Projection engineering (Sept 1929-Nov 1930)

Projection Engineering, April, 1930 Page 21 The Psychology of Sounds in Screen Presentations Future of Sound Pictures Visualized THE discovery of means whereby moving picture productions could be given the long-lacking completeness of speech accompaniment, was followed by a rush stageward. It was natural that the picture producers should first seek to reproduce ; to duplicate, the achievements of the established stage. The success so far attained has on all sides been favorably commented upon. As production follows production, however, it develops that the novelty of sound with pictures has helped very greatly to fill theatre seats throughout the world. When the novelty lessens, as a result of familiarity, the theatre patron has time and opportunity to catch up, and to analyze his reactions. Given time to reason (after wonder has subsided) the theatre patron is in the mental state necessary to resume the role of critic. In the moving picture industry as in all other successful commercial enterprises, it may be taken for granted that the executives, directors, engineers and projectionists will be the first to discover delinquency ; the first to anticipate wherein there is lack of perfection and along which particular lines betterment development may be undertaken with assurance of success. When a thinking patron-critic of the theatre gains the ear of a producer or director, passing along to him observations based upon analysis, it is more than probable that the producer, or the director, as the case may be, is learning nothing that he has not already become aware of, and which constitutes an element of the things he is daily worrying about. It is our opportunity in the present article on the psychology of sounds in screen presentations to pass on to our readers some views on this general subject which at the present moment are a subject of discussion in progressive studios and wherever groups of forward-looking technicians foregather. At the organization meeting of the New York section, Society of Motion Picture Engineers, on the evening of March 6, last, Dr. Walter Pitkin, Professor of Journalism, Columbia University, New York, delivered a talk on sound psychology and linguistic effects in talking pictures. In his talk Dr. Pitkin presented an analysis of the progress thus far made in recording the sound accompaniments to moving pictures, and gave a highly interesting and impressive demonstration of what remains to be done if the "talkies" are to be given full oppor tunity to reach high levels of artistic entertainment. New Technique on the Way It is Dr. Pitkin's view that the older technique and methods of picture recording will in time be largely replaced by a new and vastly changed art of combined picture and sound recording. This new art will, the speaker said, make use of picture and sound in such relations, simultaneous and consecutive, as will permit of more faithful reproductions of exactly what takes place in nature and in the drama, the comedy and the everyday affairs of life. Although very creditable advances have been made in talking picture studio and location technique in the few years since a start was made commercially, it would appear from Dr. Pitkin's analysis that there remains much of improvement to be worked out to the end that the art may be started on the royal road to a degree of success now only dimly visualized. Soliloquy Values In an intensely interesting manner Dr. Pitkin illustrated overlooked values in soliloquy and in subtle linguistic effects. These effects are entirely aside from what are termed the communicative or objective uses of language. To continue giving the theatre-trained public interpretations familiar in terms of impression and expression, the talking picture producers perforce took on communicative speech where the speaking stage had gotten with it. In Dr. Pitkin's opinion objective speech will have far less of a future in the talking picture art than will the heretofore missing subtleties of personality evidenced in emotion registering ejaculations, tongue sounds, whispers, and so on. Clearly, the art of the speaking stage never was able to avail of these characteristics. In those instances where attempt was made to apply these peculiarly human, non-articulate expressions on the stage the effect was lost to all excepting those occupying seats in the first half dozen rows. In talking picture production this limitation is removed. Indeed, the sound arm of the combination provides the showman with means whereby he may now proceed to capture, record and reproduce those involuntary, fleeting individualistic sounds (distinguished from objective speech) that are the pulse of emotional expression. Realism Sometimes Overdone It was to be expected that in some of the recording done thus far, in the effort to incorporate realism, realism was overdone. There have been several glaring examples of this in recent productions. Obviously, too much realism is as bad or worse than not enough. Loud sounds at critical moments no doubt accentuate illusion, but the sounds if too loud have a tendency to absorb all of the attention of the person viewing and listening to the production. In this situation the sense of hearing is so occupied that the eye may perforce miss a simultaneously presented pictorial situation, timed to key with what is to follow. Censor Jobless The universal use of talking pictures, suggested Dr. Pitkin, will very likely remove the need for movie censors. The psychology of this is that the ear is more moral than the eye. The eye is liberal, the ear intolerant. That which, in the way of speech, will pass the director is not likely to carry along with it pictorial presentation offensive to the eye. How Much Sound? Experience being gained from public reaction will in time indicate how far it may be best to go in incorporating the sounds natural to a pictorial reproduction. Enough has already been learned to suggest that in many instances only sufficient of the incidental actual sounds be recorded and reproduced to add realism to the picture. The degree of realism advantageous in a given picture calls for genius on the part of the director. It would be lame art to introduce any sound effects that would divert attention at a time when scene shifts, or movements difficult enough to follow are under way on the screen. Off Stage Effects In one respect the talkie will have difficulty in utilizing valuable aids of illusion, long successfully practiced on the stage. Reference here is made to "off-stage" effects. On the stage action may proceed in an orderly manner, the stage unencumbered by the machinery for sound effect production. Off stage operation of such devices (Concluded on page 29)