Kokua Line

By June Watanabe

Tuesday, November 18, 1997

Movie sound not louder
but clearer, manager says

Help. Why do the new theater complexes feel that loud and louder is necessary. I like the ability to hear better than going to a good movie. Is there a law for overly loud movies?

No.

Outside of occupational safety and health concerns, there is no government standard for the noise level inside theaters, said Jerry Haruno, chief of the state Department of Health's noise, radiation and indoor air quality branch.

We asked Brett Havlik, general manager for Wallace Theatres, to respond to your general complaint.

While it may sound louder in theaters nowadays, "it's not like anybody turned up the volume," he said, at least not in his chain.

What's happened is that the sound has "gone clearer," he said. The new technology has taken out the distortion, "producing a much clearer, more intense signal."

Havlik said there is a standard preset sound level, "but each film can vary, so it's really a human element, where our projectionist will go into each auditorium to check the sound level." It also depends on the number of people in an auditorium.

But at the same time, he noted, people's perception of what's loud and what's soft will vary.

"I think when you start upgrading your sound systems to better speakers, better amps and new processors with Dolby SR cards and different digital upgrades, people are just shocked at the sound quality," Havlik said. "It just jumps right out at them."

At the Wallace Theatres, "we adjust the sound at every feature." But it's not unusual to have "very soft dialogue," then an explosion to rattle your teeth. "The reality is that's what the director and producers of the film were trying to do. And the new sound systems allow them to do that," he said.

I live in Pacific Palisades. A neighbor a few houses down was having his roof retarred. We had to leave our house because we're concerned about the awful fumes and smoke affecting our baby. Is there any regulation that would restrict the amount of tarring fumes one has to be subjected to?

There is no specific regulation for tar pots, said Kathy Hendricks, supervisor of the enforcement section for the state Department of Health's Clean Air Branch.

But inspectors will go and check out a complaint, she said, first making sure there is a tar pot cover and that it is down. Inspectors also will advise putting the pot where it would minimize the impact on neighbors.

"The only problem is that tar smells," Hendricks said. "If you are near, you are going to get the smells while they are doing it."

Her office gets tar pot complaints "once in a while," she said, but since most people know what it is and that it's usually a short-

term problem, they tend to bear with the nuisance.

The only time the complaints really start coming in is when there is a large project lasting several weeks, Hendricks said.

You can call the Clean Air Branch at 586-4200.

Mahalo

To the Kaneohe-to-downtown driver of bus No. 365 for his random act of kindness. My heart sank when I saw the 5:55 a.m. bus cross the Lilipuna/Kahuhipa intersection on Oct. 14 while I stood watching. But Mr. Bus Driver stopped 150 feet from the next stop to wait, while I ran with my 50-pound camera gear/lunch/

briefbag. My earlier experience with the same driver was just as positive. Still I did not expect the same true customer service. May blessings follow you the rest of your life. -- Sarah Foster-Snell

Auwe

To the woman who tossed her cigarette out the window of her cream-colored Mercedes while waiting to get on the H-1 from School Street on Oct. 22. Keep your butts to yourself!