Mason Blake
The addition of sound to film reels was a groundbreaking development in the history of cinema, marking the end of the ''Silent Era' of the late 1920s. Before this, films relied solely on visuals, text, and acting to convey stories, often accompanied by live or pre-recorded music. The introduction of sound-on-film technology, which could be either magnetic or optical, revolutionized the film industry and changed the way we experience movies forever. This evolution in film technology sparked a patent war in the US film industry, with companies racing to acquire the rights to this innovative sound-on-film process. The addition of sound to film reels, or talkies, as they came to be known, was initially an expensive endeavour, with the necessary equipment being costly and out of reach for most consumers until the 1970s.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| When did films get sound? | In the late 1920s, engineers found a way to record sound directly onto movie film, leading to the birth of "talkies". |
| How was sound stored? | There are two primary types of soundtracks found in film reels: magnetic and optical. |
| How does optical sound work? | The sound is stored as visual representations of sound waves. A lamp shines through the transparent waveform of the sound onto a photosensitive material that converts the light to electricity. |
| How does magnetic sound work? | Magnetic strips, similar to those on cassette tapes, were applied to the film and sound was recorded on them. |
| How to identify sound in Regular 8 film reels? | The audio is kept in a metal strip attached to the film. The strip often has a gold or rusty hue. |
| How to identify sound in Super 8 film reels? | The presence of a metallic strip indicates sound. A rust-coloured strip on one or both edges of the film strip indicates sound. |
| How to identify sound in 16mm film reels? | A rust-coloured strip indicates a magnetic track, while a transparent strip with visual representations of sound waves suggests an optical track. |
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What You'll Learn
History of film sound
The history of film sound is a fascinating one, evolving from the silent films of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to the stereo surround sound of today's cinemas. The first films, or the "Silent Era", relied solely on visuals, text, and acting to tell stories, often accompanied by live or canned music during screenings. This era lasted from the birth of film in 1894 until the late 1920s.
During the silent era, pioneers like Eadweard Muybridge and Thomas Edison experimented with moving images and sound technology. Muybridge's work with projection, allowing for the study of complex actions like a horse running, inspired Edison to consider combining moving images with his phonogram sound technology. However, this early technology had limited amplification and was not synchronized with the visuals.
In the late 1920s, engineers made a breakthrough by finding a way to record sound directly onto movie film, ushering in the birth of "talkies". This sound-on-film technology revolutionized the film industry and changed the way we experience movies. Super 8 film, a popular format for home movies, was designed with sound capabilities, while 16mm film reels could contain either silent film or film with an optical or magnetic soundtrack.
To identify if a film reel has sound, one can examine the physical characteristics of the reel. For Super 8 film, the presence of a metallic or rust-colored strip along the edge of the film indicates sound capabilities. For 16mm film, a rust-colored strip suggests a magnetic track, while a transparent strip with visual representations of sound waves indicates an optical track. While optical sound tracks are less common, they can be found on some 16mm and Super 8 film reels.
Today, film sound has advanced to include stereo surround sound in cinemas, and audio technology continues to evolve with the influence of artificial intelligence and remastered audio, creating new possibilities for editing and experiencing sound in films.
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How to identify sound film
Before the late 1920s, nearly all movies were silent, relying on text, motion, and acting to tell stories. The introduction of sound-on-film technology, or "talkies," revolutionized the film industry.
There are two primary types of sound tracks found in film reels: magnetic and optical. Magnetic sound tracks were one of the earliest methods used to add audio to film. These consist of a thin metal strip that is magnetized during the recording process. To determine if your 8mm film has a magnetic sound track, examine the edge of the film reel for a gold or rust-colored strip. This strip will be located on the same edge as the perforations or sprocket holes.
Regular 8mm film, also known as Standard 8mm, was introduced as a cost-effective alternative to 16mm film. It was not designed with the idea of having sound added to it, and there were no Regular 8mm cameras that recorded sound during filming. However, it was possible to add a magnetic stripe to the Regular 8 film strip during processing. This technique, called 'sound striping,' allowed Regular 8mm films to have narration or music that could be heard on projectors that could play this magnetic stripe.
Super 8 film, on the other hand, was designed with sound capabilities. Super 8 film has a rust-colored strip on one or both edges of the film strip, indicating the presence of sound. This strip can be metallic and is located between the edge of the film and the image area.
For 16mm film reels, some may have a magnetic strip along the edge without sprocket holes. Optical sound tracks are less common but were another method used to add audio to film. These tracks are transparent and can be seen through when held up to the light. They store audio as visual representations of sound waves. 16mm film reels with optical sound will have perforations on only one side of the film stock on every frame, while silent films will have perforations on both sides.
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Sound-on-film processes
The process of adding sound to film reels, known as sound-on-film, has evolved over the years with several pioneers contributing to its development. The earliest films were silent, relying solely on visuals, text, and live or canned music to convey stories. However, in the early 20th century, innovators like Ernst Ruhmer, Eugene Lauste, and Eric Tigerstedt made significant strides in synchronizing sound with film.
In 1900, German physicist Ernst Ruhmer conducted research on the photophone. He recorded fluctuations of the transmitting arc-light as varying shades of light and dark bands onto a continuous roll of photographic film. Ruhmer then reversed this process, reproducing sound from the photographic strip by shining a bright light through it and interpreting the resulting light fluctuations with a selenium cell. This invention, called the photographophone, transformed sound into electricity and then into light, which could be recorded directly onto celluloid.
Following this, in 1907, French-born London-based inventor Eugene Lauste was awarded the first patent for sound-on-film technology. Lauste purchased the photographophone from Ruhmer in 1908, intending to perfect it for commercial use. However, he was ultimately unsuccessful, and his innovations reached a dead end. In 1914, Finnish inventor Eric Tigerstedt was granted a German patent for his sound-on-film work, and he demonstrated a film made with this process to scientists in Berlin.
It wasn't until the late 1920s that engineers found a way to record sound directly onto movie film, leading to the birth of "talkies." During this time, American inventor Lee De Forest played a crucial role in developing the first optical sound-on-film technology with commercial applications. De Forest's system involved recording the soundtrack photographically onto the side of the motion picture film strip, ensuring proper synchronization of sound and picture during playback. Despite this breakthrough, Hollywood initially approached this new technology with suspicion and fear.
By the 1940s, the issue of capturing synchronized sound footage onto film was widely resolved, and the technology became widespread. However, the emergence of television posed a new challenge, leading to the development of surround sound and the widening of screen aspect ratios. Today, sound-on-film technology has revolutionized the film industry, and audio has become an integral part of the cinematic experience.
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Optical soundtracks
Optical sound was originally developed for military purposes, but it first saw widespread use in the 1920s as a sound-on-film format for motion pictures. The technology was developed by several inventors with an interest in wireless communication through the transmission of light, primarily for ship-to-ship communication. The idea was that sound pulses could be converted into light pulses, allowing them to be transmitted from one ship to another.
Optical sound eventually superseded all other sound film technologies until the advent of digital sound in cinema projection booths. Optical sound has also been used for multitrack recording and for creating effects in some musical synthesizers.
The process of creating an optical soundtrack involves using a device called a light valve to create a beam of light that is modulated (changed in intensity) by an audio signal. When this beam is focused on a moving strip of unprocessed film, it records an optical soundtrack. After being developed, this film can be played back by an optical player, usually part of a film projector. The player uses a light beam that passes through the film to a photoelectric cell, producing an electrical signal that can be amplified and sent to loudspeakers for reproduction of the original sound.
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Magnetic recording
The magnetic film used is 3 to 5 mils thick, matching the thickness of the picture film, ensuring that the picture and sound have equal diameters on the film reels. The film is coated with a magnetic oxide on its entire width, with the standard monaural track in 16 mm and 35 mm being 200 mils wide. The first magnetic films used an acetate base until 1970 when it was replaced by a more stable polyester base as the former was unstable and prone to degradation.
The sound is recorded and played back using a device called a sound follower, which can be locked or synchronized with the motion picture film. It operates similarly to an analog reel-to-reel audio tape recording but uses film instead of magnetic tape. The unit can be switched between manual and sync control, allowing it to follow the film with the picture.
Everest Records, a subsidiary of the Belock Instrument Corporation, is credited with pioneering the use of three-channel 35 mm magnetic film around 1959. The major makers of sound followers include M.T.E.'s Magna Tech, RCA, and Sondor, offering playback-only or record-and-playback models.
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Frequently asked questions
No, films were silent from the birth of film until the late 1920s.
Sound-on-film is a process where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually on the same strip of film. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or a digital sound track, and may record the signal either optically or magnetically.
Optical soundtracks are stored as visual representations of sound waves. A lamp shines through one side of the strip and hits a photodetector on the other side. The photodetector's output runs through an amplifier and drives a speaker. The vibrations of the sound are translated into changes in the white strip's width.
Magnetic recording allowed for stereo and surround sound and improved sound quality. Magnetic strips, similar to those on cassette tapes, were applied to the film. However, they were costly and had a short life.
For Regular 8 film reels, the audio is kept in a metal or rust-coloured strip attached to the film. Super 8 film reels have a similar gold or rust-coloured band, with an additional thin strip of tape along the film's holes and a thick strip on the other side's outer edge.
