American Cinematographer - December 1950 - 12

Sound And The
Cinematographer
The cameraman who understands sound
recording techniques can be especially
helpful to the small film producer.
By CHARLES L. ANDERSON

T

as many different kinds of commercial
film companies as there are organizations making com¬
mercial pictures. They range from large corporations with
facilities equal to Hollywood studios down to one man film
units. While the cinematographer's role is important to these
producers, he carries an even larger share of responsibility
when his company is a small one for then he is expected to
know every facet of film production technique because the
company usually cannot afford the staff of specialists to work
with him he might find in the larger studios.
Therefore, the cameraman who understands sound tech¬
niques can be especially helpful to the small film producer.
The mechanical and electronic aspects of sound are familiar
to many, for they can be learned from the manufacturers'
publications and from reports of new developments in the
technical journals. But the artistic aspects of sound are vital
to production, too. This article then, will serve as an intro¬
duction to them.
1 he sound used in motion pictures falls into four divisions:
Narration, sync sound, music, and sound effects. Each plays
a part in telling any story on film, and each has its special
uses and liabilities the film-maker should be aware of.
The sound tracks of most commercial films usually features
more narration than synchronized dialogue, music or sound
effects. The narrator gives information not included in the
scenes themselves and imparts non-visual facts. Narration is
less costly than dialogue scenes because no sound need be
recorded at the time of shooting. It can all be spoken by one
man at one time after the film has been edited.
The aim of commercial and documentary films is to get
their message to the public in the shortest possible running
time. Narration is ideal for this purpose because so much can
be covered in a straight "telling of facts." Synchronized dia¬
logue, on the other hand, is more time-consuming; people take
more time to make a point when talking with one another.
But sync sound does have its uses, as we'll see later.
If the narration is carefully written before filming, time
and film stock can be saved. Competent directors then know
what scenes to shoot to fit right into the script without much
loss in editing. And, what is probably more important, they
don't finish a picture with scenes missing that are needed to
illustrate the final narration. A narration that has been written
by a man who understands the visual requirements of films
can therefore serve as an excellent guide in filming.
Cameramen who are also their own directors can simplify
production by matching shots to a narration script. But timing
HERE ARE ALMOST

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AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER

DECEMBER, 1950
American Cinematographer - December 1950

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