History of Sound Motion Pictures by Edward W Kellogg First Installment
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History of Sound Motion Pictures by Edward W Kellogg First Installment History of Sound Motion Pictures by Edward W Kellogg Our thanks to Tom Fine for finding and scanning the Kellogg paper, which we present here as a “searchable image”. John G. (Jay) McKnight, Chair AES Historical Committee 2003 Dec 04 Copyright © 1955 SMPTE. Reprinted from the Journal of the SMPTE, 1955 June, pp 291...302; July, pp 356...374; and August, pp 422...437. This material is posted here with permission of the SMPTE. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the SMPTE. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it. FIRST INSTALLMENT History of Sound Motion Pictures By EDWARD W. KELLOGG Excellent accounts of the history of the development of sound motion pictures special construction, to provide maxi- have been published in this Journal by Theisen6 in 1941 and by Sponablee in 1947. mum volume and long playing, the The present paper restates some of the information given in those papers, supple- cylinder record was oversize, and the menting it with some hitherto unpublished material, and discusses some of the horn and diaphragm considerably larger important advances after 1930. than those of home phonographs. Be- One of the numerous omissions of topics which undeniably deserve discussion tween the reproducing stylus and the at length, is that, except for some early work, no attempt is made to cover develop- diaphragm was a mechanical power am- ments abroad. The subject of 16mm developments is discussed with a brevity plifier, apparently using the principle of altogether out-of-keeping with its importance. This has been on the theory that capstans used on shipboard. There was a basically the problems are similar to those of 35mm sound, and that whatever has continuously rotating amber cylinder brought improvement to one has been applied to both. and a hard rubber brake-shoe subtending Edison invented the motion pictures as a supplement to his phonograph, in about 130’ of arc. One end of the shoe the belief that sound plus a moving picture would provide better entertainment was connected to the reproducing stylus than sound alone. But in a short time the movies proved to be good enough enter- in such a manner that an upward dis- tainment without sound. It has been said that although the motion picture and placement of the stylus would increase the phonograph were intended to be partners, they grew up separately. And it the pressure between shoe and cylinder; might be added that the motion picture held the phonograph in such low esteem and the other end of the shoe was con- that for years it would not speak. Throughout the long history of efforts to add nected through a slender rod to the dia- sound, the success of the silent movie was the great obstacle to commercialization phragm, in such a way that the shoe of talking pictures. movement resulting from increased fric- tion would give an upward push on the diaphragm.” One may well imagine Early Sound Pictures Using blissements Gaumont” used the system that the adjustment of this device to give the Phonograph developed by Peterson and Poulsen. substantial gain without producing chat- The idea of combining recorded Laemmle. An attempt by Carl Laemmle tering must have tested the skill of the sound with the motion pictures is as old of Paramount in 1907 to exploit a best of operators. Nevertheless, it must as the motion picture itself33 (if we ex- combination of phonograph and motion have worked, for the record indicates clude the early “zoetrope” invented in picture is mentioned in Sponable’s that the Edison talking-picture show ran 1833 by W. G. In a paper, paper.6 This was a German development for several months in Keith’s Colonial “What Happened in the Beginning,” called “Synchroscope.” It was handi- Theatre in New York, with much ac- F. H. Richardson’ reproduced a letter in capped by the short time which the rec- claim, and was shown in other large which Thomas A. Edison quoted from ord would play, and after some appar- cities of America and in other countries. his early notes: “In the year 1887, the ently successful demonstrations, was The arrangement for synchronizing idea occurred to me that it would be pos- dropped for want of a supply of pictures was not in accordance with present prac- sible to devise an instrument which with sound to maintain programs in the tices. The phonograph behind the should do for the eye what the phono- theaters where it was tried.13 screen determined the speed, being con- graph does for the ear, and that by a nected through a string belt to a syn- combination of the two all motion and Pomerede, Amet, Bristol. Theisen’s chronizing device at the projector. The sound could be recorded and reproduced paper6 mentions combinations of phono- belt pulleys were about 3 in. in diameter. simultaneously.” The letter proceeds to graph and motion pictures using flexible The belt passed from the phonograph up tell of the development of the motion shafts or other mechanical connections, over idler pulleys and overhead, back tm picture (and is followed by letters from by Georges Pomerede2 (1907 patent), the booth. The synchronizing device Thomas Armat, George Eastman, C. and E. H. Amet“ (1912 to 1918) who applied a brake to the projector, and the Francis Jenkins and others, related to used electrical methods for the sound. brake-shoe pressure depended on the rel- motion-picture inventions). Edison in Wm. H. BristoP began his work on ative phase of phonograph and projec- 1895 tried on the public the combination synchronous sound about 1917. tor, increasing rapidly as the projector of a phonograph with his “peep show” Siren Type of Amplijier. An ingenious got ahead in phase. With an even force moving pi~ture.~,”He built at least 50 attempt to obtain amplification in re- (and probably more) of the combination production used the movements of the I machines. phonograph needle to vary the opening I of an air-valve, connected to a source of Gaumont. Leon Gaumont, in Fran~e,~ air pressure. This device was employed began as early as 1901 to work on com- for sound pictures by Oskar Messter5*’6 bining the phonograph and motion pic- (Germany 1903-4). In England, whereit ture. He worked on the project during was known as the “Auxetophone,” it had several widely separated intervals. Thei- some use for phonographs. Its invention sen6refers to a series of shows of the “Film is credited by the Encyclopedia Britan- Parlant” at the Gaumont Palace in nica to Short (1898), with improve- Paris in 1913 and to demonstrations in ments by the Hon. C. A. Parsons. the United States. After 1926 the “Eta- Edison. In 1913 Edison made a seri- Presented on May 5, 1954, at the Society’s ous effort to provide synchronized Convention at Washington, D.C., by Edward phonograph sound. The equipment is on W. Kellogg, Consulting Engineer, 276 Merion Ave., Haddonfield, N.J. exhibit at the Edison Museum in West Fig. 1. Mechanical power amplifier of (This paper was received on October 25, 1954.) Orange, N.J. The phonograph is of Thomas A. Edison and Daniel Higham. June 1955 Journal of the SMPTE Volume 64 291 (No Model J 3 Sheeta-Sheet I beam of modulated light, and uses a A. 0. & C. A. BELL & S. TAINTER. light-sensitive device (selenium cells) to TRANSMITTINO AND RECORDINO SOUNDS BY BADIANT ENEBBY. detect the received fluctuations, thus anticipating the essential principle of the 341.213. Patented Mav 4. 1886.- No. reproducing system which was used in many later experiments. Blake. Prof. E. W. Blake of Brown University in 1878 made photographic recordsof speech sounds on a moving pho- tographic plate, using a vibrating mirror. 6,18 FrittS. U.S. Patent No. 1,203,190, filed in 1880 by Charles E. FriLts,S,6 discloses photographic soundtracks and a great variety of devices for recording and reproducing, but there does not appear to be evidence of much significant ex- perimental work. Bell and Tainter. In the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., are a 0 number of large glass disks carrying spiral n sound tracks. These were made by a Liib. 2. \\ “..- method described in U.S. Patent No. 341,213 (filed 1885) to Alexander Gra- ie 2rcr Sensitized ham Bell, Chichester A. Bell and Sumner 11 / Disk (in Box) Tainter. Light from a steady source was transmitted in a relatively narrow beam through a piece of stationary glass, and then further restricted by a slit where it reached the circular photographic plate. Just above the place where the light entered the stationary glass, a tiny jet of ink (or other light-absorbing liquid) was directed against the surface. The nozzle was attached to a “sounding board” (small plate) which picked up the sound vibrations. The jiggles of the nozzle caused waves in the stream of ink which flowed down over the surface, and these modulated the transmitted light. Fig. 2. Variable density recording system of A. G. Bell, C. A. Bell and Sumner Some years ago it became desirable, in Tainter, 1886. connection with a patent suit, to demon- strate that the spiral track was really a soundtrack. Contact prints (on celluloid on the projector crank, normal phase tation toward photographic recording, films) were made of several of the most relation was maintained.