The Challenge of Sound Restoration from 1927 to Digital Author(s): Jean-Pierre Verscheure, Philip Carli, Alice Carli Source: History, Vol. 7, No. 3, Film Preservation and Film Scholarship (Autumn, 1995), pp. 264-276 Published by: Indiana University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3815093 . Accessed: 15/06/2011 09:00

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http://www.jstor.org FilmHistory, Volume 7, pp. 264-276, 1995. Copyright?John Libbey& Company ISSN:0892-2160. Printedin GreatBritain The challengeof sound restoration from 1927 to digital

Jean-PierreVerscheure

Preface could compare the phenomenon of the earliest soundtests with the firstflickering of the t the time of the firstprojection of The projections A Lumierebrothers, unbearable in our whichthe Jazz no one was in a day, Singer, position of the time for to how cinematic sound spectators accepted uncomplaining imagine lackof otherstandards of reference. wouldone evolve. Who can day today A considerable of this is retraceits part study principally past? based on this notion of referenceto our us from the be- memory Only seventyyears separate which us to a and of sound and within this short permits express qualitative quan- ginnings cinema, titative about all that surroundsus. Con- the evolution of opinion period extraordinary analogue we refer to two of sound more even than the cerning sound, always types processing, amazing sources: one with another, soundthat has unfolded.The real comparing recording digital followed, and recordedsound with 'live'. These of soundin cinema withthe firstdia- comparing history begins seem to me to be the but filmsthat markthe fundamentaltransforma- principaldistinctions, they logue have the sense of sine non under one tion of filmic A new formof cinematic qua only language. condition:each must be heard with a narrativewas bornwith TheJazz and in an recording Singer, sound that the standardsactive at even more mannerwith works like The system respects significant the time. for we hear the soundof Blue or of New York. Today, example, Angel Lights TheJazz with a modern installation,the Thereare two directionsto take under Singer major same that will serve two hours hence to consideration.The most seems to me to present important Citizen Kane and two hoursafter that Raidersof be the aestheticof sound, but that is not my topic the LostArk! The sound qualitywill inevitablybe here. The other directionis that of technological very different,but the notion of referencewill be evolutionand its implicationsfor the filmindustry, totally falsified since the recordingswon't have thatof the evolutionof standardswhich necessarily been reproduced with equipment respective to followed, and finally(and for ourgreatest satisfac- theirperiod. To listentoday to the soundof the film tion ), the consequences of these inventions, these sound systems,on the notionof filmpresenta- tion, the which it is our to con- presentation duty Jean-Pierre Verscheure is Professorof Film serve in its form. original Technologyat INSAS(National State School), Tech- In its primitiveform, as introducedby Vita- nicalConsultant to FIAFand presidentof Cinevol- phone, sound, without qualifying technical par- ution.Correspondence to: 9 ruedu Boisd'Havre, ameters, was considered sufficientin itself. One 7000 Mons,Belgium. The challenge of sound restoration from 1927 to digitaldigital265 265

TheJazz Singerwith a WesternElectric type 16-A Thesituation during the firstperiod to a 555 driver as in loudspeakercoupled exactly Before film became 'film 1927 reveals to us a 'sound' that is almost screening presentation' and settledin form,many image formatswere pro- meaninglesscompared to one heardwith modern posed. The formationand commercializationof amplificationand .The recordings of cinema was in large part due to the stand- 1927 were linear,and loudspeakercharacteristics ardizationof projectionsystems. The commercial did not permitthe reproductionof low and high might of the Bell & Howell company originates frequencies.Today's sound systemshave a preci- froma requiredstandardization of image to per- sion Academy filterand high performanceampli- forationsthat remained unchanged until the begin- fiersand speakers.In 1927, the soundof TheJazz ning of dialogue . During all this time, Singerwas free fromrumble and hiss, and the in- presentationevolved withinthe 4:3 format,which termediaryband that came throughwas linear no inventionmodified during this period. from400 to 5000 Hz; tonal equilibriumwas thus since the films of that perfectlyrespected period Second period (1927-52) were mixedwith speakers identical to those in the Multipleinventions that permitted sound recording projectionrooms. Today, the sound will be repro- and reproduction in large rooms decisively duced withnoisy low and high frequenciesand the markedthe second period of presentationhistory. hiss reproducedacross the curve of the Academy The advent of dialogue was at the root of a fun- filter, and therefore out of equilibriumwith the damental change in all that was previouslyat- tonal balance of the recording1.It is importantto tained, not only concerningfilmic language, but know that recording systems are provided with equally in the technicalequipment of the entirein- standardizedfilters, which were modi- particular, A new dimension was added to fied several times over the course of and dustry. perfor- history mance: 'the with sound and its that this means that the of one sound', optical recordings period limits to the norm must be read with the qualitative belonging Academy necessarily reproduction as a second constraintfor the director. characteristicsof thatsame period.This is only one small detail in termsof the numeroussystems that map the historyof cinematicsound. The situation during this second period The passage fromsilence to dialogue sound with its and the introduction Historical summary of film presentation multiplesystems at the same time of several processes for wide screens Three markthe in the his- periods principalstages markthe beginningof thisperiod, which is consid- of film are summarized tory presentation.They erably more importantfor the study of technical below as 'historical benchmarks' to assist the evolution. Inventionsand proceduresof all sorts readerin the evolutionof sound understanding sys- were introducedinto the industry.Producers and temsand the to them. specific problemspertaining major productioncompanies restrainedtheir en- thusiasm,however, and the economic crisisat the Firstperiod timewas not propitiousto the developmentof new The birthof and the first cinematography public wide screen processes. No inventionmodified the presentations mark the of the initial beginning image formatduring this period and only mono- period, which extends to the advent of dialogue. phonic sound, which is qualitativelyvery limited, From1895 to 1927, the of the cinemato- image was added to film presentation.The evolutionof graphic had of width to performance proportions technologies as a consequence of World War II height of 1.33:1 or 4:3, regardlessof the size of wouldovertake stereophonic processes developed the roomor screen. The of the composition image earlier,such as Fantasoundand Vitasound. thus had to be delimitedby a frameof those pro- The director portions. was always limitedby this Thirdperiod (1952 to present) constraint. The introductioninto the marketingnetwork of ,with its giant screen and high quality 266 Jean-Pierre Verscheure , marks a third significant cal sound,Superscope, Techniscope and today the period, featuringCinemascope and a numberof enlargementsSuper 16 and so forth. other analogous and compatible image formats. Imageand sound formatsin the firstcategory Thewhole filmindustry was upsetonce again, but evolved simultaneouslyand were rarely stand- for the firsttime directorswere liberatedfrom the ardized. Rapidstandardization quickly stabilized constraintsof image formatand of lower quality and reduced the numberof image formatsin ca- monophonicsound, thus considerablyenlarging tegory 2, but sound systemscontinue to develop. theirvisual and sonic palette. Economicrestraints in the thirdcategory have re- duced the numberof image formatsand sound Thesituation during the thirdperiod systemsto the bare minimum.A preliminarystudy Cinerama,which was made commerciallyviable has permittedme to distinguishnearly a hundred by the evolutionof an ensemble of technologies, systemswhere combinationsof image and sound markshere a decisive jumpin the developmentof procedures produced more than 350 different filmpresentation. Introduced in the industryon 30 types of presentation.Therefore, a single filmmay September1952, its enlarged image and stereo- exist in several formats,depending on the year it phonic sound sparked a resurgence of interest was made, and its theatrical presentation may among the directorsof the major studios. By 16 varyconsiderably from one theatreto another,de- September1953, 20th CenturyFox had massively pendingon the technicalprojection capabilities of commercializedthe newly inventedCinemaScope each theatre2. process,setting up and installingit in theatresin its marketingnetwork in under a year - a unique Thedevelopment of sound in cinema event in filmhistory. System has followed system to the present Since , the development of cinema day, giving us an incrediblevariety of presentation soundwas markedby the extraordinarysuccess of styles, each inseparablefrom its filmgenre. Films synchronizedsound and paradoxicallyby the de- are made in great numbersin all of these pro- feat of the originalVitaphone system, which con- cesses, and distributedthroughout the world with sisted of using a 16" (404 mm) diameter disk. theiroriginal process, unlikethose produceddur- Warners was quicklycompelled to abandon the ing the two earlierperiods. We can distinguishin disk systemin favourof opticalsound, butkept the thisthird period of historythree major categories of name Vitaphonefor a while. After1930 only opti- presentation,following very distinctorientations cal sound (soundon film)was used forfilm produc- adopted by the producersand studios: tion.A standardizationof projectionspeeds and of the positionand dimensionsof the soundtrackafter 1st category 1930 contributedgreatly to world-widefilm dis- Systemsconceived exclusivelyfor large theatres, tribution. such as Cinerama,MGM Camera 65, Ultra-Pana- Furthertechnical advances and diversification vision, Todd AO, etc., and more recentlySuper soon posed problems,however. , Panavision70. for example, the same company that introduced the celebrated 16A loudspeakerwith the 555W 2nd category driverin 1927 forVitaphone, was touting'the first in Systemsconceived for average use, like Cinema- three-way wide-range systems theatres' and two laterthe same Scope for 4 magnetic tracks, Sound, by 19314, years DimensionalSound, Technirama, Vistavision, etc., company introducedthe 'Mirrophonic'sound sys- tem which used multicellularhorns5. RCA on its and most recentlyDolby Stereo, UltraStereo and side out a two channel for sound variousdigital systems. brought system reproduction, but each of these companies re- 3rd category cordedand treatedthe soundsby theirown special which led to Systems usable in all theatres, but mainly con- method, rapidly incompatiblesys- tems. TheWestern Electric not had ceived for smallhalls, likeCinemaScope with opti- recording only The challenge of sound restoration from 1927 to digital 267 to be read by WesternElectric installations, but the round' system of the Magnoscopic projections, latermodifications had to be on contemporarysys- Warners'Vitasound, or again RCA'sFantasound. tems in orderto have the improvedcharacteristics. The developmentof sound in cinema during Inaddition, playingan RCArecording on a West- the thirdperiod of cinema historythat we term'the ern Electricinstallation posed furtherproblems. era of wide screen and stereo', is one of great Thesituation actually became so criticalthat it was complexity.The introductionof magneticsound in addressed by an SMPEcommittee in 19346: the industryand the many possible combinations offeredby multitracksystems like the fourtracks of the six tracksof Todd-AO,the two- of Sound Committee , Report tape systemsof Cineramaor Warnerphonicsound In a communicationaddressed to the chair- would requirea full-scalestudy for anythingap- manof the committeeby PresidentGoldsmith, proachinga summary.We will describe, by way aboutthe middleof March,the committee was of an introductionto a long series of processes,the asked '... to formulatestandards of sound rec- DimensionalSound system, a variantof the Per- ordingreproduction (audio-frequency charac- specta Sound systemthat was used for the Alfred teristics)of such a type that the producing Hitchcockfilm TheMan Who Knew Too Much in studiosand the theatrecircuits can all agree to 1956. accept them at a reasonablyearly date after Discoveredby the CinevolutionCenter in Bel- the standardsshall have been agreed upon. gium, supported by the Bologna Cinematheque The presentstate of sound recordingand re- since the FIAFInternational Congress in 1994, the producing indicates that the matter is defi- presentationof this work in its original sound sys- nitelyurgent. There is an unnecessaryamount temproves how importantit is to conservenot only of deviation in releases fromthe variousstu- the films but also the image and sound systems, dios, and it is obviousthat the fulladvantages which mustbe consideredan integralpart of the of improvedmethods of reproductioncan not work. Among the major Europeanarchives, the be realized under the present conditions. Bologna Cinemathequeand the J. Paul GettyJr. Such standardizationis the most important ConservationCentre at Berkhamstedare the firstto problemfacing the Committee'. have become aware of thisfact.

Despitethis communication, it tookuntil 1937 A brief of Sound for a projecton the standardizationof reproduc- history Perspecta tion characteristicsto be accepted. Thisfirst stand- The premiereof the firstCinerama film in Septem- ardization, published in the SMPEJournal in ber 1952 overturnedthe entire cinema industry January 19387, put an end to what we consider and opened the era of wide-screenand stereo. today to be the firstgreat evolutionaryperiod of Only a year after the introductionof Cinerama, soundcinema (1927-38). Thetechnological evol- however, 20th CenturyFox commerciallyintro- utionresulting from WWII would resultin a modifi- duced its own wide-screensystem of shootingand cation of thisstandardization in 19488. Thesetwo projectionand also provideda stereo sound pro- standardizationsonly concern the characteristics cess. Indeed,Cinerama was not solely responsible of the bandwidth,but other standards, like control for Fox's initiative.The arrivalof televisionin pri- of the relativesound level, or push-pullsystems, vate homesand its consequences in loweringbox were rapidlyadopted. office receipts made it imperativeto reconquer All this concerns only electric recordings partof the publicby givinga new dimensionto film termed'Academy recording', but an examination presentation.After experimenting with severalsys- of soundsystems from this second periodof cinema tems, Foxsettled upon a processinvented by Henri history shows that numerousattempts at stereo- Chretien,which consistedof shootinga verywide phonicprocesses also appeared. Themost import- image, still using a conventional35 mm film. A ant included the sound perspective of Abel system of lateral compressionof the image per- Gance9, the stereo system of Blumlein,the 'sur- mitted,with the help of an anamorphoser,com- 268 Jean-Pierre Verscheure pressionof this in a ratioof 1:2. Inprojection, this process. At Columbiathe situationwas verydiffer- image wouldbe decompressedin the same ratioto ent, and only a few filmswere encoded with the its original proportions.The frame of the image system.Warner Bros. adopted the same strategy thusproduced was 2.55:1 forthe systemwith mag- as MGM and all its importantproductions were netic recording, and 2.35:1 for the system with distributedin both systems.The superior quality of . Unlike Cinerama, this process, magnetic recordinggradually convinced the ma- which Fox named CinemaScope, was conceived jors to review their position regardingsystematic for the entire industry,and most of the majors use of PerspectaSound. PerspectaStereophonic adopted it. Today, the CinemaScope process, Sounddisappeared from US productionsby 1960 adapted to projectionprints with optical sound rec- in the US, although it was used by the Japanese ording introducedat the beginning of 1954, re- until 1965, and for the rest of the world informa- mains,with a few variations,the same. tion is seriouslylacking. Only the examinationof Before CinemaScope, the stereophonicsys- individualprints will allow the exact situationcon- tems employed by the Cineramacompany, War- cerning the abandonment of the process to be nerBros. and othermajors used a 35 mmmagnetic known. tape synchronizedwith the image. 20th Century Fox opted for the more economical and practical A technical overview of Sound solutionof runningfour magnetic tracks directly on Perspecta the projectionprints, not on a second tape. The Exceptfor a few very rare cases, the Perspecta exceptionalquality of magneticrecording allowed StereophonicSound system was used only foropti- the engineersof 20th Century-Foxto abandontheir cal sound for 35 mm films. The principleof the old 3-trackoptical system,known under the name Perspecta system consists in directing a mono- of ERPIStereophonic Movietone. phonic recordingto three volume amplifiersthat 20th Century-Foxpremiered its firstfilm in the feed threespeakers situated behind the screen.The new process, HenryKoster's The Robe, on 16 No- monophonicoptical recording is directed by the vember 1953. MGM later premiered Richard frequency and amplitude of pilot signals, pre- Thorpe'sThe Knightsof the RoundTable, and a viouslyrecorded in the mixingof the film.In projec- few months after that Warner Bros. released tion, a device called an 'integrator'detects the George Cukor'sversion of A Star Is Born.At first frequencyor frequenciesand integratesthem as the magneticfour-track system was an integralpart one continuouscomposite which controlsthe gain of the CinemaScopeprocess. Its prohibitivecost, in a variable gradient tube. Three frequencies due to the special equipmentneeded for theatrical were chosen, inaudiblein the installationsof the preamplificationand realization of the sound, period:30, 35 and 40 Hz. rapidly became an obstacle for the diffusionof After amplificationas photoelectriccurrent, filmsmade by the process. MGMwas the firstof the signal is directedto fourcircuits. The first circuit the majorsto react to this economic problemand is composed of a high-passfilter that suppresses quicklyproposed an alternatestereophonic sound the pilotsignals. The sound of the film,purified of systemthat was compatiblewith optical sound re- the controlsignal, is then directedto three ampli- productionsystems already installedin theatres; fierseach equipped witha variablegradient tube. thiswas called 'PerspectaStereophonic Sound'. Output from these amplifiersis controlled by a MGM, at first, decided to play its Cinema- tripleattenuator placed beforethe theatre'svolume Scope productionson fourmagnetic tracks domes- .The three remaining circuits are selective tically,and in PerspectaSound in foreign houses. filters,each assigned to one of the pilot frequen- Knightsof the RoundTable was the firstfilm shown cies. The30 Hz frequencycommands the leftchan- in Europewith the system. Paramountwas inter- nel, the 35 Hz the centre, and the 40 Hz the right ested in Perspectaand announcedthat it would be channel. The frequency of the thus used for all of its VistaVisionproductions. Experi- determinesthe positionof the soundsource behind ence showed that Paramount'scurrent standard- the screen and its amplitudedetermined the loud- format productionswould also benefit from the ness of the sound in the hall. Theoutput signal thus The challenge of sound restoration from 1927 to digital 269 consists of only one pure frequencythat is inte- greaterdimension to the film- a dimensionwhose grated as a continuouscomposite. This direct cur- loss is regrettable.The CinevolutionCenter has rentcontrols the gain in the variablegradient tube three Perspectasystems as well as a collection of and thus the output level in the hall. The studio films recorded in the differentsystems. This ma- sound mixerhad the ability, using one or several terial is available to researchers,historians and frequencies at different levels, to direct mono- studentswho wish to studythe historyof filmpres- phonic sound toward any part of the screen. He entation[see Fig. 1]. could also, using all the frequenciesat maximum level, sound volume to the give greater presenta- 'Dimensional in tion10. Sound' the work of Alfred Hitchcock: The Man Who Knew Too Much Twoexamples will illustratehow thisoperates (1956) in practice.If dialogue occurs at the centre of the screen,the mixerwould add the 35 Hz pilotsignal An analytical study12of the Perspecta/Dimen- to the sound on the film. Duringtheatrical projec- sional Sound system in the works of AlfredHitch- tion, the integratorcaptures that frequencyand cock is underway at Mons, Belgium,and a brief augmentsthe outputlevel in the central channel. examinationof The Man Who Knew Too Much Spectatorswould then hear the soundfrom the cen- ter of the screen no matterwhere they were in the hall. If a second actor situatedat the rightof the screen responds,the mixerreduces the 35 Hz fre- quency and progressivelyadds 40 Hz. The inte- gratorthen directsthe sound from the film to the rightchannel and suppressesthe centre. Now, if a symphonyorchestra appears on the screenwith all the instrumentsplaying at the same time, the mixer wouldadd all threefrequencies to the trackand the integrator would direct the sound to all three screen speakers at the same time. For this last example, it would evidently be impossibleto lo- calize the instrumentsin theirrespective places, so thatPerspecta Sound is, in reality,a pseudo-stereo- phonicsystem 1. The majorstudios evidently used Perspectain differentforms and under differentnames. Para- mountcalled the process 'DimensionalSound', and, since their productionsat that time were all filmedin full-framepanoramic format from 1.66:1 to 1.96 or 2, the stereophoniceffects were more modest than in CinemaScope productions.Per- specta, in this instance, functionedprincipally as noise reductionand gave a subjectivelysuperior sound qualityto Academy recording.In MGM or Columbia'sCinemaScope productions,however, the recordingswere highly stereophonicand the soundfollowed the actionon the screen,fully utiliz- ing the Perspectaintegrator as a stereophonicsys- tem as well as a subjectivenoise reducer.When correctly adjusted, the integrator brought the sound into extraordinarilynuanced relief, adding Fig. 1. PerspectaSound rack installed in booth. 270 Jean-Pierre Verscheure

(1956) in the contextof this paper may illustratea the smallerformat still allows a plot analysisof the preliminaryapproach to furtherresearch. It is im- film,in theVistaVision/Dimensional Sound version portantto note here that there is no question of the worktakes on its fullvalue and the filmpresen- undermining all the studies, and they are tationitself adds a real dimensionto the intrigue. numerous,which have been done in the realmof As for the sound itself, Hitchcockemployed Alfred Hitchcock'swork. DimensionalSound, an DimensionalSound in a discreet mannerfor two optional projection process, does not introduce precise (and occasionallyintermingled) purposes: significantelements with respectto filmnarrative - we find the process used partlyto accentuatethe it must be considered a complementary,not an idea of space, and partlyto attractthe attentionof essential element to the form;the system, justlike the spectatorwhen the sound of the filmplayed a VistaVision,would only be appreciated by those role in the intrigue. DimensionalSound is used who attached importanceto film presentation,a fromthe beginningof the film.The orchestra, con- subtlemixture of essence and form. ducted by Bernard Hermann, serves as back- Inthe mid 1950s, Paramount,like all the ma- groundto the credits;a cymbal crash is heard, of jors,wanted to impose its VistaVisionwide-screen which the audience does not yet knowthe import- process,one of the best image processes,on direc- ance withinthe plot.The sound on the filmis at this torsof the time;and it was in VistaVisionthat Hitch- point reproducedby all three speakers at a level cock's TheMan Who KnewToo Much premiered. thatconventional photographic recording was not Hitchcock, an indefatigable perfectionist, mas- capable of reproducing. After the credits, the tered the VistaVision process in several of his space in which the action occurs does not justify works, where the qualityand the compositionof the use of particularsound effects, and the soundof his images were all of the firstorder. VistaVision the film comes fromthe centralspeaker [see Fig. films were projected in a relativelywide format 2]. An instancewhere DimensionalSound is used (1.96:1) approximatingthe CinemaScopesystem to accentuate the idea of filmic space occurs withoptical sound (2.35:1). Duringthe 1950s the shortlythereafter, during a dialogue scene set in- sound, for such a wide image, had to be stereo- side a bus. At first,the sound is reproducedfrom phonic. Forthe sound in TheMan Who KnewToo the centre.As the bus arrivesin Marrakechat mar- Much, Paramountopted for its version of Per- ket time, the sound passes progressivelythrough specta, called DimensionalSound - a complex thethree screen speakers. The opening of the sonic processthat had, as I have describedearlier, only universethus accentuates the idea of filmic and a shortcommercial life. Paramounttook the option scenic space [see Fig. 3]. of DimensionalSound for its VistaVisionproduc- Where DimensionalSound plays a significant tions but never imposed the acquisition of the role in the narrativeis the pointwhen the fatherof equipmenton the projectionistsin the commercial Hank(the young boy), having been locked in the theatres.This means that a workdirected at Para- chapel, attemptsto escape throughthe bell tower. mounthad to be conceived fromthe beginningso He uses the bell ropes to raise himselfup to the as to be projectedeither with or withoutthe Dimen- towerand DimensionalSound opens up the sound sional Soundsystem. space. We are, like the neighbourswho congre- Obviously,a similarsituation existed regard- gate, taken into this noisy sound universe,which ing the image. Itscomposition, with respectto the makes us aware of the mob of onlookerscurious filmnarrative, had to be establishedin a 1.96 or about the outcome [see Figs. 4 & 5]. At the same 2:1 format,but the compositeformat of the Vista- time,Hank's mother finds herself in London'sRoyal Visionsystem also permittedprojection in multiple Albert Hall, a notoriouslysonorous space even formatsof which the smallestwas about 1.5:1. more open than the preceding one. Dimensional Therefore,The Man Who Knew Too Much could Soundplunges us into the sound universeof large eitherbe presentedon a smallscreen in the propor- halls,where the accumulationof reverberationsac- tion 1.66:1 with monophonicsound, or on a large centuatesour impressionof anguish, and accentu- screenwith a proportionof 1 .96 or 2:1 and stereo- ates also the isolationof the character,lost in this phonic sound. Thougha mediocrepresentation in cacophonicworld [see Fig. 6]. Duringthe concert, The challenge of sound restoration from 1927 to digital 271

Fig. 2.

Fig.4.

the amplitudeof the sound would be proportional Thissort of situationappears several times in the to the scene; the systemreproduces the soundtrack filmand the process accentuatesthe realism.The of the filmin all threespeakers at a relativelyhigh sound dynamicfollows subjectivereality, which is level [see Fig.7]. Hank'sparents find themselves in one of the particularitiesof the process. Ifa scene the AlbertHall and converse;the amplitudeof the demandsa softersound level, the soundof the film sound is such thatwe cannot hear theirdialogue. is automaticallyreduced, and the effect is much 272 Jean-Pierre Verscheure

Fig. 5.

Fig.6.

Fig. 7.

more perceptiblethan it would be withoutthe sys- sponds with a whistleso as to let his motherknow tem [see Fig. 8]. that he is indeed there [see Fig. 10]. The loud Finally, during the soiree at the embassy, whistlecould be heard by the parentsbeyond his Hank'smother sings 'Che ser6 ser6' very loudly,in room, up the staircaseand in the receptionroom. the hope that her son, imprisoned in the same Duringthis whole scene, sonorousspace plays an building,will hear [see Fig. 9]; he hears and re- important role in the narrative and the use of The challenge of sound restoration from 1927 to digital 273

Fig. 8.

Fig. 9.

Fig. 10.

DimensionalSound is a considerable asset. We This first examination of the use of Dimen- effectivelypass fromthe salon to the boy's room, sional Sound shows us the technical possibilities passing the staircase where the camera shows a the process could offerwhen exploited judiciously succession of levels as we approach the room, by a directorlike Hitchcock.A more precise study receding fromthe salon, then returnto the salon of the use of special processes, both visual and [see Fig. 11]. aural, in the work of Alfred Hitchcock will be 274 Jean-Pierre Verscheure

Fig. 11.

Fig. 12.

undertakenlater by PaoloCherchi Usai in collabor- tion mustnot only take into account the decoding ation with the CinevolutionCenter1. systemof the optical sound track, but also the dy- namiccharacteristics, which are not linearlike the Academy filterin use at the time. Threeimportant parametersmust be taken intoconsideration: The restorationof Perspecta The restoration of Perspecta systems poses Decoding numerousproblems, which are the object of an Currently,no analogue sound-on-filmsystem will importantprogramme put in motion by Cinevol- permitthe transferof Perspecta-styledecoding. The ution in collaborationwith Berkhamstedand Bo- systemultimately used mustpermit the recordingof logna, the universitiesof Brusselsand LosAngeles, threedistinct tracks, non-matricized, for the signals and the Equipe studio in Brussels.Using period of the three channels are always in phase. A sys- reproductionequipment is an extremelydelicate tem of matricingand de-matricinglike DolbyTate business. Cinevolutionhas a collection of Per- DES,or even UltraStereo, will not work. Suppose specta integrators,and only equipmentof a par- we have as outputfrom the integratorsignals from ticular make is used. These devices are of such the rightand left,and nothingfrom the center.We raritythat installingthem at every archive is incon- will hear in the hall sound from the left and the ceivable, and onlyan equivalenttransfer to a more right.If we pass these througha 4-2-4 mixer,the L currentsystem is possible. One study has already and R signals, whose phase is identical, will be shown thatonly digital systemswill work. Restora- mixedand reproducedonly in the centre.They are Thechallenge of sound restorationfrom 1927 to digital 275

Fig. 13.

[0 o0- 0 00000 CMco ,ti.ncoI IntegratorL meter reading I-Normal control range- I I--Range 6Db Low- I -Range 6Db High I thus incompatibleas muchelectrically as electro- the Alfred Hitchcockfilm cited above brings the acoustically. issue into high relief. To conserve and collect the special equipmentpertaining to these processes is Dynamic characteristic to conservethe heritageof evolvingfilm presenta- The relative dynamic characteristicof Perspecta tion. A precise and trustworthyclassification of recordingsis controlledby a circuitwhose transfer these processes mustcome to join the numerous characteristicsare not linear. The proportionof chaptersalready presentin the historyof cinema. relativecompression can reach 1.5, and the time The study I propose to write will revive technical constantis on the orderof about 0.3 seconds [see history,which is, we mustnot forget, the pedestal Fig. 13]. on which the historyof cinema art is built,born of technologyand constrainedimmutably to followits Academy filter evolution. TheAcademy filter which mustbe applied to three Translatedfrom the French andAlice Carli volumeamplifiers dates from 1948. Thuswe are by Philip concernedwith the second familyof Academy fil- terswhich are nearlyidentical to those of today.

Conclusion Notes

It has taken a centuryof film presentationhistory 1. TheCinevolution research and study centre has an for us to take into serious considerationthe more equipmentcollection that allows analysis of the evolutionof soundfrom disks than sixty sound systemswhich were an integral Vitaphone through DolbyStereo. Cinevolution, Belgian Mons. and indissolublepart of cinematicworks. Cinevol- utionowns morethan thirty systems, and continues to directits researchesin thatdirection. The case of 2. Thisstudy is not yet published,but is availableto researchersat Cinevolution. 276 Jean-PierreVerscheure

3. See thetwo excellentarticles by RobertGitt, 'Bring- bing Rooms', SMPTEJournal, Vol. 84, January ing Vitaphoneback to live', FilmHistory, Vol. 5, 1975, p. 3. number3, 1993, 262, and Steve September p. 9. Paul Promoteurset r6alisateursdu Wurtzler,'The between the object and the Raibaud, spec- space tacle sur 6cran La tech- label:exhibiting restored Vitaphone films and tech- cin6matographique large, EditionInternationale, nology',Film History, Vol. 5, number3, September nique cin6matographique, Paris1956, 400. 1993, p. 275. 10. InstructionBook for the 4. The Altec LansingCorporation, Heritage History PerspectaStereophonic Sound Stelma Stamford, formAltec Lansing,Industrial Professional Sound Integrator, Incorporated, CT,1954. ProductsCatalogue 1993, p. 4 Altec Lansing,a P.O. Box 26105 Oklahoma Mark IV Company, 11. Norman H. Crowhurst,'Advantage, Scope and City,OK, USA. Limitationsof the PerspectaStereophonic Systems', Vol. 184. 5. Idem5. SMPTEJournal, 64, April1955, p. 12. Translator'snote: M. Verscheurehas notedearlier 6. of Sound Committee',SMPE Journal, Vol. 'Report in thisarticle that Paramount's version of 23, July1934, p. 6. Perspecta, whichthey called Dimensional Sound, differed in its 7. John K. Hilliard,'Projects of the Committeeon effect from the way other studios employed the Standardizationof TheaterSound Projection Equip- process, justas Paramount'sVistaVision differed ment Characteristics',SMPE Journal, January slightlyfrom Fox's CinemaScope. As TheMan Who 1938, p. 81. KnewToo Much was releasedthrough Paramount, and M.Verscheure refers to VistaVisionand Dimen- 8. Petro 'An Vlahos, Optical/Acoustic Response sional Sound in conjunctionwith the film, 'Dimen- Standardfor Theatersand its Correlationto Dub- sionalSound' will be usedthroughout this section in referenceto the film'ssoundtrack.