Document details

In the production of photoplays and animated cartoons, many instances occur where it is desirable to record various sounds upon separate pieces of film or on separate recordings and then later assemble or combine these various sound recordings into a master recording from which prints are made to accompany the completed photoplay or animated cartoon. For example, the voice recordings such as dialog or song of the characters in the photoplay or cartoon film may be recorded upon one or more individual strips of film, each film containing one or more strips or lines of sound recording. The musical accompaniment may be recorded upon a separate strip of film; cit-stage sounds and other sound effects may be recorded upon a third strip of film. Animal voices or off-stage dialog may be recorded upon a difierent strip of film. After the picture is completed, it is desirable to combine these various independent sound recordings into a master recording. The level or amplitude of these independent sound recordings may not be complementary. For example, the voice recording, such as dialog, may be at a level which is too low and when an attempt is made to combine such dialog with the background music, the background music drowns out the dialog and renders it impossible of understanding. During the rerecording procedure, it is necessary to manipulate numerous controls for the purpose of modulating the output of the separate tracks or sound recordings so as to strike a pleasing balance in which the background music is not too pronounced, the dialog is understandable and still not overly loud and the sound effects are distinguish-able but perhaps do not drown out the other sounds which it is desired to have present.

The present device comprises an arrangement of elements which permits the musicians, assistant directors and directors of a photoplay or animated cartoon to positively follow the progress of the picture, the musical score and dialog and analyze the volume characteristics and timing of the various sound effects and other component parts of the fin-al recording so that proper cues and adjustments in amplitude, location and position of the sounds may be noted and followed during a rerecordin-g session. In a rerecording session the various independent sound tracks are reproduced simultaneously, the output of the reproducing pick-ups being sent to loud speakers which render the sounds audible, a portion of the same output also going to a recording machine in which a single composite record is made of all of the sounds upon a single track. Occasionally, during such rerecording procedure, the loud speakers reproduce all of the tracks but a new sound recording is made of each sound track, such new sound tracks containing or embodying modifications in volume, frequency modulation, or the like. By frequency modulation, reference is made to the so-called futzing in which high or low frequencies are eliminated or in which certain bands of frequencies are either emphasized or diminished in order to produce a desired effect. […]