Sound Traffic

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 857, 28 December 1929, Page 23

Sound Traffic

NEW STUDIO COMMODITY

ONE of the wonders of Hollywood is the traffic in sound that has sprung up in the wake of talking pictures. Sound is no longer merely a disturbance of the ether in rhythmic waves—it is a commodity. It is no longer something ephemeral—it is collected carefully- and produced whenever necessary.

HASEFIELD’s poem “Cargoes” happily reminds one of the traffic in sound. Sound now comes in cargoes, not a week passing that does not see its cargo of sounds arriving from Ophir and Nineveh, Clyde and Palestine. The cargoes are of two kinds; film with its accompanying sound track made from actual audible photography, and devices for the reproduction of sound, such as bells, whistles and traffic horns peculiar to one locality. The former classification may be again subdivided; there are sound tracks accompanyng news reels and there are those which are made by special camera crews not attached to the news reel division. Scenes in Paris One operator recently spent weeks in Paris photographing all quarters of_ the city with his cameras. The hubbub of the taxis wheeling round the Arc de Triomphe, the measured tread of the thousands visiting the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the chatter of the tourists in Versailles, the jests and quips in the sidewalk cafe«, the rumble of the trains, the cries of scurrying porters in the Gare Saint Lazare, the whir of airplane motors at Le Bourget field—all these are transcribed on film. Sixty-one reels of film were made in Phris alone! These will be utilised, in part, during the next few years whenever a film with a Parisian setting demands certain sounds which would emanate from their respective localities. When the sound films arrive in Hollywood, an expert classifies them and places them in a huge concrete and steel vault, where they remain cloistered and silent until a director sees the need for an authentic sound-and-sight background for his particular production. Hand-made Devices But all foreign scenes do not have imported sounds. They may have imported devices to make these sounds, which involves what has come to be known as the "sound-prop” department. When a certain sound effect is needed, they create it. Sometimes the original sound registers badly on the microphone. It is up to “sound-props” to find some substitute which will give the desired effect. A simple little device makes an excellent substitute for the sound which is made by leather boots crunching over snow. It’s a bag made of soft deer leather and filled with corn-starch. Close your eyes and grind your fist into the leather and cold shivers will run down your back. In one “sound-prop” department there are some 1.500 different mechanical sound devices. These, in various combinations, will yield many more distinct effects upon the ear. Telephone Bells There are 15 different sets of telephone hells aloue. That is because different countries have different telephone equipment. There are two huge packing cases filled with an assortment of French traffic horns. There are chimes of every sort, from dining-room ones to the immense cathedral chimes. Another problem the “soundprop” department must frequently work out is in preventing any sound anchronism.

In the filming an air picture, it was necessary to have a siren which sounded just like the sirens used in London during the war as an air-raid warning.

A typical siren was tried- out. The technical experts said it wasn’t exactly like the ones in use 10 years ago.

Their opinions proved correct; it was learned the war-time sirens had been given up by the London police and another substituted.

Accordingly “sound-props” had to dig round until one was found which gave the exact noise of 'the London siren of a decade ago. Some 30 manufacturers had submitted their product before the desired one was secured.