Sound motion pictures : from the laboratory to their presentation (1929)

THE COMING OF SOUND 13 Artists, and others. Through the medium of Movietone and Vitaphone, which records the sound on the film itself, as well as on records, these producers are now making a product which will eventually be shown in theatres that are equipped with Electrical Research apparatus, although such productions may be projected and heard on other apparatus, too. Primarily, to insure for itself a ready and national market for its apparatus, the Radio Corporation of America, through a partly owned subsidiary, the RadioKeith-Orpheum Circuit, entered the industry as theatre operators as well as motion picture producers. A new sound studio is now being completed by R. C. A., a radio affiliated organization, so that a production schedule may be maintained. The R. C. A.-Photophone device is now being used by Radio Pictures, Pathe, TifTany-Stahl Company, and Educational Pictures Corporation, who have formulated ambitious plans for producing their own pictures, to insure for Photophone users a steady flow of the product. The position of the Radio Corporation of America in the motion picture industry was recently further strengthened by absorbing the Victor Talking Machine Company, which gives them access to talent of a type that has proved successful in recording. The most capable artists will thus, naturally, become available for sound pictures as well as broadcasting. It is apparently the further purpose of the R. C. A. to build up an entertainment that eventually may have the elements of radio motion picture and television. One of the principal problems that face the industry at this time is the question of interchangeability of films and records for the various devices that are being manufactured. There appears to be little question that interchangeability will be permitted by the manufacturers of Movietone,