I worked as a projectionist for a few years so in learning how sound is read off the film itself, I always assumed this is a phenomenon related to the fact that film is stored in rolls (same for VHS and cassette tapes), but what exactly is happening? Does sound from another part of the reel transfer due to the fact that the film touches? Maybe I’m way off, but I can’t for the life of me ask the right question to get an answer anywhere.
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If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go watch a TV series from the 80s or 90s that has commercial breaks. I noticed it most recently watching The Simpsons (8th season) on Disney+. Crank up the sound, and when the scene goes black for when there would be a commercial, you can hear the audio of the next scene just before the scene starts.
Yes, the magnetic pattern on one layer of tape imprints very weakly on the next and previous one over time. The phenomenon even has a name, but I’ve forgotten what it is.
You guessed it.
The tape uses magnetic patterns to store audio. Sometimes if it sits long enough, stuff from the layers above/below “leaks” onto other parts of the tape.
It’s called “print through,” and it’s why analog recording studios store tape “tails out.”
By storing tape backwards rather than ready to play, the print through causes a more natural, harder to detect echo rather than a pre-delay.
https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/tails-out/
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