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Topic: Taking sound information for granted

Rob Jones
Film Handler

Posts: 44
From: Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 02-04-2002 05:39 PM

Hi,

On Sunday we screened an original print of JFK. The information on the cases clearly stated format 04 - Dolby A, fair enough. Played the film - it didn't sound quite right to me, so I checked the end of the credits and there the Dolby SR logo was. Whether this particular print (technicolor UK) was SR or not I can't be sure. In cases like this, can the information printed on the label usually be taken for granted as being correct, or is it a good idea to check somewhere else?

Just out of interest - does anyone know if that particular print was SR or A?

cheers,

Rob

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 02-04-2002 05:41 PM

The print I ran was Dolby A. Bear in mind back then in the late 80s and early 90s, "double inventory" of prints was commonplace, and the title logo in the end credits always lists the *better* print's sound format. If your leaders said "Dolby A" or "stereo", then you had a Dolby A print.

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Pete Naples
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1565
From: Dunfermline, Scotland
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 02-04-2002 06:54 PM

Rob, the advice I used to give people was this; first check that the leaders are the originals. If they are then look in the soundtrack area for some indentifying information, like Brad said 'Dolby A' or '04 Dolby Stereo' or 'Dolby SR' or something similar. This information, whilst photographically printed, was written on the neg by whoever it was that cut the neg, and if he or she doesn't know what format it's in, the rest of us don't stand a chance! Ignore any labels, chinagraph, stickers etc on the leaders or the cans. Information not photographically printed on the leaders can't be relied on, and who says it's in the original cans? They are usually wrong anyway.

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-04-2002 07:12 PM

Quick and dirty method: first, determine if the track is mono or stereo. This can be done easily by looking at the track with the film on the bench. Look for a section of credits or opening titles or something else where there is music and look at the the track. If it's a stereo track, then it can be assumed to be in one of the Dolby formats. If the print was made before 1989-ish (check the date codes on the film edge) and has a stereo track, it's Dolby A. For newer titles, it may be either A or SR. If in doubt, play it in SR. If it sounds like crap, it is Dolby A. If it sounds better in SR than A, then it is in SR. Don't rely on the booth monitor for this--actually listen in the house.

Ignore anything on the cans themselves. If there is an enclosure (letter from the director or something), read it. This is especially important if the print is in some oddball format (e.g. Dolby SR mono for recent Woody Allen titles, Dolby stereo with no surround, etc.)

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-04-2002 10:02 PM

If you're lucky, someone wrote the soundtrack information on the leaders of the sound negative, in the analog soundtrack area, to print through onto the prints. Since different sound negatives can be used with the same picture negative, anything written in the picture area of the leaders about sound may NOT be true. For example, the picture leaders may be written in English, yet be printed with a foreign language soundtrack negative.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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