. MOTION PICTURE HERALD, AUGUST 22, 1953 19