Evening star., 1935-05-05

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a sheet Of cellophane in the palm
fire Is called for in the script.
That is only one of the many uses
to which cellophane is put in the
studio. The rain that extinguishes
the fire is produced by sand trickling
on q sheet of cellophane. although
some technicians prefer to shake beans
in a wire cylinder, while others show
q distinct preference for the salt-on-
paper type of rain. Still others claim
that all these rains are not to be
compared with the realistic showers
and swishing downpours that are
emitted by q motor driven machine
which scatters seeds on metal or
paper. There Is scarcely a limit to
the rains which this machine can
feed into the microphone-all the
way from the old fashioned tin roof
rain to the latest in tropical cloud
bursts.
Simple, homely devices produce
many OF the realistic sounds that ere
heard on programs. Sound-ehects
engineers are persistent kitchen raid
ers and no sooner does wife install a
new kettle in the cupboard than hubby,
biding his time, starts testing It's
microphone talents, and most likely
1t finds it ways into a niche In the
auto-crash file of the sound effects
room. Lovely auto crashes. incident
ally, can be made by kicking over a
pile OF kettles and saucepans within
pickup distance Of a mike"
Another simple noise-maker is the
swamp. This is nothing but little
box Of mud and it offers no end Of
swampy sounds in the hands of a
trained member of the sound effects
craft. Thunderstorms that will scare
aunty under the bed and send Fido
scurrying into o dark corner are made
by hitting an iron sheet with a pad
died drumstick.
Often where Q simple sound is de-
sired, like the clinking of coins, it
may present q tough nut for the
sound effects engineer to crack. Such
0 problem confronted an engineer re-
Gently and it took hours of expert
ments before a metal was found which
would sound just like clinking coins.
In fact, engineers often work months
trying to produce q certain type OF
sound. There was the time, a few
months ago, when q Cincinnati radio
station was trying to get q certain
type of train whistle used by rail-
road. He played all the whistle ret-
ords and fused around all sorts OF
complicated devices without success.
And then-an inspiration! Why not
use o train whistle? Simple enough,
30 he went down to the railroad shops,
borrowed q whistle from an engine,
and then connected it to q compressed
air line in the studio.
Speaking Of trains, the sound-ehects
boss In one big network headquarters
has q one-man railroad that makes
most Of the noises heard In railroad
operation. He spent lot Of time
around . freight terminal studying
the sounds that trains made and now
he can simulate nearly all Of them by
operating gadgets in q wooden box
feet square.
Sometimes, but not often, the sound
effects department fails to come
through when q noise Is cued on the
script. Carlyle Stevens, popular young
network announcer who recently won
. prize awarded for natural and un-
affected announcing, found himself in
just this position one time. He had
dabbled quite bit in radio noise.
This particular time the script called
for the sound of q chicken frying in
. skillet, but somebody forgot to
make the noise So Carlyle, thinking
fast, grabbed package of cigarettes
from his pocket, ripped of the cello
phane and crushed it under the mike
"A sidelight that the audience never
realized as it listened to the hen
sputtering in the radio skillet,
Animal noises are produced by US
ing various types Of horns-some Of
the time. A lot Of the time husky
throated studio employe Is called upon
when lions or tigers or other animals
are to growl for the radio audience
In the case Of pistol shots somebody
usually snaps spectacle case or raps
q padded board with stick. The ac-
tual sound of gun shot would wreck
the delicate innards Of the micro
phone.
Gadgets by the thousand there are
in the sound-effects department, but
many Of them are found in many
homes or barns-"devices" like cow
bells, sandpaper blocks, rusty hinges,
whistles, whips, motors, ropes, ham,
mers, knives and forks.
VYTOULD-BE radio broadcasters, some
w 200 strong. are clamoring at the
doors Of the Federal Communi-
cations Commission seeking franchises
to erect new broadcasting stations.
They started their onslaught less than
. year ago when Congress opened the