Fantasound
To increase reverberation, the stage was altered acoustically with five double plywood partitions that separated the sections of the orchestra, creating the world's first baffles.
[5] Although a satisfactory recording was made, in the days before widespread use of headphones and click tracks to control the speed, the musicians could not hear the other instruments clearly enough and this affected the tempo of the piece.
[1] In February 1938, he decided to expand the concept and start on a feature-length film consisting of several animated segments named The Concert Feature.
[1] A year after recording The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Stokowski signed an 18-month contract with Disney to conduct the remaining pieces for Fantasia[6] and the process began in earnest.
[7] In the sessions, 33 microphones[8] placed around the orchestra captured the music which was transferred onto eight optical recording machines located in the hall's basement.
[10][11] Each microphone was channeled to a central switching panel, where an operator would read the score and mute those that were not in use to keep noise and leakage to a minimum.
After being developed, the film was shipped to the Disney studios in Burbank, California, where tone and other adjustments were made prior to mastering.
Their limited range in volume was ineffective as symphonic music was impaired by excessive ground noise and amplitude distortion.
It was found that by placing two speakers roughly 20 feet apart it was possible to produce a "moving" sound, but the effect could not be achieved through simple volume control.
The problem was solved with a three-circuit differential junction network named the "pan pot" (panoramic potentiometer), that allowed sound to progressively travel using constant fades with a left, center and right speaker configuration.
The dynamic range of typical film soundtracks at the time was limited to a poor signal-to-noise ratio of about 40 dB.
[16] The first set-up that was constructed, the Mark I system, used a left, center and right speaker placed across the stage plus one in each corner at the back of the auditorium.
It used two sound channels, one directed at the stage center (or "screen") speaker, while the second could travel around the remaining four across the room smoothly using a manually controlled four-circuit panpot.
In the Mark X, the switching and level changes in the rear speakers are done automatically using a thyratron and mechanical relay system operated by means of notches on the edge of the film.
Disney became an early customer for the newly established Hewlett-Packard company when it ordered eight of its Model 200B oscillators to test the Fantasound systems.
[19] The following table summarizes the different Fantasound setups, panning methods and speaker placement described before: Channels Panning Method Number Layout Fantasia debuted as a roadshow theatrical release under Walt Disney Productions at The Broadway Theatre in New York City on November 13, 1940.
Fantasound never expanded beyond the initial roadshow engagements in New York, Los Angeles (where the automatic Mark X system was used), Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Baltimore, Washington, Minneapolis, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
[24] On February 26, 1942, an Academy Honorary Award was given to Disney, Garity, Hawkins and RCA for their "outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures through the production of Fantasia".
[26] The six-channel surround print that Porter created was also used as the basis for the master soundtrack of the film's DVD release on November 14, 2000.
