Chapter 32: A New Job

In 1979, it was the first day back to work after the holidays.

At 8 a.m., Ronald returned to the New World Productions office building. Immediately, he felt that he had made the right decision by leaving the portrait photography business.

When he saw the movie posters in the hallway, he felt excited and eager to get to work. Sometimes, people's rational thoughts aren't as real as the body's reactions.

As soon as Ronald arrived at the New World production office, he felt his body gearing up for the challenge. Something stirred in his veins, resonating with the films, ready to be exposed to light, developed, and projected according to its own desires.

It was better to visit the president's assistant on the second floor first to get some information. Seeing Gale already busy at her desk, Ronald quickly stepped forward to greet her.

"Hi, Gail. Happy New Year. You look great."

Gail was wearing a new suit and still had her signature Vidal Sassoon haircut. Several new photos were on her desk, including one of herself, one with Cameron, and one of the three of them, all taken by Ronald.

She was very happy to see Ronald. "Ronald, you're here? How were your holidays?"

"Very good. How about you?"

Ronald and Gale chatted about what their acquaintances were up to.

After the filming of *Rock of Ages* finished, the team immediately dispersed and went their separate ways. The actors rushed off to join their next projects, as did the photography, sound recording, and other technical staff.

In reality, film shoots aren't very long. The director is the one who carries out all the preparation and lengthy post-production work. As Roger Corman, the boss, said, film shoots are long on both ends and short in the middle. The expensive parts need to be filmed as quickly as possible, and post-production editing and mixing can be done more slowly.

But that's just Hollywood philosophy—more precisely, the philosophy of low-budget exploitation film mogul Roger Corman.

Polanski had been filming *Tess* for over six months and still wasn't done. Who knows how he convinced the investors? And how can they tolerate his work like this?

As Ronald and Gale continued gossiping, Ronald discovered that several of his acquaintances had gone in different directions.

Cameron had joined the crew of a new sci-fi movie and started working on the design and creation of stunt models. Roger Corman named the new movie *Battle Beyond the Stars*. He's planning to replicate *Star Wars* and also create a space opera.

P.J. Soles joined a big-budget Warner Bros. production with a $15 million budget, *Private Benjamin*. But unfortunately, she still didn't land the lead role in a blockbuster. This time, she played a supporting role to the popular star and Oscar winner, Goldie Hawn.

But the most surprising was Jenny, the screenwriter. She actually became a screenwriter and was revising the script for the movie *The Black Stallion*. This film is produced by Francis Coppola's "Zoetrope Studios." I've heard it's very artistic, directed by Coppola's older brother, Carroll Ballard.

"Wow," Ronald couldn't help but sigh. Why didn't she share such great news?

Gale noticed the envy in his eyes and reminded him, "Jenny's last name is Rosenberg."

Ronald was stunned for a moment, then realized Rosenberg was a common Jewish surname. It seems Jenny had some family connections and had caught up with the more powerful Jewish circles in the film and television industry.

…

"Are you reporting to the editing room today? I'll take you there."

Gale took Ronald and knocked on the door of an editing room. Director Allan Arkush was already inside. When he saw Ronald, he stood up to greet him: "Ronald, you're here, welcome."

Allan stood nearly 2 meters tall, which put a lot of pressure on Ronald: "Hello, director, what do you need me to do? Please give me instructions."

"Joe, Joe? Take Ronald around and familiarize him with the equipment. Show him how to load film and audio tapes into the machine, and then teach him how to sync audio and video." Allan asked Joe Dante to teach him how to get started.

"Hi, Ronald. Glad you came to the editing room so we can keep working together."

Joe Dante smoothed his hair, revealing his receding hairline. He took Ronald to a film storage cabinet in the corner of the room and pulled out some film reels. Then, by the film number, they found the matching audio tapes.

This was the first time Ronald had seen audio tape for a movie. It was 35 mm wide like film, but empty in the middle, with only a few lines on both sides. These lines recorded sound magnetically.

Eventually, the audio tape recordings would be added to both sides of the film in the lab, and they would sound synchronized with the image during projection.

There was a table in the corner of the room, with two plates like a spinning wheel and a crank.

"This is the film rewinder. Load the film and crank the handle to wind it up," Joe Dante demonstrated to Ronald.

"Then, place the tape on the second reel and put on the sound playback head, so when you crank the handle, the image and sound move forward together," Joe Dante instructed Ronald to try it.

"Keep the speed at 24 frames per second, the standard speed for film projection," Joe reminded him.

"Okay, stop here."

Ronald stopped cranking, and the film and tape paused simultaneously.

"Did you notice? This scene shows Jenny the recorder writing, but that sound isn't on the tape. Do you know why?" Joe asked, pointing to the film scene.

Ronald remembered that every time a movie was shot, the sound recorder would start first, then the camera, and the director would call "Action" last.

"Because the recorder starts first, the recording lasts longer than the film."

"Yes, your job is to cut the audio tape that didn't capture anything at the beginning and keep it in sync with the film."

Joe Dante didn't waste time and immediately came over with a bunch of tools.

"These are your friends at work: white tape, clear tape, and a guillotine. First, attach a 10-foot-long piece of white tape at the beginning and end of the film and audio tape, and write the take number and content."

Ronald did as instructed, took a pen, and wrote "Rock'n'Roll High School, Scene 2, Take 3."

"Then load the film and audio tape onto the reels, find the frame where the clapperboard is printed, and then find the 'pop' sound on the audio tape. Cut everything extra from the front. Got it?"

Ronald tried it out. He quickly found it and successfully synced them on the first try.

Fin del capítulo