8mm Forum: Film with sound on vinyl

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Posted by Luigi Castellitto (Member # 3759) on February 06, 2017, 04:09 AM:

Someone have, or has seen in operation Super 8 (or Normal 8, if exists), with the sound on vinyl?
I'd like to know more.
Thank you!

Posted by David Roberts (Member # 197) on February 06, 2017, 08:43 AM:

I seem to remember a company offering a silent cartoon film with a 7 inch vinyl record with a sountrack on it. I think the trademark was "Americom"
this was many years ago.

Posted by Luigi Castellitto (Member # 3759) on February 06, 2017, 12:18 PM:

Yes, Americom. Here are two examples:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/310/2032/1600/americom1.jpg

http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com/images/Records%20Page/filmrecord-popeye1.JPG

There were also other horror, Dracula, Frankenstein...
The vinyl was in synchro with the film, through a procedure.
Sometimes appears one example on eBay etc., not at high price, I'd love to have one, but I have don't have the vinyl player, I should make it pay.

Posted by David Roberts (Member # 197) on February 06, 2017, 01:43 PM:

the record had a lip around the outer edge,and you placed the stylus against this as a starting point.
because you used your standard record player,it cant have held very good sync,but I would think it was great fun if you only had silent films.

Posted by Ricky Daniels (Member # 95) on February 06, 2017, 03:47 PM:

Luig, there's further information for you here...

8mm Forum topic

Best,
Rick

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on February 06, 2017, 06:27 PM:

It wasn't vinyl but plastic "flexidisc" much thinner. I had/have 2 of them a Beetle Bailey cartoon and a Laurel & Hardy.

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on February 06, 2017, 08:04 PM:

It is not an easy job to make it synced. Even when I used a record player with speed adjustment. If you have one with fixed speed, then say goodbye...it will be out of sync.

cheers,

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on February 07, 2017, 07:14 AM:

The sound records , at least in the case of Curse of Frankenstein, was electronically altered to run with the film at somewhere around 17 to 18 fps. Most people didn't have sound projectors that ran at 24fps. The sound is odd...but ok. I recorded the record onto reel to reel and cassette and ran the film that way. There was a little spot on the film leader you were supposed thread up to....and record had a little beep to signal you to start the machine. Cute idea.

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on February 07, 2017, 07:36 AM:

Yes, I remember my regular 8 Curse of Frankenstein had three dots, a dot on each frame, at the beginning to sync with the record. It worked well because there was very little dialogue in that digest [Smile]

Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on February 07, 2017, 09:49 AM:

Flawed, yes. So much fun, though. I still collect them. Just great for nostalgia purposes. The sound is not quite right due to it being electronically slowed down, but it was all there was back in the day. My kids think the whole thing is so stone-age. They can't grasp it at all.

Posted by Clinton Hunt (Member # 2072) on February 07, 2017, 08:27 PM:

I've seen one of these for sale on ebay recently and didn't get back to it for a proper look.
I think it will be cool to have at lease one in my film collection [Smile]

I will look out for more and hopefully it's not too expensive [Wink]

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on February 07, 2017, 08:35 PM:

least

Posted by Jason Smith (Member # 5055) on February 07, 2017, 10:41 PM:

I have a 200ft Godzilla film released in Japan in the early seventies that came with a flexidisc. The film in addition has the soundtrack on it( either optical or magnetic).

Most of the Super 8 films I`ve seen in Japan came with a cassette tape in case a user had a silent projector.

Posted by Joseph Randall (Member # 4906) on February 10, 2017, 07:44 PM:

What makes Americom collectible for many collectors is that it is the only way to get many of their titles in Super 8 or 8mm. For example, Laurel and Hardy's Fox feature cut-downs from A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO, THE DANCING MASTERS, and THE BIG NOISE.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on February 11, 2017, 11:36 AM:

What's so humorous about all of this, is that, this is how sound movies movies first began ... sound recorded on a disc that the projectionist would have to sync with the image projected on screen.

It must have been kind of irritating, especially if the record developed a skip!

Posted by Luigi Castellitto (Member # 3759) on February 11, 2017, 06:04 PM:

Also interesting is the thread linked by Rick, full of anecdotes about these particular films.
I hope procure on ebay or similar one of them, to see how they sounded.
@Jason: Films+audiocassette tapes are like this? http://img.tarad.com/shop/k/kokoshop/img-lib/spd_20110723171107_b.JPG
Beautiful! The audicassette could be more in sync compare to a record?

Posted by David Hardy (Member # 4628) on February 12, 2017, 04:33 AM:

I still have my original Americom Sound on Disc titles in
my collection. I still run them now and again. All in
glorious monochrome.

THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN
HORROR OF DRACULA
THE FROGMEN ... (Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea )
A HAUNTING WE WILL GO ... Laurel and Hardy
THE BIG NOISE ... Laurel and Hardy
THE MONEY MACHINE ... Laurel and Hardy
SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES

Great fun indeed trying to synch them up.
The sound quality is far from "Hi-Fi" but then again even the best of 8mm stripe is too.

"START PROJECTOR ON TONE"... Beeeeeppppp !

[Wink]

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on February 12, 2017, 05:01 AM:

I had the Americom cut down + disc of "Voyage to the bottom of the sea". Once the sound was transfered to cassette tape, it was easier to manage.
If you search this forum, I also posted a pictures many years ago of the 200ft Empire Strikes Back Ken Film cut-down that included a cassette tape of the soundtrack. Great box.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on February 12, 2017, 05:41 AM:

Bert, at Super 8 Warehouse, has such a film currently on his site for sale @ €29.
It's a 200ft Super 8 silent film "The Face Of Fu Manchu" with a 33 1/3 disc.
http://super8warehouse.com/?product=face-of-fu-manchu-james-bond-spoofsound-on-disc

Posted by John Yapp (Member # 2873) on February 12, 2017, 06:43 AM:

Start Projector on tone.

Posted by Melvin England (Member # 5270) on February 12, 2017, 08:15 AM:

Many years ago at Blackpool, I bought a pile of children's cartoons which were 200' colour, with sound on a 33 1/3 rpm disc ( a proper vinyl disc,not a flexi disc)

They were from "Golden Book Films - Storytime Series" which were trade marks of Western Publishing Company,Inc.

Over the years I managed to sell most of them. I kept the two which I had sound striped and transferred the non lip-sync sound onto.
They were called "Odds and Ends Playground" and "Dragon in A Wagon"
Does anyone remember them? I could provide a full list of titles in the series if need be.

.

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on February 12, 2017, 11:17 AM:

Yes I have 2 of them the titles are "Too Many Bozos" and "Sylvester" they come in really nice packaging and are easy to screen because of just having narration over limited animation. They are pretty cool.

Posted by Melvin England (Member # 5270) on February 12, 2017, 11:20 AM:

Bill,have you transferred them to a sound stripe or still play them direct from the disc as you project the film?

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on February 12, 2017, 11:28 AM:

I play the record alongside the film....record collecting is my other main hobby so it is nice to combine the two. I would like to get some of the Americom titles eventually.

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