Can I determine if 8mm film has soudn track?

[LSchafroth]

I know how to determine by the notches if a film is 8mm or Super8. Is there a way to determine if a film has sound on it?

Is it safe to assume most film from the 70's and earlier for home use did not have sound?

LS

[jtoolman2000]

sound track on film is usually on the edge and will be in wave form. It is read by an optical sensor on the projector.

[scardi]

In 8 mm o super8 mm films sound track is on the edge and looks like a very narrow, brown magnetic tape. It is read by a magnetic head. In 8 mm film there is only one sound track instead in super 8 mm film there are usually two sound track; one on each edge.

[INFRATOM]

Sound as mentioned is like a strip on the side and only super 8 has sound. If you look the strip of film next to each other you will naturally tell which one is super 8. older standard 8 film has smaller frame and notch holes

[mikel]

see picture...

http://www.filmforever.org/displacement2.jpg

[Cornucopia]

IIRC, unlike Super16, 35mm or above which used to have optical and now usually have mag, Super8 has never had a mag soundtrack. It's always been optical.

You can tell the difference between 8mm and Super8mm, usually by looking at the sprocket holes. 8mm has rectangular ones that take up a good chunk of real estate, Super8mm has square ones that a a good deal smaller.

Scott

[mikel]

For what it's worth, This is the way I remember it....

"Both optical and mag tracks can be found on super 8 and 16mm, while regular 8 only rarely can be found with magnetic stripes which were added after processing. In fact, it was very rare for early home movies to have soundtracks, as only the most serious amateurs made the necessary expenditures to record sound (though equipment was available as early as the 1930s). In 1973, Kodak introduced a Super 8 sound-on-film system, and cameras began to come equipped with microphones. Additionally, Super 8 film could also have sound stripes added after processing and have soundtracks recorded later (usually in the projector). Some projectors can use it for recording an additional sound track. "

mikel

ps. Easiest way to tell Reg 8 from S-8 is, S-8 has a much larger hole in the center of the reel.

[Cornucopia]

I used to do full-time work transferring film->video, and unless they've changed things since then (late 80's), all standard 8mm film is silent--no soundtrack at all. Super8mm might or might not have sound.

It might be possible (as there is some room available) for a production house/filmprocessor to add a mag soundtrack after the fact, but all stock 8mm film camera's are silent and don't have any provision for recording sound.

Maybe you're thinking of super8?

Scott

[aaronrus]

I know how to determine by the notches if a film is 8mm or Super8. Is there a way to determine if a film has sound on it?

Is it safe to assume most film from the 70's and earlier for home use did not have sound?

LS

you need them side by side to compare them.. super 8 has small notches, and both silent and sound film was available

regualr 8 has smaller frame size, and the holes are closer together and larger than the super 8.. plus it ownt have sound at all.. if you take a picture of the film stock and show me, i can tell you just from looking at it

[mikel]

I'm thinking about reg 8 sound reels that were for sale. All were mag stripe.
Not anything recorded by individuals.
Mostly things like Laurel & Hardy and such.
I had one or two of these before I started to collect 16mm stuff.
The name Blackhawk comes to mind. Also Castle Films.
They sold these 8mm sound reels during the 60's.

a bit off topic, but...
(strangely enough, I believe there were even widescreen Cinemascope versions of films that would required an add-on lens to show)

mikel

[Cornucopia]

Picture grabbed from the internet:



Scott

[LSchafroth]

you need them side by side to compare them.. super 8 has small notches, and both silent and sound film was available

regualr 8 has smaller frame size, and the holes are closer together and larger than the super 8.. plus it ownt have sound at all.. if you take a picture of the film stock and show me, i can tell you just from looking at it

I just looked at the film and it is Standard 8 and I cannot see anything other then the holes and the pictures, nothing else is on the film. I doubted it had souns but was curious as to how to determine it. The other films are locked away in a safe. now I have to find out who knows the combo.

THanks for the responses everyone!!

LS

[BJ_M]

IIRC, unlike Super16, 35mm or above which used to have optical and now usually have mag, Super8 has never had a mag soundtrack. It's always been optical.

You can tell the difference between 8mm and Super8mm, usually by looking at the sprocket holes. 8mm has rectangular ones that take up a good chunk of real estate, Super8mm has square ones that a a good deal smaller.

Scott

35mm doesnt have mag audio tracks on it ... it might have Dolby SR, Dolby Digital and / or DTS .... non of these are are mag tracks and are all optical pickup (dts is not even the soundtrack - it is a timecode track)

[Cornucopia]

Well, thank the internet for a good, quick tech brush-up.

Seems that for a certain time ('60s-late'70s) mag or mag+optical was preferred (both 16 & 35mm) to standard optical, mainly because of greatly increased dynamic range and freq response. Then along comes Dolby (not reurround, but noise reduction), and then much later digital soundtracks, and now we're back to preferring optical again (or dual-system as in the case of SDDS, IIRC). Also, time has shown that prints with mag is more volatile/fragile because of complicated chemical reactions ("vinegaring"?) between the iron oxide and the acetate/mylar base.
Time passes by when you're not watching.

Scott

[BJ_M]

6 track audio only mag tape film is used (as a seperate reel) sometimes for editing and sync purposes -- it is also used as a backup in some older IMAX theaters.

though optically picked up == dolby digital and DTS are both digital and not optical ..

SDDS, ultrastereo are pretty well dead formats just about ..