Finding His Voice (1929 Western Electric)

[MF TOON]

Interesting that this rare animated promo film produced by Max Fleischer is officially turning up on an Anniversary release of 'THE JAZZ SINGER' among a collection of other shorts celebrating the 'sound era'...

I wonder how Warners print will look compared to the one that Steve sourced for his Cultoons release?

[ThePeterNetwork]

Would that be the same print that is on display at the American Museum of the Moving Image? I think I may have seen that one, where they show how sound is added to film and played back in theaters.

[Ray Pointer]

UCLA restored FINDING HIS VOICE five years ago. This will be that version, which is superior. But the question is WHY are they including it in connection with THE JAZZ SINGER when the Vitaphone system was Sound- on-Disc and FINDING HIS VOICE explains the Sound-on-Film process. Interestingly, this technical short produced for Western Electric was designed for theater operators and technicians, and was not meant for general entertainment.
And while the original used a Variable Desity Soundtrack (working on an FM signal principle), the restoration includes a re-recorded Variable Area track (working on an AM principle),orginally developed by G.E. and acquired by R.C.A.

As an aside, I produced a documentary, FIRST SOUND OF MOVIES about the development of sound films by Dr. Lee deForrest. This was the Variale Density Optical Recording method, which Western Electric acquire through a parnership with William Fox. Fox had begun the Movietone Newsreel Service in 1928 through a patent sold to them by Theodore Case. Case had worked with deForrest for two years, having licensed his photoelectric cel to deForrest for his developments in optical recordings in the early 1920s. After two years, Case knew enough about the process to convince Fox that he had
developed it, not deForeest.

At the same time, Western Electric claimed certain rights to deForrest's development of sound-on-film based on a licensing agreement of his Audion Tube for the amplification of telephone signals in 1919. There was a clause stating that Western would have rights to any invnetions by deForrest during the term of this license.

While a controversial story, deForrest launched a patent infringement lawsuit that year involving Fox/Western Electric and various other companies that appeared to have developed variatons on the process including Powers Cinephone.

The suit was tied up in court for eight years, finally declaring deForrest the winner as "first to invent". But this was also a deliberate action on the part of communications giant, Western Electric since the original patents had expired by 1936, and the technology had passed into the Public Domain. In this, Western claimed rights in having improved this technology, which they did.
But deForrest never really benefitted from his inventing of the actual process.

[J. A. Boschen]

According to the info on Turner Classic movies, that Jazz Singer set also includes many early sound cartoons as bonus features. Anyone know or have an idea of what is included or might be included?

[MF TOON]

The only sound cartoon featured is 'I Love To Singa', according to the announced press release on DVDTimes.

[Tom Stathes]

I'm curious what else is on the disc. When will this be out?

[MF TOON]

I'm curious what else is on the disc. When will this be out?

Here you go!

http://dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65286


:bosko:

A full 3rd disc of early talkies and Vitaphone shorts, but otherwise nothing animation related.