Evening Star Newspaper, January 12, 1930, Page 92

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JANUARY 12, 1930. BY DAN THOMAS. S a rule new inventions in the indus- trial fleld decrease the number of workers required to produce various products. But such is not the case with Hollywood’s leading indystry. It hasn’t been so long ago that a series of remarkable inventions were combined to make the talkies possible. And those inventions have increased by anywhere from 25 to 50 per cent the number of persons required to make pic- Sures. Scores of jobs ranging from red flag waving $o symphony orchestra conducting have been .treated since the film industry went “squawkie.” Some of them in all probability will be tem- porary, but many have become fixtures in the industry. Despite all of these new positions to be filled, however, Hollywood still is facing the same unemployment problems it did in the days of silent pictures. It seems that no mat- ter how much work there is in the movies there always are two or three persons for every job. ’ In the acting end alone the addition of sound to pictures has opened tremendous new ave- nues. Singers, vauideville artists, dramatic stage players, chorus girls and other varieties of en- tertainers have had and are having chances in pictures which they never would have been ven without the advent of sound. Many of hem already have taken upper berths back to Broadway. Others soon will follow. But there fare a few who will stick and make good. When the talkies first struck Hollywood the whole village was in an uproar. Everybody tried to rush out sound pictures. Releases on productions already completed were held up until sound could be added. This was done with a number of films and in each case 4t proved more of a detriment than anything else. In several instances the sound wasn't Bynchronized properly. And in all of them it ‘was unsuccessful. It didn't take producers long, however, to bvercome the mountainous obstacles confront- ing them. Proof of that is that now—a scant Wear and a half later—we have almost perfect talking films. The first to receive the benefits of the talkies Wwere the carpenters, masons and electricians. They were employed by the thousands to rush onstruction of the expensive sound-proof Btages in all of the major studios. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were poured into these Btages even before producers were sure that the talkies were more than a passing fad. Now the celluloid hamlet is the home of any humber of new professions which never could have existed in the pre-talkie days. Dialogue writers, dialogue directors, sound ex- Pperts, elocution instructors, singing teachers, dancing instructors, music teachers, song Wwriters, high-class musicians—all of these and many more have come into being the last year fand a half. With the first intimation that the talkies ‘would be popular, for a time at least, there ‘was a general upheaval in the ranks of the players. Producers started seeking the services ©f stage celebrities and New York actors flocked fere by the scores in search of new jobs. 4 At the same time all studios started a frantic kampaign of voice testing. Every important player in the film colony had his or her voice tested to see if it was suitable for the talkies. ‘And nearly every player who had not had Pprevious stage experience joined a vocal in- Struction class. T was just as if the clock had been turned back 20 years. The movies were in an ex- Perimental stage just as they were back in 1908. Everybody was worried, the actors wnn- $lering what would happen to ¢hem. Hollywood was overrun wilh technical !x- ell New Jobs in Hollywoo Extra Carpenters, Bricklayers and Expert Workmen Are in Demand at the Film Capital, While Most of the High-Priced Entertainers Imported to Make the First Sound Pictures Returned to Broadway. perts who endeavored to show the film folk how to deal with a device of which they knew nothing. There was more secrecy around the movie village than there ever was in the Ku Klux Klan. All were trying to hide their own talking picture secrets. POSSIBLY the most important of the new jobs which have been opened in the stu- dios as & result of the “squawkies” are those of the sound technicians. A few years ago the visitors in a studio would have noticed that in addition to the players and director such workers as camera- men, script clerks, electricians, property men, assistant directors, carpenters, make-up men and & few others were combining their efforts in filming the picture. Today the visitor, if he managed to sneak in some way, would find an additional group of men whose principal interest appeared to be the little black cylin- drical object suspended over the heads: of the players on the set. This new group is composed of the sound engineers and their assistants. They are the men who make it possible for you to hear the voice of your favorite star, the music of great orchestras and the noises of an active world. There are from 6 to 10 distinct classes of workers in this department, the number de- pending largely upon the method of recording used. There are three methods: One in which the sound is recorded upon a wax disc, one in which the sound is recorded upon the edge of the The “buzzer boy” who operates his light and buzzer simultaneously at the start of each scene to enable the technical man to synchronize light and sound. Jeanette Loff is telling him how important he is. By b film as the picture is shot and another in which the sound is recorded upon an entirely separate film. There still is considerable cone troversy as to which of these methods is sue perior. Of the two film methods, the one which uses & separate film for the sound seems to be the most satisfactory, inasmuch as it can be de- veloped so as to bring out the best sound re- sults without regard to pictorial quality. But it still is a toss-up as to whether the film or disc gives the best results. THE first sound technician who is noticed on a set is the “pick-up man.” His job is to place the microphones in the proper positions for recording, a highly important duty since the faulty placement of the “mike” in all prob- ability would ruin the sceme and require a retake. Not only must he place the microphone in such a position that it captures every sound and every word spoken, but he also must make sure that it is completely out of camera range. At least one “pick-up man” is on each set at all times. Then there often are others to shift the “mikes” from place to place in scenes where the action is spread over a rather large area. The next link in the chain of sound engi- neers is the “mixer.” His job is to see that the players’ voices are recorded in the manner desired by the director. The mixer sits in a sound-proof recording booth from which he can see all of the action. Some studios use permanent booths built high up on each stage. Others use portable booths which can be moved to any desired location. When a scene is ready to be shot the record- ing booth is closed so that no sound can be heard by the “mixer” except that which emerges from the loud speaker or monitor horn which is connected to the microphone. If the voices are too loud he must tone them down. If they are too soft, he amplifies them. He is the man who okays or rejects each “take” from a sound standpoint. OTHER technicians also are required along the line which the sound passes. - The huge batteries, supplying the required power, must be kept in perfect condition at all times, And the rooms in which the actual recording is done must be manned by highly expert elec- trical engineers. If the film method of recording is used these engineers must take care of transform- ing the sound waves into light waves which can be photographed. If it is the disc method the job mostly consists of seeing that the recorde ing apparatus is running smoothly. The re- corders also govern the machinery which runs the cameras and recording apparatus in per- Tect synchronization, Then there are calibrating engineers and maintenance engineers. These men concern themselves only with the testing and repair- ing of the recording equipment. Each morn- ing the former make the rounds of all the sound equipment in the studio to make sure it is in perfect working condition. If it isn't, the mantenance engineers are called in to make ad- justments in accordance with the instructions of the calibration experts. No piece of equipment ever is placed in serve ice at the beginning of a day's work until this examination has been made. The production costs of a picture run too high to take a