Existing comment:
The Jazz Singer and the Vitaphone Process:
Al Jolson, self-described as "the world's greatest entertainer," starred in The Jazz Singer, a melodrama that heralds Hollywood's first, if primitive, effort to incorporate snatches of spoken dialogue and singing into a feature-length movie. Jolson's photograph adorns the cover of Brass Tacks, a weekly publication of film industry news for Warner Bros. employees.
The Western Electric microphone is a vital element of the Vitaphone process, which made Warner Bros. Studios a pioneer in sound films and elevating them to prominence among Hollywood moviemakers. The system used 16-inch discs containing the movie soundtrack, which were played on a turntable synchronized with the film projector's motor. The Vitaphone process was used in a number of Warner Bros. features and film shorts.
Vitaphone is derived from combining the Latin term vita, meaning living, and the Greek word phone, for sound. |