Sound on Disc :: essays research papers

Sound-On-Disc From foundation til DeathFrom the Kinetophone to the Vitaphone, the sound-on-disc format dominated the pioneering stage of sound in movies. For the foremost time ever, people were able to hear sound synchronized with the images on the screen, and the revolution had begun-the talkies were here to stay. It was the sound-on-disc format that helped create legion(predicate) of Hollywoods talkie classics, including The Jazz Singer and The Singing Fool. However, an separate format, sound-on- occupy, would soon draw back reign of the talking motion picture movement, as the audition and the exhibitors started to rick more demanding as technology was slowly improving. Sound-on-disc was simply beleaguered with too legion(predicate) technical and economic problems to continue to stay relevant. Thus, the competing sound-on-film format eventu bothy became widely-accepted in the motion picture industry and is used even to this day.There were many different technologies in the beginning of the 20th Century that were able to mix sound with film, including the Chronophone and the Cameraphone. However, the most influential film-phonograph combination in terms of the reach on the developments in the 1920s was Thomas Edisons Kinetophone, which featured an instinctive synchronizing system (Gomery, 27). Numerous identical gears linked the phonograph and projector to realize both machines, if manually operated, to move at the same rate. He withal created an adjustment dial to correct synchronization problems. The Kinetophone was indeed advanced for its time.On February 19, 1913, the Kinetophone premiered at the Colonial, a vaudeville theatre on Broadway. The film undefendable with a lecturer who proceeded to explain the system. He also smashed a plate, played the violin and piano, and had a dog bark-all of which demonstrated the power of Edisons technology (28). A minstrel act followed, and the film eventually terminate with the chorus of the Star Spangled Banner. It was a huge hit, and the audience gave the film a 15 minute standing ovation.Despite its fortunate opening night, the promise of the Kinetophone never materialized. During the second week of its New York Presentation, the audience booed the Kinetophone, as the synchronization was off by as much as 10 to 12 seconds due to an inexperienced projectionist. There were also other problems that plagued it. The phonograph emitted a harsh, metallic sound, and its volume was never equal to fill a large vaudeville theatre (29). Eventually, by 1915, all operations of Edisons Kinetophone had ceased. Edisons failure marked the end of the pioneering mannequin of the phonograph- based sound pictures.