Original sound reel from ALIEN

[Predian]

I know this isn't an actual prop but as a piece of production material from the editing process it is an important piece of film history which I hope will be of interest here.
I bought it recently on ebay in the UK and got it this morning. I knew it was pretty rusty so it wasn't a nasty surprise to see its condition.
I had the afternoon off and set to cleaning the tin to remove the rust and get it to a state where I could safely open it. Needless to say, it took me hours to do properly and when the lid finally came off the inside of each tin half had rusted to the point of covering the tape reel both sides. I gave it a careful brush over and continued to get rid of all the rust on the tins. There is a loose paper label with the reel and a detailed list on the inside of the lid, the reel is also marked.
I don't have a clue as to the content other than what is noted. I don't have the means to play it either and am mainly happy to have it in my collection as my most vintage piece. For more info here is the auction page:
ALIEN REEL FROM 1979 on eBay (end time 29-Aug-10 23:00:47 BST)

 

[CessnaDriver]

Oh that would be so worth seeing if there is a data recovery business that could digitize what is on that tape for you. There could be lots of little forgotten treasures on there.

 

[LVskywalker]

Wow, that is so cool. And you really got lucky with the price, considering that a similar reel went for 100 £ recently. Congrats!

Auction link

 

[propologist]

does it seem like vinegar or anything similar yet ?

 

[GKvfx]

What this is a reel of 35mm mag track. The sound guys on set would record the dialog of every scene on 1/4" tape using a Nagra (a type of hi-end reel to reel tape recorder). Those reels would then be transferred to 35mm mag track for use in editorial. 35mm mag track offers the ability to sync the sound up with the picture very easily and run it either through a Kem or even a Moviola. As the editor would cut the picture, the corresponding sound would also be cut and spliced so it would line up with the picture. You could also take your reel of picture and reel of mag track and put it on a projector and project the film.

If I am reading the label correctly (and it actually matches what is in the can), this appears to be is 30' (20sec.) of various tones (like you hear with test patterns), followed by a dialog pre-mix for reel 7. Since all the dialog was recorded separately, it needs to be balanced out so it all sounds consistent. It may also have had some sound work done - making the people sound like they are at opposite ends of the room, or one is down the hall. Either way, if you were to play it, all you would hear is the dialog - no music or sound effects. In the final mix, they would take the dialog pre-mix reel, along with pre-mix reels for the music and fx and balance them, adjusting each so you can hear the dialog over the fx and music.

You will need to to go to some sort of motion picture transfer house if you want them to dump this to a CD. If it has been stored properly, away from heat or moisture (and away from magnets, of course), it should be in good shape. If you roll it out a little bit and it doesn't stick to itself or if the oxide doesn't flake off, it's been stored properly.

Congrats,

Gene

 

[moffeaton]

Having worked with sound reels and film on an old Steenbeck, I can safely say I LOVE digital technology

But that is an amazing artifact from what is easily one of the top 5 films of the 70s, for me. Too cool - thank you for sharing the pics!

 

[Predian]

Thanks for the information and especially to Gene, it's good to have a translation of what the notes mean. The tape doesn't seem to be stuck to itself or flaking at all but the last few feet have got rust powder laying on either side. As for moisture, I assume that with the can originally stored in a garage condensation has caused the inner rusting. I've now heard that a recent programme where they transferred old film said that the smell of vinegar is a sign that the acetate is breaking down. The smell was only present when I first handled the unopened can so it may have been from another reel but "vinegar syndrome" in sound film stock is clearly a big problem:
Whitepapers | Post Magazine
It's definately something for me to think about.

 

[charles]

great man!!