Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-08-01
Where Noise
|SCanned Like
Vegetables

Of THE Government ever decides to ration such things
l noise-crashes bangs and what-not-the Holly
y wood studios likely TO be listed hoarders To
avoid that charge they'll have TO declare hundreds OF cans
of assorted noises that neatly stacked the
shelves of the fireproofed buildings They've got the
worlds oldest canning" factory
All of this bedam is properly recorded and great
deal of it has been added TO the collections during the
filming Of the fast combat films of the past few months
For example Air Force" alone, with it's deep-throated
of the ourmotored Roeng BITE Flying Fortresses
and the crashing impact their bombs the Pacific
targets has added many thousands of feet of film and
many containers TO the sound effects library.
Edge of Darkness contributed its grim bit and
OF the biggest noise of ahe biggest ever recorded for
picture work-was unleashed for action the North
Atlantic, the motion picture which demonstrates the
risks and dangers that present the hazardous
line Of work today, the Merchant Marine, that gets the
stuff to fighting
None of the previously recorded bffs and bangs
heavy explosions impressive enough for these
But warning world is noisy world, and there
great difficulty in finding the loudest blasts for
the needs, and Hal Shaw, the studio sound
librarian has them all neatly cataogued in his files ready
for instant These days. Mr. Shaw quite used 20
getting frequent requests for good
The only that the big Of Air Force"
less terrific than those for Action In the North Atlantic
for instance because the Battle the Coral which
forms the climax and the final reel of the picture
must of necessity show the bombing the Japanese navy
from considerable distance and this naturally mufss
and decreases the volume and the intensity Of such e>o
In Action in the North Atlantic" both an OIL tanker
and freighter attacked by the enemy
first by submarine which strikes the ship
a torpedo and the second by aerial bombs and cannon
fire. both instances the breaks
the microphone which heavier louder
than would be heard from the distant location
Of the and the mike when recording the destruction
OF the Japanese ships.
All the lesser noises used in former pictures are pro
served the sound vaults but none them compares
volume and bood-cUdng effect with the recordings
OF the recent war films The sounds of machine
The Desert Song and the sharp cracks rifles
side heard "Casablauca filed
cncc they are represented BY comparatively small
md rack tho pf
tEat made by the thunder of real heard tho
other films
Despite the excitement Of recording ear-splitting
the effect of which the Warner studios techuicans
arc pfoudcst a minutes period Of absolute
silence which is dramatic high spot Action he
North Atlantic This silence a major point the
story created the Liberty cargo
ship suggests the skipper that the submarine
which is stalking them might be thrown off the tra
the cargo ship should suddenly go silent This
Whcreupon the captain OF the U-boat puzzled TIE
of all ships dccctors orders his own
motors shut down. two ships coast through the
night in deathle silence which Is finally broken when
anchor accidentally looscd slides sea
with its accompaniment of rafting chains
These moments of complete silence are tense ones for
the audience and the making this supplied the
sound department with hreathess moments as well
No such simple e%pcicnt eliminating the track
would do because the the cargo ship held Whs-
percd conversations on the darktncd ship while drftcd
and the German wondered aloud inside tho Iboat
what had happened when the motors its intended
victim were shut off The dramatic sequence
by the simple method of maintaining sorlpuas- silence
upon the desired effect IN the
sound track was necessary for the boom man who
usually follows the recorded by turning
or extending retractng the mcrophone arm prove
himself equally adept at lodging any unavoidable sound
the set.
Thus the camera itself which almost but not quite
silent was successfully blocked out of the sound range
The whispered conversations aboard both boats
corded through mcrophoncs held possible out
OF the camera angle and pointed in direction from which
neither camera noise any accidental sound would be
encountered Careful cutting by other skilled technicians
lin
gcther, completed the remarkable effect.