Optical sound
Optical sound is a means of storing
Building on the principle first demonstrated by the
A pioneer in this technology was American
Contemporary with the work of Case and Sponable was Charles A. Hoxie's Pallophotophone (from Greek roots meaning "shaking light sound"), manufactured by General Electric (GE). Similar to the Case infrared system used by the Navy, the Pallophotophone was also intended for wireless communications at sea, but was then adapted for recording speech. With GE's backing, Hoxie's invention was used in 1922–1923 to record then-Vice-president Calvin Coolidge and others for radio broadcasts.
The early work by Case, Sponable and Hoxie was instrumental in the development of sound-on-film systems for motion pictures during the 1920s.
Film and radio
Most of the inventions which led to optical
Three types of optical sound-on-film technology emerged in the 1920s: Phonofilm, Photophone and Movietone. A fourth major contender for the sound film market -
1919-1926: Phonofilm
After the war, Theodore Case and Earl I. Sponable collaborated with fellow wireless communications pioneer
Case Lab fine-tuned the process with an invention called the 'Aeo-light' for use in sound cameras. During filming, audio signals modulated the Aeo-light to expose the film's audio directly inside the camera, streamlining Phonofilm's process for synchronizing a motion picture with its soundtrack. In 1924, Sponable focused on the design of these single-system cameras, in which both sound and picture were recorded on the same negative. He approached Bell & Howell to modify one of their cameras for his design, but the results were unsatisfactory. Later, the Wall Camera Corporation rebuilt the machine with improved results.
De Forest also worked with early newsreel maker, Freeman Harrison Owens, who by 1921, had developed his own patented sound camera, and spent time in Berlin working with the Tri-Ergon corporation and researching the development of European sound film systems.[citation needed] There, he met Finnish inventor, Eric Tigerstedt ("Finland's Thomas Edison"), who improved Phonofilm's amplification system to be audible in a large theater.
Phonofilm was used mainly to record stage performances, speeches, and musical acts in and around New York City, but
In 1924, Owens parted ways with de Forest, and Case followed suit in 1925, because of de Forest's taking sole credit for Phonofilm.
1921-1927: Pallophotophone and Photophone
While Lee de Forest struggled to market Phonofilm, Charles A. Hoxie's
By the mid-1920s, GE adapted Hoxie's invention for motion picture sound playback, subsequently marketed as a commercial product by then-GE subsidiary RCA as the 'RCA Photophone'. The first demonstrations of the Photophone, were given in 1926, and in 1927 a sound version (music plus sound effects only) of the silent film Wings, toured to a dozen specially equipped theaters.[3]
1926-1939: Movietone
While Hoxie's work found its way into national theaters through RCA, Theodore Case and Earl Sponable found a home with the
In 1926, Fox hired Sponible, bought Case's patents (they had already acquired Freeman Owens' and Tri-Ergon's),[6] and mass-produced Case's Aeo-light for use in all Movietone News cameras from 1928 to 1939. These cameras recorded all Fox feature films during this period, beginning with F. W. Murnau's Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927). As the first professionally produced feature with an optical sound track, it included mostly music and sound effects, with a very few unsynchronized words.
After 1931, Fox's feature film production moved to a two-machine system which Western Electric had developed from the RCA Photophone, with the advent of a light-valve invented by Edward C. Wente. In this system, one camera shot the frames, and a second lens-less "sound camera" served as an optical recorder which was mechanically interlocked with the picture. Fox continued making Movietone Newsreels with single-system cameras due to their ease of mobility.
Optical sound on film to the present day
For half a century, cinema sound systems were licensed to either RCA or Western Electric, and motion picture producers elected to license one or the other, or even both. This continued until 1976, by which time optical sound recording had been converted to the Western Electric (dubbed "Westrex") stereo variable-area system.
Due to film grain and possible dust on the sound track, optical sound could be noisy or have crackling sounds, especially when projecting worn
As digital sound became the standard of sound reproduction in the 21st century, 35 and 70mm films have increasingly included a digital version of the soundtrack on the edges of the film strip. Most films continue to be processed with both digital and analog soundtracks so they may be read by any projection systems in a movie theater.
Optical sound in music production
After General Electric's Pallophotophone fell out of use in the early 1930s, optical multi-track recording did not have a resurgence for nearly three decades when
Optical sound used in musical instruments
A few
In 1971 toy manufacturer
The Orchestron was a version of the Optigan built by Vako Synthesizers Inc. Intended for professional use as an alternative to the Mellotron in the mid-1970s. The Orchestron featured improved recorded sounds over the Optigan, though many professional musicians of note have performed and recorded using Mattel's toy version.[11]
Preservation of vintage optical sound sources
Efforts have only recently been made to preserve early examples of optical sound. While none of GE's original Pallophotophones are known to exist, a few reels of Pallophotophone recordings of radio broadcasts have been found. Unlike movie film, these 35mm reels do not contain sprockets. New players have been built using modern components to recover audio from old reels.[12] Among the material on surviving reels is an early seven-note version of the NBC chimes, a broadcast of a high school basketball match (believed to be the world's second-oldest recording of a sports broadcast), and a historic 1929 recording of the 82-year-old Thomas Edison, with Henry Ford and President Herbert Hoover, speaking on a broadcast commemorating the 50th anniversary of the invention of the incandescent light bulb.[13]
A resurgence in interest in the Optigan has led to a circuit of collectors trading program discs.
References
- ISBN 0-520-03981-5.
- ^ Case Lab Museum website
- ^ History of Sound Motion Pictures, E.W. Kellog, Journal of the SMPTE Vol 64 June 1955
- ^ Earl I. Sponable, "Historical Development of Sound Films", The Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (April 1947), Vol. 48, No. 4
- ^ Edward Kellogg, "History of Sound Motion in Pictures", The Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (June 1955), Vol. 64, p. 295
- ^ See Freeman Harrison Owens (1890–1979), op. cit. A number of sources erroneously state that Owens's and/or the Tri-Ergon patents were essential to the creation of the Fox-Case Movietone system.
- ^ Fanning, Jim (December 2, 2010). "15 Fascinating Facts About Fantasia". D23 - The Official Disney Fanclub. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
- ^ Artner, Alan G. (September 23, 1990). "Conductor's Sound Innovations Make The Most Of The Music". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ^ Churchill, Douglas W. (April 28, 1941), "RKO Will Distribute Goldwyn Productions and Acquires Rights to 'Fantasia'", The New York Times
- ^ a b Markel, Greg. "Grooving to the Sound of an Optigan". National Public Radio. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ Spence D. (2004-03-18). "Michel Gondry Talks Music". IGN Entertainment, Inc. Archived from the original on April 2, 2004. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- ^ Interview with Russ DeMuth, "Reinventing the Pallophotophone", 'Edison's Desk' blog
- ^ James Grahame, "Recreating The RCA Photophone", Retro Thing website
- ^ "Optigan.com". Optigan.com. Retrieved 9 July 2013.