Sound Waves, Volume 1 Number 6 |
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International Circulation hsued SemiMonthly It Heralding the E" ,;e in Pictt' Vol. 1. No.6. HOLLYWOOD, C. - . £MBER 1, 1928 TALKER PRODUCERS AT MEKtY OF MUSIU Producers Face Talker Demand By DALE HENSHA W* TALKING pictures are here to stay. This is not a prediction -it is simply a statement of fact. And if motion picture producers of Hollywood would do less talking and more listening, they would realize that they are facing the biggest problem that has confronted the motion picture world to date. Hollywood has little idea of how interested the great American public is in talking pictures. On my last trip across the continent, covering every key city practically, the sole topic of conversation on the part of every theatre and exchangeman was "talkies." Literally, they have gone "talkie" mad-but they don't know what it is all about. The theatre patrons even in the small towns are clamoring for the "talkies." They want to hear the great artists, the inspiring symphonic orchestraswhich to date have been far beyond their reach. They care nothing about minor synchronization defects - they simply want to HEAR WHAT THEY SEE. Within Reach of All Right here I want to say that if the live exhibitors are on the job and have their fingers on the public pulse they will-everyone -install a talking picture device in their theatres and cash in on this great demand of the public for the talking pictures. No t heatre is so small that it can afford to be without a talking device. And there are talking picture machin e ~ on the market that are within the reach of every thea tre -large or small. Radio amplification is what has made talking pictures possible. Synchronizing sound with pictures is nothing new-but doing it successfully is, and this has been brought about solely because of the rapid strides that have been made in the radio field. The same rapid development is going to be made in talking pictures- especially since the radio companies have jumped into the picture field. These developments are going to be startling, to say the least. Television Problem And that brings us face to face with .. problem such as the industry haa never faced before. That problem is television. Lookln, far ahead, I ven ture to say IlIat radio will revolutionize the motion picture bu.lne .. ; and In the not distant lulure the .man theatres will be showla, plctur •• on their screen and IIstenla, to pro,rams that are being broadcut from a central theatre or station. la other words, with the perfectinr of tel,vl.lon I look for the country to be ~ded Into four territories. These lerrltorl.. to be selected according to a t1a. element. One section will be that which I. ,overned by Eastern Standard TI.... Mother will be Central Standard (Continued on Page 6) IS MY VOICE ON THAT? Fay Wray Secret Explained CAPTIVATOR! Not Fay Wray, in this instance, although she is shown above. The strange apparatus in which she is interested is the means whereby the human voice is captured and r ecorded on the celluloid for talking pictures. This is perhaps the most delicate piece of apparatus in the talker system. Secret of operation lies in the tiny photo-electric cell, which changes electrical disturbances set up in the microphone to lines of black and gray in the sound track on the edge of the film. (Photo from Paramount West Coast Studios). ENGLAND BECOMES 'TALKER-CONS CIOUS' ENGLAND'S talker situation-inventions, corporations, productions, and problems in a perusal of the past few days' issues of "The Daily Film Renter," considered the leading trade publication of the British Isles, is most interesting in view of present development in America. A digest of E ditor Ernest W. Fredman's gleanings begin with his editorial, t itled, "A Joke Indeed!" which reads, "Surely one of the most amazJ ·:-------- -------- Warners Clean Up ing utterances ever heard at a Talkinr films, whatever their merits or General Council meeting was that demerits, are so much a 'joke' that they given expression to last Wednes- have placed Warner Brothers definitely d h d" t th ffi upon the financial map. Warner s have ay, w en, accor Ing 0 e 0 - become so rich throurh talkinr films that cial report, one of the members they have been able to buy one of the said that, so far as he was con- birrest circuits of theatres in America; cerned, talking films were a joke. and their shares made a tremendous leap of one hundred dollars. Practically one Apart from the astounding ignor- picture made a fortune for this company, ance of facts which a remark of and has placed them in the IImellrht as this kind imputes, we are left as- years of efforts with silent pictures never toni shed that any man can de- did. This is the influence which a member of the General Council rlibly describe an innovation like talking scribes as a 'joke'." films as lightly as this. (Continued on Page 6) Z --Q Q e( 1) -. -. (1) Q 3 Q Q 3 < (1) c. --. Q 3 -:::r fir ""0 3:"'" 00 -_ .~CD I»O~ a=='< (I)~a -n'n- =C=D .C..., gCD n> I» c.. en CD >3 ;:::.'< en.o... HIGH RATES That the American Federation of Musicians, through reason of their rates for talking picture engagements as well as demands on houses where these pictures are shown, are actually holding back some producers from extensive musical employment, has been learned this week. In the executive offices of one well known producer, who is making his first talker, several sequences of his maiden effort were dropped or changed because of the $30.00 minimum per man for any single engagement of a musician. Cost Changes Production In another studio, when') an orchestra was n eeded f or almost two weeks use, phonograph records (reproduced), a single quick session, and numerous cuts were used in order to cut down the terrific cost of the contemplated orchestra. This cost can best be judged by the union scale, which reads: 33 hours, 5 'h days, not more than two (2) sessions per day, no session longer than 3 hours, with intermission between sessions of no less than one hour, per man .. . . $200.00; Contractor, or leader . .. . DOUBLE PAY. The balance of the scale r eads : Single session, 3 hours or less, pel' man . . . . $30.00. Two sessions same day, perman .... $50.00. Overtime, pel' half hour 01' fraction thereof, per man (5 minutes leeway permitted) .... $5.00. Eventful Year Seen If the leader, however, has any sort of reputation, the double pay. of course, is out, since more must be added to this for his name. In all sections of the country, the unions are taking a firm stand against r eduction of theatre orchestras where talkers are shown. Locally, they are as firm in their demands for the tremendous studio salaries. It is known that they are raising a fund (reputed to be $5,000,000) to "fight for their rights" while on the other hand it has been freely discussed in musical circles that a singer's union will come next, although this is doubtless far-fetched. The next year will see considerable war going on because of the union's demands and if the idea, overhead recently, of using non-union orchestra to record is put on trial, it will be interesting, to say the least, to see what the unions will do in the houses where such a picture might be released.
Object Description
Title | Sound Waves, Volume 1 Number 6 |
Description | Volume 1 Number 6, November 1 1928, pages 1-8, includes cover. Illustration of Fay Wray on cover. |
Subject Topical | Sound motion pictures--Periodicals [lcsh] |
Format | periodical |
Catalog Record | http://catalog.oscars.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=27248 |
Publisher | Sound Waves Publishing Co., Cedric E. Hart |
Date | November 01 1928 |
Source | Core Collection Periodicals |
Repository | Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
Language | English |
Rights | Public domain material. |
Description
Title | Sound Waves, Volume 1 Number 6 |
Description | Page 1 |
Format | periodical |
Date | November 01 1928 |
Full text | International Circulation hsued SemiMonthly It Heralding the E" ,;e in Pictt' Vol. 1. No.6. HOLLYWOOD, C. - . £MBER 1, 1928 TALKER PRODUCERS AT MEKtY OF MUSIU Producers Face Talker Demand By DALE HENSHA W* TALKING pictures are here to stay. This is not a prediction -it is simply a statement of fact. And if motion picture producers of Hollywood would do less talking and more listening, they would realize that they are facing the biggest problem that has confronted the motion picture world to date. Hollywood has little idea of how interested the great American public is in talking pictures. On my last trip across the continent, covering every key city practically, the sole topic of conversation on the part of every theatre and exchangeman was "talkies." Literally, they have gone "talkie" mad-but they don't know what it is all about. The theatre patrons even in the small towns are clamoring for the "talkies." They want to hear the great artists, the inspiring symphonic orchestraswhich to date have been far beyond their reach. They care nothing about minor synchronization defects - they simply want to HEAR WHAT THEY SEE. Within Reach of All Right here I want to say that if the live exhibitors are on the job and have their fingers on the public pulse they will-everyone -install a talking picture device in their theatres and cash in on this great demand of the public for the talking pictures. No t heatre is so small that it can afford to be without a talking device. And there are talking picture machin e ~ on the market that are within the reach of every thea tre -large or small. Radio amplification is what has made talking pictures possible. Synchronizing sound with pictures is nothing new-but doing it successfully is, and this has been brought about solely because of the rapid strides that have been made in the radio field. The same rapid development is going to be made in talking pictures- especially since the radio companies have jumped into the picture field. These developments are going to be startling, to say the least. Television Problem And that brings us face to face with .. problem such as the industry haa never faced before. That problem is television. Lookln, far ahead, I ven ture to say IlIat radio will revolutionize the motion picture bu.lne .. ; and In the not distant lulure the .man theatres will be showla, plctur •• on their screen and IIstenla, to pro,rams that are being broadcut from a central theatre or station. la other words, with the perfectinr of tel,vl.lon I look for the country to be ~ded Into four territories. These lerrltorl.. to be selected according to a t1a. element. One section will be that which I. ,overned by Eastern Standard TI.... Mother will be Central Standard (Continued on Page 6) IS MY VOICE ON THAT? Fay Wray Secret Explained CAPTIVATOR! Not Fay Wray, in this instance, although she is shown above. The strange apparatus in which she is interested is the means whereby the human voice is captured and r ecorded on the celluloid for talking pictures. This is perhaps the most delicate piece of apparatus in the talker system. Secret of operation lies in the tiny photo-electric cell, which changes electrical disturbances set up in the microphone to lines of black and gray in the sound track on the edge of the film. (Photo from Paramount West Coast Studios). ENGLAND BECOMES 'TALKER-CONS CIOUS' ENGLAND'S talker situation-inventions, corporations, productions, and problems in a perusal of the past few days' issues of "The Daily Film Renter" considered the leading trade publication of the British Isles, is most interesting in view of present development in America. A digest of E ditor Ernest W. Fredman's gleanings begin with his editorial, t itled, "A Joke Indeed!" which reads, "Surely one of the most amazJ ·:-------- -------- Warners Clean Up ing utterances ever heard at a Talkinr films, whatever their merits or General Council meeting was that demerits, are so much a 'joke' that they given expression to last Wednes- have placed Warner Brothers definitely d h d" t th ffi upon the financial map. Warner s have ay, w en, accor Ing 0 e 0 - become so rich throurh talkinr films that cial report, one of the members they have been able to buy one of the said that, so far as he was con- birrest circuits of theatres in America; cerned, talking films were a joke. and their shares made a tremendous leap of one hundred dollars. Practically one Apart from the astounding ignor- picture made a fortune for this company, ance of facts which a remark of and has placed them in the IImellrht as this kind imputes, we are left as- years of efforts with silent pictures never toni shed that any man can de- did. This is the influence which a member of the General Council rlibly describe an innovation like talking scribes as a 'joke'." films as lightly as this. (Continued on Page 6) Z --Q Q e( 1) -. -. (1) Q 3 Q Q 3 < (1) c. --. Q 3 -:::r fir ""0 3:"'" 00 -_ .~CD I»O~ a=='< (I)~a -n'n- =C=D .C..., gCD n> I» c.. en CD >3 ;:::.'< en.o... HIGH RATES That the American Federation of Musicians, through reason of their rates for talking picture engagements as well as demands on houses where these pictures are shown, are actually holding back some producers from extensive musical employment, has been learned this week. In the executive offices of one well known producer, who is making his first talker, several sequences of his maiden effort were dropped or changed because of the $30.00 minimum per man for any single engagement of a musician. Cost Changes Production In another studio, when') an orchestra was n eeded f or almost two weeks use, phonograph records (reproduced), a single quick session, and numerous cuts were used in order to cut down the terrific cost of the contemplated orchestra. This cost can best be judged by the union scale, which reads: 33 hours, 5 'h days, not more than two (2) sessions per day, no session longer than 3 hours, with intermission between sessions of no less than one hour, per man .. . . $200.00; Contractor, or leader . .. . DOUBLE PAY. The balance of the scale r eads : Single session, 3 hours or less, pel' man . . . . $30.00. Two sessions same day, perman .... $50.00. Overtime, pel' half hour 01' fraction thereof, per man (5 minutes leeway permitted) .... $5.00. Eventful Year Seen If the leader, however, has any sort of reputation, the double pay. of course, is out, since more must be added to this for his name. In all sections of the country, the unions are taking a firm stand against r eduction of theatre orchestras where talkers are shown. Locally, they are as firm in their demands for the tremendous studio salaries. It is known that they are raising a fund (reputed to be $5,000,000) to "fight for their rights" while on the other hand it has been freely discussed in musical circles that a singer's union will come next, although this is doubtless far-fetched. The next year will see considerable war going on because of the union's demands and if the idea, overhead recently, of using non-union orchestra to record is put on trial, it will be interesting, to say the least, to see what the unions will do in the houses where such a picture might be released. |