Talk:MOS (film)

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[edit] Cleanup

This article needs 2 things badly:

1. Cleanup of the conversational, self-contradicting writing currently there. I'm going to hack away some of that now.
2. A better reference. I provide one here: MOS at FileSound.com

-- Bdoserror 15:49, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

For reference, I'm archiving the following block of text which I removed. I'm not sure of its veracity, and it's awkwardly and unencyclopedically written:

It is untrue to suggest that "MOS" is very peculiar and has no obvious meaning as noted above.

The likely true meaning of "MOS" is that the original picture cameras for shooting on a sound stage were noisy and enclosed in a "hut" on the studio floor. This was airtight and often the operator would pass out from lack of oxygen. The sound was also recorded optically on an equally noisy machine in another room. In order to synchronize them, they were driven by 220 volt a/c motors.

Such a motor would run at a constant speed, as would any other on the same circuit.

The sound camera required some time to get up to speed which is why sound recordists still call "speed" or "sound speed".

At that time a clapstick is put in front of the camera so the editor has a visual reference for "sync" or synchronisation between the picture and sound track when putting the rushes together.

Thus term "MOS" actually means "motor off sync", which indicated on the slate to inform the editor that there was no sound to search for, and initially allowed the camera to be driven by a 110-volt a/c current or a 36 volt battery. Some of the older studios still have a 220-volt outlet on the wall with the notation "Camera only". Kleinberg Studios in Canada is an example. Nowadays all cameras can run "sync sound" or "MOS" from battery sources due to the refinement of crystal control and battery technology.

The modern synchronisation for film now uses "timecode" which strangely enough originated in that anathema to film types -- videotape -- which is also changing their world through high definition.

[edit] Minus Optical Sound

The book "Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound" by David Lewis Yewdall has a section on this acronym and mentions "Minus Optical Sound" as another possible meaning. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ptousig (talk • contribs) 03:12, 28 January 2008 (UTC)