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Topic: Optical sound was first
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted May 25, 2012 01:10 PM
Interesting ... though I have set, (as close to accurate as I could be) the first optical sound super 8 features in 1967, they could have started in 66.
Very interesting Dino and many thanx! There is so much info about optical sound films that to this day, we don't know and perhaps, will never know. By the way, I have a few of these educational style super 8 opticals, and I have always assumed (due to the subject matter, style and look) that they were late 60's or early 70, they could, perhaps, be a little earlier.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted May 26, 2012 12:21 PM
I would assume that standard 8mm optical sound would been even weaker , in general, than super 8 optical sound, with the track being that much smaller.
That's always been a problem with optical sound. Though it can sound quite good, (they really perfected super 8 optical sound in the 80's with big booming optical tracks), however, alas, the smaller the track, the more dust and debris can affect the overall sound, giving the soundtrack at times, way too much pop and hiss, epscially the more faded and weaker the optical track becomes, due to fading, as the sust and debris stays the same volume!
Anyone who knows me knows that i just LOVE optical sound super 8 (now over than 60 optical sound super 8 features!) and finding out any new information is just awesome for me!
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted May 28, 2012 12:54 PM
Actually, unless the optical soundsuper 8 is a reprint of a classic, (African Queen, Stagecoach, for instance), nearly all the optical features were released as of the time that they were originally released to the mopvie theaters, or within a limited time after that ...
Therefore, my copy of the Lee marvin classic "Point Blank" was either 1968 or shortlythereafter. The date codes on the Eastman prints are fairly unrelaible, as I have seen everything from "stock 14" to "stock 21" (21 has tended to hold up better, by the way) ranging for a period of at least 10 years!
By the way, the quality of the optical releases varied widely due to the studio of origin.
While MGM would re-release they're "Pete Smith Specialties" (shorts) from the 40's or 50's with thier optical sound features, (a nice touch!), the print quality of the short would be pin sharp, (no doubt from vinate 35MM studio prints) while the feature that would follow, would be taken from what looked like a 16Mm TV print, and that MGM feature prints would vary widely on the sharpness of the image.
Another curiosity is that, depending on the studio of origin, the film stock could range widely. nearly all my vintage MGM's have varying degrees of fade, (Though "Point Blank", curiously, has better color than some of the mid 70's MGM prints) ...
... I have "Film Cinema Center" super 8 optical prints, two of them, and the color has not faded a bit, they really re a joy to screen! They are both "PEANUTS" animated features ...
A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)
Snoopy Come Home (1971 or 72, based upon different film guides) ... both prints being over 40 years old and still pristine ...
and before anyone asks, yes, I have scrutinized thesed two print with a fine toothed comb (and little lense!) and they at least, do not say "Technicolor" on them anywhere, bu the color is perfect!
So, the "Film Cinema Center" studio made sure to use dlabs and printing facilities than MGM, and it certainly shows!
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Bill Brandenstein
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1632
From: California
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted May 28, 2012 07:37 PM
Yes, but Technicolor don't ever say that they are unless it's on the leader -- and then, most of the time, it's NOT! That's because it was always receiver film by Eastman, a B/W stock. So they well could be, Osi!
I'm less familiar with terms like "Stock 14" or "Stock 21," rather dating films by the Eastman date codes, which are a 2 or 3 "digit" combination of squares, circles, triangles, and plusses. Osi, do your early optical films have any such markings?
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted May 31, 2012 01:28 PM
Your right Hugh!
The UK prints do tend to have lesser sound. From what I remember, there was some sort of coating added to the optical soundtrack that allowed for them to have a boast to thier sound, as well as not having the tendecy to fade.
To answer the other question, nearly all the print I have, (except for those two "Peanuts" films), have eastman numbers or symbols on them. Occasionally, as In the "Peanuts" prints, there are no markings whatsoever, and most of those prints, especially releases after the mid 70's, I think, are Fuji stock, but that is only an educated guess.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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