Making A Sound Film

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You A Man who cannot hear his experience is image without sound a Woman who cannot see her experience is sound without image a Together they combine sound and visual images In the same way sound and visual images must be combined for a sound film My god, I'm sorry.

I'm late, you know, I was just sitting down there on the beach Listening to the waves rolling in and feeling the Sun all over my body It was really warm.

I just lost track of the time You know really feel like a beautiful day today Perhaps the most familiar type of film sound is synchronized or sync dialogue That is the sounds of words are realistically matched by the movements of the characters mouths to shoot Record and edit sync sound is a complex procedure Sync shooting requires a good microphone Usually a directional type to cut down background noise The sound and picture are recorded on separate elements to provide greater flexibility in editing Although any good recorder may be used for music narration and most sound effects for sync sound a special tape recorder is needed which can be electronically synchronized to the camera and The camera also must be specially adapted to produce the electronic pulse which is sent to the recorder Then one take eight sound eight The slate with its clapstick is used at the beginning of each take To make sure that the separate sound and picture elements will be in sync when they are played back There must be some indication on each element at the beginning of each take This indication is made simultaneously on the film and on the soundtrack when the clapstick hits the slate The Numbers on the slate are called out so that they are recorded on the tape These enable the editor to match each soundtrack to the scene it was shot with The scene number refers to the scene number in the script The take number refers to which of the many times the scene was shot The soundtrack numbers run consecutively throughout the whole film Before the sound is edited it must be transferred to 16 millimeter magnetic film This magnetic film is the same width as the motion picture film and has matching sprocket holes This transfer should be done in a studio with the proper equipment Before making the transfer the director has removed all takes which are not good My God, I'm sorry I'm late You know, I was just sitting down there on the beach listening to the waves flowing in feeling the sun all over my body It's really warm The first step in editing a lip sync sequence is to put the soundtrack for each take in sync with its corresponding scene Using a viewer the editor finds the frame of the picture where the clapstick first touches the slate She marks it with a grease pencil Then using a sound box she finds the sound of the clapstick hitting the slate And marks its location She then lines up the two marks and locks the film and soundtrack into the synchronizer Which keeps them running in sync for editing Several other sync marks can now be made on the film and soundtrack and the slates and claps can be removed Having served their purpose The additional marks help to keep the editor from going astray from losing sync The next day Through her I Perceive a dimension of reality I lack I Hear the sounds of the wind the laughing of the wave the singing of the birds He's given me so much to experience Through him I see the shapes of clouds and the colors of trees And the golden waves Another way of employing speech in film is voiceover It can be used dramatically to represent a character's thoughts or sometimes to give dialogue when the speaker is not seen It can also be voiceover narration either in an information film such as this one or in a dramatic film where a narrator speaks with the author's voice and moves the story along and So they met often during that summer Their experience together was intense and complete because it came from total communication and love Editing voiceover narration is less complex than editing sync sound because the speech does not have to match lip movements We appear By using the sound equipment the editor finds the beginning of each phrase or sentence of the narration and marks it She finds the point in the picture where she wants this part of the narration to begin and marks it Then she can follow the same procedures as for lip sync editing Major concerns of the editor are that the narration will not start too close to the beginning of a shot and That it will not run over into the next shot if it is not supposed to and Also that it is synced with an exact action where it should be The use of music is very important to film sound Used well music can help create moods Comment on the action and fill in scenes which might seem dull or dead without it Music is edited much the same as narration The editor finds the place in the picture where she wants the music to begin Then she adds the corresponding music to the music track at that point Here the corresponding music has been transferred to different color magnetic film If the source of the music is on screen then of course the procedures of lip sync editing must be used an Important thing to remember if the film is to be sold is that most music is copyrighted and fees must be paid to the artist or composer So if original music is ever available, it would be a good idea to use it This scene seems dead and lifeless because of a lack of natural sound An important element of film sound is sound effects Sometimes natural sound effects provide general background or presence like this other times.

They are synced to specific actions Sound effects can also be used unnaturally.

They can be magnified to create an effect or mood Sound effects are edited as a separate track and Are synced on the synchronizer in the same way as the music and narration Blank magnetic film or clear leader is spliced into match sections of the picture where there are no sound effects The same procedures have been followed for this separate music track and the lip sync track which here also contains the voiceover narration When each of these separate tracks has been run in sync and Tested against the work print is time for the sound mix which will combine them into a single balanced track These separate tracks are placed on tape players which are synced to each other and to a recorder Their signals feed into the recorder through a control panel which can vary volume tone and other aspects of each sound track The Whole system also runs in sync with a projector on which the work print is projected so it can be used as a guide for the mix The mix is then transferred in sync to a print of the film as either a magnetic or optical track and The film is complete You

Identifier

F.2005-01-0041

Date Of Production

1973

Abstract

Instructional film by International Film Bureau on how to create a film with sound. Techniques are demonstrated by adding sound to an informative film about a couple composed of a deaf man and a blind woman.

Log

00:03 - Titles. Music plays over footage of a man, woman, scenic views of light through treetops and a street with stone walls. Synchronized film is explained, with CU on the equipment of a film crew including microphone, tape recorder, camera and clap slate.
04:12 - Explanation of transferring and synching film. MS and CU in the editing room, where a woman is at work using a sound box, grease pencil, scissors and a synchronizer. Scenes from the dramatic film are used as illustration. Voice over, sound effects and music are also covered in the same way.
10:38 - Explanation of the separate tracks of sound and sound mixing. MS and CU in the mixing room with numerous recorders, creating the master track. Brief footage of the woman sitting on a rock wall as the man walks down the beach.

Run Time

0:12:43

Format

16mm

Extent

475 feet

Color

Sound

Optical

Reel/Tape Number

1/1

Has Been Digitized?

Yes

Language Of Materials

English

Element

Genre

Instructional
Educational

Form

Short

Subject

Motion picture industry
Motion picture production & direction

Related Collections

Subseries II: Collected Professional Films

Related Places

North America ➜ United States

Distributor

International Film Bureau

Additional Credits

International Film Bureau (is contributor)

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