New phonograph scene in film
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 4:40 am
Last Friday I finally was able to confirm the appearance of one of my Graphophone machines in the just started film 'A Dangerous Method', where I attended the studio shooting in Cologne last year and I now feel urged to share some of my impressions.
The film just started last week in Europe and will start in the US on Nov 23. I was hired to set up a phonograph for music therapy scene. The director gladly selected one of my Columbia machines, which apparently looked more unusual as the more often seen Edison machines. So, it now shows an 1896 Columbia Type A Washington DC in there.
The scene was supposed to play in 1906, so I did everything in my power to get the phonograph part authentic as possible and not showing anything post-1906.
I equipped the machine with an early style 20" Columbia brass horn and a 1903 crane which has a great matching shape. It was lots of fun and the prop department did really a marvelous job with building the whole interior of a turn of the century sanatorium inside the studio.
Of course, the sound had to be dubbed in later. It had to be certain part of the Valkyrie, and that bothered me. That certain part was never recorded on cylinder.
Just in case, I prepared a CD with a transfer that I had done few years before. It was the fantasy from Valkyrie and was recorded in Germany on Edison 2-minute in 1905. After three months uncertainty, I received a mail from them to tell me that the director David Cronenberg and the score writer Howard Shore decided to use the real deal instead of some 1940's recording.
So, what you can hear is not the machine but still a genuine Edison 2-minute cylinder record as shown on the phonograph. The cylinder was an originally shot Edison 2M which I had wiped off with turpentine and prepared with a blank groove.
Just 20 seconds after the shooting of the phonograph was done, I walked by from the behind to turn it off. The camera, a huge Arricam ST 35mm, was still rolling, and just before reaching the lever one of the two parallel mainsprings broke with a loud BANG.
The bedplate with the topworks popped about 7 inches high out of its case within a fraction of a second. This machine has no spring barrels, so it could expand easily.
I never had a broken mainspring before and now it had to happen here, unbelievable. However, the shooting was just done and they had everything they needed, so I was quite lucky. The crew behind the camera was standing around with open mouths. I guess nobody could imagine how much power hides in one of these machines. Gladly, there was absolutely no damage at all, just an impressive special effect. I hope they'll put it to the outtakes when they release it on video next year. They surely have it on film with a close up of 8 inches!
Unlike TV crews, these people were very easy to get along with and never lost their professional attitude. I was quite surprised about this huge difference to television. I can truly say that I had a great time. The film itself did absolutely meet my personal taste.
The cylinder transfer is currently the record of the month on my personal website.
The film just started last week in Europe and will start in the US on Nov 23. I was hired to set up a phonograph for music therapy scene. The director gladly selected one of my Columbia machines, which apparently looked more unusual as the more often seen Edison machines. So, it now shows an 1896 Columbia Type A Washington DC in there.
The scene was supposed to play in 1906, so I did everything in my power to get the phonograph part authentic as possible and not showing anything post-1906.
I equipped the machine with an early style 20" Columbia brass horn and a 1903 crane which has a great matching shape. It was lots of fun and the prop department did really a marvelous job with building the whole interior of a turn of the century sanatorium inside the studio.
Of course, the sound had to be dubbed in later. It had to be certain part of the Valkyrie, and that bothered me. That certain part was never recorded on cylinder.
Just in case, I prepared a CD with a transfer that I had done few years before. It was the fantasy from Valkyrie and was recorded in Germany on Edison 2-minute in 1905. After three months uncertainty, I received a mail from them to tell me that the director David Cronenberg and the score writer Howard Shore decided to use the real deal instead of some 1940's recording.
So, what you can hear is not the machine but still a genuine Edison 2-minute cylinder record as shown on the phonograph. The cylinder was an originally shot Edison 2M which I had wiped off with turpentine and prepared with a blank groove.
Just 20 seconds after the shooting of the phonograph was done, I walked by from the behind to turn it off. The camera, a huge Arricam ST 35mm, was still rolling, and just before reaching the lever one of the two parallel mainsprings broke with a loud BANG.
The bedplate with the topworks popped about 7 inches high out of its case within a fraction of a second. This machine has no spring barrels, so it could expand easily.
I never had a broken mainspring before and now it had to happen here, unbelievable. However, the shooting was just done and they had everything they needed, so I was quite lucky. The crew behind the camera was standing around with open mouths. I guess nobody could imagine how much power hides in one of these machines. Gladly, there was absolutely no damage at all, just an impressive special effect. I hope they'll put it to the outtakes when they release it on video next year. They surely have it on film with a close up of 8 inches!
Unlike TV crews, these people were very easy to get along with and never lost their professional attitude. I was quite surprised about this huge difference to television. I can truly say that I had a great time. The film itself did absolutely meet my personal taste.
The cylinder transfer is currently the record of the month on my personal website.
