:52:02
The term "squeeze track"
can be explained
:52:04
when you look at the actual
soundtrack on the film.
:52:08
The shutter is narrower or wider,
constantly changing,
:52:11
as if it's squeezing the modulations.
:52:14
The volume of sound heard in the theatre
was dependent on
:52:17
how wide the soundtrack area was.
:52:20
So when you've got shutters
masking both sides of the track,
:52:23
you have an overall drop in volume.
:52:25
As a result, the theatre
was required to play the sound back
:52:29
four to six decibels louder than normal.
:52:32
Not only was Phantom's
engineering sophisticated,
:52:35
but its creative use of sound
was also far ahead of its time.
:52:39
The opera numbers were recorded by
multiple microphones in the auditorium.
:52:44
As a result, the sound is in perspective
to the ear as the camera is to the eye.
:52:49
If we're at the back of the hall
in a long shot,
:52:51
the sound has a very wet,
reverberant sound.
:52:54
If we cut to a closer angle on the stage,
the recording is much drier.
:52:59
If we're in a tier box or in the orchestra,
there's a medium perspective,
:53:03
very, very carefully mixed.
:53:13
The furnishings for the film, particularly
the offices of the opera managers,
:53:17
were bought by Universal from the estate
of San Francisco hotelier Mark Hopkins.
:53:24
One thing that couldn't be bought
was the ceiling of the Opéra de Paris.
:53:28
The original dome above the chandelier
:53:31
contained 19th-century frescos
of angels in a heavenscape.
:53:35
These were painted on the set
at Universal by a scenic artist.
:53:39
They were real, not a matte painting.
:53:42
The frescos on the ceiling
of the Opéra de Paris
:53:46
were painted over in 1962
:53:48
with a very modernistic design
by Marc Chagall.