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spoken on one record, for the whole of them to be run off without
a break and probably without the audience knowing that a
gramophone is being used.
By the end of 1934 two of our films, "The Story of Our Food
Supply " and "The Activities of a Borough Council," had been
produced and shown as sound films.
The writing of the words necessary for a 1,000 foot film is a
laborious task and takes many hours of thought. A rate of 140
words per minute is about the correct speed for speaking, and
although it is not necessary for the words to synchronise, they
must " fit in " exactly to the film. As an example of this, a
section in one of the films mentioned above contained eight words
too many, and had to be re-written to include only the exact
number of words. As a result of our experience, we find it is
necessary to get the number of words correct to the nearest
half-second.
Although this work is difficult and exacting, the result is
undoubtedly worth the effort. The fact that one can produce
and show films that are nearer the type the public are used to
seeing places the work on a different plane altogether. The first
of these films shown was to an audience who had no idea that they
were listening to anything other than an ordinary sound film and
they left apparently satisfied that that was what they had seen
and heard.
There is an undoubted advantage of using these records in
conjunction with the cinema van for street demonstrations. No
matter how large the audience, the volume of sound can be increased
by merely turning a knob. It is true that the ideal
method is to have a lecturer in addition—the spoken word always
carries more weight than one out of a box-but the need of a
lecturer need not prevent a very good street demonstration being
given.
There are still twenty-eight films to be transposed, and it is
hoped during the present year that quite a number of these will be
completed,