VM100 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Selig Polyscope Company, Virtual Machine, Melodrama
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
VM100
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
VM 100 History of Media Arts !
Prof. Michael Selig
Semester 1 Lecture 1
Historiography- The principles, theories or methodology of scholarly historical research and
presentation.
-Form of analysis-history is too comprehensive
-Recognizing that a single presentation of history always has some kind of bias (ie western
bias, traditional bias, inevitable bias)
History= The selection and interpretation of data to form a historical narrative. History is about
change.
Historical methodology- Trying to understand what determines a historical event, ways of
studying
Traditional historical practice (empiricism)- “Just the facts”
“Great man theory of history”- History is about great men that you should aspire to be like
Approaches to the history of film:
-Economics
-Political systems
-Political identity and social difference
-Language and artistic convention
-Geography, climate and demographics
-Religion
-Technology
Early Sound Recording- Edison, Tainter and Bell, and Berliner
-Record player/disk player- originally called phonograph/gramophone
-Edison invented a special cylinder known as phonograph
-Edison is good at self-promotion
THREE ERAS OF SOUND TECHNOLOGY:
-Acoustic era: 1877-1920s- Take sound and transcribe it
-Electric Era- 1930s-1970s- Take sound and transcribe it into electrical signals
-Digital era
1877: Edison makes recording of human voice and immediately files for patent for the
phonograph
-First practical sound machine was built from Edison’s design by John Kruesi
-Corporate activity requiring patent pool happened?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
1878: Edison granted patent on phonograph, tin foil cylinders with lateral cut grooves and 2-3
minute capacity
-Harper’s magazine intro’s and promos the phonograph
-Harper’s magazine intros and promos the phonograph through phono-arcades
-Edison uses his own name and picture to market it
1885: Edison’s patent expires. Many inventors work on recording technology- Berliner and
Painter start working on their inventions
1886: Bell and Tainter release the gramophone- wax cylinder with vertical cut grooves- don’t
want to infringe on Edison’s patent
-Gramophone by Emile Berliner released, 7 inch disc with lateral cut grooves, becomes the
standard (sort of looks like an early vinyl)
1887: With competition, Edison makes invention better by adding electric motor
1896: Berliner adds electric motor to gramophone
Problems with early sound invention-
-Multiple standards marketed (Edison’s lateral cut cylinder, graphophone’s vertical cut
cylinder, gramophone’s lateral cut disk)
-Low fidelity
-Fragile!!
-Cylinders and disks can’t be mass produced
Additional Study Links
http://www.todotango.com/english/history/chronicle/25/Phonograph-vs-gramophone/
http://www.edisontinfoil.com/bell.htm
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Historiography- the principles, theories or methodology of scholarly historical research and presentation. Recognizing that a single presentation of history always has some kind of bias (ie western bias, traditional bias, inevitable bias) History= the selection and interpretation of data to form a historical narrative. Historical methodology- trying to understand what determines a historical event, ways of studying. Great man theory of history - history is about great men that you should aspire to be like. Early sound recording- edison, tainter and bell, and berliner. Edison invented a special cylinder known as phonograph. Acoustic era: 1877-1920s- take sound and transcribe it. Electric era- 1930s-1970s- take sound and transcribe it into electrical signals. 1877: edison makes recording of human voice and immediately files for patent for the phonograph. First practical sound machine was built from edison"s design by john kruesi. 1878: edison granted patent on phonograph, tin foil cylinders with lateral cut grooves and 2-3 minute capacity.
