quad audio on 35mm cinemascope film

[jimfisheye]

Does anyone have information on this format? I'm interested in the production equipment involved with creating the 35mm film with the 4 audio tracks. Specifically head(s) arrangement. Also, how was the audio handled during editing?

I'm working on an audio track (L,RL,R,RR as opposed to the much more common L,C,R,S) and I want to understand where the interesting offsets (yes plural) and drift comes from.

 

[kap'n krunch]

Here is one of the coolest websites ever..and the curator is a GREAT GUY!!!
http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/sound/sound04.htm#soundindex

 

[jimfisheye]

Here is one of the coolest websites ever..and the curator is a GREAT GUY!!!
http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/sound/sound04.htm#soundindex

Thanks for the reply kap'n krunch. OK, that answers my question about the playback head. Where these offsets came from on the film print is still a mystery though. I know beyond any doubt they're not supposed to be there and this is easy enough to identify and correct. But I'm extremely curious how this came about. What technical pitfalls came up back in the day during production that could lead to this? Could something get away from you during editing? Fallout from dealing with sync between visual and sound? Simply a dubbing machine out of maintenance?

The 4 audio tracks are offset by varying amounts from 96 samples (@192k) to 32,000 samples. These do not drift over time but change suddenly. Every reel (multiple reel film) is different but there are also change points within a reel here and there. Everything is in sync (same motor/transport) but offset. Tracks 3 and 4 are the worst. At least 2 of the change points within a reel are at edit points (where the original program was edited). A clue?

Anyone out there familiar with the workflow back in the day that could speculate on possible causes?