The heat is on

[AN]

"Ned Cordery" <goslands@infowest.com> wrote:

I will live with poor picture quality but add poor sound
and I'm off. Do any of the
popular NLE programmes allow for "surround sound"?

It isn't stereo/surround sound that is as important as
clear, well recorded sound. (even if it were only mono!)
Each and every word should be understood. How many times do we hear music/sound effects
laid over dialogue, so the words are
no longer all understood? The pros are every bit as guilty. In fact, some American
pro films are worse in this respect because we sometimes have to struggle with dialect
too.

Maybe the sound engineers/editors get so used to the script
and have it near pat to memory over the months that slurred/indistinct/masked words
are never noticed?

Another thing that is a real turn off is when the acoustics
one is listening to do not match the picture we are being
shown. That destroys all the atmosphere the film may have had
and brings one down with a nasty bump, amateurs being much more guilty in this respect.

Albert.

[Ned Cordery]

Albert wrote:
It isn't stereo/surround sound that is as important as
clear, well recorded sound. (even if it were only mono!)
Each and every word should be understood.

There is also a problem with the conditions in which the film is shown and the quality
of the playback equipment. I have an old TV I always play programs through to hear
that tinny sound after the pleasure of studio speakers. I also note that much of what
I have labored over on the sound track has disappeared. The mix needs to be very different
for the usual poor playback conditions.

How many times do we hear music/sound effects laid over >dialogue, so the words are
no longer all understood? The pros >are every bit as guilty. In fact, some American

pro films are >worse in this respect because we sometimes have to struggle >with dialect
too.

I watched a Scottish film here recently that came with sub titles! And they weren't
speaking with the real Glaswegian accent that sounds like a foreign language.

Another thing that is a real turn off is when the acoustics
one is listening to do not match the picture we are being
shown. That destroys all the atmosphere the film may have had
and brings one down with a nasty bump, amateurs being much more guilty in this respect.

Albert.

Sound is often the weakness in amateur/independent films nowadays, not enough care

is taken with location sound and the dubbing is often dreadful, but it is difficult
to do well. Most NLE programs have poor sound management and it is best to use a separate
sound program and then re-import.

Ned Cordery

[AN]

"Ned Cordery" <goslands@infowest.com> wrote:

Ned, that was the quickest reply ever...less that 1/2 hour.
I imagine you over in Utah, fingers poised over the keyboard,
on this saturday morning, eating yer American pie for breakfast, and all ready to pounce
upon my words.

Albert....pouncing along.

[Ned Cordery]

"AN" <AnimatioN@btopenworld.com> wrote:

Ned, that was the quickest reply ever...less that 1/2 hour.
I imagine you over in Utah, fingers poised over the keyboard,
on this saturday morning, eating yer American pie for breakfast, and all ready
to pounce
upon my words.

Albert....pouncing along.

Actually I eat Weetabix, sold in the local supermarket as "organic health food". I
am 7 hours behind you so as I type it is after 11 pm with you and I suppose you have
had your Ovaltine and are tucked up in bed with the Animator Weekly and a supply of
paper clips. The temperature is now in the high 80s F that is, RH 11 percent, perfect
weather, have just got in afte an excursion to a height where the temp was in the
70's. Life is hell in the West.

Ned Cordery

[AN]

"Ned Cordery" <goslands@infowest.com> wrote:

am 7 hours behind you so as I type it is after 11 pm with
you and I suppose you have had your Ovaltine and are tucked
up in bed with the Animator Weekly and a supply of paper clips.

That sounds rather exciting for the wifey ! But actually
at present, it's pins and clothes pegs...even more exciting !!

The temperature is now in the high 80s F that is,

Ah, I work in F too. And pints, feet and inches .....I
supply the rainfull amounts to our village web site each day and I give it to em in
inches...Why? Because it's English rain !!

Life is hell in the West.

Laurel and Hardy again, "Way out West"

Regards Ned, keep taking the pills (and the Weetabix)

Albert..... on All Bran medication.

[David F. Symes]

Once upon a time there were several different publications, all devoted to
amateur cine film making. The doyen of these was Amateur Cine World, but
there were others at various times (8mm Movie Maker, Movie Maker, Cine Camera,
Film Making...); yet did these august journals publish an index for each
year? More to the point, did ACW - particularly for the years 1963 and 1964?

All the foregoing is because I am trying to ferret out information about
the Silma Sonik 8, a Standard 8mm magnetic stripe sound projector, which
an item in the 12 September 1963 issue of ACW leads me to believe dates from
late 1963 or early 1964 (at least, the item says that the new Silma projector
is expected in the shops "within weeks", but it may have been delayed). An
ACW review of this machine would be most helpful, particularly if it has
the attention to detail of their examination of the Eumig Mark S; this latter
review actually includes a circuit diagram of the amplifier, albeit without
component values.

Any ideas as to where information - service manuals, reviews, even contemporary
advertisements - can be found will be most welcome. Note that Oldtimer Cameras
(now OTC) have disclaimed all knowledge of service data.

All the best to everyone, whether you use film or tape.

Thanks for your time.