Movies for TV - Early Television Foundation

76
FUNDAMENTALS
the sound track will appear on the wrong side. The use of film
with a single perforated side, while making possible the application
of reasonably good sound to 16 mm film, has added an additional
hazard by making it possible to become confused regarding the
perforations' position.
The interior view of the portable recorder shows how similar
it is to a camera in appearance and operation. Film is loaded on the
magazine reel and runs continuously (there is no intermittent)
through the sound gate. The output from the recording amplifier is
fed to one socket on the case and a-c power to drive the motor,
which, of course, is synchronous, to the other (constant speed con-
trolled precisely by the frequency of the supply mains ) . The
cover
is, of course, kept closed during recording and is only opened in a
darkroom except for loading and unloading.
When shooting with this type of equipment, it is essential to
realize that although the camera and recorder are kept in step by
the operation of the common switch which stops and starts them
and by the fact that both motors are synchronous and run at 1800
rpm, they are not "interlocked." Therefore, during starts and stops,
the amount of film exposed may vary from time to time, and it is
impossible to maintain synchronization by merely counting footage
from the "start" mark. Since it takes a second or so for each to get
up to synchronous speed, it is necessary to provide a synchronizing
mark at the commencement of each scene. This is done by clapping
two pieces of wood together a few seconds after the machines have
been started. The sound produces a characteristic mark which can
be recognized and matched to the frame showing the two pieces
meeting. Of course, all the action occurs after this "clap," and so
once the films have been matched the "blob" can be cut out.
Another point which causes many beginners unhappiness is
running cameras and recorders off the same power
line which
operates the studio lights. The heavy drain taken by the lights
causes a voltage drop in the 115-volt lines and this causes the syn-
chronous motors to run erratically, and thus lose synchronization.
Also, if extra lights are turned on during shooting under these con-
ditions, the extra load may very easily cause a sudden, temporary