![]() ![]() ![]() Western Electric opted to do its initial manufacturing at both the huge Hawthorne Works facility on the south side of Chicago, as well as its Kearny, New Jersey, plant. ![]() Manufacturing for RCA was done at its Camden, NJ, facilities. 1930Įarly on, both Western Electric and RCA established operations that were specifically dedicated to sound recording for film, with sales and support operations located in Hollywood and New York. Western Electric film sound operating manuals ca. If you didn’t work at a major studio, there is no way you would even be able to obtain the manuals (much less comprehend their contents). These were large multi-volume manuals, consisting of hundreds of pages of detailed operating instructions, schematics, and related drawings. For example, Western Electric manuals had serial numbers assigned to them, corresponding to the equipment on lease by the studio. Both the equipment, as well as the related operating manuals, were tightly controlled by the manufacturers. Instead, it was leased from the manufacturers, and the studio paid a licensing fee for the use of the equipment (readily evidenced by the inclusion of either “Western Electric Sound Recording” or “Recorded by RCA Photophone Sound System” in the end credits). For starters, there were only two manufacturers, Western Electric and RCA. If you were a production mixer in the early 1930’s, you didn’t have a lot of choices when it came to sound mixing equipment. In the article, we will take a look at the evolution of mixing equipment, and how it has impacted recording styles. Beginning with fairly crude two input mixers in the late 1920’s, up to current digital consoles boasting ninety-six or more inputs, mixing consoles have seen vast changes in both their capabilities and technology used within. Along with these changes, there has been a steady progression in the mixing equipment used both on set for production sound, as well as re-recording. Formats used for recording sound have changed markedly over the years (with the major transitions being the move away from optical soundtracks to analog magnetic recording, and from analog magnetic to digital magnetic formats, and finally, to file-based recording). The past ninety years of sound recording for motion picture production has seen a steady evolution in regards to the technologies used both on set and in studios for post production. ![]()
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February 2023
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