Engineering:Perspecta
Perspecta was a directional motion picture sound system invented by the laboratories at Fine Sound Inc. in 1954. The company was founded by Mercury Records engineer C. Robert (Bob) Fine, husband of producer Wilma Cozart Fine. As opposed to magnetic stereophonic soundtracks available at the time, Perspecta's benefits were that it did not require a new sound head for the projector and thus was a cheaper alternative.[1][2]
Introduced as a "directional sound system" rather than a true stereophonic sound system, Perspecta did not use discretely recorded sound signals. Instead, three sub-audible tones at 30 Hz, 35 Hz, and 40 Hz are mixed appropriately and embedded in a monaural optical soundtrack, in addition to the audible sound.[3] When run through a Perspecta integrator, depending on whenever each tone is present, the audio is fed into a left (30 Hz), center (35 Hz) and right (40 Hz) speaker.[3] Unlike true stereophonic sound, which would be described as discrete tracks running in synchronization in time and phase, Perspecta merely panned a mono mix across various channels. Because of this, only isolated dialogue or sound effects could be mixed to be directional. Mixed sound effects, dialogue and music could not be suitably mixed.[2] Aside from panning, Perspecta controlled gain levels for each channel through the amplitude of each control signal.[1][2]
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures were major supporters and developers of Perspecta. MGM used it on nearly everything that they released between mid-1954 to approximately 1958, including shorts, cartoons and trailers.
By late 1954, nearly 700 screens were equipped with Perspecta integrators, and by the end of next year this number quadrupled to nearly 2,800 screens.[2]
Paramount used it, uncredited, on all their VistaVision pictures until it fell out of favor around 1958. In theory, the "High Fidelity" in VistaVision's trademark strongly implied high-fidelity sound, but, in reality, the system provided only higher-fidelity visual image, not higher-fidelity sound.[citation needed] Universal-International, Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures, United Artists, and Toho were among some of the other major studios to utilize Perspecta regularly.[4]
List of Perspecta features
| Studio | Film | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allied Artists Pictures Corporation | Invasion of the Body Snatchers | 1956 | |
| World Without End | 1956 | ||
| Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | Knights of the Round Table | 1953 | |
| Athena | 1954 | ||
| Beau Brummell | 1954 | ||
| Betrayed | 1954 | ||
| Brigadoon | 1954 | ||
| Deep in My Heart | 1954 | ||
| Gone with the Wind | 1954 | reissue | |
| Green Fire | 1954 | ||
| Her Twelve Men | 1954 | ||
| The Last Time I Saw Paris | 1954 | ||
| Rogue Cop | 1954 | ||
| Rose Marie | 1954 | ||
| Seagulls Over Sorrento | 1954 | ||
| Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | 1954 | ||
| Valley of the Kings | 1954 | ||
| Bad Day at Black Rock | 1955 | also magnetic | |
| Bedevilled | 1955 | also magnetic | |
| The Cobweb | 1955 | ||
| The Glass Slipper | 1955 | ||
| Hit the Deck | 1955 | ||
| I'll Cry Tomorrow | 1955 | ||
| It's Always Fair Weather | 1955 | ||
| Jupiter's Darling | 1955 | ||
| Kismet | 1955 | ||
| The Last Hunt | 1955 | ||
| Love Me or Leave Me | 1955 | ||
| Moonfleet | 1955 | ||
| The Tender Trap | 1955 | ||
| The Fastest Gun Alive | 1956 | ||
| Forbidden Planet | 1956 | also magnetic | |
| High Society | 1956 | [5] | |
| Lust for Life | 1956 | ||
| Meet Me in Las Vegas | 1956 | ||
| Somebody Up There Likes Me | 1956 | ||
| The Swan | 1956 | ||
| Tea and Sympathy | 1956 | ||
| The Teahouse of the August Moon | 1956 | ||
| Tom and Jerry (animated shorts) | 1956–58 | ||
| Designing Woman | 1957 | ||
| House of Numbers | 1957 | ||
| Jailhouse Rock | 1957 | ||
| Les Girls | 1957 | ||
| The Reluctant Debutante | 1957 | ||
| The Seventh Sin | 1957 | ||
| Silk Stockings | 1957 | ||
| Tip on a Dead Jockey | 1957 | ||
| Andy Hardy Comes Home | 1958 | ||
| The Brothers Karamazov | 1958 | ||
| Gigi | 1958 | also magnetic[6] | |
| The High Cost of Loving | 1958 | ||
| High School Confidential! | 1958 | ||
| I Accuse! | 1958 | ||
| Imitation General | 1958 | ||
| The Law and Jake Wade | 1958 | ||
| Party Girl | 1958 | ||
| The Sheepman | 1958 | ||
| Torpedo Run | 1958 | ||
| The Tunnel of Love | 1958 | ||
| Paramount | White Christmas[2] | 1954 | |
| 3 Ring Circus | 1955 | ||
| Artists and Models | 1955 | ||
| The Court Jester | 1955 | ||
| The Desperate Hours | 1955 | ||
| The Far Horizons | 1955 | ||
| The Girl Rush | 1955 | ||
| Hell's Island | 1955 | ||
| Lucy Gallant | 1955 | ||
| The Rose Tattoo | 1955 | ||
| Run for Cover | 1955 | ||
| The Seven Little Foys | 1955 | ||
| Strategic Air Command | 1955 | ||
| To Catch a Thief | 1955 | ||
| The Trouble with Harry | 1955 | ||
| We're No Angels | 1955 | ||
| You're Never Too Young | 1955 | ||
| Anything Goes | 1956 | ||
| The Birds and the Bees | 1956 | ||
| The Leather Saint | 1956 | ||
| The Man Who Knew Too Much[2] | 1956 | ||
| Pardners | 1956 | ||
| The Proud and Profane | 1956 | ||
| The Scarlet Hour | 1956 | ||
| That Certain Feeling | 1956 | ||
| War and Peace | 1956 | Perspecta Stereophonic Sound ® By Suonitalia Studio - Rome | |
| Funny Face | 1957 | [7] | |
| Toho | The Mysterians | 1957 | |
| The Hidden Fortress | 1958 | ||
| The H-Man | 1958 | ||
| Varan the Unbelievable | 1958 | ||
| Battle in Outer Space | 1959 | ||
| The Secret of the Telegian | 1960 | ||
| The Last War | 1961 | also magnetic | |
| Mothra | 1961 | also magnetic | |
| Yojimbo | 1961 | [8] | |
| Gorath | 1962 | also magnetic | |
| King Kong vs. Godzilla | 1962 | also magnetic | |
| Sanjuro | 1962 | [9] | |
| High and Low | 1963 | also magnetic | |
| Red Beard | 1965 | also magnetic | |
| United Artists | The Barefoot Contessa[2] | 1954 | |
| Universal-International | The Black Shield of Falworth | 1954 | |
| One Desire | 1955 | ||
| The Spoilers | 1955 | ||
| This Island Earth | 1955 | ||
| Away All Boats | 1956 | ||
| The Benny Goodman Story | 1956 | ||
| Warner Bros. | King Richard and the Crusaders | 1954 | also magnetic |
| Lucky Me | 1954 | also magnetic | |
| A Star Is Born'[2] | 1954 | also magnetic | |
| East of Eden | 1955 | also magnetic |
See also
- Duophonic, another form of "fake stereo"
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "A Lecture on Sound pathetic Perspecta". 8 April 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48WWtzSvBBA. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Buhler; Lewis (2020). Voicing the Cinema: Film Music and the Integrated Soundtrack.. University of Illinois Press. pp. 235, 236, 237. ISBN 978-0-252-05186-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=T2TPDwAAQBAJ.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Altec Perspecta Sound Service Booklet". https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/perspecta-altec.htm.
- ↑ Fine, Robert (July 1954). "PERSPECTA - the All-Purpose Recording and Reproducing Sound System". http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/perspec1.htm. Retrieved 23 June 2015. Article originally from International Projectionist.
- ↑ High Society (1956). 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2026-04-11 – via shotonwhat.com.
- ↑ Gigi (1958). 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2026-04-11 – via shotonwhat.com.
- ↑ Funny Face (1957). 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2026-04-11 – via shotonwhat.com.
- ↑ "Yojimbo (1961) - The Criterion Collection". http://www.criterion.com/films/597-yojimbo. Retrieved 23 June 2015. "Disc Features […] Optional Dolby Digital 3.0 soundtrack, preserving the original Perspecta simulated-stereo effects (DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition)"
- ↑ "Sanjuro (1962) - The Criterion Collection". http://www.criterion.com/films/598-sanjuro. Retrieved 23 June 2015. "Disc Features […] Optional Dolby Digital 3.0 soundtrack, preserving the original Perspecta simulated-stereo effects (DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition)"
External links
- Extensive history of Fine Sound Inc.
- The American Widescreen Museum (Perspecta wing)
- 1998 interview with Bob Eberenz, chief engineer at Fine Sound Inc.
- 2017 interview with Tom Fine, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 – son of Robert Fine and Wilma Cozart Fine
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