Feature

Leaving No Stone Unturned

William T. Plummer

Shortly after the Polavision instant 8-mm color movie product was introduced in the late 1970s, there was a clamor to add sound-recording and playback capability. We were restricted by two technical issues that were unusual in the industry. First, our 8-mm film was kept in a sealed cassette that was never opened during exposure, processing, and projection and offered no apparent access for a recording head. Second, our relatively stiff polyester film base would not readily conform to the shape of a magnetic head to provide the tight clearances needed for quality sound reproduction.