|
Author
|
Topic: Cinema sound levels
|
|
|
Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
|
posted July 08, 2013 10:28 PM
i agree Paul, it smacks of propaganda, notice the volume on
your TV in the ad breaks, double the volume, I now just "mute"
the vol,but in the cinemas, as you rightly point out, control is
out of our hands, another reason why my attendence is lacking,
I've been at rock concerts, but at least they're open air, in an
enclosed space, it should be seriously monitored. It "sounds" of a
hidden agenda.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Maurice Leakey
Film God
Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007
|
posted July 11, 2013 03:35 AM
I was a trainee projectionist with Odeon Cinemas in 1952. We had a six-day feature run, opening at twelve noon. The circle could be reached from the back and at the end of the last row a seat had a hidden bell push installed.
On the Monday morning the Chief wrote out his sound chart, itemising the first reel of Filmlets/News/Trailers and each feature reel. At the first show he took his sandwiches and his Thermos flask and settled down to watch the complete programme. The bell push connected to a buzzer in the box, one buzz for sound up one point, two buzzes for sound down one point. The results were entered on the chart.
Of course, the cinema was fairly empty then (it held 1800) so the figures were a guide. We could see the whole of the circle from the box so it was easy to see the seats filling up. The fader was set up a couple of points as the cinema filled.
Filmlets? They were the ads from TP (Theatre Publicity) and were all silent, we played our 78 records from the non-sync. The filmlet reel never went back, old ads were removed and new ones inserted by us. Small cardboard boxes were used for their transit much the same as those used for trailers, but smaller.
Only once did we have to run our BTH amplifier at 20, the maximum, this was for a supporting short, a BP documentary called "Rig 20" about an oil well fire being controlled by Red Adair.
--------------------
Maurice
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013
|
posted July 11, 2013 05:55 AM
I'm with you there Lee, the cinema is not what it was, with no usherettes, no one coming round with Butterkist during the break. I remember when the ABC cinema in Oxford had, I think the term is Commissionaire; he stood outside in a red coat and wore white gloves. When they were showing The Great Escape, and The Sound of Music, there was a massive queue outside, and he would lower a rope and say 'Room for 2 more inside'
I saw the bond film Live and Let Die at a cinema in Llandudno, it was like stepping back in time, a real Picture Palace, with framed photos of old stars on the wall, and before the picture started, there was the cinema organist playing a Wurlitzer.
I think the rot started in the 70s when they converted cinemas to 3 or more screens instead of one.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Allan Broadfield
Master Film Handler
Posts: 452
From: Bromley, Kent
Registered: Nov 2010
|
posted August 05, 2013 04:17 AM
My cinema projectionist career ended in 1965, and the methods used sound wise didn't vary much between theatres. In a release house the chief would make notes about sound levels on the first house, and in the west end, where there was a little more time devoted to such details, they would separately run through the programmes for the same purpose. A sheet with settings was put next to each projector.
The other standard during a popular run was usually on the last house when the sound would be turned up a couple of notches, as a full house of patrons would absorb a lot of it, and the light output would be increased to get through the enormous clouds of cigarette smoke.
Those were the days....
[ August 05, 2013, 05:44 AM: Message edited by: Allan Broadfield ]
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
). Serious hearing damage can easily happen, the way they blast out the subs on trailers and action feature films. One reason that we have a whole generation of deaf young people. I am fed up with it, which is the main reason I hardly go to the movies anymore. The sound level just ruins it for me.
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
with it when we wanted. It was quality not quantity ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
.....I miss it ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic
