SURROUND-SOUND AND HOME CINEMA:CINEMA SOUND.

CINEMA SOUND

Film sound is much more than dialogue, music and song. It conveys mood, ‘atmosphere’ and effects, all of which are a vital part of the whole presentation, and with large loudspeakers and powerful amplifiers cinema sound has a great deal more presence than its TV counterpart. The cinema industry latched on to stereo and multi- channel systems very early on, starting in the 1930s to build a sound- field which matched the size and depth of its moving pictures. By the 1950s 35 mm film prints carried at least a stereo soundtrack, and 70 mm prints typically had six separate sound strips for multi-channel reproduction via loudspeakers spaced around the viewing area. Magnetic-stripe soundtracks, while giving good performance, gave way to optical soundtracks because of the latter’s ease of duplication with the picture, and its cost and maintenance advantages in individual cinemas.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *