The art of sound pictures (1930)

230 THE ART OF SOUND PICTURES up by a microphone, and the microphone currents are led to an electric recording device which moves the needle on the surface of the wax record. The chief differences between the Vitaphone discs and ordinary phonograph records are these: Vitaphone discs are much larger than phonograph records. Furthermore, in the phonograph record, the needle starts its marking on the outer circumference of the record and travels toward the center, while on the Vitaphone records the process is exactly reversed. The original wax master record, made simultaneously with the silent picture film, is then used as a pattern for any number of disc records to go with the prints of the picture film. It is a curious fact that the Vitaphone method for sound recording of pictures is precisely the method first attempted by Edison before modern moving pictures were developed. It is said that Edison first began to develop motion pictures with the purpose of furnishing visual accompaniments for his phonograph records. But he gave up the task, apparently convinced by the imperfections of his apparatus that sound pictures would never please an ordinary audience. The Vitaphone method of recording sound is considerably simpler than the Movietone or Photophone methods. But the Vitaphone sound reproduction results are considered by a majority of picture producers to be distinctly inferior to either Movietone or Photophone sound reproduction. Real sounds do not always reflect reality when projected on the screen. A resined string drawn across a drum gives a far better imitation of the roar of a locomotive than does the engine itself. For sound purposes, a riveter makes a highly satisfactory machine gun. All