VM100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Buster Keaton, John Barrymore, Phonofilm
19 Oct 2017
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Document Summary
Silent films were accompanied by music, ranging from piano, or organ to full orchestra. Lee deforest experimented with a sound on film process that converted sound into light waves reproduced on a photographic strip running alongside the 35mm. image called phonofilm. In the teens and twenties, western electric, a subsidiary of a. t. & t. developed recording systems based on discs. The marketed a sound on disc system in 1925, but most hollywood studios ignored it, except for warner brothers. Wanrer bros. tested the vitaphone process in a series of 8 short films during. Warner feature don juan with john barrymore used recorded music but no dialogue and was a success so w. b. made more shorts and features with recorded music. In october 6, 1927, the jazz singer opened with orchestral accompaniment, but in four scenes star al jolson sang and spoke: (cid:498)you ain"t heard nothin" yet! (cid:499) With the massive success of the jazz singer, w. b. made several more part-talkies.
