morgands1

Hello, originaltrilogy-ers,

A few years ago I posted audio files of a stereo recording I’d made of a 70mm screening of “Star Wars” in 1977.

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/1977-70mm-Soundtrack-Recording/topic/5685/

 
This was done taking two mono recordings – one taken at the far right front of the theatre, the other far left front – and marrying them together. Though there were sync and phasing issues, and clipping of the loudest sounds, it at least documented the film as it existed then, compared to the 35mm and mono soundtracks – let alone the subsequent special edition.

I’d written at the time that the process of doing this was complicated and time-consuming, and it was, but while I’d remembered doing a similar in-theatre recording at a 70mm screening of “The Empire Strikes Back” in 1980, I did not have the tapes and figured they had not survived.

But, they did.

I recently located the raw right and left channel tapes, and have put them together, using a different process than I’d done with the reel-to-reel deck three decades ago.<span> </span> Transferring both channels into WAV files, I used the right channel as a guide track and sped up/slowed down the left channel to sync as closely as I could, though it’s not always perfect. There are still sync and phasing issue, and a few dropouts, but the sound is good enough to provide a window on how the film existed in a 70mm engagement in the summer of 1980.

I did no equalization or adjustment of the original audio, and the stereo doesn’t kick in until the opening crawl ends. (At least I didn’t READ the crawl out into the mic as I did with “Star Wars.”) The two instances where I had to flip over cassettes necessitated that the sound would be briefly in mono.

Also, for part two (about half an hour) I have not located the left channel cassette, so that section as presented here is in mono only. If I ever find it I’ll process and re-post.

Still, for those researching differences in the soundtracks of the 70mm and 35mm versions of ESB, let alone with the special editions and various video releases, I figure these files will help answer those questions.
 

Here are the files:

http://www.4shared.com/audio/rhGezR3U/ESB_Part1_stereo.html

ESB_part1_stereo.mp3 (62MB) (approx. 54 mins.)

http://www.4shared.com/audio/rRqaINgX/ESB_part2_mono.html

ESB_part2_mono.mp3 (44 MB) (approx. 38 mins.)

http://www.4shared.com/audio/S8JFlAEB/ESB_Part3_stereo.html

ESB_part3_stereo.mp3 (36MB) (approx. 31 mins.)

And yes, life is still too short. 😃

Cheers,

morgands1

For more on Star Wars audio see:

http://www.wideanglecloseup.com/starwarsaudio.html

Exactly. We didn't have an Internet to look stuff up on back then ...

ombie84 said:

You can hear the jumps on the 70mm audio bootleg too.

Here's my memory of them (from my recording), as each reel was about 20 mins: 

End of reel 1:  Luke bringing C-3PO and R2-D2 inside after sale; reel 2 begins with Threepio's oil bath.

End of reel 2: Tarken tells meeting "We will then crush the rebellion with one swift stroke"; reel 3 begins with the discovery of the dead Jawas.

Reel 3 ends after Luke's training session ("You've just taken your first step into a larger world"); reel 4 begins with Tarkin being informed that a rebel base was found deserted.

Reel 4 ends and reel 5 begins during the trash compacter sequence.

Reel 5 ends and reel 6 begins inside the rebel hanger ("All pilots to their stations") prior to the Death Star attack.

wwdarth said:

Do you think the title was from spot #1 was the actual STAR WARS logo receding, taken directly from the film...with a PG slate on the bottom? 

Yes, I believe so.

Hi, I originally posted the audio from the 1978 TV spots. 

For the first ad of the opening flyover, my recollection is that after the first two shots, the movie's receding title card was shown with the music (not superimposed over footage as you had).

One funny thing I remember was a TV ad where we hear Gran Moff Tarkin say "Terminate her, immediately." But they used it over footage of VADER, making it appear as if he were saying it.

It wasn't opening day, but I went many times to the Paramus theatre during its run there. I can't recall the date when I did the recording, but it was some time into its run.

OK, I've wrestled the evil god Javascript (and his fiendish monkey helper CSS) and relaunched the web site, "Wide Angle/Closeup: Conversation With Filmmakers," and reposted the article on Star Wars audio.

http://www.wideanglecloseup.com/starwarsaudio.html

Thanks for your continued interest.

Cheers,

David 

Hi. I've been revising my web site, wideanglecloseup.com, which has taken longer than expected, so none of the links to my Star Wars background article or audio files has worked for a while. I pulled the 70mm files but can perhaps make them available again when the site is finished. I'm not sure I feel good that others have taken it upon themselves to post them on other sites, though, so when I finish my web work I'll ask that they please be taken down.  

Cheers,

Hello again. For those who had followed an earlier post:

http://www.originaltrilogy.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=9&threadid=5690

… I had recently dug up a stereo recording I’d made of a 70mm screening of STAR WARS back in 1977. You can read the background article here:

http://members.aol.com/morgands1/closeup/text/SWaudio.htm

I noted that there were issues with the stereo recording, since it was generated back in ’77 by taking two mono recordings – one made while sitting far front on the left side of the theatre and the other far front on the right – and marrying these two onto a reel-to-reel deck, adjusting the speed of the slave decks to try to keep the left and right channels in sync, which wasn’t easy and only intermittently successful. In addition to some noticeable echo affects and phasing, there would be dips when we’d try to slow down one track too quickly. Yet for all its roughness it had a certain, shall we say, panache.

Once I posted these online, there were calls from forum members for a cleaned-up version, on which I initially demurred, knowing how much time it would take even with some decent audio software. And, life is too short. But I finally figured I would at least try my hand on a section of the soundtrack and see how easily (or not) it went.

So I dubbed the original left and right track tapes for the final battle scene (about 15 minutes), saved each as WAV files, them merged them into a single stereo WAV file. I then chose one track and periodically slowed down segments to try to keep it running in sync with its sister track. (Simply aligning the two tracks from end to end didn’t work, and changing the speed wholesale wouldn’t keep them in sync for long, so I ended up having to sync it up every minute or so.) It grew to be as annoying as the original audio work done three decades ago, only this time <I>with computers! </I> And yes, life is STILL too short. I did not do any wholesale equalization or other sound clean-up, either.

So I have posted the test file on the same download page as before;

SW77Redo_FinalBattle.mp3, at
http://www.4shared.com/dir/492929/6929802/sharing.html

Those who downloaded my original can hear for themselves whether the extra effort is worth it. Given that the Original Trilogy DVDs will be released soon, I’d say, not really. But thanks again to all who have chimed in with their appreciation – I’m glad my original, passionate efforts from long ago were fruitful, in an archaeological way at least.

Best,

David

This contemporary recording may be of interest to those who’ve studied the differences in the 70mm stereo sound mix vs. other mixes and video releases of STAR WARS.

http://members.aol.com/morgands1/closeup/text/SWaudio.htm
“The Sounds of a Galaxy Far, Far Away”

David Morgan
“Wide Angle/Closeup: Conversations With Filmmakers”
http://members.aol.com/morgands1/closeup