Society of Motion Picture Engineers : incorporation and by-laws (1919)

In the winter following, I demonstrated the original instrument, the Phantoscope, before the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia^*^ and at the close of the demonstration it was voted that the matter should go before the proper committee to determine whether it ought to receive scientific acknowledgment. The Committee in due course recommended the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal and published its findings in the Journal for three months. Thereupon the proposed award was vigorously opposed by two interested gentlemen, but after many months of taking testimony and considering evidence and data submitted, the originally recommended award was made. Eighteen years The original Jenkins lateral projector. later a second award was made, the John Scott medal, for improvements, i. e., lateral projection, as demonstrated in a machine which I later christened the Graphoscope. Elforts have been made from time to time to exploit synchronized pictures and sound, but without success. There is no difficulty in synchronizing. This has been accomplished in several ways bv those engaged thereon, my own scheme being to put the sound record on the film as a sinuous edge so that accidental destruction of a part of the film would take out as much sound as picture, and when spliced again would still be in synchronism and without any adjustment of mechanism. The public, however, did not favorably receive any of the singing pictures and all such schemes disappeared when the novelty of a single exhibition had passed. The silent drama '^^ Franklin Institute Bulletin December 1895 and Franklin Institute Journal, January, 1896. 46