Composite print

A composite print is a type of release print of a motion picture in which both sound and picture are printed alongside each other on the same film.^[1] A motion picture originally consists of multiple components on separate media, including the visual image, the sound as recorded on-set, the musical score, and the sound effects. All of these are eventually combined into a composite print. A composite print is also known as a synchronized print.^[2] or a married print (UK).^[3]

During the 1950s and 1960s, some movie showings would have the sound and picture running on separate machines. This was especially necessary in the three-strip Cinerama technique because the projected image was composed from three separate running films projected side-by-side on a very large and deeply curved screen. The seven-track sound was recorded on magnetic tape, which ran simultaneously with the three projectors.

In the case of some films, such as the world premiere engagement of Carousel , which was made in CinemaScope 55, a six-track soundtrack could not be accommodated on the film, so the sound was played on an interlocking tape machine. The general release of the film, however, used the standard four-track stereo soundtrack printed alongside the visual image on the film.