"Talkie" Production

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 26, 10 January 1930, Page 2

"Talkie" Production

"Success. Due to Radio | ‘HE following tribute to the part played by radio in the production of: the talking kinematograph. film formed the leading article in a recent issue of "Science and Invention": One by one, and in large sToUps, the motion picture houses are going "talky."" Within a few months we have witnessed a complete recasting of the motion picture. industry. This upheaval has caused many stars to lose their brilliance ‘and has made more lustrous some other lucky individuals who up ‘to now, never had ‘a. chance. Most of us know little and carts about the mechanics of this change, }ut it is a most interesting story and is just another indication of the rapidity with which our business methods may be completély upset and rebuilt. New actors, new directors, new continuity ‘writers, new camera men and new technique are but a few of the changes the talkies have brought us. .From the standpoint of applied science most of us can learn a great deal from the talkies. When the recording is done by an electrical repro- | ducing method employing wax, great care must be taken in the preparation ,O£ the wax to hold what is. termed "surplus noise" downto the lowest possible scale. Where the voicetand music recording is made a part of the film there is a great opportunity for chem- ,- ists to exert their skill in the proper’ compounding of those chemicals which form the film emulsion, sensitive to the ‘light ray, as well as in the production ‘of the extremely delicate light-sensi-tive cells which are used in convert. | ing the rapidly changing sound frequencies into the light frequencies which are recorded on the film. One of the least understood among the electrical phenomena is high-frr ° | -quency alternating current. This for: of current is, to a large extent, th current used in the talkies. The 4tricate mechanisms providing synchri. ism between the electrical and meh. anical units, which comprise ‘the }eeording and reproducing units for the talkies, require an accuracy of miinu facture usually confined to such skited } arts as watch manufacture, | The gpplication of a great m2 "ny Pyor the fundamentals found in the com ite eial tallies has come directly fim the large radio laboratories. This Nis indeed a fertile field for experimenfation, and it is very likely that a grent ‘many home talking movie outfits wil! be used by many experimenters for the development of ideas which will fur‘ther improve the commercial product. In spite of the giant strides that have been made in the last year, there is still plenty of room for improvement in colour motion picture photo- AS graphy, recording eqnipment, and the proper application af all these ideas | to fit the particular acoustic properties ‘ of the theatres to the talking movie systems, i. "