Radio today (Apr-Dec 1939)

Sound Hen's pMadiu at H.l^ "Lagoon of Nations" at N. Y. World's Fair proves to be the answer to a sound man's prayer. "World of Tomorrow" impossible without sound of today. Of all visitors to the N. Y. World's Fair none will return with such a richness of ideas, such faith in his importance in the work-a-day world, as the man who earns his salt in sound. Every step he takes— and he'll take many— will be accompanied by music or speech issuing from installations deemed almost impossible by conservative engineers a year ago. Everywhere he looks he'll see the masterpieces of his fellow craftsmen in sound. But the satisfaction derived from viewing these most modern of sound installations is nothing compared to the profit to be reaped from their application to the sound man's local opportunities in his own town. Fairs and displays are an American tradition, and no matter how small the community, opportunities for reputation-building installations are knocking on the sound engineer's door. County fairs, political rallies, ball games, sports meets, amusements, public auctions, and a thousand-and-one attractions are dependent upon sound for their success. All of these will be influenced by the surpassing installations at the World's Fair. The immense sound installation under the Perisphere at the N. Y. World's Fair was described in Radio Today's April issue. None the less impressive is that in the Lagoon of Nations, where a breath-taking display of synchronized sound, water, lights, gas flames and fireworks takes place at nine each evening. Here eight huge projector units are called upon to handle the output of a 2000-watt amplifier system, distributing concerts to outdoor crowds which at times reach 300,000 people. Operation of this entire sight and sound presentation is remote-controlled from a glass-inclosed tower atop the nearby Federal building. LIGHT, FLAME. WATER. SOUND Here control boards for the sound system, and banks of hundreds of tiny toggle switches enable operators to control every action of lights, water, fire and fireworks. When it is realized that the fountain consists of 1,400 water jets, flame of approximately 150 jets, the fireworks display of 300 mortars and the lighting of well over 600 units each capable of providing light of a half-dozen or more colors, the proportions and complexities of the control system can be appreciated. Thus it is possible instantly to vary the height of.water from any jet, or MWmWSSM The Lagoon of Nations and the loudspeaker "igloos" by daylight, glimpse into the control room for the spectacle. 40 Below — a group of jets, the height of the flames (some of which can be made to rise 50 feet in the air), and the number, intensity and color of individual lights and groups. All of these operations are varied in accordance with special scores for music and for each of the elements; all coordinated in one awe-inspiring symphony of gigantic proportions, combining the aesthetic with the elemental on a scale never before attempted. Every operation is timed to a split second and perfectly synchronized by means of cue sheets moving before the operators at the various control panels and at the studio. There are some ten or twelve operators in all, with John G. Lawrence (who has worked on the project since its inception) now superintendent in charge of the entire display. COMPLEX PROBLEM The problems of the Lagoon of Nations installation were such that some of the leading authorities in the field believed they were insurmountable. Here was a great oval lagoon, planned as the scene of a symphony in which, perhaps for the first time in the history of the world, music and the elements— water, fire, light, and even thunder and lightning — were to be combined in one great extravaganza of sight and sound. Volume requirements for the musical reproduction were set by a number of factors. First, the location was outdoors with the audience massed in a great circle averaging 250 feet or more distant from the sound projectors. Second, the projectors were to be located in the heart of the spectacle amidst fountains throwing 20 tons of water into the air at one time, great jets of flame consuming half a million cubic feet of gas per hour and burning with the roar of blast furnaces, and with intermittent percussions of aerial bombs and other fireworks. The quality of reproduction must obviously be of the highest, in keeping with the every other phase of the demonstration. This meant that every link of the chain, from microphone to reproducers, must be as flawless and perfectly coordinated as human ingenuity could make them. BLUDWORTH CO-ORDINATOR It was into such a maze of unusual problems that T. Frank Bludworth was drawn as chief planner and coordinator. Obviously the sound projectors and their driving units constituted the first and most pressing problem. The finally accepted system being the one developed by Cinaudagraph engineers. This system consists of a group of four drum-like structures RADIO TODAY